BACK TO THE FUTURE IN THE NEW YEAR

With cold, drizzling rain and an excess of holiday cheer, by January 2 what I wanted was Garlic Soup—a meal so simple and heart-warming as to be, not trendy, but decidedly old-fashioned. Looking at my archived blog posts, I see I featured Garlic Soup in one of my earliest blogs, January 1, 2010!  Here it is, with a little editing.  

GARLIC SOUP FOR THE MORNING-AFTER

Garlic soup with egg, a restorative soup to get you ready for a New Year.

Are you needing a morning-after cure? Spain—a great land for partying—takes very seriously the day-after resaca, hangover. The prescription begins with churros y chocolate, fried fritters and thick, dark hot chocolate, to finish the late-night revelry before heading home to bed.

The next day, several robust soups are touted as sure-fire cures for what ails you. One is sopa de picadillo, an enriched chicken-ham broth with chopped bits of ham, egg and croutons. But nothing works as well as sopa de ajo, garlic soup.   

Garlic soup starts where French onion soup leaves off. Huge flavor, simple to prepare, rustic and real. Although every region has its rendition of garlic soup, the Castillian one is the best known.

From the Puerta del Sol in Madrid to the village plaza, the custom on New Year’s Eve is to eat twelve grapes, one at each of the twelve midnight bells, thus guaranteeing a year of good fortune.

I didn’t go to town last night to join revelers in the plaza to welcome in the new year. I enjoyed a quiet dinner at home by the fire with friends and a bottle of cava. Charlotte brought grapes picked from her vines, still sweet. A movie on cable TV. So, today, the first day of 2010, I’m feeling just fine, but still thinking about that great garlic soup. (2026--didn't even make it to midnight, but watched the fireworks on CNN. No resaca (hangover), but I still want that Garlic Soup!)

HAPPY NEW YEAR! — ¡FELIZ AÑO NUEVO!

Castillian Garlic Soup

Sopa de Ajo Castellana

At its simplest, this soup is made with bread, garlic, olive oil, and water. But better is an enriched version made with flavorful stock instead of water. You can use store-bought chicken or meat stock or, best of all, the caldo, broth, from a big cocido, a meal-in-a-pot made with chicken, beef, and ham bone. Use day-old bread, preferably rustic, country-style bread, but baguette is fine too.

Simple ingredients: olive oil, garlic, bread.

Serves 4.

½  pound bread, sliced ½-inch thick 
1/3 cup olive oil
2 ounces diced ham or bacon (optional)
6 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon pimentón (paprika)
¼  teaspoon ground cumin
6 cups chicken broth
Salt to taste
4 eggs

Toast the bread and set aside.

In a large cazuela (earthenware casserole) heat the olive oil. Add the diced ham and chopped garlic and sauté until the garlic begins to take on color, about four minutes. Stir in the pimentón and cumin and immediately add the broth. Add salt to taste.

Add the toasted bread to the cazuela. Bring the broth to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for five minutes. The bread should begin to break up in the broth.

With the soup bubbling, break each egg into a saucer and slide it onto the top of the soup. Cover and let the eggs poach until the whites are set and yolks still liquid, about 4 minutes. Serve the soup in the same cazuela.

More versions of garlic soup:

Andalusian Garlic Soup (Maimones)

Garlic Soup with Miso (vegetarian)

Jellied Garlic Soup with Poached Quail Egg

FLAVORS OF AL-ANDALUS 

The Culinary Legacy of Spain

FLAVORS OF AL-ANDALUS, The Culinary Legacy of Spain. Here's a fresh angle on the traditional cooking of Spain, with 120 recipes that trace their roots to Moorish Spain. See below for where to order. 

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. Dishes from this era include exotic spices such as saffron, the use of fruits and almonds with savory dishes, and honeyed sweets and pastries. The flavors of al-Andalus live on in modern Spanish cooking and are what makes Spain’s cuisine distinctive from the rest of Europe. (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)

DECADENT (SUGAR-FREE) FINALE TO 2025

Luscious turrón mousse to finish the year.

 

Looking ahead to festive dining on New Year’s, before the inevitable January diet, I am planning a meal a little decadent, luxurious with calories. I’ll throw some foie gras into the serving of black-eyed peas, flambé the tenderloin with fine brandy, and, for dessert, indulge in a rich mousse of cream and turrón, almond nougat candy.

It’s a rich dessert, no matter how you figure. But I am making it with no sugar! I found sugar-free versions of both the crunchy-hard Alicante and the fudgy-soft Jijona turrón that are made with sweeteners such as malitol and sorbitol. You might even like them better than the original, sugar-laden turrón! The mousse requires no gelatin and is absolutely simple to prepare. 

If sugar-free is not your thing, you can make the recipe with regular soft turrón containing sugar. Look for Spanish turrón at specialty food shops or order from LaTienda.

A layer of cookie crumbs (crushed polvorones) forms the base for the cream. Toppings of grated dark chocolate, chopped salted almonds, or ground cinnamon. Or, why not? all three. 

Luscious and so easy to make.

Almond Nougat Mousse

Espuma de Turrón

Crumbled polvorón.

Use whipping cream that has been well-chilled. Chill the bowl and beaters by placing them in the freezer 30 minutes before whipping the cream. If desired, sugar or sugar substitute can be beaten into the cream. 

A layer of crumbled cookies (polvorones*) make a base for the creamy mousse. Use any cookie crumbs if polvorones are not available. Once the mousse has been scooped into dessert cups, sprinkle the tops with grated dark chocolate (look for sugar-free chocolate), chopped fried almonds, ground cinnamon, or all three! Cover the cups with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 2 days. 

Soft turrón mashes easily.

Makes 5 (½ -cup) servings

 

8 ounces (Philadelphia) cream cheese, room temperature

1 (150-gram/ 5 ¼- ounce) bar of (sugar-free) soft almond turrón, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon rum or Brandy de Jerez

Pinch of salt

1 cup whipping cream, chilled

Sugar or sugar-substitute (optional)

1-2 (sugar-free) polvorones (crumbly cookies) 

Topping: grated dark chocolate, ground cinnamon, or chopped salted almonds

Combine the cream cheese, turrón, vanilla, rum, and salt in a blender. Blend until smooth. 

In a chilled bowl, whip the cream until stiff adding sugar/substitute, if desired. Whisk a spoonful of the cream cheese-turrón mixture into the cream then gently fold the remainder into the cream. 

Crush the polvorones and place a spoonful in the bottom of 5-6 dessert cups. Spoon the mousse mixture into the cups. Top them, as desired, with chocolate, cinnamon, and/or chopped almonds.

Cover the dessert cups with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve. 

*Polvorones are a popular Andalusian Christmas cookie confected of lard, sugar, ground almonds, and flour. Their name means "powdery" because they easily crumble to bits. See more about polvorones and the similar mantecados here.

***   ***   ***

Here are more suggestions for New Year dining:

Almond Nougat Mousse This version is with eggs and gelatin (and I see that I used the same dessert cups!)

Salmon with Cava Sauce and Grapes

Smoked Trout Timbale

Vegetarian Pâté

Curried Sweet Potato Soup

Consommé of Quail and Wild Mushrooms

Duck Breast with Clementine Sauce

Black-Eyed Peas for Good Fortune in the New Year

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

FLAVORS OF AL-ANDALUS 

The Culinary Legacy of Spain

FLAVORS OF AL-ANDALUS, The Culinary Legacy of Spain. Here's a fresh angle on the traditional cooking of Spain, with 120 recipes that trace their roots to Moorish Spain. See below for where to order. 

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. Dishes from this era include exotic spices such as saffron, the use of fruits and almonds with savory dishes, and honeyed sweets and pastries. The flavors of al-Andalus live on in modern Spanish cooking and are what makes Spain’s cuisine distinctive from the rest of Europe. (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)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

 

A bowl of good fortune for the New Year! Black-eyed peas with vegetables and a scattering of red pomegranate.

I’m cooking up a pot of black-eyed peas to celebrate the New Year. But, you say, it’s a few months before January 1, 2024. True, but Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, is right upon us, based on a lunar calendar, the first day of the Hebrew month of Tishrei. This year Rosh Hashana begins at sundown next Friday, September 15. 

In the American south, black-eyed peas, symbolizing good fortune and prosperity, are cooked for New Year’s.  Amongst Sephardic Jews, black-eyed peas also are eaten to welcome the New Year for similar symbolic reasons. 

Black-eyed peas are similar to, but not related to, familiar beans such as navy, cannellini, lima, pinto, black. Those beans are all New World legumes, whereas black-eyed peas/beans, native to the African continent, were known in Biblical times.  

Black-eyed peas cook up soft and creamy without disintegrating to mush. They readily soak up flavors, so benefit from spices, herbs, lots of garlic, tangy accents from citrus or vinegar. And salt, they need plenty of salt, and olive oil. 

In Spain, black-eyed peas are called alubia carilla, judía de careta or, in Catalan, fesolets.    

My recipe here is similar to the Spanish potaje de carillas, but without the usual chorizo and pork belly! It’s completely vegan, in fact, so would be a perfect dish for Rosh Hashana or any meal. It can be served hot or cold, as a side dish with meat or as a vegetarian main. 

Not collard greens as in the South, but chard, spinach or beet greens can be cooked with the beans. I’ve added a garnish of pomegranate seeds. The ruby-red arils of this autumnal fruit are also considered auspicious for the Rosh Hashana holiday. 

Carrot "coins," rings of leek, chard leaves and black-eyed peas all have symbolic meanings for the New Year meal.

Serve the black-eyed peas as a vegetarian main dish or as a side dish alongside meat or chicken. 

Black-eyed Peas

Potaje de Carillas

For this recipe, I started with dried black-eyed peas that need to be soaked overnight then cooked 60 to 90 minutes. If you can get fresh shelling black-eyed peas, you will need about 3 cups shelled. They do not need soaking and should cook in about 40 minutes. If using frozen peas, use about 6 cups cooked and frozen ones. 

As with all legumes, it’s best to use soft water for soaking and cooking the peas. If you have especially hard water, add a pinch of baking soda to the soaking and cooking water or use low-mineral bottled water for cooking. Spanish cooks say you should asustar the beans—give them a "scare" while they cook—when they are partially cooked, add a half-cup of cold water to “shock” them. Supposedly, this keeps their skins from splitting. 

Crush the whole spices, garlic and herbs in a mortar or substitute ground spices, if preferred.

The cooked black-eyed peas can be served cold as a salad. Add additional olive oil and vinegar to them and serve with salad greens. 

Serves 6 to 8 as a vegetable side dish.

2 cups dried black-eyed peas (1 pound)

Water for soaking and cooking

3 carrots, peeled

1 leek, divided

1 stalk celery

1-2 bay leaves

1 ½ teaspoons salt

1/3 cup olive oil + additional to finish

1 cup chopped onions

½ teaspoon coarse salt

10 peppercorns

2 cloves

2 coriander seeds

1/8 teaspoon cumin seeds

½ teaspoon oregano

4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped

4 cups chopped leaves and stems of chard

2 tablespoons lemon juice

Pomegranate arils, to garnish (optional)

Eight hours (or more) before cooking: place the black-eyed peas in a bowl or pan and cover them with water. Leave them to soak. (Two cups dried beans will swell to almost six cups soaked.) 

Drain the beans. Place them in a pan and add 6 cups of water. Bring to a boil and skim off the froth that rises to the top. Reduce heat to medium, cover and cook the beans 15 minutes.

Add the carrots, half of the leek, celery and 1 ½ teaspoons salt. Cover and cook the beans 30 minutes.

Crush spices in mortar.

While beans are cooking, heat the oil in a skillet and sauté the onions on medium heat until they are very soft but not browned, 6 to 8 minutes. If they start to brown, add a few drops of water and continue frying them. Slice the remaining half of the leek and add the slices to the onion.

Place the coarse salt in a mortar with the peppercorns, cloves, coriander, cumin and oregano. Crush the spices and herbs to powder. Add the garlic and continue crushing to make a paste. Remove the carrots from the pan of beans. Cut one carrot in half. Add half a carrot to the mortar mixture and mash it with the spices. (Reserve remaining carrots.) Dilute the paste with a spoonful of the bean cooking liquid. 

Stir the paste from the mortar into the sautéed onions in the skillet. Fry them two minutes more. Stir the contents of the skillet into the beans along with the chopped chard. Add ½ cup of cold water and continue cooking the beans until they are very tender, about 20 minutes. 

The peas and vegetables can be served soupy, with cooking liquid, or scooped out with a slotted spoon and served fairly dry. Be sure to drizzle extra virgin olive oil on top before serving.

Remove and discard the bay leaf, piece of cooked leek and celery. Slice the reserved cooked carrots and return them to the pan. Stir in the lemon juice. Allow the black-eyed peas to set 10 minutes before serving.

Serve the black-eyed peas in bowls with their liquid or, as a vegetable side dish, removed from the pan with a slotted spoon. Drizzle olive oil over the top. Garnish with pomegranate, if desired.

More recipes for Rosh Hashanah:

Chicken Braised in Spiced Grape Juice.

Apple Cake with Honey-Wine Syrup.

Chicken Not-Marbella.

Stuffed Chickens Roasted in a Clay Pot.

Spicy Moroccan Squash Salad.

HOLIDAY FINALE

Almost down to the bone. Daniel slices the last of a Spanish ibérico ham, ordered in the United States from La Tienda, importers of Spanish products. Daniel orders his ham right before Thanksgiving and packs it along to gatherings during the holiday season. 

 

I brought Spanish turrón (almond nougat, both soft Jijona and crunchy Alicante) and little figures of marzipan from Spain. Just a few pieces left to finish out the holidays.

On New Year's Eve we put out the last of the pimentón-rubbed goat cheese that I brought from Spain and imported Spanish chorizo picante, Palacios brand, bought locally at World Market in Atlanta, GA. 

For our family gift exchange we had "white elephant" baskets, each  packed with themed goodies. Can you believe, I drew the Spanish foods basket? Extra virgin olive oil, a packet of serrano ham, anchovies, wine and more. I later swapped a few items from my grandson's Italian basket and contributed the oil to the family kitchen.

Among the contents of the Spain basket, a Tempranillo wine from Valdepeñas, perfect with our roast leg of lamb on New Year's Eve.

For New Year's day I'm making black-eyed peas, a Spanish recipe with a southern tradition in the U.S. Will it be chorizo or smoked southern sausage? I definitely would have added collard greens, but they didn't turn up on the grocery order. I cooked the black-eyed peas with some of the ibérico ham fat.

Black-eyed peas--good luck for the New Year. It's 75 degrees F. in Atlanta, Ga., warmer than where I live in southern Spain. 

Black-Eyed Peas with Tomato Sofrito
Potaje de Carillas con Sofrito

Serves 4.

2 cups dried black-eyed peas (14 ounces), soaked in water 8 to12 hours
½ cup sliced leek
1 cup sliced carrots or pumpkin
2 bay leaves
1 head garlic, char-roasted (see instructions below)
Pork, pork belly or ham hocks
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
Red pepper flakes
½ teaspoon pimentón de la Vera (smoked paprika)
1 cup peeled, seeded, and chopped tomato
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon cumin
¼ teaspoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
Pinch of ground cloves
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon wine vinegar

Drain the soaked black-eyed peas and place them in a pot with 6 cups of fresh water. Bring to a boil and skim off the froth. Add the leek, carrots, bay leaves, cloves of char-roasted garlic and pork or ham hocks. Cover and simmer the peas 30 minutes.

Heat the oil in a skillet and sauté the onion and pepper 5 minutes. Stir in the red pepper flakes and pimentón and immediately add the tomato. Season with salt, cumin, oregano, parsley, cloves, and pepper. Cook the sofrito 8 minutes.

Add ½ cup cold water to the black-eyed peas. Bring again to a boil and stir in the sofrito. Cover and simmer until peas are very tender, 60 to 90 minutes.

Stir in the vinegar and cook 5 minutes longer.

This is an Andalusian cooking technique, used especially for potajes with legumes. Char-roasting garlic makes it easy to peel a whole head of garlic and mellows the bite of raw garlic. 

Spear the whole head of garlic on a kitchen fork (use a hot-pad to protect your hands) or grip it with tongs and roast over an open flame on a gas stove or barbecue until charred on all sides. Once cool enough to handle, rub off all the charred skin and add the cloves of garlic to the pot of black-eyed peas.