MY KITCHEN IN SPAIN: FROM GARDEN TO TABLE

Garden fava beans.

A heap of fava beans landed on my kitchen table, picked by Ben from the kitchen garden. A little later, a handful of shelling peas, broccoli, and some stalks of chard arrived. Two hours later, I had dinner on, a vegetable menestra.

Another day a small basketful of assorted peas was the bounty. The peas are confusing: seemingly on the same vine are snow peas or mange touts, perfect for stir-fries, and non-edible pods with tiny baby peas. Some I eat raw--those wee peas are ever so sweet. The remainder get tossed in hot oil with pieces of ibérico ham. There are hardly enough at one picking to be more than a starter.

"Menestra" means a vegetable mixture. Although the word is similar to Italian minestrone, this is not a soup but a stew that can be served as a starter or, with the addition of meat, ham or bacon, a sturdy main dish.

The menestra from Tudela (Navarra, northern Spain) is classic. It consists only of white asparagus, artichokes, peas, and fava beans, all cooked separately and combined in a light sauce. Sometimes the sauce is slightly thickened with flour. In Bilbao (Euskadi/Basque Country) menestra often accompanies braised lamb. For the Basque version, some of the cooked vegetables (such as chard stems, cauliflower florets) are floured, dipped in beaten egg, fried, and served on top of the menestra.

Mixed vegetables in a light sauce.

Medley of Garden Vegetables

Menestra de Verduras

This menestra depends entirely on what late-winter/early-spring vegetables you’ve got in the garden or can find at the farmers' market. For example, if you’ve got a cache of wild mushrooms, use a pound or two of them and only a cupful of peas.

I’ve used fava beans, peas, chard, artichokes, carrots, and potatoes. I included smoked panceta (pork belly) and pieces of leftover cooked lamb, but the menestra can just as well be vegetarian, an excellent Lenten dish.

Each vegetable is cooked separately then combined in sauce to finish cooking.

Use a light stock made from chicken and/or ibérico ham bone or, for a vegetarian version, vegetable cooking water from carrots, peas, cauliflower or white asparagus. Don’t use the cooking water from artichokes, favas, or chard as it tends to darken the mixture. Although tomatoes are not in season in the winter-to-spring garden, it’s fine to add canned tomatoes or paste to the cooking liquid.

Choice of vegetables:

Artichokes

Asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch lengths

Broccoli, florets

Brussels sprouts

Cardoons, trimmed and cut into 1 ½ inch pieces

Carrots, peeled and sliced

Cauliflower, florets

Celery, sliced

Chard, stems cut into 2-inch lengths, greens shredded

Fava Beans, shelled

Garlic cloves or green garlic shoots, chopped

Lettuce hearts, sliced

Mushrooms, sliced

Onion or leek, chopped

Peas, shelled

Potatoes, cut in 1 ½ -inch chunks

Panceta (pork belly)
Extra virgin olive oil

Panceta or bacon, cut in strips

Canned crushed tomato (optional)

Light chicken stock or vegetable cooking water

Chopped parsley, fennel or mint to garnish

Hard-boiled egg to garnish

If you are using fresh artichokes, cut off the stems and trim off the tough outer leaves. Cut the artichokes in quarters. Cook them in boiling salted water with a squeeze of lemon juice until a leaf pulls off easily, about 12 minutes. Drain. Scrape out the fuzzy chokes.

Cook each of the vegetables separately in boiling, salted water until tender. Asparagus and chard cook in 5 to 6 minutes. Tiny peas and baby favas need to be blanched only about 1 minute. Carrots and potatoes, which can cook together, take about 12 minutes. Drain and refresh the vegetables in cold water.

Heat the oil in a skillet or cazuela over medium heat. Add the pieces of panceta, the chopped onion, garlic, and mushrooms and sauté until onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato, if using, and the stock. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes.

Return the cooked vegetables to the pan, saving a few to garnish the top. Simmer them all together for 5 minutes, adding additional stock if needed to keep the vegetables saucy. Serve hot garnished with reserved vegetables, chopped herb, and quartered eggs.

Baby Peas with Ham

Guisantes Lágrimas con Jamón

Tiny peas sautéed with ham and a poached egg.

Lágrima means “teardrop.” These tiny baby peas, a seasonal delicacy in the Basque Country, are so-called for their delicate oval shape. They hardly need cooking at all. For this recipe use any variety of very small pea, preferably straight from the garden!

Don’t cook the serrano or ibérico ham because heat toughens it. Add ham to the peas and immediately remove the pan from the heat.

Use the fresh pods to make a light caldo, or pea broth, to serve alongside the dish of peas with ham.

Use pea pods to make caldo, pea broth, to go with the peas.

For 1 or 2 servings

1 pound peas in the pods or 1 cup (about 4 ounces) shelled baby peas

Salt

Pea pods

2 cups light chicken broth

1 cup pea cooking water

Slice of onion

Freshly ground black pepper

Lemon juice

1 large egg

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons chopped spring onions

Diced or slivered serrano or ibérico ham

Shell the peas and save the pods. There should be about 1 cup of shelled peas. Bring a pan of salted water to a boil. Blanch the peas for 30 seconds if they are tiny, “teardrop” peas. For mature (or frozen) peas, cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain, saving the cooking water.

Place 1 cup of the cooking water back in the pan with the chicken broth and onion slice. Add all of the reserved pea pods. Bring to a boil and simmer, uncovered, 20 minutes or until reduced by half. Pour through a fine strainer. Discard solids. Season the pea-pod broth with salt to taste, pepper and a few drops of lemon juice.

Egg in plastic wrap to poach.

Line a small cup with plastic wrap. Add a few drops of oil. Crack the egg and drop it into the cup. Gather the corners of the plastic wrap together and twist them to enclose the egg. Tie with kitchen twine. Bring a small pan of water to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and add the egg wrapped in plastic. Poach the egg 4 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to lift the egg out. Leave it enclosed until ready to serve.

Heat the oil in a small skillet and sauté the chopped onions on medium heat until softened, 5 minutes. Don’t let them brown. Add the blanched peas and sauté on medium-high for 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the diced ham and immediately remove the pan from the heat.

Reheat the pea broth and serve it into demitasse cups. Serve the peas with ham on a plate. Snip the plastic wrap to release the poached egg. Place it beside or on top of the peas.