MY KITCHEN IN SPAIN: THE HOLIDAY TABLE

Salmon fillet in the center of the plate, on the side are broccoli with alioli gratin and double-mashed potatoes with pimentón. (Recipe for the double-mashed potatoes is below.)

Are you planning holiday menus? Here are some ideas—with Spanish flavors—for side dishes to accompany the suckling pig or baby lamb, roast duck or haunch of ham, standing rib or side of salmon, brace of partridge or lobster amoricaine. If it’s to be a vegetarian feast, serve a collection of sides as the main attraction.

Beans

Green Bean and Ham Sauté

Habichuelas Salteadas con Jamón

Chopped serrano ham adds a flavor punch to green beans. Use smoked cooked ham, instead, or omit for a vegetarian dish. The beans can be par-boiled in advance, then quickly sautéed right before serving. Beans go great with roast turkey. Recipe link: Hasta la Vista, Beans.

Broccoli

Broccoli with Alioli Gratin

Broccoli Gratinado con Alioli

This broccoli dish would go nicely next to grilled steak, pork chops or salmon fillet. Cook the broccoli crisp-tender, spread it with alioli (garlic mayonnaise) and pop it under the broiler to brown. (I topped the salmon fillet with alioli too for a gratin finish under the broiler.) Recipe link: Broccoli Is Trending.

Red Cabbage

Red Cabbage, Castillian Style

Lombarda a la Castellana

Red cabbage is a very traditional vegetable for Spanish Christmas feasts. Its vibrant color adds to a festive table. This easy to prepare version is cooked in white wine with prunes. Red cabbage goes especially well with roast pork, venison or goose. Recipe link: Christmas Dinner.

Carrots

Sweet and Sour Carrots

Zanahorias con Miel y Vinagre

Based on an 18th Century recipe, these carrots are spiced with caraway and topped with pistachios. Honey and wine vinegar give a sweet and sour flavor. Serve the carrots with roast goose or pork.

Recipe link: 18th Century Recipes for Today.

Cardoons

Cardoons in Almond Sauce

Cardos en Salsa de Almendras

Cardoons is a vegetable that turns up at the festive Christmas Eve meal in Aragón, Navarra and La Rioja. The unwieldy stalks take some work to prepare, but they can be found precooked in jars in Spanish supermarkets. Cardoons taste a lot like artichokes, to which they are related, so use this recipe for frozen artichoke hearts as well. Cardoons would go nicely with a fish or chicken dish. Recipe link: With a Side of Cardoons.

Cauliflower

Cauliflower with Almond Sauce and Black Garlic

Coliflor con Salsa de Almendras y Ajo Negro

Truffled cauliflower? No, the cauliflower is studded with pieces of black garlic, a mild, slightly sweet condiment that makes this vegetable dish special. Sure, you could use truffles instead! Cauliflower with almond sauce is a very traditional side dish for the Christmas Eve meal. Serve it with turkey roulade, pork tenderloins or baby lamb. Made with vegetable stock in place of chicken stock, the almond sauce makes a good vegan gravy. Recipe link: El Toque Final.

Chard

Rainbow Chard with Apricots and Pine Nuts

Acelga Roja con Orejones y Piñones

This recipe derives from a classic—espinacas con pasas y piñones, spinach (or chard leaves) with raisins and pine nuts. Using rainbow chard and beet greens turns it into a colorful side dish. This would be especially good with roast lamb, chicken or shrimp. For a vegetarian version, omit the bacon. Recipe link: Seasonal Color.

Mushrooms

Pickled Mushrooms

Setas en Escabeche

These pickled mushrooms, prepared in advance, are ready to serve at the holiday table. With thyme, peppercorns and a bit of chile, they would add zest to any meal. Maybe with a thick grilled steak or poached turbot. Recipe link: Relish the Season.

Onions

Scarlet-Pickled Onions

Cebolletas Escarlatas

Aren’t these pretty? Not red onions, but onions tinted scarlet with beet juice, a recipe from La Mancha, where it is served with partridge pâté. Serve the onions alongside any sort of pâté, on a cheese board, with salads or with burgers. Recipe link: Relish the Season.

Potatoes

Double-Mashed Potatoes

Patatas Revolconas

This is a rustic dish from Extremadura that has become a popular tapa in Madrid tascas. It’s an incredibly versatile version of mashed potatoes that will go with almost any main. No gravy needed! The potatoes are flavored with smoked pimentón and kept moist with plenty of olive oil. Bacon is optional; the potatoes make a perfectly delicious vegetarian dish without it. They’re also good cooked and mashed with vegetables such as sweet potatoes, parsnips or cauliflower. Recipe link: below.

Sweet Potatoes

Sweet Potatoes with Fennel and Clementines

Batatas con Hinojo y Clementinas

This side dish can be prepared in advance and served room temperature. Serve it as a starter or present it on a big platter for a buffet meal. The contrast of flavors and texture—sweet potatoes, crisp fennel and tangy citrus—make it a good side with baked ham or roast duck. Recipe link: Seasonal Color on the Table.

Double-Mashed Potatoes

Patatas Revolconas

Pimentón is the Spanish word for paprika. In this case it is Pimentón de la Vera, smoked pimentón from La Vera in Extremadura, both sweet and hot (picante). If hot pimentón is not available, use cayenne, to taste.

Use more or less garlic, depending on what you plan to accompany the potatoes with. Chopped or sliced, the garlic is a noticeable presence. If preferred, crush it so it mixes with the oil and pimentón.

The potatoes can be cooked peeled or unpeeled. Drain the cooking water, saving about 1 cup of it to use in mashing the potatoes. If unpeeled, skin the potatoes once they are cool enough to handle. Use a fork or potato masher to crush the potatoes, leaving the potatoes somewhat lumpy.

The potatoes can be served immediately after mixing them with the pimentón in the skillet. Or they can be prepared in advance. Cover the potatoes and refrigerate. Bring them to room temperature and spoon them into an oven dish. Drizzle with a little additional oil and reheat in a medium oven.

Serves 4.

1 ½ pounds mature potatoes

Salt

1 bay leaf

1 ounce diced bacon (optional)

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 ½ teaspoon smoked sweet pimentón

¼ teaspoon smoked hot pimentón

½ teaspoon cumin

Cook the potatoes in boiling salted water with the bay leaf until they are fork-tender, about 25 minutes. Drain them, saving 1 cup of the cooking water.

Peel the potatoes. Use a fork or potato masher to crush them, adding a little of the reserved cooking water as needed (about ¼ cup). Reserve the potatoes.

Heat the oil and bacon, if using, in a heavy skillet. When the bacon is browned, tip the skillet so the oil runs to one side and use a slotted spoon to lift out the bacon. Reserve it.

Add the garlic to the skillet and cook just until it begins to turn golden. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the two kinds of pimentón and the cumin. Begin adding the potatoes, mashing them into the oil and garlic. Once all the potatoes have been incorporated, add enough of the reserved cooking water to make the potatoes the desired consistency. Heat thoroughly.

Serve the potatoes hot, topped with the fried bacon, if desired. If serving at a later time, reheat the potatoes in a medium oven.