BRUNCH, ANDALUSIAN STYLE

 

Desayuno molinero--breakfast at an olive mill--perfect for brunch or lunch.

As I was picking olives this week, my mind wandered, remembering olive picking in Jaén and a fabulous desayuno molinero—olive millers’ breakfast—that I enjoyed at an olive mill. What a spread! Toasted bread with new olive oil. Bowls of herb-flavored olives. Sliced ham and cold cuts. Fresh goat’s cheese and aged cheese in olive oil. Sliced tomatoes and sliced oranges, both bathed in green-gold oil.

The desayuno molinero once was a working-man’s breakfast in the mills, where work went on seven days a week during the season (usually October until January). Bread toasted on a wood fire and oil drawn off from the settling tanks were the basis, with other foods contributed to the potluck breakfast by the workers. In more recent times, the breakfast has became a more festive get-together, marking the opening or closing of the milling season, a saint´s day (milling continues even during holidays) or the arrival of buyers for an oil tasting. With the growth of oleo-turismo, tour groups also arrive at oil cooperatives for the typical breakfast spread.

A desayuno molinero makes a fine Sunday brunch or buffet lunch. It can be totally simple—toast, olive oil, deli cold cuts and cheese—or sumptuous with, for example, a whole ibérico ham, several kinds of cheeses, a selection of extra virgin oils, cold and hot dishes. 

If it’s breakfast, you need coffee. In bygone times, the millers made café de puchero. (Bring water to a boil in a metal or earthenware cookpot. Remove from heat and add freshly ground coffee. Cover the pot and infuse the coffee three minutes. Pour the coffee through a cloth strainer into a jug to serve.) The coffee was often served in ceramic bowls rather than cups, with heated goat’s milk or, when fresh milk was not available, canned sweetened condensed milk. I have seen country folk douse bread with olive oil and break the bread into the milky, sweetened coffee creating a sort of breakfast porridge. 

Breakfast in an Andalusian olive mill also means local wine—perhaps Montilla-Moriles from Córdoba or Málaga moscatel seco. Real campesinos might also take a copa of aguardiente, anise brandy, para matar el gusanillo, to kill the little “worm” of hunger that gnaws the insides.

Some of the foods suitable for a desayuno molinero: from top left, various kinds of bread and toast; extra virgin olive oil; coffee; tortas de aceite (olive oil cookies); brine-cured olives; fresh white goat's cheese; sliced ibérico chorizo and salchichón; tomato wedges with olive oil; sliced ibérico ham, desalted and cooked bacalao (cod); hard-boiled quails' eggs; oranges; colored lard for spreading (manteca colorada), and, in the center, copitas of muscatel wine. 

Bread might be thick slices of a round country loaf (pan cateto), assorted crusty rolls (bollos) or soft buns (molletes). Toasted or not, the bread is generously spread with olive oil. Surprisingly, toast “buttered” with oil is really good with orange marmalade or any fruit jam. If you prefer savory, rub the toast with a cut clove of garlic before sprinkling on the oil. Top it with sliced tomatoes and cheese, ham or sausage. 

Be sure to include oranges. Sprinkled with olive oil, oranges are special. They can be finished with onions, olives and shredded cod for a sort of salad or sprinkled with brown sugar or honey for a sweet.

Cooked dishes might include a potato tortilla or, as described by Mort Rosenblum in Olives—The Life and Lore of a Noble Fruit, huevos a la mala educación, or “ineptly done eggs,” fried in, of course, olive oil and broken into pieces. Or, even migas, bread crumbs fried in oil with bits of sausage, salt pork and garlic.

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These are new-batch brine-cured olives,  DOP  (denominación de origen protegida) Aceitunas Aloreña de Málaga, purchased locally. My own olives have only begun the curing process. 

In bygone times, dry salt cod (bacalao) was a staple in rural kitchens because it needed no refrigeration. Small chunks could be toasted on the wood fire, then shredded and soaked briefly in water to add to salads or to cooked dishes. This cod has been soaked 8 hours to desalt it, then put into simmering water for 2 minutes. 

Shredded cod adds a salty contrast to sliced oranges with onions and olives, all dressed with extra virgin olive oil.

Sliced oranges with olive oil are also good sprinkled with brown sugar or honey.

Tomatoes and olive oil, the perfect pairing. Heap them on bread or mix with cheese to create a salad.

Hard-boiled quails' eggs. Other egg dishes such as tortilla, revuelto or fried eggs and potatoes could be served at the brunch.

Fresh goat's cheese is good drizzled with oil and sprinkled with herbs or, as dessert, served with honey, quince jam, or fresh fruit. 

Manteca colorada, rendered lard flavored with pimentón (paprika) and flecked with shreds of pork loin. Don't knock it till you've tried it! Spread on hot toast, it is delicious and, incidentally, no worse than butter for your health. Olive oil, of course, is better than both.

Salad of Oranges, Olives and Cod

Ensalada de Naranjas con Aceitunas y Bacalao

Sliced oranges

Sliced onions or scallions

Salt-cured green olives

Shredded cod (desalted and cooked)

Extra virgin olive oil

Sherry vinegar

Arrange sliced oranges on a serving plate. Add onions and olives. Scatter the cod over the oranges. Sprinkle the oranges generously with oil and a few drops of vinegar. 

More recipes for an Andalusian brunch:

Buns (Molletes).

Farm-Style Fried Breadcrumbs (Migas).

Toasts with Tomato and Olive Oil.

Fried Eggs and Potatoes (Huevos Rotos).

Confit of Pork Loin in Red Lard (Manteca Colorada).

Olives to oil at a small olive mill, here. 

A WEEKDAY PAELLA

 

You can have this paella on the table in less than an hour--perfect for a weekday.

World Paella Day falls this year on an ordinary Monday (Sept. 20). So, instead of a grand, Sunday production for a crowd, I’m adjusting my recipe to make a weekday paella to serve only two.

What makes this a weekday paella? I’ve cut a few corners, making it fairly quick to prepare. Frozen fish fillets, a package of boneless chicken thighs, canned mussels. The sofrito gets short shrift, done in 5 minutes instead of 30. The small pieces of chicken don’t need slow browning. I’ve used canned, crushed tomatoes and reduced them on high heat. (For an authentic Valencia paella recipe, step by step, see The Secret to Great Paella.)

The recipe is for paella Parellada, “boneless” paella, supposedly invented in Barcelona in the 19th century for a finicky diner (his surname was Parellada) who didn’t want to mess with fish spines, shrimp shells and chicken bones. 

It’s a paella mixta, mixed paella, because it includes meat (chicken and sausage), fish (angler) and shellfish (shrimp, cuttlefish and mussels). You can use all of these ingredients or pick and choose among them, according to availability, tastes and prep time. 

Dinner for two, paella rice with fish, shellfish, chicken and vegetables.

Paella Parellada is a "boneless" paella--no shrimp or mussel shells, no fish bones, boneless chicken pieces. 

Boneless Paella

Paella Parellada

This recipe generously serves two, but, as a tapa, starter or light meal, it easily extends to serve four.

Use boneless, skinless chicken thigh or breast, cut into 1 ½-inch pieces. Firm-fleshed, boneless anglerfish is best because it’s so easy to cut bone-free chunks off the center spine. Boneless chunks of any white fish can be substituted. Use cuttlefish, if available. Pieces of squid or whole scallops could substitute. Use cooked and shelled clams or mussels, fresh or canned. Butifarra is a Catalan sausage. If not available, use any pork link sausage. Saffron is optional; pimentón colors the rice. Use grated fresh tomatoes or canned crushed (triturado) tomatoes. Bomba is the best rice for this paella, but any medium, round-grained rice is fine. If possible, use fish or shellfish stock for the liquid to cook the paella. Otherwise, use chicken stock or water.

Ingredients for the paella: in the center are medallions of anglerfish, peeled shrimp, and pieces of cuttlefish. Clockwise from top left: canned crushed tomatoes, Sherry, boneless chicken thighs, Bomba rice, frozen peas, romano green beans, pimentón, Butifarra sausage, canned mussels and diced red bell pepper.

3 tablespoons olive oil

4 peeled jumbo shrimp (2 ½ ounces)

4 medallions of angler fish (6 ounces)

6 ounces boneless chicken, cut in pieces

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

4 slices butifarra or other sausage (1 ½ ounces)

¼ cup diced red bell pepper

¼ cup chopped onion

3 ounces cuttlefish, cut in pieces 

1 teaspoon pimentón (sweet paprika)

Saffron threads (optional)

½ cup crushed tomato

3 tablespoons Sherry

1 cup Bomba rice

2 ¼ cups fish broth

4 romano green beans, cut in 1-inch lengths (2 ounces)

¼ cup frozen peas, thawed

8 canned mussels, drained

For the picada:

2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley

1 clove garlic, minced

5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Flaky salt

Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a paella pan on moderate heat. Add the shrimp and fish medallions and sauté, turning once, until they are lightly colored. The shrimp should be completely cooked; the angler, partially cooked. Remove them from the pan.

Add the chicken and slices of sausage to the pan and cook them until browned. Remove them.

dd the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil to the pan with the red pepper, onion and pieces of cuttlefish. Sauté 2 minutes until onion is softened. Stir in the pimentón and saffron, if using. Add the crushed tomato and raise the heat to cook off the liquid, 2 minutes. Add the Sherry and cook off the alcohol, 1 minute. Add the rice and stir for 1 minute. Add the broth and bring the liquid to a boil. Cook the paella on moderately high heat for 5 minutes.

Blanch the green beans in boiling water for 2 minutes and drain them. Add the beans to the pan with the reserved chicken and sausage. Stir to distribute all the ingredients, then don’t stir again. Reduce the heat to moderate and cook 10 minutes. 

Place the pieces of fish in the rice. Place the shrimp on top. Scatter the peas over the rice. Place the mussels around the edge. Cook until the rice is al dente and the liquid absorbed, about 4 minutes more.

Add parsley picada.

While the paella is cooking, make the picada. Combine the parsley, garlic, olive oil and salt. 

Remove the paella from the heat. Spoon some of the picada mixture over the top. Cover the pan with a cloth or sheet of foil and allow the paella to rest 5 minutes before serving. Accompany with remaining picada.

Allow paella to stand 5 minutes before serving.

ALMONDS—TIME TO GET CRACKING!

 

Part of this year's almond harvest. Time to get cracking!

I wanted a handful of almonds to make ajo blanco, a white gazpacho made with crushed almonds. We ended up picking a bushel of the nuts, which are beginning to fall off the trees. Let’s get cracking!

Besides ajo blanco, I made a batch of almendras fritas, unskinned almonds fried in olive oil and spiced with cumin and pimentón, and almendras tostadas, blanched and skinned almonds toasted in the microwave. They make delicious snacks or accompaniment to cocktails.

Almonds are the perfect accompaniment to cocktails or Sherry. In the foreground, microwave-toasted almonds, and, on the left, unskinned almonds fried in olive oil and spiced with pimentón and cumin.

Add toasted or fried almonds to autumn salads. This one combines sweet pears, fresh goat's cheese, crunchy celery, toasted almonds and a hint of fennel.

I wear gloves to crack almonds--not to prevent smacking my thumb, but to protect my fingertips from the pressure of the pointy shells. Do I need an almond shelling machine? 

One pound almonds in their shells makes approximately 1 cup (5 ounces) shelled almonds. 

To blanch and skin almonds: place the almonds in boiling water for 1 minute. Drain and cover them with cold water. While the almonds are still warm, pinch off the tip of the skins and squeeze out the white almonds. Discard skins.

Fried Spiced Almonds

Almendras Fritas con Especias

These unskinned almonds are fried until golden in olive oil (include a couple almonds that have been skinned so as to be able to see when they turn golden). After draining on paper towels, they are sprinkled with cumin, salt and pimentón.

To better see when the almonds are toasted, include one or two skinned almonds or a few almonds that have been cut in half. Moderate the heat so the almonds don’t fry too fast and scorch. 

When the oil is cool, strain it and save for other uses. 

2 cups (10 ounces) unskinned almonds

1 ½ cups olive oil

1/8 teaspoon cumin

1/8 teaspoon smoked pimentón (paprika), sweet or picante

½ teaspoon salt

Fry almonds in olive oil.

Heat the oil in a skillet on moderately-high. Add the almonds and fry them, turning frequently with a spatula or skimmer, until they are toasted, about 2 minutes. Skim them out to drain on paper towels. 

Combine the cumin, pimentón and salt. While the fried almonds are still warm, sprinkle them with the blended spices and toss them to mix.

Let the almonds cool completely before storing in a jar.

Drain almonds on paper towels and toss with spices.

Microwave-Toasted Almonds

Almendras Tostadas en Microonda

These almonds have been blanched and skinned, then toasted with a small quantity of olive oil in the microwave. They are done when golden. Perhaps these could have had another minute, to get a little darker.

1 cup blanched and skinned almonds

1 teaspoon olive oil

Salt

Add 1 teaspoon oil to almonds.

In a bowl combine the almonds with the oil. Stir to coat the almonds. Spread them in a microwave-safe shallow bowl. Cover with a microwave-safe lid. Microwave the almonds on High for 1 minute. Remove the bowl and toss the almonds. Return and microwave on High 1 minute. Stir and microwave 30 seconds more or until the almonds are beginning to turn golden.

Sprinkle the almonds with salt. Allow to cool completely before storing. 

Pear and Almond Salad

Ensalada con Peras y Almendras

Toasted almonds add crunch to salad with pears and cheese.

I used queso fresco de cabra, fresh, soft white goat’s cheese, in this salad. Feta or fresh mozzarella would be good substitutes (careful with added salt if using feta). Or, maybe, blue cheese?

Serves 4.

12 ounces firm, ripe pears (2-4, depending on size)

Lemon juice

6 ounces fresh goat cheese

½ cup chopped celery or raw fennel

2 tablespoons finely chopped red bell pepper

Red pepper flakes, to taste

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon Sherry vinegar

Pinch of fennel seeds

Salt, to taste

¼ cup toasted almonds

Salad greens to serve

Peel the pears. Slice them around the cores. Cut the slices into dice and place in a bowl. Add a squeeze of lemon juice and stir gently. Cut the cheese into cubes and add to the pears with the chopped celery and chopped red pepper. Sprinkle with red pepper flakes to taste. Add the oil, vinegar, fennel seeds, salt and half of the almonds. Stir very gently to combine.

Divide greens between four salad plates. Mound the pear-cheese-almond mixture on the greens. Scatter remaining toasted almonds on top.

I´ve finished the salads with sprigs of wild fennel flowers.

Another almond snack: Crunchy Caramel Almonds (Garrapiñadas).

Recipes for White Gazpacho with Almonds (Ajo Blanco):

White Gazpacho Shooters with Grapes.

Ajo Blanco Sauce with Grilled Chicken and Figs.

Cold Almond Cream (Mazamorra).

Chilled White Almond Gazpacho with Apples.

Fallen almonds, some still in their outer husks, are camouflaged by leaves and stones. 

WHAT TO COOK WHEN THE ELECTRIC BILL SOARS

This week the cost of electricity in Spain reached a historical high--€140 for a megawatt hour of electricity. Almost every day for the past two weeks has superseded the previous day. (Why the spike in the electric bill? See below**.) 

I’m using the air conditioner as little as possible--mercifully, the temperatures have been tolerable. Next, I set out to minimize my use of electricity in the kitchen. No oven and minimal cooking on the (electric) stove. These two recipes utilize the microwave and quick-cooking techniques. (A pressure cooker or Instant Pot is another energy-saving tool as is an outdoor wood or gas grill.) I run the dishwasher after midnight, when the electricity rates go down.

Chicken Poached in a Pot

Pollo a la Cazuela

Small chicken poaches in about 30 minutes. Serve it whole or cut up.

A small broiler—the one pictured weighs 2 pounds 2 ounces—cooks in 30 minutes on top of the stove and uses less power than the oven. Two small chickens would cook just as quickly and provide more servings. Serve the poached chicken hot, just as you would a roast chicken. Or cut it up for cold dishes another day. 

Serves 2-4.

 

1 whole small chicken (2 pounds)

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

3 tablespoons olive oil

3 slices lemon

3 slices onions

1 tomato, cut in wedges

1 clove garlic, slivered

1 bay leaf

Sprig of thyme

Sprig of rosemary

½ teaspoon smoked pimentón (paprika)

¼ cup white wine

Pimentón adds color.

Sprinkle the chicken inside and out with salt and pepper. Allow it to come to room temperature.

Put 2 tablespoons of oil in a pot just large enough to hold the chicken. Place the lemon and onions slices on the bottom of the pot. Set the chicken, breast side up, on top. Add the wedges of tomato, slivers of garlic, bay leaf, thyme and rosemary. In a small cup, stir the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil with the pimentón. Drizzle the oil over the chicken, saving a little to use with the cooked chicken. Pour the wine around the chicken.

Place the pot on moderately high heat until the liquid in the bottom begins to boil. Cover the pot and reduce the heat to low, so the liquid bubbles gently. Cook the chicken 15 minutes.

Uncover the chicken and carefully turn it, breast side down. Bring the liquid again to a full boil, place the lid on and reduce heat to medium low. Cook 15 minutes.

Test the chicken for doneness. If it has reached at least 145ºF in the thickest part of the thigh, bring the liquid again to a boil, cover the pot tightly and turn off the heat. Allow to stand 15 minutes. (If it does not register 145ºF, continue cooking 5 to 10 minutes longer.)

Remove the chicken from the pot. If serving the chicken immediately, brush it with the reserved oil with pimentón and serve accompanied by the juices from the pot. Otherwise, carve the chicken and store it, refrigerated, with the strained juices.

Serve chicken hot or cold. It's also good deboned for chicken salad.

Stuffed Peppers

Pimientos Rellenos

Bell pepper with meat stuffing, melted cheese on top, cooked in the microwave.

Split large peppers in half.

These stuffed peppers are cooked in the microwave. This turns out not to be as energy-efficient as I intended, as, due to size limitations, I had to cook them in two batches.

These peppers are enormous! For stuffing, they’re best split open lengthwise, one half per person. If you have instead those nice squat bell peppers, slice off their tops and allow a whole one per person. Optional: if you want to take the time, after the peppers have been microwaved the first time and allowed to stand, peel away the skins. 

For the stuffing, choose your preferred meat—beef, lamb, pork, chicken, turkey. I’ve used boneless ground chicken thighs. 

Rather than make a proper sofrito with fresh tomatoes, to save on cooking time, I used canned tomate frito, a simple prepared tomato sauce. 

Chop cooked eggplant.

Cooked eggplant takes the place of rice or bread crumbs in the stuffing mixture, adding bulk and preventing the meat from compacting too much. I “roasted” a medium eggplant in the microwave, scraped out the pulp and chopped it. 

2-4 bell peppers (1 ½ pounds)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 slice bacon (½ ounce), diced

1 cup chopped onion

1 clove garlic, chopped

½ teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon pimentón (paprika)

1 ½ pounds ground meat

1 cup cooked and chopped eggplant

1/3 cup white wine

¼ cup tomate frito (tomato sauce)

1 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground black pepper

½ cup grated cheese

Sliced cheese 

Split the peppers open or slice off the tops and shake out the seeds. Place them in a microwave-safe dish and cover with plastic wrap. Microwave the peppers on “high” until the peppers are softened, 6-8 minutes. Allow them to stand inside the microwave 5 minutes. (If necessary, repeat with second batch.) 

Add grated cheese to cooked meat.

Heat the oil and diced bacon on moderately-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and sauté them 2 minutes. Add the cumin, pimentón and ground meat. Fry the meat, breaking it up with a wooden paddle, until it begins to lose its pinkness. Add the cooked eggplant and wine. Cook, stirring, to cook off the alcohol, 1 minute. Add the tomato sauce, salt and pepper. Cook on medium heat 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the grated cheese.

Cover with plastic wrap.

Place the peppers in the microwave-safe dish. Spoon the meat filling into the shells. Place a slice of cheese on top of each one. Cover the peppers with plastic wrap.

Microwave on High until the cheese is melted, 4 to 5 minutes. Serve the peppers hot or room temperature. If desired, serve with additional tomate frito (tomato sauce) on top.

More quick-cooking recipes:

Sea Bass Papillote in the Microwave.

Turkey Breast Adobo in the Microwave.

Microwave Chocolate Cake.

Microwave Zucchini and Cherry Tomatoes.

Tuna with Olive Sauce.

**Why the spike in my electric bill? First, in a rebounding economy, the cost of natural gas (which fuels many power plants) has risen sharply on the global market. Secondly, the cost of carbon dioxide emissions is soaring, driven by the EU’s ambitious climate policy. While the cost of natural gas will fluctuate, the Co2 cost will likely continue to rise. It is what power plants in the European Union pay to emit carbon dioxide. The EU Emissions Trading System (ETS), established in 2005 to incentivize reduction in greenhouse gases, entered its fourth stage this year with a time-to-get-serious increase in the pace of annual cap reduction. The move is in line with EU legislation to reduce emissions by at least 40% by 2030 – as part of the EU's 2030 climate and energy framework and current contribution to the Paris Agreement.

In June, the Spanish government reduced IVA (value added tax) on electric bills from 21percent to 10percent to somewhat offset the rise. But it looks like the only way to lower electric bills is faster conversion to non Co2-creating energy sources.