MAGDALENAS—EVOCATIVE LITTLE CAKES

 

Magdalena with linden-flower tea.

If Proust had been named Pérez, he might have recalled dipping a magdalena, rather than a madeleine, into his tia’s cup of tila (linden-flower tea). The magdalena is Spain’s rendition of this little tea cake. 

A magdalena resembles a small muffin or a cupcake in size. Proust’s madeleine was baked in a small scalloped mold, but  nowadays magdalenas are generally round or square.

French madeleines are confected with butter, but the magdalena is made with oil, preferably extra virgin olive. It’s not as cakey as a cupcake, nor is it ever frosted. A magdalena is not as dense as a muffin and would not normally have anything such as raisins, blueberries or chopped nuts incorporated. It is basically a tiny sponge cake, scented with lemon zest.

In Spain, magdalenas are served for breakfast—lovely dipped in café con leche, milky tea or chocolate—or for merienda, afternoon snack, with a cup of tea. The Proustian memory is of his aunt dipping a madeleine into an aromatic tisane of tilleul (linden flower, lime blossom, tila in Spanish). Any herb tea or chai goes with magdalenas. Serve them with sweet wine or liqueurs as well. Magdalenas also make a good base for desserts—add fruit and whipped cream or a dollop of rich yogurt for a shortcake shortcut.  

Not cupcakes, not muffins. These are magdalenas, small sponge cakes that make perfect snacks. 

Not overly sweet, the little cakes are scented with lemon zest.

Just right for a coffee break, a gluten-free magdalena. To dunk or not to dunk?

Use magdalenas as the base for desserts--on the left, with sliced strawberry and Greek yogurt; on the right, with sliced mango and caramel syrup. Yes, that is a giant strawberry in the foreground.

I’ve made two different batches of magdalenas. The second recipe is gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free. While these did not pouf up so high as the regular version, with wheat flour, they were equally delicious.

Lemon-Scented Tea Cakes

Magdalenas

A mild-flavored olive oil, such as Arbequina, is good for these delicate cakes, but any extra virgin olive oil is fine. 

Although not traditional, I have added a pinch of saffron, infused in the milk, to the batter. It adds a subtle flavor and golden color.   

Two important tips to making these little cakes. One, beat the eggs and sugar until they are thickened and pale, four or five minutes with electric mixer or whisk. And, secondly, allow the batter to chill at least four hours before baking.

Chilling the batter makes a puffier cake.

The experiment: I divided one batch of magdalena  batter in half. I baked off one half (eight cakes) immediately. I chilled the remaining batter 4 hours before baking eight more cakes. The second batch, from chilled batter (the cake pictured on the left), rose a half-inch higher than the first (pictured on the right).  I don't know why, but chilling the batter  produces cakes that are nicely domed. (The gluten-free cakes, not pictured here, were chilled before baking, but did not pouf up as high as the regular ones.)  I suggest chilling the batter  for at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours before baking. 

Makes 16 (2 ½-inch) cakes

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

¼ cup milk

Pinch of saffron threads (optional)

3 large eggs

¾ cup + 1 teaspoon sugar

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

Grated zest of 1 lemon

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Combine the milk and saffron, if using.

Beat the eggs in a mixing bowl for one minute. Add the ¾ cup of sugar and beat with an electric mixer until the mixture is pale and thick and increased in volume, 3 minutes. Beat in the milk with saffron, then the oil. On low speed, beat in the sifted flour.

Cover the bowl and refrigerate the batter for 4 hours or up to 24 hours.

Preheat oven to 425ºF. Place cupcake liners or muffin papers (cápsulas para magdalenas) in muffin trays. Remove batter from the refrigerator. 

Sprinkle on sugar before baking.

Fill the liners ¾ full. Sprinkle tops with a little sugar. 

Place the tray(s) in the oven. Reduce oven temperature to 400ºF. Bake 15 minutes without opening the oven. Test the cakes for doneness. They should feel springy when lightly pressed and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Return them to the oven until lightly golden, about 3 minutes more.

Cool the trays on a rack 5 minutes. Carefully remove the cakes from the trays and cool completely on a rack. The cakes keep in an air-tight container up to a week.

Gluten-Free Tea Cakes

Magdalenas sin Gluten

I used a mix (total 1 ¾ cups, about 7.5 ounces) of rice flour and cornstarch (cornflour) in place of all-purpose wheat flour. You could use any gluten-free cake flour. I added almond flour for a little texture. 

I used a non-caloric sweetener especially for baking (King Arthur® Baking Sugar Alternative). This product, which I have not found in Spain, has a mix of ingredients that, like sugar, adds volume and bulk as well as sweetness to baked goods.  

On a whim, I mixed about ½ teaspoon of dried linden flowers (from a tila tea bag) with the flour. I did not notice the flavor in the finished magdalenas whatsoever, so I’ve not included that ingredient in the recipe. I think it would require a larger quantity of the dry leaves or else a strong infusion. 

Two kinds of gluten-free flour.

Makes 10 (2 ½-inch cakes).

¾ cup rice flour

1 cup cornstarch

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt 

1/3 cup almond flour (unsweetened)

3 eggs

¾ cup sweetener for baking or sugar

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

¼ cup almond milk (unsweetened)

Grated zest of 1 lemon

Sift together the rice flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt. Stir in the almond flour. Set the dry ingredients aside.

Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs in a bowl until they are pale and increased in volume, 4 minutes. Beat in the sweetener or sugar. Beat in the oil and the milk. Add the lemon zest. Fold in the dry ingredients until batter is smooth. Cover and chill the batter at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours.

Preheat oven to 400ºF. Line muffin cups with liners. Remove the batter from the refrigerator. Fill muffin cups ¾ full. Place them in the oven and reduce oven temperature to 375ºF. Bake about 18 minutes until cakes are lightly golden and springy when pressed lightly.

Cool the muffin cups on a rack 5 minutes. Remove the cakes and cool completely on a rack. Store the cakes in an air-tight container.

The gluten-free magdalenas did not pouf up as much as the regular ones, even though the batter was chilled. 

More recipes for gluten-free and sugar-free baked goods:

Chocolate-Almond Cake.

Almond Torte.

Applesauce-Prune Spice Cake.

GARLIC: LESS IS MORE

 

Only a few cloves of garlic to flavor a simple oil sauce.

Two big wild-caught sole (each almost a pound and a half) called for a really simple preparation. I roasted them whole and served the fish with a refrito de ajo, olive oil with garlic. 

“Refrito” means “refried,” but the preparation is not actually refried. It’s more of a value-added technique—a couple of cloves of sliced garlic infuse the oil with subtle flavor.  A little goes a long way. The golden garlic chips are a bonus. Add parsley or vinegar or pimentón if you like. But a refrito is, basically, just garlic and oil. 

I needed only two or three cloves of garlic for the refrito. In three heads of garlic, I found not a single clove that was usable! They were shrivelled, discolored or hardened and, in one case, actually moldy.  

All of the garlic, both purple and white varieties, was recently purchased. I’m guessing that somewhere on the supply chain, the garlic had been kept in storage too long or subjected to heat and light. In the natural cycle, by late winter, properly stored garlic will begin to germinate, showing a sliver of a green sprout in the center of the cloves. It’s still perfectly usable. But these exemplars were long past sprouting. 

Option: remove germ in garlic.

Some cooks recommend removing the germ, as it, supposedly, is slightly bitter. Other cooks sniff at the idea. A Spanish campesino advised me to always remove the germ if the garlic is to be used raw, as in gazpacho, para que no se repite, so that it doesn’t “repeat,” in other words, so you don’t burp up garlic fumes for the rest of the day.  

How to use refrito? Spoon it, still warm, over grilled, baked or poached fish and shellfish. Spread it on steak or lamb chops, with or without the addition of some red pepper flakes. Add chopped parsley to the refrito and serve with boiled or baked potatoes. Ladle the oil over vegetables—it´s especially good with artichokes, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, spinach, chard, green beans. Add diced serrano or ibérico ham to the garlic oil and toss it with cooked artichoke hearts. Add a spoonful of vinegar to the oil and drizzle it over lentils or other legumes. Slather it on wedge salad. Dress cooked rice with it. Toss it with hot, cooked pasta.

Cooked artichoke hearts dressed with refrito de ajo to which diced serrano ham has been added. 

Bright broccoli is dressed with garlic oil, finished with flaky salt.

Add chopped parsley or other fresh herbs to the garlic oil. Spoon it over boiled or baked potatoes.

Garlic oil with ham is the topping for split pea soup. The garlic oil is the perfect last touch for legumes of any sort. 

Roasted sole finished with garlic oil and parsley. Minimalist. (Photo by Sharman Haley.)

Garlic Oil

Refrito de Ajo

Use enough oil so that the garlic floats in the oil. Moderate the temperature so the garlic doesn’t brown too fast. The garlic-infused oil can be strained and saved for another use—homemade mayonnaise, salad dressing, fried potatoes.

Don’t salt the garlic oil, as the salt won’t dissolve in the oil. But, be sure to sprinkle salt over the food after adding the garlic oil. 

3-4 cloves garlic

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

Coarse or flaky salt, to serve

Optional additions

1 tablespoon Sherry vinegar

1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley or other fresh herbs

1 teaspoon pimentón de la Vera (smoked paprika)

2 tablespoons diced serrano ham

Red pepper flakes or a small red chile

Peel the cloves of garlic. Remove green germ in the center of the cloves, if desired. Slice the garlic crosswise, about 1/8-inch thick. 

Remove garlic and oil from the heat when garlic turns golden. The garlic will continue to cook in the hot oil.

Heat the oil on medium-high in a small skillet. Add the sliced garlic and let it become golden. Remove the skillet from the heat. Add optional additions to the hot oil. Immediately pour oil and garlic into a heat-proof bowl. 

Serve the garlic oil hot or room temperature. Spoon it over the prepared food and sprinkle with salt to taste. 

Variations on garlic-olive oil sauces:

Garlic-Pimentón Sauce (Ajada).

Garlic-Oil Dressing for Grilled Foods (Aliño).

Garlic-Parsley-Oil for Fish (Aliño).

Garlic-Herb Sauce (Chimichurri).

SEAFOOD STEW WITH HAND-MADE PASTA

I frequently take inspiration from TV cooking programs. My favorite is probably Cómetelo on Canal Sur because it’s mostly focussed on the cooking of Andalusia, which is where I live. The chef’s recipe for a seafood stew with hand-made pasta looked appetizing and easy to make.

Andrajos is a rustic dish from the provinces of Jaén, Granada and Murcia. It consists of rough pasta cooked with a stew, usually of bacalao, salt cod, or wild game such as rabbit, hare or partridge. The TV chef had used instead squid and shrimp in the stew. 

Seafood stew with cuttlefish, ready to have the liquid and pasta added.

A simple stock made with shrimp shells gives the stew depth of flavor. Chewy pasta and tender cuttlefish add textural contrast. Mint complements the flavors. Adding vegetables--such as baby fava beans--is optional.

My version of the stew has shrimp, clams and tiny fava beans.

Pasta “Rags”

Andrajos

Rough-cut pasta in any shape.

The name of this pasta comes from the tattered shapes of the dough. You can either roll out the dough and cut it into irregular shapes or divide it into nut-sized balls and roll them out in disks. Add the disks of pasta to the stew and use two forks to tear it into smaller pieces or tatters. 

Cook this pasta right in the stew.

1 cup flour plus additional for rolling out

½ teaspoon salt

1 tablespoons olive oil

¼ cup + 1 tablespoon warm water

Place the flour and salt in a bowl. Make a well in the center and add the oil and water. Use a fork to blend the flour into the liquids. Use the hands to squeeze the dough into a ball. Knead the dough, either in the bowl or on a board, for a few minutes until smooth and stretchy. Cover and let the dough rest 30 minutes.

Divide the dough in half. Roll each half out as thinly as possible, adding a little flour, as needed, to the rolling pin and the board. With a sharp knife, cut the dough into approximate 2-inch squares, strips, triangles or free-form shapes. Place them on a baking sheet covered with a clean cloth and allow them to dry while preparing the seafood stew. (If desired, the pasta can be dried for 12 hours, then stored, tightly sealed in a plastic bag and refrigerated, until ready to use.)

Seafood Stew with Cuttlefish and Pasta Rags

Guisote de Jibia con Andrajos

Cuttlefish cut in pieces.

Cuttlefish (sepia or jibia) is a meaty cephalopod, perfect for a stew as it’s almost impossible to overcook it. Squid (calamar) can be used instead or, indeed, any solid-fleshed fish such as monkfish. 

I used heads-on shrimp in this dish. The heads and shells plus any trimmings from the cuttlefish make a deeply flavorful stock for cooking the stew. If not available, use a store-bought seafood stock. I’ve added fresh baby fava beans to the stew. 

Ingredients for sofrito plus fava beans.

½ pound heads-on shrimp

1 ½ pounds cleaned cuttlefish

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons pimentón (paprika, not smoked)

6 cups water

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup chopped onion

4 cloves chopped garlic

½ cup chopped green pepper

½ cup chopped red bell pepper

3 plum tomatoes, coarsely chopped

Pinch of saffron threads

Pinch of dried mint

1 teaspoon cumin

3 ½ cups shrimp stock

Small clams (optional)

1 cup shelled fava beans or peas

Sprigs of fresh mint, to serve

Andrajos pasta

Shell the shrimp, saving heads and shells. Refrigerate the shelled shrimp until ready to prepare the seafood stew. Cut the cuttlefish into approximate 1 ½-inch pieces. Add any trimmings or cartilage to the shrimp shells.

Add cuttlefish to the sofrito.

Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the shrimp shells and cuttlefish trimmings and sauté them on medium-high heat until they are sizzling. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the pimentón. Add the water, bay and salt. Return to the heat and bring to a boil. Cover and cook 30 minutes. Uncover the pan and cook 10 minutes longer. Pour the stock through a colander. Discard the solids. Save the stock.

Heat the 4 tablespoons of oil in a cazuela or wide pan. Sauté the onion, garlic and two kinds of peppers on moderate heat, stirring frequently, 5 minutes. Add the cut-up pieces of cuttlefish to this sofrito. Spread them in the pan and raise the heat. Fry, without stirring, until the cuttlefish begin to sizzle, meaning the liquid has been cooked away. Then stir and fry another few minutes. 

Add pieces of pasta to the simmering stew.

Meanwhile, combine the tomatoes, saffron, mint, cumin and ½ cup of the shrimp stock in a blender. Blend until smooth and add to the pan with the cuttlefish. Add remaining 3 cups of stock. Bring to a boil, lower heat and cover the pan. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the cuttlefish is tender, about 30 minutes.

Add the clams, if using, the reserved shrimp and the fava beans. With the sauce bubbling gently, add the pasta a few pieces at a time. Cook, uncovered, until clam shells open and pasta is cooked, 5-10 minutes.

Allow the stew to rest, covered, off the heat 5 minutes. Serve garnished with mint sprigs.

 More recipes with hand-made pasta:

Chicken Stew with Pasta "Rags".

Rabbit with Beans and Pasta.

OLLA GITANA--A WAYFARER’S VEGETABLE STEW

 

Old-fashioned olla stewpot.

The olla is the great stewpot, source of everything delicious—comfort food from mother’s kitchen; lusty soups with legumes and sausage; delicate broths, and sumptuous stews. The olla is both sustenance and jubilation. Everyday and fiesta.

The potbellied stewpot, which can be set on a tripod over a cooking fire, is the cooking vessel for gypsy wayfarers and itinerant laborers, who might pluck a few vegetables from a field or fruits from an orchard on their passage down a country road. Their vegetable and legume stew came to be known as olla gitana or “gypsy pot.” 

Although vegetarian, this stew is remarkably contundente—robust—packed with nourishment and flavor. Perfect winter days.

Olla Gitana comes from the region of Murcia, famed for its horticulture. It includes chickpeas and often white beans as well as squash, flat green beans (bajoques) and pears. Yes, pears. The Andalusian version usually has the addition of a maja’o, or “mash” of fried bread, almonds and garlic.

Murcia produces superb sweet pimentón, paprika that is sun-dried, not smoked, which would typically be used in this recipe. But, add a little smoked pimentón, if that pleases you. Some might even like a pinch of hot pimentón picante, hot paprika. Be sure to add a sprig of mint to the hot stew at the end. 

A vegetarian stew, with both chickpeas and white beans, squash, potatoes and green beans, flavored with a sofrito of onions, tomatoes and pimentón. The surprise ingredient is pears!

A robust vegetable stew. Here, finished with fried garlic and almonds.

Gypsy Stewpot

Olla Gitana

You will need cooked chickpeas and white beans for this recipe. If using dry legumes, soak them overnight, drain and cook in fresh water until tender. Or, use canned or jarred peas and beans, drained and rinsed. Use wide, flat green beans (romano beans), if possible. If they are fresh, cut them in short lengths and blanch them before adding to the stewpot. I just happened to have a jar of beans in conserva in my pantry (they had been requisitioned for a sailing voyage and never used), so I incorporated them. 

Use any variety of firm pear for this stew. If pears are soft, add them at the very end of cooking time. Cut small ones in quarters, large ones in chunks.

I served the bowls of stew with a refrito of fried sliced garlic and almonds.

Jars of legumes, canned tomatoes go into the stew.

Serves 6-8.

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, chopped

Pinch of saffron threads

1 tablespoon pimentón (paprika, not smoked)

1 cup crushed tomatoes

2 cups cooked and drained chickpeas

7 cups water

1 carrot, cut in pieces

1 pound squash or pumpkin, cut in chunks

¾ pound potatoes, cut in chunks

2-3 teaspoons salt

1 bay leaf

Pinch of dried mint

2 cups cooked and drained cannellini beans

2 cups canned or cooked green beans, drained

2-3 pears

Fresh mint, to serve

For the refrito (optional)

Olive oil

Sliced garlic

Almonds, chopped

Red pepper flakes or minced red chile (optional)

Sofrito with pimentón.

Heat the oil in a skillet and sauté the onion and garlic until softened, 3 minutes. Add the saffron and fry it briefly. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the pimentón. Add the tomatoes. Return the skillet to the heat and cook until the tomatoes lose their moisture. Remove from the heat.

Add the onion-tomato sofrito to a large stew pot. Add the chickpeas, water, carrot,  squash and potatoes. Season with salt, bay and dried mint. Bring the water to a boil, reduce the heat and cook, covered, 20 minutes. Add the cannellini beans and continue cooking, 5-10 minutes or until the potatoes and squash are tender. 

Peel the pears, remove cores and, if they are small, quarter them. If large, cut the pears in chunks. Add the pears to the stew pot with the green beans. Cook 5 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and allow to settle 5 minutes.

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a small skillet. Fry sliced garlic with chopped almonds and red pepper flakes, if desired. 

Serve the vegetable stew with sprigs of fresh mint and a spoonful of the garlic-almond oil.

Be sure to add a spring of fresh mint to the stew before serving.