TAPAS—THEY'RE NOT LIKE THE OLD DAYS

Where are the tapas of yesteryear? The meatballs, croquettes and boquerones al natural? Even that old favorite, ensaladilla rusa? Traditional tapas, the ones I learned to love when I first came to live in Mijas pueblo, were nowhere to be found on a recent tapas excursion in the same town. 

With a friend visiting from the U.S., I made the rounds on the Ruta de la Tapa, the “tapa route,” of 11 participating bars (and a couple of ice cream shops), each offering a tapa and a glass of wine for €2.50 (about $2.95). Each bar served a fixed tapa—no choices.  

We managed to try five bars, enjoying the stroll through village streets and meeting up with others out for the occasion (Tuesdays and Thursdays through August). Of the five tapas sampled, only two somewhat resembled traditional tapas. 

Potato tortilla filled with peppers and mackerel.

Our first stop was Bóveda del Flamenco and the tapa Tortillada de Caballa. It was a not-quite-traditional potato tortilla that was split in half and filled with a mixture of sautéed red peppers and mackerel. Pretty good and the Verdejo white wine, totally quaffable. Good value for €2.50.

Pastry with shrimp.

The bar Tapintxo is a bright, modern establishment, white and glass walls hardly separating the (air-conditioned) interior from the tables outside. The tapa: Pastela de Marisco con Fideos, a brik pastry, dusted with powdered sugar, filled with shrimp and rice noodles in a slightly spicy sauce with a sprinkling of dill. Once the sugar was brushed off, it was tasty, but nothing about it was Andalusian.

Brochette chicken curry.

We doubled back to the Bar Porras, on the Plaza de la Libertad in the center of Mijas pueblo. The Porras is one of only two bars on the plaza (there once were five) that existed when I first set foot in the village (1966). It’s where I cut my teeth on tapas, at the bar and in the kitchen, collecting recipes from the women who prepared the tapas. To its credit, the bar still serves traditional dishes such as pescaito frito, a platter of fried fish. 

The tapa on the ruta: Pincho de Pollo al Curry, a brochette of chicken bites with curry sauce. The chicken was grilled to order and was delicious. But, curry sauce? The white wine was not quaffable. The waiter said, in effect, what did we expect for €2.50? (To its credit, the Bar Porras has some excellent wines, including Viña Tamisa, made in Mijas.

Mijas burro-taxis, heading home.

Wrap with chili con carne.

At Chema’s Terrace we sat at a table outdoors and watched the train of Mijas Burro-Taxis head home for the night after a day of carrying tourists around the village. The tapa here was Wrap de Chili con Carne, a flour tortilla enclosing a mixture of red kidney beans and meat, not unlike canned chili. It was nicely presented, but had absolutely no connection to anything typical of Mijas. (Tortilla wraps and chile are not Spanish.) Switching to chilled rosado (rosé) was a good move. (Footnote: this bar-restaurant is located on the entrance plaza to Mijas in an old building that once was La Malagueña, a pensión where I stayed for a couple weeks when I first arrived in Mijas in 1966.)

Lars tries chicken "Popeye."

Our tapas route finished at Bar Fiesta where the tapa presented was Cilindro de Pollo Popeye, a roll with chicken “Popeye.” Sure enough, spinach was the main ingredient!

My friend, Lars Kronmark, who is a chef-instructor at the Culinary Institute of America in St. Helena, CA., said it was the best tapa of the evening, multi-dimensional and the most integrated. I agreed. It was based on a very traditional dish, espinacas a la catalana, spinach with raisins and pine nuts. The spinach was mounded on a base of potato puree. Hidden beneath the spinach was a chicken cutlet. The spinach was topped with crisp bacon. José Moreno, owner of Bar Fiesta, said tapas have “evolucionado,” evolved, over the years. 

I suppose that, for the Ruta de la Tapa, each bar tries to be as original as possible to distinguish it from all the others. Same old, same old, meatballs just wouldn't cut it. (Participants who get their “tapaporte” stamped by all 11 establishments can vote for their favorite tapa.) Still, I was nostalgic for the tapas of yesteryear!

Spinach with Raisins and Pine Nuts, Potato Puree and Pork Cutlet

Espinacas con Pasas y Piñones, Puré de Patatas y Filete de Lomo

Potato puree on the bottom, a pork cutlet topped with spinach with raisins and pine nuts.

A garnish of crisp bacon and cooked quail's eggs.

This is my adaptation of the tapa served at Bar Fiesta. I used pork loin cutlets instead of chicken. A vegetarian version could be made using quail eggs. (To hard-boil quail eggs, cover them with water, bring to a boil and cook 3 minutes. Drain the eggs and cover them in cold water.)

The classic rendition of this dish is with Málaga muscatel raisins, which need to be seeded. You can use sultanas or any seedless raisin. 

Mediterranean pine nuts.

I’ve got a handful of pine nuts gathered from the tree beside my patio. They are difficult to crack and extract. And, apparently, this year they are scarce, because the ones in the market are a different variety, imported from China. 

Local pine nuts (left) and Chinese.

Makes 4 tapa servings.

For the potatoes:

1 pound potatoes

Salt

1 tablespoon olive oil

½ cup milk

Freshly ground black pepper

1/8 teaspoon smoked pimentón (paprika)

For the pork:

Olive oil

4 thick-cut slices of bacon

4 thinly sliced cutlets of pork loin

Salt and pepper

Pinch of oregano

Few drops of Vinegar

For the spinach:

14 ounces fresh spinach, stems trimmed

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons pine nuts

1 clove garlic, chopped

2 tablespoons raisins

Salt and pepper

Garnishes

Hard-cooked quail eggs

Bread sticks or crisps

Peel the potatoes, cut them in chunks and cook in salted boiling water until they are very tender. Drain, saving about ½ cup of potato water (to use in thinning the puree).

Mash the potatoes with the oil. Stir in the milk, salt to taste, pepper and pimentón. Thin the mashed potatoes with enough potato water to make a smooth puree that can be easily spread. 

Put a few drops of oil in a small skillet and fry the bacon until browned on both sides. Remove. Season the pork cutlets with salt, pepper, oregano and vinegar. Brown them in the fat remaining in the skillet. They need only 1 minute per side. Remove

Sauté pine nuts, garlic and raisins.

Wash the spinach, if necessary, and chop it. In a large pan heat the oil and add the pine nuts on medium-high heat. When they begin to brown, add the garlic and raisins. Stir until garlic begins to turn golden. Add the spinach and, if spinach is very dry, 1 or 2 tablespoons of water. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring to mix in the pine nuts and garlic, until the spinach is wilted and tender. 

Potato puree, pork cutlet.

To assemble: Place a large spoonful of potato puree on each plate and spread it to make a base. Place a cooked pork cutlet on top of the potato. (If making a vegetarian plate, omit the pork and imbed a cooked and peeled quail’s egg in the center of the puree.) Mound the spinach on top of the pork and potatoes. Garnish the plate with halved quails’ eggs and bread sticks.

More about tapas:

Tapa-Hopping Round Town  (The Ruta de la Tapa 11 years ago!)

The Tapas Way of Life.

Sevilla Tapas--The Immersion Course

How to Plan a Holiday Party--With Tapas

Gran ambiente con la Ruta de la Tapa

More about Mijas: Mijas sea and mountain, unique destination

GIN TONIC, THE SPANISH WAY

 

Gin tonic, Spanish style, in wide-mouthed glasses with herbs and botanicals.

It’s hot. I want a gin and tonic. Late summer’s dog days bring on the urge. I dust off the bottle of gin, chill the tonic, slice a lemon and fill a tall glass with ice.

What? That’s not correct? You’re telling me it’s “Gin Tonic,” not “gin and tonic”? Since when is it Spain’s trendiest drink? Serve it in a wide-mouth goblet with a few juniper berries and rose petals? 

I had to find my inner bartender. 

My interest was piqued when I saw a mention of “olive oil-washed gin.” Olive oil in gin? Anything with olive oil is right up my camino, so I had to try it. The term “oil-washed” is a way of saying “infused,” but the technique is not the same as steeping tea. (The directions are below.) 

Once I gathered a couple different gins, several types of tonic, a bunch of herbs, zests and other botanicals and made the olive-infused gin, I invited a couple guys to make different gin tonics. 

Here’s what you need for a gin tonic party.

Selection of gin at the supermarket.

The gin. Gin is a distilled spirit, usually colorless, aromatized with juniper berries and other botanicals (herbs, roots, fruit and fruit zest, spices). London dry gin is the classic, juniper-forward style, but there are lots more, including gins in every hue. Spain is a long-time producer of gin. Some of the main ones are Nordés Atlantic Gin (Galicia); Larios (Málaga); Gin Mare (Barcelona), and Puerto de Indias Strawberry Gin (Cádiz). 

Perfect for a gin tonic are some of the newer premium gins aromatized with local ingredients in addition to the usual botanicals. Some examples: Simbuya Purple Gin, distilled with purple carrots from Cuevas Bajas; Alborán, in four colors; Gin Malaka with jasmine; Oxén Spiritus with thyme, rosemary and bitter chamomile. 

There exist non-alcoholic “gins” such as Seedlip and Tanqueray 0.0. 

Full disclosure: I have not tried any of the listed gins, except for Larios 12, which I bought for the gin tonic sampling.

The tonic. Tonic water is essentially a carbonated drink, lightly sweetened and aromatized, that contains quinine, giving it the characteristic bitter flavor. As with gin, there are many brands and blends available. In addition to the regular sort, we tried elderflower tonic (Fever-Tree) and pink peppercorn tonic (Schweppes).

Hibiscus, pink peppercorns, cardamom, juniper.

The botanicals. Choose additions to the gin tonic to point up the botanicals in the gin or to complement them. Also, for pretty. Play bartender: try fresh herbs and flowers. Here are some suggestions: peels of lemon, lime, orange and grapefruit, plus wedges of citrus fruits; sprigs of fresh herbs such as basil, mint, fennel, rosemary, thyme, lemon verbena; olive leaves; cardamom; ginger; juniper berries; pink peppercorns; berries; dried hibiscus flowers; edible flowers or petals. 

At the supermarket, I found botanicals especially packaged for gin tonic, including juniper, pink peppercorns, cardamom and dried hibiscus flowers (Carmencita brand). From the booklet enclosed in the packet, here are instructions: “For the more classic gins, use lemon zest to heighten their aromas. For the smoother flavored gins, use orange zest. For the more floral and aromatic gins, use grapefruit zest.” 

The glasses. No, not a tall highball glass. For a Spanish gin tonic you need copas de balón, balloon glasses, wide-mouthed stemmed goblets. 

The ice. A mixologist pro would insist on absolutely clear cubes or cylinders, the larger the better, so as not to dilute the drink. You can also make ice with fruit juices or freeze flowers, berries or herbs in the cubes. (My experiment making clear ice did not work (boil water twice before freezing). Not only were the cubes not clear, but I cracked them in extracting from the tray! A friend brought a bag of ice purchased at the gas station.)

The gin tonic bar: The bottle on the left contains olive-oil washed gin. There's also a London dry gin and a premium Málaga gin, several kinds of tonic, citrus fruits for zesting, botanicals and fresh herbs and berries. 

How to mix a Gin Tonic: 

Chill the glasses. Add a couple of ice cubes to the glass. Swirl it around and add the ice to the next glass and repeat. Pour out any melted water. Fill the glasses with ice.

Rub the rim of the glass with a strip of citrus zest (orange, lemon, lime or grapefruit) and drop the zest into the glass. Or, use a sprig of fresh herb. In the photo, Ben has curled a strip of cucumber inside the glass and rubs the rim with fresh mint.

Additions to a gin tonic, clockwise from upper left, lemon verbena, basil, rosemary, olive leaves, raspberries, mint and thyme. 

Add botanicals. Muddle or crush juniper berries and fresh herbs very lightly to release their volatile oils and drop them into the glass. In the photo, Lars has crushed juniper berries in a mortar.

Add gin. Pour 2 fluid ounces/ 50 ml gin over the ice. Lars is sampling Larios 12, a gin produced in Málaga with 12 botanicals, including six citrics and a subtle whiff of orange blossom. 

Fill with tonic. Pour tonic water over the back of a spoon so as not to release the bubbles. 

Garnishes? Add flower petals, if using, to the top of the drink.

Olive Oil-Washed Gin

Gin Pasado por Aceite de Oliva

Half a bottle of gin on the left plus 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil.

I didn’t want to use a whole bottle of gin for this experiment—what if we didn’t like it? I used Beefeater, a traditional London dry gin, and Picual variety of extra virgin olive oil, which has a peppery bite to it. To prepare this oil-infused gin, you need a glass or plastic container with a lid, a fine strainer and a paper coffee filter. 

12 fl. ounces (1 ½ cups) dry London gin

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, Picual variety

Sprig of thyme (optional)

Combine the gin, oil and thyme, if using, in a jar. Put on the lid and shake well to combine the gin and oil. Leave the gin 24 hours to infuse, shaking occasionally.

Disc of frozen olive oil.

Place the container in the freezer overnight (8 hours), until the olive oil rises to the top and solidifies. (The gin will not freeze.)

Loosen the disc of frozen oil and remove it. Pour the gin through a fine strainer into a clean jar. Discard the thyme. Pour the strained gin through a dampened coffee filter into a bottle. Cap tightly. Gin is ready to use in cocktails.

(I used the “gin-washed olive oil” that was strained out for cherry gazpacho.)

The results: The olive oil was very subtle in the gin, but it gave the gin a nice "fatty" mouth-feel. A sprig of thyme and a Manzanilla olive aromatized the gin tonic nicely. The oil-washed gin might also be good in a dry martini.

More ideas for gin tonic:

Lemon Sangriá with Gin and Botanicals

Chamomile Gin.

Lemon Tonic Ice

THIS TAPA IS READY IN MINUTES

 

Tapas quick to prepare--mussels on the half-shell with vinaigrette dressing.

During the pandemic lockdown last year, when shopping was limited, I tried out various packaged and ready-made foods that normally I rarely buy. While I prefer not to have to return to packaged frozen fish, I did discover some products that I continue to use.

One is shrink-wrapped, cooked mussels in their shells. Refrigerated, they keep for a few weeks. (The packet I purchased on Aug. 12 has an expiration date of Sept. 28!) They are the same Galicia-raised mussels that I buy fresh. They’re clean and packed in their own juices. A one-kilo packet (about 2.2 pounds) contained 35 mussels. Only one had to be discarded because the shell was empty. 

I keep the mussels tucked in the coldest part of the fridge for when I get the urge to make mejillones a la marinera or curried mussels with coconut milk. They’re handy, too, for adding to paella or a sopa de mariscos. This week, I used them to make a cold dish that once was traditional in tapa bars where I live—mussels on the half-shell with a vinaigrette containing red and green peppers and onions. Starting with mussels that have already been steamed open or from a shrink-wrapped packet, they’re ready in minutes.

Pass a platter of these mussels at a party; eat them right off the shells.

Or, plate the mussels and serve as a starter.

Vinaigrette dressing adds a little tang and the crunch of raw peppers.

Another way to serve the mussels--shell them and combine with lettuce, sliced egg and potatoes.

Mussels Vinaigrette on the Half-Shell 

Mejillones en Sus Conchas con Vinagreta

These Galician mussels come cooked and shrink-wrapped in their own juices.

If your mussels don’t come packaged and ready-to-use, here’s how to prepare them: Scrub the mussels and pull off the “beards,” the seaweedy looking bit sticking out from the shells. Place them in a deep pan with a little water. Place on medium-high heat, cover the pan and cook until the mussel shells begin to open. Use a slotted spoon to remove the opened mussels. Stir the remaining ones and cook, covered, a minute longer until all the shells open. Remove the mussels from the heat. If they are to be stored, strain the liquid from the pan and pour it over the mussels to keep them moist. Cover tightly and refrigerate.

Discard empty half-shells.

2 dozen mussels, steamed open

Shredded lettuce, for serving

3 tablespoons finely chopped scallion or onion

3 tablespoons finely chopped green pepper

3 tablespoons finely chopped red bell pepper

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons lemon juice

¼ teaspoon salt

Hot pepper sauce, to taste

Remove and discard the empty half-shells from the mussels. 

Spread the shredded lettuce on a serving plate. Arrange the mussels in a single layer on the lettuce.

Arrange mussels on a serving plate.

Spoon vinaigrette on mussels.

In a small bowl combine the scallion, green and red pepper, parsley, oil, lemon juice and salt. Mix. Add hot pepper sauce to taste.

Spoon some of the vinaigrette and chopped vegetables into each mussel shell. 

More recipes with mussels:

Fried Stuffed Mussels (Tigres).

Galician Mussel and Potato Stew.

This recipe for Clams Marinera can be prepared with mussels.

IDEAS FOR LOW-CARB SUMMER MEALS

 

Grill some vegetables before putting the fish or meat on the grill. I got four different side dishes from these.

My aerobics group is on hiatus for the month of August. Good thing, too, as the thought of putting on socks and gym shoes is unbearable in this heat. While I’m hunkering down, it seems a good time to cut down on carbs such as bread, pasta, rice and other cereals and legumes. So, what’s to eat? Here are some ideas. 

• Dorada a la espalda (butterflied bream) on the grill with roasted red pepper salad and olivada sauce.
• Chicken breasts poached in olive oil with tomatoes and basil, a side of zoodles (zucchini noodles). .
• Grilled leg of lamb with three sauces (Turkish walnut-red pepper sauce; olivada and baba ghanoush) with Belgian endive leaves and cauliflower dippers and pita chips for the bread eaters at the table.
• Gazpacho for snacks, anytime of the day or night. 

These gilt-head bream (dorada) are opened up, a la espalda, so they grill in no time at all. Served with olivada sauce, sort of like tapenade, made with canned olives stuffed with anchovies, and a side of roasted pepper salad, using one of those red bell peppers, it was a lovely and quick meal for two.

One roasted pepper, peeled and dressed with extra virgin olive oil, salt and a few drops of Sherry vinegar made a side with the fish. The other three peppers I saved to make mujammara, a Turkish walnut and red pepper sauce, to go with another meal. 

No oven, no browning. Boneless chicken breasts are poached in a heavy, lidded pan with lots of olive oil and some cut-up tomatoes.  They're cooked in just 15 minutes. Sprigs of basil add a fresh flavor. Served with a side of zoodles (zucchini noodles) that cook in the microwave in 3 minutes.

No carbs, meat-centric--a boned leg of lamb on the grill. Sauces and dippers on the side. 

Three sauces to accompany the lamb or to serve with endive leaves and cauliflower florets for dipping. On the left is olivada, made to accompany the grilled fish, but pretty great with lamb, too. (Recipe for olivada is here ) At the top is baba ghanoush, made with the grilled eggplants and whole head of roasted garlic (recipe, with tahini, is from Claudia Roden's A Book of Middle Eastern Food.) On the right is mujammara, a Turkish sauce with walnuts and red peppers (mujammara recipe is here.)

Marinade for Grilled Lamb

Marinada para Cordero a la Parilla

This marinade is adapted from a recipe for Persian-style lamb kebabs. Grated onion in the marinade both tenderizes and flavors the meat. Add any combination of herbs and spices to the basic onion. Marinate the lamb up to 8 hours. Before grilling, bring it to room temperature and scrape off and discard the marinade. 

How long to grill the lamb will depend on type of grill (wood fire, charcoal or gas), thickness of the meat and preferred degree of doneness. At my house, son, Ben, is in charge of grilling—and he got it just right! 

1 large onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic

¼ cup loosely packed parsley

1 teaspoon oregano

Pinch of sumac (optional)

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

3 pounds boned and butterflied leg of lamb

Finely chop the onion, garlic, parsley, oregano and sumac, if using, in a blender or food processor. Add 1 teaspoon salt and pepper. 

Spread open the piece of lamb. Trim off excess fat. Place in a rimmed sheet. Spread half the marinade on the skin side and turn the lamb, skin-side down. Spread remaining marinade on the meat’s surface. Cover with foil and refrigerate at least 2 hours and up to 8 hours.

To grill the lamb, scrape off excess marinade. 

No-Bread Gazpacho

Gazpacho Sin Pan

Gazpacho is a glass, perfect for sipping on a hot afternoon.

Or serve gazpacho in bowls as a starter. Drizle with additional olive oil. Add chopped serrano ham and, for bread eaters, crunchy croutons.

With a heap of tomatoes left from last week’s tasting of tomato varieties and soaring temperatures (38ºC/100ºF) I crave gazpacho. I love the traditional recipe for Andalusian gazpacho, in which a bread and olive oil emulsion gives body and smoothness to the tomatoes. But, cutting carbs, I’m eating no bread this month. Here’s an alternative version, with almonds in place of bread, that was every bit as satisfying as the traditional.

Blend chunked tomato.

The best way to prepare tomatoes for gazpacho is to chunk them up and blend them—skins, seeds and all—to a puree, then sieve the pulp to produce a silky-smooth tomato blend. 

The addition of green pepper, onion and cucumber is optional. Use  a piece, to taste, of each, for example, a 2-inch chunk of cucumber and a quarter of a green pepper and onion suit me about right. Use your best extra virgin olive oil; the flavor is important. Thin the gazpacho with water—from ¼ to 1 cup. A sipping gazpacho should be the consistency of light cream, but, if served in a bowl with a spoon, it can be thicker. 

Pour the finished gazpacho into a covered pitcher (or plastic water bottle) and chill in the fridge. Serve it in glasses for sipping or in bowls garnished with chopped serrano ham, grapes or melon, or, for those eating bread, crispy croutons.

Almonds replace bread in this gazpacho.

2 pounds ripe tomatoes

Piece of green pepper

Piece of sweet onion

Piece of peeled cucumber

2 cloves garlic

½ cup skinned almonds

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon Sherry vinegar

½ teaspoon salt or to taste

Water to thin the gazpacho

Cut the tomatoes, pepper, onion and cucumber into chunks and place in a large bowl. With an immersion blender, blend the vegetables until pureed. 

Sieve out seeds, skins.

Push the puree through a fine sieve, pressing on the solids to extract as much pulp as possible. Do this in two or three batches if necessary. Discard the solids left in the sieve.

Return about a quarter of the puree to the large bowl. Add the garlic and almonds and blend until they are finely ground. Blend in the oil, vinegar and salt. Beat in the remaining three-quarters of the tomato puree.  Thin the gazpacho with water. Chill the gazpacho.