LENTEN MEALS, BEYOND BACALAO

 

Batter-fried shrimp.

I remember my first Semana Santa in Málaga--60 years ago!—ducking into a tapas bar while processions were wending their way through city streets. We ordered a vinito and tapas. 

I already had sampled bacalao, salt cod, the emblematic food for Holy Week. But here were so many other seafood-based possibilities. We ordered a media-racion (half-plate) of gambas rebozadas, batter-dipped shrimp, and watched as a cook speared peeled shrimp on toothpicks, dipped them in batter, and dropped them into bubbling oil to fry. The shrimp were served piping hot with nothing more elaborate than a lemon wedge to accompany them.

The recipe for the batter-fried shrimp is below. And here are links to more than a dozen other recipes—beyond bacalao—that are popular for Holy Week. From soup to rice, fish to eggs, as well as vegetarian legume stews. 

This soup, caldillo de pintarroja, is another Málaga specialty. It's warming, restorative, eye-opening. Unusually in Spanish cooking, the soup packs a real jolt of chile.

Caldillo actually means “broth,” not soup. The broth has chunks of fish—pintarroja—and clams in it.  Ground almonds and bread thicken it slightly.

Broth with Fish and Clams (Caldillo de Pintarroja)

Leek and potato soup, a Basque dish called porrusalda, is typical during Lent. It can be vegetarian or contain salt cod.   

Leek and Potato Soup (Porrusalda).

Panadons are the Catalan version of empanadillas. These are made with a yeast dough and filled with spinach, pine nuts, and raisins. 

Empanadillas with Spinach (Panadons) You'll also find a recipe here for fried empanadillas with tuna-olive filling, another good Lenten treat. 

Eggs are a favored standby for Lenten meals and the Spanish potato tortilla is classic. This variation from Murcia is made with eggplant, zucchini, and red peppers, no potatoes.

Eggplant Tortilla (Tortilla de Berenjena)

When meat is off the menu, legumes are a good source of protein. This (vegan) stew has the fresh springtime flavor of fennel with white beans (from a jar), pumpkin and potatoes. 

Lenten Fennel Soup with Beans (Potaje de Hinojo para Vigilia)

In Sevilla, Spinach with Chickpeas is a favorite tapas bar dish. (It usually has more spinach than chickpeas than my version.) The basic recipe is vegan, but for Holy Week it often has salt cod dumplings added. 

Spinach with Chickpeas  (Espinacas con Garbanzos)

Spinach and Chickpeas with Cod Dumplings (Potaje de Espinacas y Garbanzos con Rellenos de Bacalao)

Lentils are what Don Quixote ate on Fridays. Or, so Cervantes tells us in the first paragraph of the novel. Because it was Friday—usually a day of abstinence from meat in the Catholic Church—they were certainly lentils viudas, “widowed,” bereft of meat or sausage. These are flavored with cumin, pepper, and clove and make a terrific vegetarian meal. (On the recipe link, you will have to scroll past the recipe for sausages to get to the lentils! 

Don Quixote's Friday Lentils (Lentejas Viudas)

Sometimes legumes are combined with fish or shellfish. This potaje, or chickpea stew, has big shrimp, chard, squash, and a seafood sausage with squid ink that looks like morcilla black sausage! Hardly a penitence. The blog also explains the shrimp nomenclature--shrimp, prawn, scampi; gamba, langostino, cigala. (Pictured are langostinos.)

Shrimp and Chickpea Stew with Seafood Sausage (Potaje de Langostinos y Garbanzos con Embutido de Pescado)

Cuttlefish and Chickpea Stew (Potaje de Jibia con Garbanzos)

This combination of beans and clams is a Lenten version of Asturian fabada. Use any white bean if the true fabes, fat Asturian beans, are not available. Stir in some pimentón de la Vera, smoked paprika, to remind you of the chorizo you are not consuming. 

Beans with Clams (Alubias con Almejas)

This Alicante rice dish, a cousin of paella, is a celebration of springtime! With garden peas, fava beans, and artichokes along with pieces of cuttlefish it's perfect for Semana Santa. 

Rice with Peas and Cuttlefish (Arroz con Guisantes y Sepia)

Rice with Clams (Arroz con Almejas)

Migas are fried bread crumbs, a brunch or supper dish, that are usually made with bacon and sausage. But it's a versatile recipe that can easily be served vegetarian or pescatarian. Garnish with grapes, olives, and fried green peppers. Here the migas are accompanied by grilled sardines. 

Garlic-Fried Breadcrumbs (Migas Campesinas)

A whole conger eel at the market.

During Lent, the period leading up to Easter, when many Catholics observe days of vigilia, or abstinence from eating meat, the selection of fresh fish in Spanish markets is sensational. All fish and shellfish are considered suitable for Lenten meals, but some, such as salt cod, kippered sardines, and eel are favored. Pictured above is congrio, conger eel, at my local market. In Valencia, anguila, common eel, is popular for Holy Week.

If you haven't got an eel, make this Valencian dish with monkfish or other firm-fleshed fish. It's called all-i-pebre, which means "garlic and pepper" (as in red pepper or pimentón). 

Monkfish with Garlic and Pimentón (All-i-Pebre de Rap) 

So many fish in the sea, but not always at the market! Will it be a pretty wrasse for dinner on Good Friday? You will find hundreds (? ok, I didn't count them) of fish and shellfish recipes in my archive of blogs, including a dozen or more for bacalao. Use the tiny window in the upper left corner to Search (on a mobile phone, you have to select "View web version" to see the Search option). 

Baked Whole Fish with Chermoula Sauce and Preserved Lemons (Pescado al Horno con Salsa Chermoula)

Batter-Fried Shrimp

Gambas Rebozadas

If you’re serving the shrimp as bite-size tapas, choose medium-large shrimp, peel them completely, tail as well, and spear them on toothpicks. Dunk them in batter, picks and all. Or you can use large-to-jumbo sized shrimp (gambón or langostino) and leave the tails unpeeled. 

Use a small skillet and fry only 3 or 4 shrimp at a time. (Batter can be refrigerated and used again a day or two later.) Test the oil by adding a few drops of batter; it should quickly puff and rise to the top. Regulate the heat so the shrimp do not brown too quickly. Medium shrimp will cook in about 1 minute; jumbo shrimp in about 1 ½ minutes. To keep the oil clean, skim out fried bits of batter after every batch of shrimp. 

Makes 30-40 fried shrimp.

1 ½ pounds whole medium-large shrimp (30-40)

Toothpicks (optional)

Pinch saffron

8-10 tablespoons water

1 egg, lightly beaten

¾ teaspoon salt

1 cup flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

Olive oil for frying

Lemon wedges to serve

Spear on toothpicks (optional)

Peel the shrimp (save the heads for the stock-pot), leaving the tails unpeeled, if desired. Spear the shrimp on toothpicks if they are to be served as one-bite appetizers. Cover and refrigerate until ready to fry them.

Crush the saffron in a mortar and stir in 1 tablespoon of water.

Combine the egg and salt in a small bowl. Add the flour and baking powder. Stir in the saffron water. Stir in additional water, a tablespoon at a time, to make a batter the consistency of medium pancake batter (8 to 10 tablespoons). Let the batter rest at room temperature at least 30 minutes or, refrigerated, until the following day.

Stir parsley into the batter. Place oil in a pan to a depth of ½ inch and heat on medium-high. Test by dropping a small spoonful of batter into the oil; it should quickly rise to the surface.

Dip the shrimp into the batter. Letting excess drip off, place them in the hot oil. Don’t crowd the pan. Let the shrimp fry until golden-brown. Carefully turn and brown reverse sides. Skim the shrimp out and drain them on paper towels. Serve accompanied by lemon wedges.

 

This cookbook explores the fascinating story of the deep and lasting influences that Islamic culture has left on modern Spanish cooking. 

Author and Spanish cooking expert Janet Mendel tells the story of the Moorish influence on Spanish cooking through 120 recipes and photographs for modern-day dishes, from salads and vegetables to fish, poultry and meat to sweets and pastries, that trace their heritage to foods served in medieval times.  (Hippocrene Books)    

 Order on IndiePubs (USA) 

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MULTI-LINGUAL TONGUE

 

Sliced tongue in a tomato-Sherry sauce.

 What’s great about cooking a whole beef tongue is its versatility—a multi-lingual meat, so to speak. Tongue makes a great filling for Mexican tacos or for a deli-style sandwich. Give it a tangy caper sauce or a sweet-sour raisin sauce. Add thinly sliced tongue to an Asian noodle bowl. Serve tongue hot or cold. Freeze part of it for another day. Oh, and don’t forget to use the flavorful cooking broth to make the best vegetable soup ever. 

Tongue is a popular food in traditional Spanish home cooking. It might be served in a tomato sauce spiked with Sherry or, Andalusian style, in a sauce of crushed almonds (that recipe is here).

This meat requires long cooking, anywhere from 1 ½ to 3 hours (cut cooking time in half with a pressure cooker or Instant Pot), but it is effortless. The result is exceedingly tender meat (small children love it because it’s so easy to chew), pleasantly beefy in flavor, and ever-so moist. 

Capers add a tangy taste to the sauce.

Potatoes cooked with the tongue can be served alongside.

To cook tongue

Para preparar la lengua

Whole tongue has no bones, no cartilage, no sinews. The meat is encased in a thick skin. Once cooked, while still hot, the skin is easy to remove—just slit it and peel it off. Once the skin is removed, the tongue can be sliced and refrigerated in some of the cooking liquid. Or leave it whole and slice when ready to use. Carrots and potatoes, if desired, can be cooked with the tongue and served with the finished dish. 

1 beef tongue (2-3 pounds)

Salt

Water

1 tablespoon vinegar

Black peppercorns

1 stalk celery

1 onion, quartered

1 leek, sliced

1 or more carrots, peeled

Bunch of parsley

2 bay leaves

Potatoes, peeled (optional)

After cooking, save the flavorful broth.

Wash the tongue in running water. (If the tongue still has blood adhering to it, soak it in salt water for 30 minutes and rinse again.) 

Put the tongue in a large pot with enough water to cover it, 10-12 cups. Add 1 tablespoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of peppercorns, the vinegar, celery, onion, leek, carrot, parsley and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer. Cover and cook the tongue, turning it once or twice, until tender when pierced with a knife, 1 ½- 2½  hours. If desired, add potatoes during last 30 minutes of cooking.

Sliced tongue.

Remove the tongue from the pot, reserving the broth. When the tongue is cool enough to handle but still warm, slit the skin and peel it off. Slice all or part of the tongue. Add some of the cooking liquid to the sliced tongue and refrigerate until ready to use. Strain the cooking liquid. Save this broth for making sauce or soup. (I like to save the peppercorns too; they add a piquant touch to sauce.)

Honey-Mustard Sauce

Salsa de Miel y Mostaza

Serve this easy sauce with hot or cold sliced tongue.

Makes ¼ cup of sauce to accompany 12 slices of tongue. 

1 teaspoon honey

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon Sherry vinegar

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon chopped scallions

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

Stir the honey and mustard together in a small jar. Add the vinegar, salt, pepper, scallions, and parsley. Add the oil, cap the jar, and shake until the sauce is emulsified. Shake again before serving. 

Tongue with Tomato-Sherry Sauce

Lengua con Salsa de Tomate y Vino Jerez

Spanish cooks often add an extra dimension by flouring and frying the slices of tongue before adding them to the sauce. Or, you can just add the cooked tongue directly to the sauce and reheat. 

Dry Sherry gives the tomato sauce extra flavor. A similar recipe from Galicia (northwest Spain) calls for aguardiente—fire water—a clear grape brandy, instead of Sherry. Reheat the tongue in the sauce and serve hot. Boiled potatoes are good alongside.

Serves 4.

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup chopped onion

½ cup chopped red bell pepper

3 cloves chopped garlic

¼ cup dry Sherry

3-4 plum tomatoes, peeled and chopped

½ cup tongue cooking broth + more as needed

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon crushed thyme

12 (¾-inch) slices cooked tongue

    Flour for dredging (optional)

    1 beaten egg (optional)

    Olive oil for frying (optional)

Capers 

Chopped parsley to serve

Heat the oil in a skillet on medium heat and sauté the onion, bell pepper, and garlic until softened, 5 minutes. Add the Sherry, raise the heat, and cook off the alcohol. Add the tomatoes and fry until somewhat reduced. Add the broth, salt, and thyme. Cook, covered, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes. 

Add cooked tongue to the sauce and simmer.

Scrape the tomato sauce into food processor or blender and process to make a partially-smooth sauce (a few chunks of vegetables are fine). Return the sauce to the pan. If the sauce is too thick, add some of the tongue cooking broth.

    Optional: If you wish to fry the tongue, dredge     the sliced tongue in flour, dip in beaten egg, and     fry the slices quickly in hot oil. Drain and add to     the sauce.

Add the slices of tongue to the sauce and simmer until meat is thoroughly heated. Add capers to taste. Serve the tongue and sauce sprinkled with parsley.

Use the tongue cooking liquid to make a flavorful vegetable soup.

Happening tomorrow!

You still have time to sign-up for my presentation, "Al-Andalus: The Enduring Influence of Islamic Culture on Spanish Cuisine," an online event, Sunday, March 22, sponsored by the Culinary Historians of New York. It will take place at 2 pm EDT (New York); 7 pm CET (Spain). Here's the link to register for the Zoom event: EventBrite.com ($12.51 for non-members).

 

This cookbook explores the fascinating story of the deep and lasting influences that Islamic culture has left on modern Spanish cooking. 

Author and Spanish cooking expert Janet Mendel tells the story of the Moorish influence on Spanish cooking through 120 recipes and photographs for modern-day dishes, from salads and vegetables to fish, poultry and meat to sweets and pastries, that trace their heritage to foods served in medieval times.  (Hippocrene Books)    

 Order on IndiePubs (USA) 

Use PROMO CODE HIPPOCRENE40 for 40% off on all Hippocrene titles at IndiePubs online bookstore.

***

Order on amazon (USA)

Order on amazon.es  (Spain)

Order on amazon.co.uk (UK)

Order on amazon.com.au (Australia)

(If you order on Amazon, please give my book a review!)

***

Order on ark.no (Norway)

ONLINE EVENT: THE STORY OF MOORISH INFLUENCE ON SPANISH COOKING

Al-Andalus:

The Enduring Influence of Islamic Culture on Spanish Cuisine

Online event sponsored by the Culinary Historians of New York

Sunday, Mar 22 from 2 pm EDT (US); 7 pm CET (Spain)

Janet Mendel, author of Flavors of Al-Andalus , from her kitchen in Andalusia, will tell the story of Moorish influence on Spanish cooking.                                                                                                                                                                  Muslims first invaded the Iberian peninsula in 711 CE, crossing the narrow straits from North Africa and taking over most of what would become the country of Spain. The newly conquered land was called al-Andalus and at one time covered almost the entire Iberian peninsula. For nearly 800 years, Muslim, Sephardic-Jewish, and Mozárabe-Christian communities lived together, in proximity, sometimes at war but often in friendly cooperation, shopping at the same markets, trading commodities, and sharing each other’s holidays and festive foods. This interweaving of cultures embedded the foodways of al-Andalus deeply in Spanish life.

Janet Mendel, journalist and author of several cookbooks, including the new Flavors of Al-Andalus: The Culinary Legacy of Spain (Hippocrene, 2025), will join us by Zoom from her kitchen in Andalusia to tell the story of Moorish influence on Spanish cooking. Using examples from contemporary recipes such as meatballs in almond-saffron sauce, gazpacho with oranges, and eggplant timbale, she will trace the heritage of ingredients and techniques to foods served in Islamic Spain (711–1492).

To register for the March 22 presentation on Zoom, go to this ticketing site.

 

This cookbook explores the fascinating story of the deep and lasting influences that Islamic culture has left on modern Spanish cooking. 

Author and Spanish cooking expert Janet Mendel tells the story of the Moorish influence on Spanish cooking through 120 recipes and photographs for modern-day dishes, from salads and vegetables to fish, poultry and meat to sweets and pastries, that trace their heritage to foods served in medieval times.  (Hippocrene Books)    

 Order on IndiePubs (USA) 

Use PROMO CODE HIPPOCRENE40 for 40% off on all Hippocrene titles at IndiePubs online bookstore.

***

Order on amazon (USA)

Order on amazon.es  (Spain)

Order on amazon.co.uk (UK)

Order on amazon.com.au (Australia)

(If you order on Amazon, please give my book a review!)

***

Order on ark.no (Norway)