GREEN BEANS GALORE

My small, fenced-in huerta (vegetable garden) continues to delight, this week with more green beans than we can possibly consume in a couple of days. Freezer bags at the ready! And some favorite recipes.

This one, for beans and potatoes, is quick to prepare. With sliced chorizo added, it is like Potatoes a la Riojana. Without the chorizo it’s a terrific summer vegetarian dish (add smoked sweet pimentón).

One-day's picking. Some will be blanched and frozen. 

I love this variety of pole bean (Helda) that makes a large, flat, stringless pod. The beans somewhat resemble “Romano” or “Italian” variety of beans found in America markets but maybe have a crisper texture and sweet taste. 

To cook the beans: Snap or cut off the stem ends and tails, too, if you prefer. Cut the beans if desired. Bring salted water to a boil, add the beans. Cook the beans 3 minutes for crisp-tender, 5 minutes for very tender. Drain and plunge them into ice water to stop the cooking and fix the green color. 

Blanch the beans and add them to the pan once the potatoes are tender. Use the bean cooking water to cook the potatoes.

 

Green Beans and Potatoes, Rioja Style

Judías Verdes con Patatas a la Riojana

Serves 4

12 ounces green beans

Salt

¼ cup olive oil

1 cup chopped onion

1 ½ pounds potatoes

1 cup chopped green pepper

½ cup chopped red bell pepper

¼ teaspoon cumin

½ teaspoon hot smoked pimentón

1 teaspoon salt

1 ¼ cups bean cooking liquid or water

4 ounces chorizo, sliced (optional)

Cut the beans into 3-inch pieces. Cook them in boiling salted water until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Drain the beans, saving the cooking water.  Cover the beans with cold water.

Heat the oil in a cazuela or skillet and sauté the onions until softened. Peel the potatoes and cut-snap them into 1 ¼-inch pieces. Add the potatoes, green and red peppers to the pan with the onions and fry until the potatoes just start to brown. 

Stir in the cumin, pimentón, and salt. Add the water and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook until the potatoes are nearly tender, 10 minutes. Add the chorizo and cook 5 minutes.

Drain the beans and add them to the pan with the potatoes. Heat thoroughly and serve.

More bean recipes:

Green Beans with Tomatoes.

Green Bean Salad.

Green Beans with Garlicky Sauce.

Sauté of Green Beans and Cherry Tomatoes.

Green Beans and Ham Sauté.

Gypsy Stew with Green Beans and Cannellini Beans.

THE GREAT ZUCCHINI ROUNDUP

 

Big zucchini hiding in the shadows!

Hand-pollination is the secret. Never could I grow zucchini. The little zukes turned yellow and fell off the plant. This year, having built a fence to keep out the boars, Ben took over the gardening. When the first little zucchinis appeared, he shook the male flowers over the female flowers and, hey! Full-grown zucchinis. Lots of them. 

I’ve pulled up my favorite zucchini recipes. Here’s a new recipe for fried zucchini balls and a roundup of some good ones from before. 

Fried Zucchini Balls (recipe below). These are creamy-cheesy on the inside with a little texture from the shredded zucchini and crisp on the outside. Served with Greek yogurt-cilantro for dipping, they make good appetizers. Or, vegetarian dinner stuffed in pita pockets. 

Moroccan Chopped Zucchini Salad. Lots of fresh flavors, this salad goes well with grilled foods. See the recipe here. (The same post has another recipe for marinated zucchini.)

Cold Zucchini Vichyssoise. 

Chilled soup that's not gazpacho. This is similar to vichyssoise, but with zucchini in addition to the leeks and potatoes. (Recipe here.)

Zucchini and Cherry Tomato Clafoutis

Clafoutis is a French dessert, somewhere between quiche and cake, traditionally made with black cherries. This is a savory version with diced zucchini and cherry tomatoes. Get the recipe here.

Spaghetti and Zucchini Noodles with Pesto. 

Have you ever made "zoodles"? Spiral-cut zucchini makes a great stand-in for pasta. Here the zoodles are combined with real spaghetti, basil pesto, and cherry tomatoes. Summertime. The recipe--and another for Tortilla with Zucchini and Eggplant--is here.

Fake Chanquetes (Crispy Fried Zucchini)

Chanquetes are tiny, transparent fish, once a Málaga culinary trademark. Their fishing is now prohibited in order to prevent the larvae of other species being captured and sold as chanquetes. Grated zucchini, floured and fried, makes a credible counterfeit! Get the recipe here.

Zucchini Boats Stuffed with Quinoa, Vegetables, and Cheese. When the zucchini gets too big, nothing to do but hollow it out and stuff it with something. This version is vegetarian. Another version is Zucchini Tubs Stuffed with Shrimp. Both recipes are here. 

Pan-Fried Hake Fillets with Pisto. Pisto is the summer dish that goes with everything. Not to be confused with pesto, pisto is usually made with zucchini, peppers, onions, and tomatoes, sometimes with eggplant too. Here it serves as side dish and sauce for easy fried fish fillets. Get the recipe here.

Zucchini-Cheese Timbale

Here is a super easy summer dish--a timbale or vegetable flan that is baked in the microwave. The recipe is here.

Chocolate-Zucchini Cake.

Remember chocolate-zucchini cake? It's pretty good and this recipe is super fast because it bakes in the microwave. Serve it with raspberries and a dollop of whipped cream. Recipe here. (You'll find some more good ideas for using the microwave. Just yesterday I made a quickie baba ghanoush, eggplant pureed with tahini and garlic, by cooking the eggplant in the MW.) 

Fried Zucchini Balls

Bolitas de Calabacín

Makes 2 dozen (1-inch) balls

1 ½ pounds zucchini

2 tablespoons chopped onions

1 teaspoon salt

3 ounces queso fresco, mashed

3 ounces grated cheese

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/3 cup + fine dry bread crumbs

¼ teaspoon cumin

¼ teaspoon hot pimentón (paprika)

Flour for dredging

Olive oil for frying

Yogurt or dipping sauce to serve

Grate the zucchini. Place it in a colander with the onions and mix with the salt. Let drain 30 minutes. Squeeze out as much of the moisture as possible. (If desired, save the zucchini water for soup making.)

Combine the queso fresco, grated cheese, and egg in a mixing bowl. Add the drained zucchini and mix well. Add 1/3 cup of crumbs, cumin, and pimentón. Mix very well. Refrigerate the mixture 1 hour.

If the zucchini mixture seems very squishy, add 1 or 2 tablespoons more of bread crumbs. Shape into 1-inch balls. Roll them in flour to coat. If not ready to fry the balls, place them on a sheet pan and refrigerate, uncovered.

Heat oil in a pan to a depth of ½ inch. Fry the balls on medium-high until they are golden-brown on all sides. Don’t let them brown too quickly or the zucchini will not cook. 

Drain the balls on paper towels. Serve immediately with yogurt or dipping sauce to accompany.

THE OREGANO HARVEST

 

Oregano soon to be harvested.

"Wait till it starts to flower," Reme told me. "Then cut off the stems and dry them." She had given me a small potted oregano plant last winter that I set out in the garden. It's budding now, soon to be harvested.

Reme, my aerobics teacher and also author of a cookbook about traditional pueblo cooking, said she uses the pungent herb in any kind of guiso—cazuela de arroz or fideos (rice or noodle casserole), pisto (medley of summer vegetables), adobo (marinade for pork or fish). 

She also adds oregano to chopped raw tomatoes and keeps them in a jar ready for slathering on breakfast toast. Now that's a great idea, I thought. Must try that.

How to use the tomato sauce? Spread it on toasted bread, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, and top with sliced ibérico ham or your favorite cheese. Use it in place of cooked tomato sauce for pizza, pasta, eggplant parmigiana. 

Raw tomatoes chopped with oregano and garlic, perfect for spreading on breakfast toast with extra virgin olive oil.

Tomato-oregano spread, toasted molletes (buns) with extra virgin olive oil, ibérico ham, anchovies, olives, queso fresco (fresh goat cheese) add up to brunch.  

My dream breakfast--toast, olive oil, and superb ibérico ham.

Same uncooked tomato-oregano sauce, spread on molletes, with pizza toppings. (From top right to bottom right; sliced chorizo and mozzarella; artichokes from a jar, diced serrano ham, and mozzarella; and anchovies, black olives, and mozzarella.) Split molletes, spread with tomato sauce, add toppings, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, bake in fan-oven at 400ºF. until cheese is melted and edges of crusts beginning to brown, 10 minutes.

The tomato-oregano spread is quickly made in a food processor or blender. The tomatoes needn’t be peeled. The more thoroughly you process the tomatoes, the fewer bits of tomato skin remain in the sauce. But if you like it chunky, process less. 

A tablespoon of chopped fresh oregano for two pounds of tomatoes seems about right—noticeable flavor without dominating. If you use dried oregano, reduce to one teaspoon. Use a minimum of salt in the mix and serve the tomato spread at the table with flaky salt. 

Don’t blend in the oil or you’ll end up with an emulsion, like gazpacho. Once the tomatoes are placed in a clean jar, add enough oil to completely cover the surface so the tomatoes are sealed from exposure to the air. Store capped and refrigerated. Use a clean spoon to dip the sauce. Tomato sauce keeps 4 to 5 days. 

Uncooked Tomato Sauce with Oregano

Salsa Cruda de Tomate con Oregano

It's early in tomato season, but these big plum tomatoes (tomate pera) are super flavorful. 

2 pounds ripe tomatoes 

1 clove garlic

1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried

½ teaspoon salt

2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

To serve

Toasted molletes, sliced bread or crusty rolls

Extra virgin olive oil

Flaky salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Sliced ibérico ham, cheese, anchovies, etc

Remove the stems and cores of the tomatoes and cut them up (makes 5 to 6 cups cut-up tomatoes). Place them in a food processor or blender with the garlic, salt, and chopped oregano. Process until fairly smooth. 

Place in a clean glass jar. Add enough oil to cover the surface of the tomatoes. Cap the jar and refrigerate. 

To dry oregano:  Cut the stems when the buds begin to flower. Tie them together and hang the bunch upside down in a dry place away from direct light. Place a tray underneath to catch bits of leaves that fall off or enclose the bundle loosely in a paper bag. When completely dry the leaves can be stripped off the stems and stored in a jar. (In humid weather, dry herbs in an oven with the “dehydrator” setting.) 

Gastronomía Tradicional Mijeña by Remedios Valenzuela.

About those toasted buns called molletes.

With my oregano spread I am sampling a very exclusive ham, Raza & Oro,  100% ibérico of the rubio-dorado (golden-blond) breed from Dehesa de los Monteros in the Serranía de Ronda. 

NOT ANTONIA’S RICE PUDDING

 When my kids were in grade school, before there were school buses or school lunches and when the class hours ran from 9 am until 1 and 3 pm to 5, instead of bringing them home for lunch every day, I arranged for my two boys to eat with a family in the village, walking distance from school.

They loved Antonia’s meals, usually a sturdy soup or cocido followed by fish or filete con patatas fritas. Once or twice a week there was a postre other than fresh fruit. To this day, my kids, grown men, rave about Antonia’s arroz con leche, the Spanish version of rice pudding. 

Antonia used fresh goat’s milk for the pudding when she could get it. Otherwise bottled cow’s milk was used. Cooked with a half-cup of rice to six cups of milk, the pudding became a thick, sweet slurry flavored with lemon and cinnamon. Antonia used sugar, although honey or molasses are acceptable too. (There’s a recipe for pueblo-style rice pudding here. )

The cinnamon-lemon combo is ubiquitous in Spanish desserts, going all the way back to Moorish times. But this is not Antonia’s rice pudding. I’ve made it with vanilla instead of cinnamon!

Vanilla pods, Saõ Tomé. (Photo by Ben Searl)

Ben returned from a surf trip to Saõ Tomé (equatorial island off the west coast of Africa) with a packet of vanilla pods which grow there. 

Vanilla is the seed-bearing pod of a type of orchid, native to Mexico. With the Spanish conquest of the Aztecs in 1519 vanilla was brought back to Spain along with chocolate.  Its name comes from the Spanish word, vaina, meaning “pod.” 

The plant never flowered and produced in Spain as it needs equatorial heat and humidity. And, it has to be pollinated by hand as there are no Mexican bees to do the job. Besides Mexico, vanilla is grown in Madagascar, Tahiti, and a few other places, such as Saõ Tomé. It is picked green and dried for several months which turns the pods almost black. 

Even though vanilla is pervasive in desserts everywhere in the world, it never really caught on in Spanish cooking.

I’ve added another non-traditional ingredient to the arroz con leche, fresh cherries, now in season. That was inspired by a promotional recipe published by El Corte Inglés.

Non-traditional rice pudding--arroz con leche--flavored with vanilla and with fresh cherries and toasted almonds.

Creamy Rice Pudding

Arroz con Leche

Use medium-short grain rice (also called “round grain”) for the pudding. That’s the same kind of rice that is used for paella.

Half a vanilla pod is sufficient for this pudding. Store the other half wrapped in plastic film in a jar. Use the whole pod if you want an intense vanilla flavor. Scrape out the dark, sticky seeds on the inside of the pod and add them to the milk. Add the scraped pod to the milk too. After infusing the pod in milk, remove the pod. The seeds—flecks of black—stay in the milk. 

Toasted sliced almonds garnish the pudding.

Serves 6

6 cups whole milk

½ vanilla pod

Strip of lemon zest

½ cup medium-short grain rice

Pinch of salt

1/3 cup sugar

8 ounces cherries + a few for garnish

2 tablespoons slivered almonds

¼ teaspoon olive or almond oil

Scrape seeds and pulp from pod.

Place the milk in a pan. Split the vanilla pod open lengthwise. Scrape out the sticky seeds on the inside and add them to the milk. Add the scraped pod and the lemon zest. Place on high heat and bring the milk just to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat and let the vanilla infuse 10 minutes. Strain the milk, discarding the pod and zest. The flecks of vanilla seed stay in the milk.

Add the rice and salt to the milk. Heat on medium until the milk begins to barely bubble. Cook, stirring frequently, until the rice is very soft and the milk thickens, about 45 minutes.

Microwave-toasted almonds.

Add the sugar to the rice. Cook 5 minutes more, stirring constantly so the sugar doesn’t scorch on the bottom.

While the rice is cooking, remove stems and pits from the cherries. Slice or chop them (makes about 1 cup). 

Mix the slivered almonds with the oil. Spread them on a microwave-safe plate. Microwave on High 1 minute. Remove and stir the almonds. Repeat twice more or until the almonds are pale gold. Cool them. 

Add the cherries to the rice and cook 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat. 

Ladle the pudding into 6 dessert cups or a single serving bowl. Cover the top of the cups with plastic wrap and chill them for at least 2 hours.

To serve, garnish the pudding with whole cherries and scatter the toasted almonds on top. 

LETTUCE WITH EVERYTHING

 

Caged lettuce.

I'm harvesting lettuce from the huerta! After two years without a garden, abandoned when rampaging wild boars dug up the tomatoes, I'm picking lettuce from a tiny fenced-in plot. With flowering tomato and squash plants, there is promise of more to come.

I’m making lettuce salad with everything! Tomatoes, peppers, onions, chickpeas, avocado, radish, corn, carrots, tuna, olives, capers, cheese, eggs--- But I am compartmentalizing these ingredients, setting up a “salad bar,” so that each person can add-on to please themselves. 

The freshly picked lettuce (6 cups, loosely packed, torn leaves) is simply dressed with ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil, 1 tablespoon Sherry vinegar, and flaky salt. 

Lettuce with only extra virgin olive oil and vinegar.

On the side I’m serving a chopped salad of tomatoes, peppers, and onions, known as pipirrana, that can be heaped on the lettuce like a chunky dressing. Alongside are bowls of other accoutrements that guests can add as desired. 

This spread includes sliced radishes, corn kernels, mackerel fillets in olive oil, asparagus, artichoke hearts, olives, capers, grated carrots, chickpeas, queso fresco (fresh goat cheese), and fried croutons. 

Other salad additions: cooked green beans, cooked and diced potatoes, carrots, and beets; other legumes (butter beans are good); pasta, rice or other grains,  diced ham or chicken; anchovies, avocado, yogurt, pumpkin seeds, nuts, fruits.     

The "dressing" for the lettuce is the chopped salad of tomatoes, peppers, and onions.

Compose your own salad with a variety of ingredients.

Asparagus and goat cheese make a good combo.

Chickpeas, capers, radishes, crispy croutons, lots of cucumber in the chopped salad. Needs some mint and a dollop of yogurt to make it Middle Eastern in flavor.

No raw onions for this kid! He's picked the cherry tomatoes out of the chopped salad, added corn and shredded carrots.

Salad lunch, my everything salad--lettuce, mackerel, artichokes (garden), olives, radishes, chopped salad for dressing.

Tomato-Pepper Chopped Salad/Relish

Pipirrana

Vary the basic pipirrana, adding fewer or more ingredients. For example, if your people don’t like raw onion, just leave it out. Add corn kernels for more color and crunch. Capers for briny tang. All together they perk up the plain lettuce. 

Chopped parsley is the usual addition to pipirrana, but other fresh herbs can be used as well. Try basil, cilantro, mint, or tarragon.

The salad can be prepared in advance. Salt will draw the juices out of the chopped vegetables, creating the “dressing” for the lettuce. (The juices are also good sopped up with bread.) Save some of the fresh herbs to add immediately before serving.

1 cup chopped tomatoes or quartered cherry tomatoes

1 cup chopped green peppers

½ cup chopped red bell peppers

1 cup peeled and diced cucumber

½ cup chopped scallions or onions

1-2 minced cloves garlic

1-2 chopped hard-boiled eggs

3 tablespoons chopped parsley

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1-2 tablespoons Sherry vinegar

1 ½ teaspoons salt

Chopped avocado (optional)

¼ cup corn kernels (optional)

2 tablespoons drained capers (optional)

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix gently. If not serving immediately, cover the salad and refrigerate up to 24 hours.

Notes from a salad maven;  Your knife should be sharp enough to cut the skin of a tomato. Even after some honing, my everyday knife didn't make the cut. So, in honor of this salad, I brought out a new knife. What a pleasure! 

                                          -----------

With the next batch of lettuce from the huerta I’m going to try this take on gazpacho, Lechuga en caldo, lettuce in "broth," a recipe from Me Sabe a Málaga (“tastes like Málaga"). It’s chopped lettuce, olive oil, minced garlic, lemon juice or vinegar combined in a bowl with cold water to cover the lettuce, a sprig of mint to garnish. Serve with bread for dunking.

More salad ideas:

Moroccan Tomato Salad (Pipirrana). 

Catalan Escarole and Cod Salad with Romesco (Xató).

Spanish Mixed Salad.