SHERRY--THE WINE THAT GOES WITH EVERYTHING

A Sherry to accompany every cheese.

I got a little carried away, I think, getting ready for International Sherry Week, June 2-8. Every day is a fine time to enjoy a copita of Sherry. For me, that usually means a fino Jerez or fino manzanilla. But the occasion of a worldwide celebration seems a good excuse to branch out a bit.

Classic consommé with Sherry.

Sherry goes with absolutely everything, from soup to nuts, from aperitif to dessert. So, my week-long, intensive Sherry week was going to have to cover all bases.

I encountered an unexpected problem, however. I couldn’t find a range of Sherry types! Two supermarket chains in my area had only fino and manzanilla plus the sweet ones, oloroso, cream and PX. They did not sell a single amontillado, oloroso seco, palo cortado, or raya. (Note to you Sherry marketing guys—better placement in stores if you want to sell more wine.)

I eventually found a good selection of Sherry styles (though only from a couple different bodegas) at a dedicated wine shop. I dithered between amontillado and oloroso seco and finally chose the oloroso seco after tasting each. I already have fino, manzanilla and sweet PX. So, I’m all set for a grand week!

From soup to nuts. Sherry is a classic addition to consommé. Use either fino or amontillado. It's also a superb addition to cream soups, such as lobster bisque or mushroom.

Sherry is the original tapas wine.

Serve Sherry--fino, manzanilla, amontillado or oloroso seco--with Spanish tapas. Toasted almonds, thinly sliced ham, olives, sausages, pâté, grilled shrimp, oysters, salt cod, smoked salmon, stuffed eggs.

 Dry fino Sherry flavors tender lamb kidneys in a velvety sauce. See the recipe below.

Mellow oloroso seco Sherry glazes these succulent chicken wings. (Recipe below.) Here, served with a copa of fino.

 

Tipsy cakes--luscious sweet Sherry syrup soaks into squares of sponge cake. An easy dessert (recipe below). PX, a sweet dessert wine, is the perfect accompaniment.

Want to know more about the different styles of Sherry? See my post from last year’s International Sherry Day. http://mykitcheninspain.blogspot.com.es/2013/05/celebrate-sherry.html . And, to learn more about events worldwide during International Sherry Week, visit this site.

Riñones al Jerez
Kidneys in Sherry Sauce

Tender bites of kidneys in a velvety, Sherry sauce, this is a classic tapa bar dish. It can be prepared with lamb, pork or veal kidneys. (I used lamb kidneys, which only need about 12 minutes cooking.) The dish needs gentle cooking so as not to toughen the kidneys. Serve with chunks of bread to soak up the sauce. Chicken livers can be prepared in a similar manner.

Serves 4.

8 lamb kidneys, about 1 pound
Milk
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon flour
4 tablespoons olive oil
½ pound small mushrooms, quartered
2 tablespoons finely chopped onions
1 clove chopped garlic
½ cup fino Sherry
½ cup meat stock
1 bay leaf
Chopped parsley, to garnish

Cut the kidneys in half and remove the core of fat. Slice or quarter the kidneys. Place them in a bowl and add enough milk to cover. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Drain, discarding the milk.

Sprinkle the kidneys with salt, pepper and flour. Heat the oil in a skillet and brown the kidneys on medium heat. Add the mushrooms, onions and garlic. Stir in the Sherry and meat stock. Add the bay leaf. Cover and simmer until kidneys are tender. Sprinkle with chopped parsley to serve.

Pollo al Ajillo
Chicken With Garlic

The standard version of this dish is made with fino (dry) Sherry. But, use a mellow amontillado,  oloroso seco or even a slightly sweet Sherry and it becomes even better. The Sherry somewhat caramelizes and glazes the chicken pieces. The garlic is lightly crushed, but not peeled, and sauteed with the chicken. It flavors the sauce. Those who wish can squeeze out the soft garlic flesh to eat as well.

Makes about 24 pieces.

2 pounds chicken wings
1 head garlic
¼ cup olive oil
1 bay leaf
½ cup medium-dry Sherry
Salt and pepper
Chopped parsley

Cut off the wing tips and discard (or save for stock). Divide each wing into two joints. Lightly smash the garlic cloves to split the skins.

Heat the oil in a deep skillet. Add the chicken pieces to the oil and fry them slowly, adding the unpeeled cloves of garlic.

When chicken is browned on all sides, add the bay leaf, Sherry, salt and pepper. Continue cooking until the liquid is cooked away and the chicken begins to sizzle again. Serve immediately garnished with parsley.

Borrachos
Tipsy Cakes

This is a great way to use up stale sponge cake or you can also make the tipsy cakes with store-bought sponge. You may need to cut the cake crosswise so the layers are about 1 ½ inches thick.

The cakes can be cut into small squares and placed in fluted paper cups for easy serving to a crowd. Or, place slices on individual dessert plates and garnish with fresh fruit and a dollop of whipped cream.

Makes 12 cakes.

1 pound sponge cake, cut into 1 ½-inch thick slabs
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
Strip of orange zest
1 cup dry Sherry
Toasted slivered almonds

Place the slabs of sponge in a flat dish or tray and prick them all over with a skewer.

Combine the sugar, water and orange zest in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat. Strain out and reserve the orange zest. Add the Sherry to the sugar syrup.

Spoon half of the Sherry syrup over the cake. Leave to stand for 30 minutes.

Cut the sponge into 1 ½-inch squares. Put a few slivered almonds on top of each square. Cut some of the reserved orange zest into fine slivers and place them on top of the cakes. Spoon over the remaining Sherry syrup. When the sponge has absorbed most of the syrup, place the squares in fluted paper cups.

THE GAZPACHO DIARIES, WEEK 3

Serrano ham and sweet melon top gazpacho.

Let the variations begin! If you’ve read the previous two entries about gazpacho, you might surmise that I am a stickler for tradition. Gazpacho is not just another name for “cold soup.” It’s a very particular Andalusian dish, almost a category by itself. “Liquid salad” is another way to think of gazpacho.

It isn’t always made with tomatoes (there are authentic white and green gazpachos), but it definitely contains olive oil and, except for the bread, is, basically, all raw.

Classic accompaniments.

In a restaurant presentation, gazpacho typically comes accompanied by little bowls of chopped cucumbers, green peppers, onions, tomatoes and bread crumbs. Each person adds what he or she likes to the gazpacho. But other toppings are admissible! Chopped melon, apples, pears, grapes are all acceptable, the sweetness of the fruit contrasting with the bite of garlic and tang of vinegar. So, why not mango? Or raspberries?

This week, I experimented with variations on the gazpacho theme. For almost all, I started with the basic gazpacho recipe (scroll down or check it out here) and just added different toppings and garnishes. I was amazed at how gazpacho served for many different meals and moods.

Gazpacho with ham and melon, with fresh cheese and cucumber.

These two combos—gazpacho with ham and melon and with cheese, cucumber and mint—could be breakfast gazpacho or starters for a summer dinner. The ham is Spanish serrano ham. The white cheese is fresh goat cheese, cut in cubes.

Gazpacho with seafood.

 Gazpacho makes a tasty background for shellfish. These could be served as a light meal or as a starter. Cooked shrimp with sliced plum tomatoes; mussels with a chopped mixture of green and red peppers and scallions; and squid sprinkled with pimentón picante (smoked hot paprika).

Gazpacho with shrimp, sliced tomato and basil.

 The shrimp are boiled briefly, plunged in ice water, then peeled and deveined. The mussels are steamed open, then dressed with olive oil. To prepare the squid, cut the body pouches open lengthwise and place flat on a cutting board, skin side down. With a sharp knife, score the squid in a crosshatch, without cutting all the way through. Cut the squid into 2-inch pieces. Drop them and the tentacles in boiling water for 30 seconds. Drain and refresh in cold water.

Avocado and jalapeño add a Latin flavor.

Topped with buttery chunks of avocado, chopped onion and red and green pepper for crunch, sliced jalapeño for heat and cilantro leaves for an earthy herbal touch, this gazpacho takes on a Latin flavor. While chile would never appear in authentic Andalusian gazpacho, this is a permutation worth trying. I served it as a starter before charcoal-grilled pork chops.

Gazpacho with no bread.

Gazpacho with no bread? Maybe you want it gluten-free or all raw or low in carbs.  Martha Rose Shulman writing in the New York Times proposed a no-bread gazpacho recipe  that is a basic gazpacho—minus the bread. However, it is the bread-olive oil emulsion that gives gazpacho that wonderful creamy texture.

Here’s a no-bread alternative. The egg-oil emulsion gives this gazpacho a silky texture (but, notice how it is pinkish in color rather than orangy-red as in gazpacho with bread). I used crunchy fried bread crumbs (or not!), almonds and diced pear for contrast. I added no vinegar to this gazpacho, as the tomatoes without bread were tangy enough on their own. I used delicate Arbequina olive oil for this gazpacho. I used an immersion blender and put the ingredients in a bowl to make it easier to beat in the tomatoes.

(Another sort of no-bread gazpacho is made with agar-agar as a thickener. I haven’t tried that recipe.)

No-Bread Gazpacho

(This recipe uses raw egg.)

1  large egg
1 clove garlic
½ to ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon salt
4 cups tomatoes, pureed and sieved
Garnishes, as desired: croutons of fried bread, toasted almonds, diced pears

Place the egg and garlic in blender and whirl until garlic is chopped. With the blender running, add oil in a slow stream until the mixture thickens (may require up to ¾ cup of oil). Beat in the salt and slowly add 1 cup of the sieved tomatoes. Gradually beat in the remaining tomatoes. Chill the gazpacho.

Serve the gazpacho garnished as desired.

Bloody Mary with gazpacho and Sherry.

“What about using gazpacho for a Bloody Mary?” OK, let’s try it! I used the basic gazpacho recipe, with bread, but  without diluting with water. I substituted 2 tablespoons lemon juice for the vinegar. In tall glasses filled with ice, I mixed the gazpacho (4 fluid ounces) with dry fino Sherry (2 ounces) and stirred a dash of Tabasco into each glass. Very refreshing, revitalizing. I think I like this Bloody Mary—or is it a María Sangría?—for sundowners rather than brunch. We also tried it using Pale Cream from Montilla-Moriles, a slightly sweet fortified wine and liked that too. Have not tried it with vodka.

Icy gazpacho granizado (granita). Very refreshing!

“Can I freeze leftover gazpacho?” a friend asked me. “I dunno, never tried it.” So I tried it. Except, instead of thawing and reconstituting the original gazpacho, I turned it into ice cream! Gazpacho sorbete or granizado (granita).

I again started with the basic gazpacho recipe, with bread, adding 1 teaspoon sugar to the mix. Instead of vinegar, I used “sour grapes,” verjuice, unripe grapes, pureed with 2 pounds of tomatoes. I used only ¼ cup of extra virgin olive oil. I put the bowl of gazpacho in the freezer. When it was partially frozen, I used the immersion blender to whip it smooth, then let it freeze until solid.

The frozen gazpacho needs to soften at room temperature for a few minutes. Then, use an ice cream scoop dipped in hot water to scoop it, or a fork to scrape it for granizado (Spanish for granita). Sliced black olives made a good topping. I bet black caviar would really pop on frozen gazpacho. Kernels of fresh corn? I bet I can spin off some more variations.

Gazpacho sorbet with black olives.

CELEBRATE SHERRY!

Sherry fino--perfect with Spanish tapas.

It’s World Sherry Day tomorrow! What better excuse to enjoy this unique wine? At my house, not only am I sipping Sherry, but I’m cooking with it too (recipe for Chicken With Sherry is below).

We're talking about Sherry with a capital “S”. That's "S" as in Jerez, a town in southern Spain where this extraordinary wine is made. In Spanish, Jerez is pronounced "hare-ez." But, if you were an Englishman or Frenchman and attempted to pronounce the town’s name, it might come out as “sherez.” Forget anything you ever heard about lower-case "sherry" from Britain, Australia or California. It's not Sherry—any more than does Port come from any place but Oporto; Burgundy or Champagne from anywhere but those regions of France.

Label guarantees origin.

Like Champagne, Sherry is a not just a style of wine, it's a place. The wines from that place carry denominacion de origen, a protected label guaranteeing their quality and origin

Jerez de la Frontera, in the province of Cádiz, is Sherry's home base, where most of the long-established bodegas, or wineries, are located. Two other towns in the region—El Puerto de Santa María and Sanlucar de Barrameda—are also authorized Sherry producers. The grapes must be produced within a 35-kilometre radius. Real Sherry is made from the Palomino grape varietal.

 Sherry is made by a very special process, called criadera, meaning “nursery.” New wine is added to casks at the top and gradually blended with older wines in lower barrels, before being drawn off from the bottom rack, the solera. This blending and aging process gives the wines depth and richness of flavor and aroma.

Sherry is a fortified wine, with a higher degree of alcohol (16 to 19 percent) than most table wines. And, Sherry is the reason that tapas exist. Tapas and Sherry create a perfect symbiosis, as bites of food make it possible to keep sipping the wine. You eat in order to better drink.

Sherry with a capital “S” is further designated with lower-case names which describe the type of wine. Here they are, along with some suggestions for serving them and for using them in cooking.

Barrel is lit to show flor on fino Sherry.

Fino. After fermentation, new wine which shows the beginnings of flor, a veil of yeast, is classified as fino. During the aging process, the flor prevents oxidation, making a wine which is pale straw in color, totally dry, light and fresh, with an almondy finish. It is the world's finest aperitif wine. Serve fino, lightly chilled, with shellfish, ham, olives, toasted almonds or almost any of the many Spanish tapas.

In cooking, fino Sherry combines with fish, shellfish, soups, chicken, meat, poultry, cheese and a large etcetera. Classic dishes such as riñones al jerez, kidneys in Sherry, are made with a dry fino. Which is not to say you can't create a new taste by substituting a different Sherry. Usually the Sherry is added during cooking, so the flavor blends with the sauce and the alcohol is cooked off. Sometimes the wine is added at the very end of cooking, so the volatile alcohol helps waft the wine's aroma to the nose and taste buds. In the case of a soup or sauce, add some wine during cooking and a dash more at the end of cooking.

Manzanilla. This is also a fino, but specifically from the Atlantic town of Sanlucar de Barrameda. Salt-air breezes and ocean humidity make this wine a little paler, a little drier, a little more delicate than other finos. Manzanilla, with its salty, olive tang, goes especially well with fish and shellfish.

In cooking, add a splash of manzanilla at the very end of cooking, so the alcohol is not dissipated. Blend it with mayonnaise and seafood dressings.

Amontillado. These are dry fino Sherries that are allowed a degree of oxidation during the aging process, giving them a rich, mellow, hazelnut flavor. Between topaz and amber in color, amontillado wines are still aperitif drinks. Their depth of flavor makes them superb additions to many dishes, especially meat and poultry. Add to cream of mushroom, asparagus, chicken and other soups. Combine with cheese for dips and spreads.

Incidentally, amontillado means "in the Montilla style". Briefly, so as not to confuse the issue too much, wines of Montilla-Moriles are made in the province of Córdoba by the same process as Sherry, the criadera-solera system. Different grape varietals and different soil and climate produce wines which are at the same time similar to and completely different from Sherry. Or, anyway, much more like Sherry than one of those "lower case" wines from another country.   

Oloroso. Wines not marked with flor become oloroso. But within this designation are several styles, ranging from dry to almost sweet. Their color is deep old-gold, the mellow flavor is reminiscent of walnuts. Serve oloroso as an aperitif with Spanish sausage, with aged cheeses. It is a sumptuous accompaniment to after-dinner savories and the fruit and cheese board. This wine is especially rich in cooking. Add it to chicken dishes, poultry stuffing, organ meats, consommé. Within this category, rayas, palos cortados and olorosos secos present a range of styles. Use oloroso seco to lace a classic consommé.

Cream. Mahogany in color, velvet in texture, these wines are made of a combination of mellow olorosos and sweet wines from the Pedro Ximénez grape varietal. An exquisite dessert wine. Use it to macerate fruit or add to dessert sauces. It gives a complex sweetness which complements some savory dishes when balanced with tart flavors such as orange, lemon, rhubarb. Try it for a new twist on duck á la orange.

For some suggestions for cocktails made with Sherry, see this blog post.

Chicken simmers in Sherry with mushrooms.

 
Chicken with Sherry
Pollo al Jerez


Any type of mushroom works in this recipe. I used oyster mushrooms, torn into strips, for the version pictured here. Pour fino Sherry to accompany the meal.

Serves 6.

3 pounds chicken pieces or a cut-up fryer
Salt and pepper
1 ounce pancetta or bacon, cut into ¼ -inch dice
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 spring onions, sliced, or 1 small onion, quartered and sliced
½ pound sliced mushrooms 
1 tablespoon flour
1 cup dry Sherry
½ cup chicken stock
2 bay leaves
Strip of orange zest
¼ cup chopped parsley

Sprinkle the chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Heat the pancetta and oil in a deep skillet, cazuela or heavy pot. Brown the chicken pieces on all sides and remove them.

Add the onion, garlic, carrot and mushrooms. Sauté on a medium-high heat until the onions and mushrooms are slightly browned. Stir in the flour.

Add the Sherry to the pot and stir to combine the ingredients. Return the chicken pieces to the pot. Stir in the stock, bay leaves, orange zest, half of the parsley and salt and pepper. Bring the liquid to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, 30 minutes. Turn the chicken pieces and cook until tender, about 30 minutes longer.

Remove bay leaves and orange zest. Garnish the chicken with additional chopped parsley.

Dinner is served--tender chicken braised in Sherry.

Sip Sherry with the meal too.

HAPPY SHERRY DAY, from my kitchen in Spain. (Photo by Ben Searl.)

COCKTAILS WITH SPANISH FLAIR

The first time I encountered a mixed drink made with Sherry—a Sherry-tini—I  was horrified. I guess I’m a purist—I like my fino Sherry straight up and chilled, in a proper stemmed Sherry copa. Likewise, it seems a shame to mess with a mellow amontillado or palo cortado.

Nevertheless, I must admit that Sherry, slightly nutty, lightly fruity, a tiny bit salty, adds complexity and depth of flavor to a cocktail. It’s anyway more interesting than vermouth. I decided to give it a whirl. Or shake. Or stir.

By the way, Sherry is a protected denomination for wines made in the region of southern Spain around Jerez. (That’s why I always write Sherry with a capital “S”.) It comes in several types. The driest one is pale fino. One sort of fino comes only from Sanlucar de Barrameda and is called manzanilla. So far, I’ve only experimented with fino in cocktails, but I am guessing that oloroso Sherry, on the sweet spectrum, might make a good mixer.

Gorgeous autumnal weather is a fine excuse for a cocktail party. Here are two to try, plus a recipe for cheese puffs to accompany the drinks.

Sherrytini Cocktail

Dry Sherry stands in for vermouth in this twist on a classic martini. If you use manzanilla Sherry, spike the drinks with manzanilla olives. If you choose dry fino, finish with a twist of orange peel. Warming the twist over a lighted match releases the citrus fragrance. Chill the martini glasses before mixing the cocktail.

Makes 4 cocktails.

8 olives or 4 twists orange peel
Cracked ice
8 oz gin
2 oz manzanilla or fino Sherry

Stick olives on 4 picks and place in four chilled martini cocktail glasses. Or, if using orange peel, hold each strip of peel, skin side down, briefly over a lighted match. Drop the orange peels into cocktail glasses.

Place ice in a jar or cocktail shaker. Add the gin and Sherry. Shake or stir. Strain the Sherrytini into the cocktail glasses and serve.

Sherry-Lemon Cocktail

Makes 4 cocktails.

Grenadine is pomegranate syrup. It gives a fruity flavour and a deep blush to this cocktail. If available, add a few ruby seeds from a fresh pomegranate to the drink. Brandy de Jerez is Spanish brandy from the same region where Sherry is made.

Cracked ice
4 fl oz dry Sherry
4 fl oz Brandy de Jerez
6 tablespoons grenadine syrup
4 tablespoons lemon juice
4 strips lemon peel

Put the ice in a cocktail shaker. Pour over the Sherry, brandy, grenadine and lemon juice. Shake the cocktail. Strain into four cocktail glasses. Hold each twist of lemon peel, skin side down, briefly over a lighted match and drop it into the cocktail.

Buñuelos de Queso
Cheese Puffs

Vary the flavour by choosing different cheeses. Manchego is excellent, but smoked Idiazábal will give the puffs a different dimension. The puffs can be fried or baked.

Makes about 45 puffs.

1 cup water
½ teaspoon salt
Pinch of thyme
Pinch of cayenne
1/3 cup olive oil
1 cup plain flour
4 eggs
2 cups grated cheese
Olive oil for deep frying

Place the water, salt, thyme, cayenne and oil in a pan. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat and add the flour all at once, stirring hard with a wooden spoon until the mixture thickens and pulls away from the sides of the pan. Remove from heat and allow to stand 2 minutes.

Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Thoroughly mix in one egg before adding the next. Stir in the grated cheese.

Place oil in a deep frying pan to a depth of 1 in and heat it until shimmering,  360ºF. Dip two teaspoons in oil. Scoop up batter with one spoon and use the other to push the batter into the hot oil. Don’t crowd the pan. Puffs will bob to the surface. Carefully turn them so they brown on both sides. Remove when golden, 2 to 3 minutes, and drain on paper towels.  Serve immediately.

Variation: Bake the cheese puffs instead of frying them. Line an oven tin with baking parchment. Drop spoonfuls of the batter at least 1 in apart. Bake in preheated oven, 375ºF, until golden, 30 minutes.