Chica Andaluza

Light Christmas Pudding

December 14, 2011December 14, 2011 Chica Andaluza44 Comments

With the forthcoming arrival of my parents, I´m getting into the swing of Christmas food preparations. Traditional Christmas cakes and puddings in the UK can be made ages ahead of time (even a year) to allow them to mature. Of course, I am nowhere near as organised as all that, and none of us is mad keen on the heavier traditional pudding.

For many years I have made a lighter version based on a recipe from my trusty Delia Smith´s Christmas Cookbook. In fact, looking back, I made it the first year I was in sole charge of Christmas lunch for 10 people. My beloved grandfather had died in the November, and this was 21 years ago. Of course, we were all still in a state of shock and sadness, especially my darling grandmother, but we still wanted to celebrate. I lived up the road from my parents in a little flat, and it was decided that we would change things a little so that memories of sitting in my parents´ dining room with Grandad at the head of the table would be a little less vivid.

My parents cooked the turkey in their oven as I just didn´t have room, but everything else was done in my little kitchen. All my wobbly hand me down tables and chairs were pressed into service, and the family walked up the road carrying girft and fold up chairs. Plates were borrowed – I was a 25 year old in her first flat as a non sharer, so I was still building my collection. Tears were shed, but much there was fun and laughter too. It was emotional but happy and we all ate and drank far too much. The meal ended with this pudding – made initially as my grandfather would probably have grumbled about there not being “proper” pudding and this made us all chuckle. Since then it´s become a new kind of family tradition whenever I am the Christmas lunch fairy, and my parents requested it this year.

I haven´t changed the recipe much at all, so I hope Saint Delia won´t mind. It can be frozen once made, and then warmed through in a steamer or Bain Marie on Christmas Day while you are eating lunch.

Ingredients

175g sifted self raising flour
Pinch of salt
110g softened butter
110g brown sugar
1 medium apple chopped or grated
2 large eggs beaten gently
3 rounded tablespoons of mincemeat
2 pinches ground nutmeg
1 tsp lemon juice
Grated zest of one lemon and one orange
2 large tbsp of candied peel

Put half the peel in the base of a 1.2 litre buttered pudding basin. Beat the butter and sugar until creamy and then add 1tbsp of egg and flour and mix in, continuing until both egg and flour have all been incorporated. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir in, then spoon the mixture into the basin.

Cover with a double layer of pleated foil and tie a string around to keep the foil tight and give yourself a handle to lift it out.

Mucky Cooker – oops, don´t let it boil over!

Place it in a steamer or saucepan half filled with boiling water and steam gently covered with a lid for 2 ½ hours. Keep a kettle of boiling water to hand to top up the water when needed.

When the time is up, let it cool completely and you can then turn it out and wrap well in cling film to freeze until needed. If making ahead and reheating on Christmas Day, slide it back into the pudding basin and cover again with foil to do this.

Delicious with custard or brandy sauce, boozy fruits, ice cream….whatever takes your fancy!

PS. Stir Up Sunday (the last Sunday before Advent) is when Christmas Puddings were traditionally made to allow them to mature. Of course, I missed that date, but never mind! I was also always told that every member of the family needed to give the cake or pudding a stir and make a wish – so we did this too…

Boozy Christmas Fruit

December 13, 2011December 13, 2011 Chica Andaluza45 Comments

One of my “go to” books at Christmas is Delia Smith´s Christmas. Sometimes I follow the recipes with just a few tweaks, and other times the book just inspires me to try something new.

My parents are coming out to Spain this year to celebrate Christmas with me and Big Man. To say I´m excited would be a huge understatement. When I was growing up, and ever since to be honest, they always made Christmas a very special and magical time for me and my brother. My grandparents lived with us (my mum´s parents) and next door was my godmother, Zia Luciana, and her two daughters who were all part of our extended family. I have very happy and treasured memories.

Although I have entertained my parents before at Christmas, it´s been a while, so this year I really want to make it extra special. Of course, one of the ways I can do this is through the food I prepare for us to share.

My dad requested a Light Christmas Pudding, which features in the Delia Smith book that I have made previously. I´ll post that soon. I´m also going to make an ice cream inspired by another recipe and I´ve just made some Boozy Christmas Fruit. The recipe in the book uses mainly glacé fruit, but it´s a recipe that is flexible.

Here´s what I used (quantities are up to you)

Dried cherries, dried cranberries, dried apricots (chopped), chopped mixed peel, glacé cherries and ginger

All these are put into a jar and covered in a sweet dessert wine (I used a local wine which is very much like Vin Santo). The recipe calls for Madeira. I took the shot before it was mixed up to show you the different fruits. This will now sit quietly in a cool dark place until Christmas Day when it will be spooned over the ice cream and any other desserts we fancy eating it with. I may have to do a few quality control spot checks beforehand though…just to be sure its maturing nicely you understand.

Suet Free Mincemeat

December 11, 2011December 11, 2011 Chica Andaluza53 Comments

For anyone not familiar with mincemeat, let me explain. It has nothing to do with minced or ground beef, it´s made with fruit. Well…initially it was made of meat, flavoured with sugar, fruit and spices. This, historically, was probably to mask the strong flavours of meat which needed to be preserved without the benefit of refrigeration.

Over time the mixture became sweeter and all that now remains of its meaty ancestor, is an ingredient called suet, which is usually beef or mutton fat. This melts down into the mix to preserve it. Vegetarian suet it now also available.

When I spent my first Christmas in Spain 6 years ago, it was impossible for me to track down ready made mincemeat for my Christmas Mince Pies, let alone suet to make my own. Things have changed now over the years, but I still use a recipe I came across (and I don´t know where, so apologies to whoever it “belongs” to) which is a suet free version of mincemeat.

The flavours develop and improve over time, although it´s excellent even freshly made. If you make a large batch, it will be wonderful next Christmas!

Ingredients

250g brown sugar
250ml cider (sweet or dry) or apple juice
1kg of peeled and chopped cooking apples
½ teaspoon ground mixed spice
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
250g each of currants, raisins, cranberries
75g glace cherries
75g blanched almonds
Rind & juice of ½ lemon plus rind of 1 orange
6 tablespoons of brandy or rum (optional)

(Feel free to vary the ingredients according to your taste)

Dissolve the sugar in the cider over a gentle heat, add all the other ingredients except the alcohol and cook until soft and pulpy. Cool slightly, stir in alcohol and put into sterilised jars.

Quick Braised Wild and Oyster Mushrooms

December 9, 2011 Chica Andaluza40 Comments

Remember our beautiful walk recently? We had such a wonderful morning and came home with about half a kilo of wild mushrooms.

Because they were so fresh, I knew they would keep for a day or two, so in the first dish I made, I used half of them and kept things very simple.

We grow oyster mushrooms in our garage. No, don´t worry – there´s no nasty fungus creeping up the walls or anything. You can buy bales of straw which are impregnated with mushroom spores and then wrapped in black plastic. You cut slits into the plastic and keep the “alpaca” as these bales are known in the dark and ensure that they are kept damp. About a week after acquiring your little treasure your first mushrooms will appear. Just cut and eat. Then when you´ve harvested as many as you can, you flip the alpaca over and cut a few more slits. If you keep it going you can be eating your own grown oyster mushrooms for several months.

I took about the same quantity of oyster mushrooms as wild, cut the wild mushrooms into thick slices and tore the oyster mushrooms into strips.

In a deep terracotta dish (or you could use a frying pan) I added three crushed cloves to garlic to the mushrroms together with about 3 good tablespoons of olive oil, some Maldon (or kosher) salt, several good grinds of black pepper and two red chillis (these are optional). I turned the heat up to high and as soon as the mushrooms began to sizzle I reduced it and covered them to let them sweat and get tender for about 10 minutes. I then removed the lid and added a small glass of dry white wine and let everything bubble away until the liquid had reduced by half.

We ate this as a starter with plenty of rosé wine and some crusty bread to mop up the delicious juices.

PS. On a totally different subject – since I changed the look of my blog (i.e I changed the theme) my photos don´t seem to appear properly. They are cut off on the right hand side! Has anyone come across this and do they know how to resolve it? Thanks for any advice anyone might be able to offer me.

I´ve gone right off Medlars….

December 7, 2011 Chica Andaluza54 Comments

Ms Chica Andaluza, Somewhere Up a Mountain in Andalucia

Dear Ms Andaluza

We understand that you have recently made Quince Jelly, something which the readers of Mediaevel Medlar Monthly would be most interested in reading about in more detail. A reporter will contact you shortly to arrange details of the interview.

Yours most sincerely

Ye Olde Editore, Mediaeval Medlar Monthly

Reporter: So Ms Andaluza

Chica Andaluza: Oh please, do call me Chica

R: OK, Chica it is. The Medlar is not a widely known fruit, what do you know about it?

CA: Well, I suggest your readers check out this excellent post by Mad Dog, which gives some fantastic information about this fruit which was traditionally used to make fruit jellies and cheeses.

R: How did you manage to get hold of your medlars then?

CA: I have a lovely friend, Florence, who let me pick a whopping 8kgs of fruit from her tree for my first journey into medlar jelly making.

R: Tell us a little more about it then

CA: Well, the fruit has to be “bletted” or almost left to rot before it´s edible. This is the fruit when we picked it.

And this is the fruit about 2 weeks later.

R: Talk me through the process of making the jelly then

CA: I used about 5kgs of the fruit which was “rotten” enough, and washed it to remove dust and leaves. It tastes, as a fruit, of something like prunes and plums…a sweet, pleasant, earthy taste.

Then I added just enough water to cover the fruit and cooked it until it was mushy.

R: How did you know how much water to add?

CA: I searched the internet for recipes, which were all a little vague. In retrospect, I should probably have used more water.

The reporter notes at this point that the subject of the interview is beginning to tremble slightly and mutter under her breath.

R: Once they were “mushy”, what did you do?

CA: The fruit has to be strained through jelly bags to extract the liquid which is then boiled with about two thirds of its weight in sugar until it reaches setting point.

The interviewee is beginning now to behave like Chief Inspector Dreyfus in the Pink Panther films – shaking and twitching uncontrollably when the word Medlar (rather than Clouseau) is used. A glass of wine calms the situation down a little.

R: Is there any special kitchen equipment needed for making this jelly?

CA: I´d recommend a step ladder

R: How so?

CA: Well, you need a large jug to put the jelly strainer over. I went to get one out of my “despensa” and could not be bothered to get the step ladder, and tried to hook it down with a metal skewer. This resulted in a large wooden tray crashing onto my face and giving me a black eye.

Black Eye — Almost a week later and it still hurts!

R: Oh dear, any other experience you´d like to share with our readers…

CA: Well, it took me almost 48 hours to strain the juice from the pulp.

R: That must have been a lot of juice

CA: Not really, about half a litre

R: Oh…

CA: And then I had to boil the syrup to hell and back to get it anywhere near setting point, so most of it evaporated

R: Oh…how many jars did you make in the end

CA: Not quite 2. I had envisioned inviting Roger over to take photos of my extensive stock of Amber hued jelly, but I don´t think I´ll bother now.

R: Will you be doing this again then?

At this point the interview was terminated as the interviewee collapsed into a hysterical heap clutching her eye and a large bottle of wine muttering “never again, never again”.

Ms Chica Andaluza, Somewhere Up a Mountain in Andalucia

Dear Ms Andaluza

Thank you very much for giving so generously of your time recently, particularly in your most delicate state of health. Whilst we wish you a speedy recovery, we do not feel that the tone of the interview will convey the message of the true beauty, flavour and versatility of the Medlar fruit and will not be publishing your interview.

Yours most sincerely

Ye Olde Editore, Mediaeval Medlar Monthly

Advertisement recently seen in Mediaeval Medlar Monthly

FOR SALE: Almost two jars of unset medlar jelly, offers over £500 per jar or will exchange for a small house or sports car. Serious buyers only please.

The Lengths (or Heights) We Go To For A Mushroom

December 4, 2011 Chica Andaluza52 Comments

The rain poured down all night and some time around 4am, Big Man woke up and mumbled “If it´s sunny tomorrow and we set off early, we´ll go and look for mushrooms”. Of course, he rolled over again, snoring was resumed and sleep once more descended.

The next day did dawn bright and sunny, we just slept through the dawn and a few hours of the beautiful morning too, if the truth be told. However, the weather was perfect for a long walk and if we found a few mushrooms too…well, that would be a bonus. Please join us on our mushroom (or Setas as they are called here) scavenge.

You´ll need:

Two slightly overweight and unfit adults, brimming with enthusiasm and suitably attired and shod for walking
Two energetic pups
One pick up truck
2 ham and cheese rolls for breakfast, water for adults and pups, doggy treats, camera
Net bag for collecting mushroom haul (so that the spores can fall out and spread more mushroomy goodness)
Penknife for cutting them (never pull up by the root)

Directions

Drive truck 4km up steep and slightly scary mountain track behind house, allow dogs to run enthusiastically behind.

Park up and start to climb.

Pass huge, rampaging wild animals and ignore The Goatherd With No Shame when he tells you there is nothing to be found and he hasn´t been up that way for weeks. We saw the fresh tracks of his horses…you can´t fool us!

Admire old well.

Continue past The Lightning Tree.

Stop for a moment to catch your breath and look back at the view of the lake and then the sea in the distance.

Cross (not so) raging torrent.

Avoid anthills.

Finally…your first mushroom!

Keep going for three hours with a little break for breakfast and a chat with the Honest Goatherd who sends you off to look behind the Old Fig Tree where you are rewarded with a bumper find of mushrooms.

500g grams of delicious mushrooms which you will take home to make something delicious with. But more of that another time. Time for a cold beer and to ease your muddy boots off. A good morning´s mushroom hunting all round.

Oh My – Chicken Pie!

December 2, 2011December 1, 2011 Chica Andaluza52 Comments

On my recent trip to London I spent plenty of time talking to my mum. As a fellow cook and foodie herself, we talked quite a lot about food. As you do. She mentioned that she really enjoys making and eating pies, but that my dad is not so keen on them. When she asked me what Big Man´s view was (you can tell can´t you that this was a deep and meaningful conversation) I realised that I had never made him a savoury pie.

Of course, once I was home, I couldn´t get the thought of a chicken, mushroom and bacon pie out of my head. The rain came down, the fog closed in, the tiny hole in the roof that we think we´ve fixed each year started its relentless drip, drip, dripping. It was time to make that pie.

I´d bought two old fashioned pudding basins in ~~a junk~~ an antique shop in Lewes, a beautiful town where a friend of mine is hoping to move. As I´d managed to get them home without breaking them, I needed to road test them.

Making a pie is a straightforward business if you´re using ready made puff pastry – which was the case for me. If you´re making your own pastry (flaky or shortcrust), it´s not all that much extra work, just a little waiting time while it rests in the fridge.

To make two hearty pies I used

2 small chicken breasts, cubed
About 4 slices of thick cut bacon, cut into small cubes (or use lardons or pancetta)
6 mushrooms thinly sliced
2 cups of chicken broth (or you can use a mixture of milk and water)
3 tablespoons of olive oil
4 tablespoons of flour
Seasoning
Puff pastry
One beaten egg

Put the chicken into the flour which you will have seasoned and toss it around. Heat the oil in a deep frying pan remove the chicken from the flour and seal it. Don´t throw the flour left in the bowl away. Now add the bacon and mushrooms and cook on a medium heat until the mushrooms have softened.

Add the remaining flour to the pan and stir with a wooden spoon to slightly cook the flour and then gradually add the stock whilst stirring to prevent lumps forming. Once the liquid has all been added, turn up the heat and let it bubble gently until it reaches the consistency of pouring custard.

Put the mixture into a pie dish or small oven proof dishes if you want to do individual portions. Lay the puff pastry over the top, trim if necessary and cut a couple of small slits in the top to let the steam escape. Brush with the beaten egg and bake in a medium over (about 180º C) for about 25 mins or until the pastry is golden brown and risen.

Delicious served with baked or mashed potatoes and vegetables. I made runner beans in garlic and tomato, we drank wine and watched the rain dripping down the windows. Big Man voted the pie a big hit, and now wants to know if I can make him a beef one. I think we can safely say that we have another pie eating convert in the family.

For an idea of what to do with any leftover puff pastry, check out this tasty recipe.

Potaje de Lentejas – Lentil Stew

November 29, 2011November 19, 2015 Chica Andaluza69 Comments

Another “Plato de Cuchara” or spoon dish – we like our pulses here in Spain. Many of these dishes were traditional as you could feed large families with few ingredients which were not costly. Meats are typically added at the end (usually pork products) so the beauty is that they can be vegetarian dishes too, if you prefer.

Lentils are great, as apart from being cheap, they cook fairly quickly and only need rinsing but not presoaking.

For four people as a main dish or six as a starter you´ll need

About 500g of lentils – we have the flat green ones here
Water to cover
3 tablespoons of olive oil
1 medium onion, quartered
Half each of a red and green pepper, chopped into bite sized chunks
Two tomatoes cut into bite sized chunks
1 bay leaf
A couple of carrots peeled and finely diced
A stick of celery plus the leaves (if it has leaves). Finely dice the celery but not the leaves.
4 or 5 whole fat cloves of garlic
2 medium potatoes peeled and cut into small cubes (keep these in a bowl of water separately)
Sprig of fresh thyme or rosemary if you have it
¼ teaspoon each of pimentón and paprika
Salt to taste (at end of cooking)
Optional – a couple of chorizo and/or morcilla or your favourite sausages

Rinse the lentils then add all the vegetables and spices apart from the salt to a large cooking pot. Cover well with water, add the oil and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat slightly but don´t let them come off the boil while cooking as this will make the lentils hard. They will probably take about 45 minutes or so.

When the lentils are soft, add the potato and meats (if using) and continue cooking until the potatoes are cooked. Remove the bay leaf and celery leaves and add salt (and pepper too if you like) to taste and you´re ready to serve. Slice the sausages into smaller pieces before serving. A drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a squeeze of lemon over the top really lifts the flavour, but that´s just the way I like it!

Tastes even better the next day.

Cruising the High Seas with a Tot of Something Fruity

November 25, 2011 Chica Andaluza43 Comments

Liqueur 1 — Planning some Christmas Recipes

I was going to give this post a Christmas heading, but it´s about fruit flavoured liqueurs, and who needs Christmas as an excuse to open a bottle and share with friends?!

Every year for the last few years, I have made a batch of orange flavoured liqueur (which is made from vodka as it´s virtually impossible to buy pure alcohol here). It´s rather like Limoncello and the recipe comes from the BBC Good Food website.

I won´t reproduce it here, just click on the link above and you can see how easy it is to do. And if you fancy a batch for Christmas to either drink at home or to put into pretty bottles as gifts…well, you still have time.

I have also now “tested” my Cherry Brandy which I made back in the summer. Remember this? Well, all I can say is “wow”! I´m so pleased with how it has turned out and I know we´ll be enjoying it over the coming months. The cherries are amazing too and I am planning to serve a few this weekend with a citrus sponge cake and vanilla ice cream.

Digressing a little, Cherry Brandy always reminds me of my Great Aunt Joan, my darling Grandmother´s older sister. Joan was a stout old spinster, a little gruff, but caring deep down as she dedicated her life to running children´s homes. She spent her spare time entering competitions and must have been pretty good at it as she won things like holidays, cars and cruises. My lucky grandmother was often chosen to accompany her on these little jaunts, and it was mostly good fun for them both.

I say mostly, because Aunt Joan was teetotal, and always frowned at anyone letting the smallest drop of alcohol pass their lips. My Grandmother, on the other hand, enjoyed a drink almost right up to her dying day aged 93 – she said it kept her young. They were on a cruise on the QEII, when a young boy was taken ill with appendicitis and the Captain announced that the ship would turn back to the last port so that he could be operated on. This would cause a delay of about 10 hours to their journey, and during this period the bars would be open free of charge to all guests.

My grandmother happily planned an afternoon of white wine drinking and sun bathing when Aunt Joan had a bit of a panic attack. The already over worked Ship´s Doctor was called and prescribed a small glass of Cherry Brandy to calm Joan´s nerves. As it was being “prescribed” rather than poured by a bar tender, Aunt Joan felt that this was acceptable. It seems she took to keeping bottles of Cherry Brandy all over the place which she took frequent “nips” of as her “calming tonic”. My grandmother was able to spend her afternoon as planned as Aunt Joan lay in her cabin dozing, happy and taking little sips of her Cherry Tonic.

Feeling Fishy

November 22, 2011 Chica Andaluza43 Comments

Fish Man took a week off recently and oh how we missed him! Fortunately, he came back refreshed and with a van packed full of gorgeous things for us to enjoy.

After our enforced fish free week, I went a bit mad, and bought some tiny little crabs and a large fillet of rosada (a firm white fish) for us to enjoy.

The crabs were simple to deal with – a good rinse then plunged into boiling, salted water. You need to be quite heavy handed with the salt as they are usually cooked in sea water. In the absence of this up our mountain, a little extra salt goes a long way. After about two minutes they will turn a darker pink colour, drain them and then put into a bowl of iced water to stop them cooking further. It´s the same process that you would use for cooking prawns.

These were then chilled and served as a starter with alioli and lemons. It looks like a huge portion, but there is not a lot of meat inside these little critters. The fun is in chomping, slurping and licking your fingers!

The rosada was treated equally simply. I sautéed red peppers with onions and courgettes until soft, lay the fish fillets over the top and seasoned everything. After covering the pan with a lid I let them cook through gently for about five minutes (until they were no longer opaque), then squeezed plenty of lemon juice over.