MAY IN EXTREMADURA, STORKS. AND CHEESE

 

Storks' nest, Trujillo (Extremadura). (Photo by Charlie Gil.)

In the town of Trujillo in Extremadura, the month of May brings baby storks in the belfry and the Feria Nacional del Queso, the most important cheese expo in Spain. 

Cheese festival in Trujillo (Extremadura). (Photo by Ben Searl)

More than a hundred stands set up shop in the grand Plaza Mayor, around the sword-wielding statue of native son, conquistador Francisco Pizarro. Purveying more than 300 varieties of cheese from all over Spain, the fair attracts avid weekend crowds who throng the plaza, sampling bites, comparing notes, buying wedges. 

(Photo by Charlie Gil.)

The cheeses of Extremadura get special billing. Four of them have protected designation of origin (DOP): Torta del Casar and La Serena, both sheep's milk cheeses, and Ibores and Acehúche, goat milk cheeses. 

Lucky me, my son Ben went to the cheese fair with friends and returned with a Torta del Casar. 

The Torta is an unusual cheese. It is made with a curdling agent taken from a plant, Cynara Cardunculus, a wild thistle. (Most cheeses start with animal rennet.) The cheese when fully mature (60 to 90 days) has a semi-rigid rind inside of which the paste is soft and creamy, almost runny. The cheese has a powerful aroma, right on the edge of the proverbial “stinky cheese," and a distinctive flavor, lactate and herbal, with a subtle bitterness from the vegetable rennet. 

Cut the rind and lift the "lid" off the cheese.

How to serve Torta del Casar. Remove the cheese from the refrigerator at least four hours before serving so that it comes to room temperature. Unwrap the cheese. Use a knife with a sharp point to cut the rind all around the top of the cheese. Lift off the rind and save it for storing the cheese later. 

The paste can be spooned right out of the shell. Spread it on bread or toasts. Or, amongst friends, dip breadsticks right into the cheese. Try any or all of the usual  accompaniments for cheese—nuts, dried fruits, honey, jam, membrillo (quince paste), chutney, pickles, onions, apples, grapes, pears. 

Torta del Casar cheese with accompaniments.

Texture of cheese is soft, very stretchy.

Spread on crisp toasts. Top with quince paste (top) or chutney.

Dip breadsticks right into the cheese.

What's the best wine? I liked a fruity white with Torta del Casar.

What to drink with Torta del Casar. We tried fino Sherry, sweet PX, cava, white and red wines. I liked the fruity white wine best with this cheese. Beer and apple cider are also good.  

Once opened, remaining cheese should be stored in its own rind and covered with a damp cloth. (Place it in a tightly-lidded container so it doesn’t permeate everything else in the fridge!) Once broached, the cheese keeps 15 to 20 days, according to the Torta del Casar cheese consortium. The cheese can be frozen. Torta del Casar is produced in small enough pieces that one can be consumed amongst four to six people at a single gathering. 

The cheese can also be used in cooking. The cheese board has published its own cookbook, El Sabor de un Territorio, Recetas con Torta del Casar, featuring recipes created by four chefs. They include a “lasagne” of layered vegetables; a pisto (eggplant vegetable medley) heated in the hollowed shell of the cheese, and onion soup with Torta del Casar. The cookbook by José Andrés, Tapas, A Taste of Spain in America, has a recipe for Mashed Potatoes with Torta del Casar Cheese that calls for the potatoes to be mashed with the cheese, cream, and olive oil. 

Besides the cheeses mentioned, other gastronomic products with DOP from Extremadura: Ibérico ham Dehesa de Extremadura, Pimentón de la Vera (smoked paprika), Cereza del Jerte (cherries from the Jerte valley), olive oil, honey, lamb, beef, kid, and several wine denominations.

Chutney is especially good with Torta del Casar cheese. This chutney is made with loquats in place of the mango in this recipe. For more about loquats (nísperos). 

MY BEAUTIFUL SPRING BOUQUET

 

Just-picked red chard.

A gorgeous bunch of red chard landed in my kitchen this week. Picked in a friend’s garden, it was almost too beautiful to eat.

Cooking, of course, darkens the bright green of the leaves and leaches out the red of the stems. While the chard would look stunning in a salad, chard, unlike spinach, is—to my taste—a little too chewy raw.

I decided on a rice recipe from València for arroz con acelgas. But, instead of the snails called for in the recipe, I added some chicken and sausage. For a vegetarian version, just skip the meat. The red chard stems faded but some bits of (canned) piquillo peppers gave the rice some pop. 

This rice is meloso, or juicy, not “dry” like paella. But it shouldn’t get “creamy” like risotto, so don’t stir the rice because stirring releases the starch. Use a medium-short grain variety of rice, the same as for paella. Bomba is one of the best because it won’t get gummy.

Rice with red chard, chicken, sausage, and chickpeas. The chard stems have faded to pink, but piquillo peppers give a pop of bright red.

Rice with Chard and Chickpeas

Arroz con Acelgas y Garbanzos

¼ cup olive oil

12 ounces boneless chicken thighs, cut in pieces (optional)

4 ounces pork sausage, sliced (optional)

½ cup chopped onion

3 cloves garlic

1 bunch chard, stems and leaves (6-8 ounces)

1 teaspoon pimentón de la Vera (smoked paprika)

½ cup grated tomato pulp

4 ½ cups water or stock

2 teaspoons salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 ½ cups medium-short grain rice

1 medium potato, cut in small pieces

1 tablespoon seedless raisins (optional)

1 cup cooked chickpeas

2 piquillo peppers, cut in strips

½ cup boiling water

Heat the oil in a cazuela or deep sauté pan. Brown the pieces of chicken and sausage. Skim them out and reserve. Add the onion to the oil in the pan. Lightly crush the garlics and add them whole to the pan.

Mix in rice and chard, then do not stir the rice again!

Separate chard stems from the leaves. Chop the stems and add to the pan. Sauté until the onion is softened. 

Stir in the pimentón. Add the tomato pulp. Return the chicken and sausage to the pan. Add the water or stock and bring to a boil. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the rice. Add the potato, raisins, if using, and chickpeas. Roll and cut the chard leaves and add them to the pan. 

Stir briefly to combine the ingredients, but don’t stir the rice any more. Cook on medium-high heat 10 minutes.

Add the strips of pepper. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook 5 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally. Do not stir the rice. Pour the boiling water over the rice, give the pan a shake and cook on low 3 minutes. Rice and potatoes should be cooked. Remove the pan from the heat, cover with foil and allow to rest 5 minutes.

Serve the rice from the cazuela. 

More recipes with chard:

Rice with Cod, Beans, and Chard (Empedrado).

Chard with Raisins and Pine Nuts.

Stuffed and Fried Chard Stems.

Chard Tortilla.

Chard and Cheese Pie.

Chard Sauté with Pistachios.

Rainbow Chard with Apricots.

Andalusian Stew with Chickpeas, Chorizo, and Chard (Berza).

Lamb Roll with Chard.

SADNESS, HOPE (AND A TORTILLA RECIPE)

 

José Andrés.  (Photo by Gerry Dawes©2024)

“Food is a universal human right. Feeding each other, cooking and eating together, is what makes us human. The dishes we cook and deliver are not just ingredients, or calories.  A plate of food is a plate of hope. A message that someone, somewhere, cares for you.” 

These words were spoken by José Andrés, chef and humanitarian, at the memorial service for the seven persons, volunteer workers for World Central Kitchen, who were killed by Israeli airstrikes after delivering food to refugees in Gaza. “The seven souls we mourn today were there so that hungry people could eat,” he said. José Andrés is founder of World Central Kitchen, an NGO dedicated to food relief in disaster areas and war zones. "We're going back to Gaza to feed people," he declared. 

You can read the full text of the memorial speech (delivered at the Washington National Cathedral on May 25) and keep up with José Andrés by subscribing to his newsletter, “Longer Tables,” on Substack The full text of the eulogy he delivered at the memorial for the World Central Kitchen workers is here. 

I join with many in sending my deepest condolences for the loss of the members of the World Central Kitchen team. 

Thank you, José, for the work you do. For introducing Americans to tapas and Spanish ham, for creating a vibrant business with restaurants coast to coast, and, especially, for your humanitarian work in striving to feed communities in need around the world. I admire you for your incredible creative energy, your good humor, your passion, and compassion. 

Looking for a gift item (Mother’s Day is May 12)? You can support the work of World Central Kitchen with the purchase of the cookbook, The World Central Kitchen Cookbook: Feeding Humanity, Feeding Hope by José Andrés (ClarksonPotter; 2023). All author proceeds from The World Central Kitchen Cookbook will be used to support World Central Kitchen’s emergency response efforts. (My son Daniel, in Atlanta, says his favorite recipe in the book so far is Passion Fruit Glazed Skirt Steak, which comes from a World Central Kitchen food producer in Puerto Rico.) 

Browsing an earlier cookbook by José Andrés, Tapas—A Taste of Spain in America  (ClarksonPotter; 2005), I found a recipe I’ve always intended to try—Spanish potato tortilla made with potato chips! Supposedly it was invented by the famous chef, Ferran Adriá of El Bulli, where José Andrés once worked. It’s a quick dish created for the restaurant’s kitchen staff. Three ingredients: eggs, potato chips, and olive oil. 

Why make tortilla with packaged chips? Because the whole operation takes about ten minutes! The results are surprisingly good. Best choice for chips would be those made with olive oil, but any type of potato chips works. 

Quick to make, the potato chip tortilla is perfect for brunch, lunch, tapas or dinner.

For a thick tortilla, slightly runny in the center, use a small skillet, preferably no-stick.

Potato Chip Tortilla in the Style of José Andrés

(Recipe adapted from Tapas—A Taste of Spain in America by José Andrés.) 

The recipe in José’s book calls for a 6-inch skillet. I had only an 18-centimeter—or 7 inch—one. Made with 7 eggs, the tortilla was approximately 1 ¼ inches thick. It’s customary to cook tortilla with the eggs a little runny in the center. If you prefer the eggs set completely, either use a slightly larger skillet so the egg-potato mixture spreads out or else cook it longer. 

As this was my first potato chip tortilla, I stuck closely to the recipe as given. Now that I know how straightforward it is I will definitely try some variations. Chopped spinach or chard, for instance. Ham bits maybe. Definitely sautéed onion. Or, why not some of those crisp fried onions from a package? They would soften in the eggs like the chips.

Three ingredients!

Serve tortilla for brunch, lunch, tapas, or supper.   

 Makes a 7-inch tortilla, 1 ¼ inches thick. Serves 4.

7 large eggs

4 ounces potato chips

1-2 teaspoons salt

2+ tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 

Chips soak up eggs and soften.

Beat 6 eggs with the salt in a mixing bowl. Beat the remaining egg in a separate bowl. Add the chips to the beaten eggs, stirring to break up the chips and mix them thoroughly. Add the remaining egg.

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil on medium heat in a small (6-8-inch) no-stick skillet. Add the egg-chip mixture to the pan. Stir and firm the edges of tortilla with a wooden spoon. Shake the pan to keep the tortilla from sticking. Cook on medium-low until bottom is set but not browned, about 1 minute more.  

Place a flat plate or pan lid on top of the skillet. Hold the plate firmly against the skillet with one hand. With the other hand, flip the skillet, turning the tortilla out onto the plate, cooked side up.

If necessary, add a little additional oil to the skillet. Gently slide the tortilla back into the skillet to cook the underside, 1-2 minutes, depending on how done you want the eggs.

Remove the skillet from the heat. Have ready a serving plate. Lift the edge of the tortilla with a spatula, tip the skillet towards the plate and slide the tortilla out onto the plate.  

Serve the tortilla hot or room temperature.

What to serve with tortilla? Pictured clockwise from upper left, piquillo peppers sautéed with garlic and a spoonful of Sherry vinegar; sliced tomatoes with green onions, oregano, and olive oil; bread; olives, and alioli, garlic mayonnaise (combine and blend 1/2 cup of bottled mayo, 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, 1 clove garlic, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 2 tablespoons parsley, and salt to taste).

 

More recipes for Spanish tortilla:

Classic Potato Tortilla.

Tortilla with Fava Beans, Peas, and Potatoes.

Eggplant and Red Pepper Tortilla.

Potato Tortilla with Chorizo and Chard.

All-Onion Tortilla.

Spinach Tortilla (no potatoes).