Showing posts with label carnaval. Show all posts
Showing posts with label carnaval. Show all posts

Saturday, February 18, 2017

OH, LARDY, LARDY

Counting down to Lent, now it’s time for Carnaval and feasting on fat. You’ve certainly heard of Mardi Gras—“fat Tuesday,” the last day before Lent. In Spain, it’s jueves lardero, or “fatty Thursday,” celebrated at the beginning of Carnaval. This year jueves lardero is February 23. 


Carnaval celebrates Don Carnal, Mister Flesh-pot, a last pig-out before Lenten austerity. Besides raucous parades, ribald ditties, flamboyant costumes and plenty of partying, there’s food, in particular fatty food—sausages, lard, ham—before the fasting of Lent begins.

Ensaïmadas are sweet rolls made with lard, typical of the island of Mallorca.

In Mallorca (Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean) a favorite for Carnaval is  ensaïmada, a spiral sweet roll traditionally made with lard. In fact, saïm means “lard” in the Catalan usage.

Ensaimadas are popular year-round and now can be found, not just in the Mediterranean archipelago, but in every corner of Spain. Small ones are perfect breakfast sweet rolls paired with café con leche. Big ones, split crosswise and filled with pastry cream, chocolate or whipped cream, might become dessert. Leave off the topping of powdered sugar and they make great sandwich buns. Are ensaimadas the next Cronut?


For Carnaval, the spiral roll is studded with slices of sobrasada, typical Mallorcan soft sausage, and slices of candied pumpkin. 




The perfect breakfast sweet roll!

Split the rolls and serve with marmalade.

Rolled cords of yeasted dough form the spiral rolls.

Sweet Rolls with Lard
Ensaimadas

Melt pork fat to make lard.


Buy rendered lard from a good butcher or buy the fresh pork fat (leaf lard) and render it yourself. Heat it in a heavy pan until fat is melted. Strain the lard, cool and refrigerate. The solid bits that are strained out can be fried crisp and salted as a snack--cracklings. Freeze lard that you do not intend to use immediately. 


Fresh yeast.


Use fresh pressed yeast, levadura prensada, if you can get it. I buy it from a panadería, bread bakery. Kept in the freezer, it lasts up to a year. If substituting dry yeast, use 1 (¼ ounce-) envelope of active dry yeast.

Use harina de fuerza—bread flour—for this recipe. 

Allow the dough to rise slowly—overnight—in a draft-free space such as a turned-off oven. Use a deep enough bowl so the dough doesn’t reach the top. Cover with a clean dampened cloth. To speed up the second rising, after the rolls are shaped, place them in a warm place. Don’t cover the rolls, as the cloth will stick to the dough, but put the pans in a draft-free place. 

Make either small, individual rolls or two large ones. You’ll need space (big table is good) for rolling out large pieces of dough.

Makes 12 (5-inch) rolls or 2 (10-inch) rounds.

Softened pork lard.
½ cup warm water
1 ounce fresh pressed yeast
½ cup sugar
2 eggs
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup (4 ¼ ounces) softened lard
4 cups bread flour
Olive oil for rolling out
Slices of sobrasada and candied fruit (optional)
Confectioners’ sugar


Place the warm water in a small bowl. Crumble the yeast into it. Add 1 teaspoon of the sugar. Stir. Allow the yeast to activate for 15 minutes.
Beat the sugar and eggs together in a large bowl. Add the salt, 1 tablespoon of lard and half of the flour. Use a wooden spoon to mix well. Add the dissolved yeast. 

Gradually work in remaining flour. Turn the dough out on a work surface and knead it (or use a mixer with dough hook) for 25 minutes. At first it will be crumbly and shaggy, gradually becoming shiny and very stretchy. If dough tends to stick to work surface, oil the surface lightly. (Don’t add additional flour.) To test the dough for elasticity, take a marble-sized ball and stretch it—it should become thin and transparent. 

Gather the dough into a compact ball and place it in a large, oiled bowl. Turn the dough to coat it on all sides with oil. Place it in a draft-free place (such as a cupboard or turned-off oven) until doubled in size (6 hours or overnight). 

Line 2 baking sheets with baking parchment.

Punch down the dough and divide it in half. If making small rolls, divide the halves into 12 pieces (each about 2 ½ ounces) and roll them into balls.

Roll out dough, smear it with soft lard.


Lightly oil the work top and rolling pin. Place a ball on the surface, pat it to flatten and roll it out to a long rectangle (about 12 inches for a small roll; 25 inches for a big one). With the fingers, smear the surface of the dough generously with lard.

Lift and stretch edges of dough.




Working on the long sides, lift the dough and gently stretch it until very thin and transparent. 

Cut a strip of dough off of one long side. Place it on the edge of the other long side and use it as a “core” to roll the dough around. Roll the dough into a long cord. Pick it up in the center and gently squeeze and stretch the cord towards the ends. 



Roll the dough into a long cord.




Coil the cord of dough into a spiral, leaving gaps between the loops, as the dough will expand as it rises. Place the rolls at least 2 inches apart on the baking sheet. (If making two large ensaimadas, place each one on a separate baking sheet.

For the Carnaval ensaïmada, add pieces of sobrasada and candied fruit.

Dough expands as it rises, so place rolls 2 inches apart.

Allow the rolls to rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 2 hours.

Heat oven to 350ºF. Bake the rolls, changing the position of the baking sheets after 8 minutes, until golden on top, about 15 minutes.

Sift powdered sugar over the rolls while still warm.
All jollied up for a village Carnaval parade.

Sunday, March 20, 2011

STREET FOOD





Hooray, Carnaval! Cancelled two weeks in a row because of rain, today carnaval processions hit the streets in my village with raucous banging, ringing, singing and dancing.


Carnavales are the pre-Lenten bacchanalia that, by the Church calendar, should have ended a week ago. But, all that planning for costumes shouldn’t go by the wayside because of a few rainstorms!









After the groups make their way through village streets, everyone congregates in the big plaza for more music, shenanigans, showing off and awards for best costumes. And, of course, food. On this sunny afternoon a couple of bars are serving drinks and snacks.


Pinchitos are spicy mini-kebabs grilled on a plancha. Also from the plancha are hamburgers and thinly-sliced pork loin placed on mini-buns and garnished with lettuce and tomatoes. A huge paella gets a final garnish of shrimp before being served up to the crowds.

Another stall (this one in benefit of a charity) sells small bowls of potaje de callos, a tripe and sausage stew with garbanzos (the recipe is here).


Later in the afternoon, ladies fire up a vat of oil to fry buñuelos, small crullers or doughnuts, so good with the thick, thick hot chocolate ladled from a big pot. (The recipe for drinking chocolate is here.)
















Mini-Kebabs with Moorish Spices

Pinchitos Morunos

Exotic Moorish spices from nearby Morocco give the meat—usually pork—a lot of flavor. In Spain, spice vendors sell a ready-mixed blend, especia para pinchitos, pinchito spice, which contains lots of cumin, coriander, red chile, turmeric and ginger. If you can´t get the spice mix, use instead a spoonful of curry powder combined with ground cumin.

The trick is to cut the meat into quite small pieces, so that it cooks in the few minutes it takes to brown. Thin metal skewers work best and can be reused. If using bamboo skewers, soak them first in water and take care that they don´t come in contact with the heated griddle.

Makes 16 mini-kebabs.

1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon Madras curry powder
2 pounds boneless pork shoulder, cut in ¾ inch cubes
6 tablespoons chopped parsley
10 cloves garlic, chopped
2 teaspoons salt
½ cup fresh lemon juice

Combine the cumin and curry powder. Place half the cubes of pork in a non-reactive bowl and sprinkle with half the parsley, garlic, salt, spice mixture and lemon juice. Add remaining pork, then parsley, garlic, salt, spice and lemon juice. Marinate, covered and refrigerated, for 24 hours. Turn the meat 2 or 3 times.

Thread 4 or 5 pieces of meat onto thin metal skewers. Cook them on a hot griddle, turning until browned on all sides, 7 to 8 minutes.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

CARNAVAL--A PRE-LENTEN PIG-OUT


On a sunny Sunday in Málaga, neighbors gathered for a Carnaval street party featuring music and a hearty traditional stew called berza.  Forty kilos (almost 90 pounds) of chickpeas along with a similar amount of sausages and pork went into four enormous ollas, stew pots, making enough to serve 800 people.  Local politicians (municipal elections are in May) came along to stir the pots and chat with constituents.  Bands of murgas y comparsas, singers performing ribald and satirical numbers, entertained the crowds, warming up for the contests that take place during Carnaval.

Carnaval—the Spanish version of Mardi Gras—celebrates Don Carnal, Mister Flesh-pot, a last pig-out before Lenten austerity. Into the pot go the tag ends of winter’s ham, salted pork belly, sausages (phallic symbol intended)  along with chickpeas and vegetables. Chock full of fatty meat and succulent pork belly, it’s the sort of meal that would send old Jack Sprat into shock and fill his wife with glee.

Then, once Lent begins, chickpea stews with spinach or salt cod replace the porky stuff. 

Look here for more about garbanzos (chickpeas) and additional recipes in my article, "Spain Elevates the Garbanzo Bean," in this week’s Food section of the Los Angeles Times.

Andalusian Vegetable and Sausage Stew
Berza Andaluza



Morcilla, blood sausage, and chorizo, garlic-pimentón sausage, punch up the flavor in this vegetable stew. If you don’t have morcilla, add a pinch of clove, a spoonful of pimentón (paprika) and crushed garlic to the vegetable pot.

Serves 6.

½  pound chickpeas, soaked overnight
¾  pound beef shin or pork shoulder
½  pound meaty pork spareribs, cut crosswise into short lengths
small piece of ham bone (optional)
2 ounces pancetta
12-ounce bunch of chard
1 carrot, chopped
½ pound pumpkin or winter squash, peeled and cut in chunks
6 ounces morcilla (blood) sausage
6 ounces chorizo
5 peppercorns
1 teaspoon salt
1 pound potatoes, peeled and cut in 1-inch chunks

Drain the chickpeas of soaking water. Put them in a large soup pot with 8 cups of hot water. Bring to a boil and skim off froth. Add the beef, pork rib, ham bone, if using, and pancetta. When water boils, skim again.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 1 hour.

Chop the chard. Add to the pot with the carrot and pumpkin. Prick the morcilla and chorizo several times with a skewer (so they don’t pop open when steam accumulates) and add them to the pot. Add the peppercorns and salt. Cover and simmer 30 minutes more.

Add the potatoes. Cook 30 minutes more. Remove several chunks of potatoes and pumpkin and mash them smooth. Stir the mash into the pot to thicken the broth.

Let the stew settle 10 minutes before serving. Use kitchen scissors to cut beef, pork rib, and sausage into pieces. Serve the chickpeas, meats, vegetables and broth in shallow soup dishes.

Berza is an Andalusian stew with garbanzos, sausage and chard.

Spinach with Chickpeas
Espinacas con Garbanzos



This is popular in tapa bars in Seville.

Makes 8 tapas or 4 main dishes.

12 ounces washed and chopped spinach or chard leaves
3 tablespoons olive oil
½ onion, chopped
1 tomato, peeled, seeded, and chopped
2 (20-oz) jars chickpeas
1/8 teaspoon saffron threads
2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
½ teaspoon coarse salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons smoked pimentón
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
½ cup water
2 tablespoons wine vinegar

Place the spinach in a pot with a little water. Bring to a boil and cook until spinach is wilted. Drain and reserve.

Heat the oil in a deep skillet or earthenware cazuela. Sauté the onion until softened, 3 minutes. Add the tomato and sauté 2 minutes.

Crush the saffron in a mortar. Add the garlic and salt and grind the garlic to a paste. (This can also be done in a blender.) Add the pepper, pimentón and cumin. Stir the water into the paste. Add the spice mixture to the pan. Add the chickpeas without draining. Add the spinach and vinegar. Bring to a boil then reduce heat.

Cover the pan and simmer the chickpeas 15 minutes. Serve hot.