 |
| Chicken pieces are rubbed with a spice blend before roasting over a bread dressing. |
“Do you have recipes for some of the spice rubs they sell in Spanish markets?” my chef friend, Lars, wrote to me. He said he often buys a few hundred grams of spices for fish, pork and chicken. “I like them a lot. I’m out. Have you ever written about this?”
Actually, no. Although I’m a regular at the spice stall in my local market, I seldom buy mixed spice blends nor have I thought of them as “rubs” for meat. I use other blends—curry powder, for example, or garam masala. While they might not be as good as combining a palette of spices, the blends allow me to enjoy world-wide flavors without buying a slew of spices I might never use again. (I just threw out a jar of fenugreek that has been on my spice shelf for 30 years or more. There are also Moroccan ras el hanout, Middle Eastern za’atar, Maryland crab boil, New Orleans gumbo file, Chinese five-spice, and more!
Spain, too, has its spice blends that have been developed for popular dishes such as pinchitos (small kebabs) and adobo, a marinade for fish and meat. I set out to sample some of them and try them, as Chef Lars suggests, as rubs.
The days of markets with colorful, fragrant, open sacks of spices and herbs are gone. Food regulations set by the European Union require more sanitary handling. The commercialization of spices and herbs has strict requirements for maximum residue limits (such as for pesticides, toxins, and contamination, both molds and bacterial), and labelling of allergens, origin, and additives.
But in many markets, you can still buy spices by weight from open stock. My local vendor receives spices in large plastic tubs. She scoops them into small bags (50-100 grams) labelled only with the spice name. The labels with ingredients are on the large containers from the distributor.
I looked up some of the spice blends on one company’s web site. Most of the spice blends contain salt; a few have additives such as E-621, sodium salt of glutamic acid, known as MSG, a flavor enhancer.
 |
| Spices at the market. |
The blends are very well balanced, salt to spice, if used according to the distributor’s recommendations. If, on tasting, a dish needs more salt, it needs more spice too. Where the blend doesn’t work so well is in smaller quantities, such as for a dressing or dipping sauce. Here you might want more spices, but not more salt.
I bought several of the spice blends to experiment with. I tried them as rubs—on pork tenderloin and on chicken—and also in marinades and sauces. I especially liked them for jazzing up vegetables!
Roast Chicken with Bread Dressing
Pollo Asado con Relleno
 |
| A spice rub gives chicken a lovely crust. The dressing is seasoned with the same blend. |
I rubbed chicken quarters with a blend called pollo al ast, meant for rotisserie chickens (salt, pepper, pimentón, rosemary, nutmeg, marjoram, and “aromas”). I roasted the chicken on a bed of mushroom stuffing/dressing seasoned with the same spice blend. The chicken needed nothing more than a drizzle of olive oil to finish with a crispy skin.
The bread dressing bakes beneath the roasting chicken. It could also be used as a stuffing for whole chicken or—planning for holidays—easily quadrupled for a small turkey. If you prefer a crispier dressing, bake it separately from the chicken in a covered pan for 20 minutes, remove cover to let the top crisp.
Serves 4.
4 chicken quarters (about 2 ½ pounds)
6 teaspoons roast chicken spice blend (pollo al ast)
Olive oil
2 cups diced or torn stale bread
1/3 cup diced celery
½ cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped mushrooms
½ cup stock
Rub chicken pieces with about 1 teaspoon of spice each. Drizzle them with olive oil.
Place bread in a mixing bowl.
Heat 1 tablespoon oil on medium in a skillet. Add the celery, onion, and mushrooms and sauté until they are softened, 5 minutes. Stir in 2 teaspoons of spice and 2 tablespoons of the stock. Cook on medium-low 5 minutes.
 |
| Bread cubes for dressing. |
Mix the contents of the skillet with the bread. Add stock, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the bread is moistened thoroughly, but not soaked. (If dressing is prepared in advance, don’t add stock until ready to roast the chicken.)
Preheat oven to 400ºF. Lightly oil a roasting pan or sheet pan.
Spread the stuffing in the pan. Place the chicken quarters on top. Roast 10 minutes. Lower oven temperature to 350ºF. Roast until chicken juices run clear, about 35 minutes more.
Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Pinchito Spice Rub
Solomillo de Cerdo a la Brasa con Especias de Pinchitos
 |
| Pork grilled with a rub of pinchito spice is served with potatoes flavored with cous cous spices. |
Pinchito spice is a blend based on spices used for Moroccan brochettes, skewered meat. In Morocco the small kebabs are made with beef, lamb or chicken. In Spain pinchitos, popular in tapas bars and for street fairs, are made with pork! In the old days, when a cook mixed her own spices, pinchitos came either “con pique” or “sin pique.” With picante—chile—or without picante. You can still purchase “yellow” pinchito spice that is not spicy-hot or “red” spice which has a dose of cayenne in addition to mild pimentón (salt, “spices,” sugar, antioxidants E-301 and E-330, and acidulating agent E-262.The undesignated spices probably include cumin, coriander, turmeric, black pepper, ginger).
Here the spice forms a crust on a whole pork tenderloin, grilled on a gas barbecue.Take care not to overcook the tenderloin, as it easily becomes dry.
Serves 2.
1 pork tenderloin, 16-20 ounces
2 cloves garlic
1 sprig parsley
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 ½ tablespoons pinchito spice**
Place the tenderloin in a bowl.
In a mortar crush the garlic and parsley. Add the oil, lemon juice, and ½ tablespoon of the spice. Mix them with the garlic to make a paste. Spread the paste on all sides of the meat. Sprinkle the remaining spice evenly over the meat. Refrigerate the pork, uncovered, for 1 to 4 hours.
Preheat barbecue on medium-high. Grill the pork until browned on all sides and the spices are crusty. Let it rest 10 minutes before slicing.
**If you want to mix your own pinchito blend, see this post.
Oven Potatoes with Moroccan Spices
Patatas Panadera con Especias Maroquí
This is a shortcut version of patatas panaderas, cooked in a microwave instead of the oven. Some cooks add a pinch of cumin to the potatoes, which inspired me to use a lustier spice, condimento couscous, a blend for cous cous (turmeric, ginger, cayenne, clove, salt, pimentón, MSG) It was very nice with potatoes, although the potatoes needed additional salt. (Test before cooking the potatoes by muddling a small spoon (or your finger) in the potatoes and tasting for salt.)
Serves 2-4.
1 pound potatoes
2 tablespoon olive oil
½ onion, sliced
Strips of red and green peppers
1 ½ teaspoons cous cous spice blend
2 tablespoons white wine
Salt to taste
Cut the potatoes in ¼-inch slices and place in a microwave-safe bowl. Mix with the oil. Add the onion, peppers, spice, and wine. Mix well. Add salt if needed. Microwave on High 5 minutes. Remove the bowl and stir to redistribute the potatoes. Microwave 5 minutes longer. Test the potatoes for doneness. If necessary, microwave them 2-3 minutes more.
Pan-Grilled Swordfish with Pil Pil Sauce
Pez Espada a la Plancha con Pil Pil
Pil pil, in Málaga parlance, refers to a dish of shrimp sizzled in olive oil with sliced garlic and a tiny cayenne pepper. It’s a popular tapas bar dish which elsewhere in Spain is called gambas al ajillo, garlic-shrimp. (Except for the olive oil, it is totally different from the famous Basque dish of bacalao al pil pil, salt cod in a garlic-oil emulsion sauce.) I mixed the pil pil spice (chips of toasted garlic, pimentón, salt, cayenne, parsley, bay leaf, black pepper, thyme, cumin) into hot oil for a sensational sauce to serve with pan-grilled swordfish. The sauce also was brilliant on cooked cabbage! Also good on roasted sweet potatoes and brushed on toast to serve with eggs. Like chile-oil served with Indian dal, the pil pil spiced oil would be delicious added to a bowl of beans or lentils.
 |
| Pil pil spice plus olive oil. |
Makes 1/3 cup sauce.
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons pil pil spice
1/8 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Swordfish steaks
Place the oil in a small saucepan. Heat until the oil is shimmering, but not smoking. Add the spice and cumin and immediately remove the pan from the heat. Stir to blend. When the oil has cooled slightly, add the lemon juice.
Keep the sauce in a jar at room temperature. Shake or stir before spooning it over fish, vegetables, or toast.
Grill swordfish on a ridged grill pan brushed with oil. Spoon pil pil sauce over the fish.
Fried Chicken Nuggets
Lágrimas de Pollo
 |
| Strips of chicken marinate with spices before breading and frying. |
These tasty fried chicken bites turn up as tapas and are also a favorite meal for the kids. Lágrimas are “tear drops,” so-called because the chicken is cut into tear-drop shaped strips. The chicken can be cut into nuggets, if preferred. I used the spice mix for pollo al ajillo, chicken with garlic (garlic, salt, oregano, parsley, ginger, sugar, “aroma”).
No need to deep fry. Place about ½-inch of oil in the pan and fry the chicken pieces in batches so they don’t crowd each other. Flip them when golden—1 minute per side, more or less. (Test one nugget after frying to make sure it’s cooked through.)
1 pound boneless chicken breasts
2 ½ tablespoons al ajillo spice
1 tablespoon olive oil + more for frying
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Flour for dredging
1 large egg
Fine dry bread crumbs (about 1 cup)
Dipping sauce (recipe follows)
Cut the chicken into strips 2 to 2 ½ inches long. Place them in a bowl. In a small bowl combine the spice with 1 tablespoon oil and lemon juice. Add the mixture to the chicken and mix well. Cover and marinate the chicken, refrigerated, at least 1 hour and up to 24 hours.
When ready to fry the chicken, heat oil to a depth of ½ inch on medium high in a heavy skillet. Dredge chicken pieces in flour and pat off excess. Beat the egg with 1 teaspoon of water and place in a shallow bowl. Coat the floured chicken in egg. Spread crumbs in a shallow bowl or tray. Lift the chicken out of the egg, draining briefly, and place in the crumbs. Shake the tray to coat the chicken with crumbs.
Place chicken pieces in a single layer in the hot oil. Fry until golden-brown on one side. Carefully flip the pieces and brown the reverse side, 2 to 3 minutes total. Remove them and place on paper towels to remove excess oil. Continue frying the remaining chicken.
Serve the chicken nuggets hot or room temperature accompanied by a dipping sauce.
Dipping sauce for Fried Chicken
Salsa para Dipear
1 teaspoon al ajillo spice
1 teaspoon water
¼ cup mayonnaise or Greek yogurt
Combine the spice and water in a small bowl. Let set 10 minutes. Stir in the mayonnaise until sauce is smooth.
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)
(If you order on Amazon, please give my book a review!)
***
