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| Photo La Voz de Cádiz |
The almadraba season is underway! The first glistening tunas, Atlantic bluefins, have been pulled from the waters on the Atlantic coast leading into the Straits of Gibraltar.
The almadraba is a very ancient way of fishing tuna. The Phoenicians, who colonized southern Spain more than 3000 years ago, devised a system of capturing the tuna as they migrated from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean to spawn. The Romans came to conquer and stayed to fish. A few centuries later, the Arabs of medieval Spain gave us the word almadraba for the method of catching these big fish. Almadraba means “the place to strike.”
The almadraba nets, forming long chambers, like a series of corrals, are anchored to the bottom. Tuna swimming through are trapped in the nets. Fishermen in boats pull the nets into a tightening circle, until the huge fish are trapped in the middle. The men haul them on board—the levantá—where they are dispatched with a knife cut in the gills. In port, the tuna are butchered, ronqueo is the word indicating the sound—like a loud snore—of the knife cutting through the rough skin. The fish is cut into many parts, the choice lomo, or loin; the ventresca or fatty belly meat; the morillo, cut from the top of the head, etc.
More than half of the almadraba catch is bought up by Japanese entrepreneurs and shipped, frozen, to Tokyo. What’s left goes to local markets, restaurants, tapa bars and processors.
The almadraba is sustainable fishing. The catch is monitored and subject to strict quotas imposed by ICCAT (International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas). The nets allow smaller fish to escape. The tuna run ends in June; no tuna are captured on their return from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic. It is estimated that less than one percent of the tuna that pass through the Straits are captured. Last year’s catch on the Cádiz coast was about 1,600 tuna.
Worldwide, however, blue-fin tuna is endangered. According to Fernando Huidobro, journalist, cookbook author, and founder of the Academia Andaluza de Gastronomía, the challenge to the survival of thunnus thynnus is the uncontrolled use of abusive fishing methods such as pelagic longline and, above all, the purse-seine net.
Atlantic bluefin tuna—Thunnus thynnus—is atún rojo, red tuna, in Spanish. Bonito del norte, Thunnus alalunga, is white tuna or albacore—not to be confused with Thunnus albacares or yellowfin tuna, also sometimes called albacore (rabil in Spanish).
This month (until June 8) is the XXIX Ruta Gastronómica del Atún in Conil (Cádiz), one of the main tuna-fishing ports. Twenty-nine different bars and restaurants have special tuna tasting menus. Zahara de los Atunes celebrates the XXI Ruta del Atún May 12-17. (The tuna route in Barbate has just finished.)
To whet your appetite, here are links to tuna recipes
This is salt-cured tuna, called mojama, aka "the ham of the sea." The word mojama comes from the Arabic, mushmarra, meaning “waxy,” because the
slab of dried fish looks like bees wax. Mojama is made from thick slices of
tuna that are packed in sea salt for a day or two, then washed and hung to
air-dry. As it dries, the
flesh becomes firm and the flavor intensifies. Mojama tastes moderately salty with a subtle iodine taste, but is not “fishy.”
It’s a rich, umami flavor. It makes a superb appetizer.
Tuna Tartare. Did you know you should freeze any fish that's going to be served raw? As most fresh tuna comes to the market frozen, that step may already be done for you. This recipe has capers, of course, and pickled melon.
In Valencia this easy dish is can be made with dry or fresh tuna. It's a simple tomato-pepper sauce, embellished with spices (cinnamon) and pine nuts. Serve it hot or cold.
A great party dish--let guests compose their own bowls. The raw fish can be bluefin or albacore tuna. (On the link is also a recipe for crowd-pleasing tuna cakes--perfect for when you have leftovers from a big fish.)
Cook the tuna on a ridged grill pan or on the barbecue to desired doneness--rare is best. Serve it with this sauce of sweet onions caramelized in PX sweet wine. It's an updated version of traditional atún encebollado, or "onioned tuna."
A piece of fresh tuna is larded with strips of bacon which help to keep it juicy; slow-cooked in an onion-rich sauce with lots of olive oil, and carefully monitored so it doesn’t overcook and become dry. Unlike a beef pot roast, this one needs only about 30 minutes to cook.
Too rare for you? Grill the tuna a little longer for medium. Moroccan preserved lemons add a briny accent to the sauce of chopped vegetables cooked in red wine.
This recipe for tuna with tomatoes is traditional in Andalusia, especially in the provinces of Huelva and Cádiz where bluefin tuna is taken. In its original version, the lesser cuts of the big fish would be cut into chunks and braised slowly with not much more than olive oil and cut-up tomatoes. Nowdays, the dish is usually prepared with choice pieces from the loin, briefly browned in oil then finished in tomato sauce to cook only for three or four minutes. Cooked in this manner, the fish stays juicy and moist.
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)
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