Apart from baking, cooking is for the most part lenient and generally forgiving in regards to precise amounts and times. Ingredients here are organic, which is to say not industrial (pasta aside), and exact times differ from cook to cook, kitchen to kitchen, product to product. Most Spanish cooks smile indulgently when prodded for specific times and measurements, and view such numbers, if given, as guidelines. Their advice: Watch, taste, and adjust as you cook. That’s pretty good advice.
Unless otherwise specified, it is assumed that ingredients are cleaned, washed, peeled if needed, and so on. A few particular ingredients are worth highlighting:
Olive oil: While I acknowledge that extra-virgin olive oil is superior and should be used in just about every case, the reality is that many Spaniards often cook with a lighter (refined) olive oil called suave (soft) on bottles or 0.4° (also written as 0’4) referring to the degree of acidity, or else a “lighter” extra-virgin olive oil, by which I mean one that isn’t too expensive or too heavy. But they will always reach for the good stuff in the pantry to dress salads, use in certain sauces (especially cold ones), drizzle over bread and fish, and so on.
Salt: Salt opens up flavors and accentuates them. The amount needed depends on many factors (including one’s own personal level of “saltiness”), and specific quantities are given in only a few cases. When I call for “salt,” I mean sea salt. I have specified “flaky sea salt” where the texture of the flakes can be fully appreciated, usually for “finishing” a dish. In a couple of cases, I have listed both “salt” and “flaky sea salt” in the ingredient list. There is no point in adding exquisite flor de sal to boiling water; use plain salt for that. Spanish brands of high-quality flaky sea salt may be harder to find than English Maldon salt, French sel gris or fleur de sel, kosher salt, and other fine options.
Dried red peppers: There are a number of mild, sweet dried red peppers whose pulp is soaked and scraped out before being used. Romesco and the slightly smaller ñora peppers are the most popular. Both are available outside Spain; see Sources, page 345. Darker, more earthy ancho chiles make a good substitution. They tend to be just slightly larger than romesco peppers. Romesco pulp is sold in jars (labels generally read “carne de romesco”). Choricero is a similar one popular in the Basque Country. Calculate about 2 teaspoons of pulp per dried pepper.
Dry-cured Spanish jamón: There is an entire world of Spain’s legendary cured legs of ham. For the purpose of cooking with jamón in these recipes, use the least expensive options of Serrano ham (jamón serrano or jamón del país), or Italian prosciutto, which is often easier for many outside Spain to get. Eating a slice of jamón alone, though, is a different matter. In that case, go for jamón ibérico (from the black-footed Iberian pig; see page 133) and choose the best you can find—or afford.
Onions: Unless otherwise specified, “medium onions” can be either Spanish, yellow, or red. One of the finest onions in Spain—particularly nice in salads because of their mild, almost sweet taste—is the reddish purple, slightly flattened, and medium-size variety called Figueres.
Green peppers: Spanish pimientos verdes are long, tapered, and pointed, and about half the weight of a green bell pepper, with much thinner walls. In season, they can be found under the name “sweet Italian green pepper” or something similar. They are not hot! Do not confuse these with Anaheim chile peppers.
Stock: When using commercial stock in dishes that will simmer and reduce, dilute it with fresh water so that the stock doesn’t overpower the other ingredients.
Vinegar: Dishes that include a significant amount of vinegar should be prepared in nonreactive cookware, such as stainless steel, glass, enamel, and so on; do not use copper or aluminum, as they will discolor.
While I have for the most part stuck to Castilian Spanish, certain dishes and products do carry their Catalan, Basque, or Galician names, from Spain’s other three officially recognized languages. I have tried to offer the original names for dishes, traditions, and the like where possible. I would love to see these become more a part of the popular culinary lexicon in the manner of many Italian and French words now so commonly used.
Place names follow local versions and not Anglicized ones (so Sevilla and not Seville) or ones rendered into Castilian Spanish (so Lleida and not Lérida, A Coruña not La Coruña). Some names in the Basque Country are mentioned both in Basque and Castilian, such as Donostia (San Sebastián). These reflect not just standard usage, but what is found on both Michelin and Google maps.
All of the translations from Castilian and Catalan in the book are mine and I take complete responsibility for word choices and any errors. The handful of refrains, jingles, and songs included here—nearly all of them rhyming—I have translated more or less literally, getting their meaning but not necessarily their rhythm in English.