CROSS-CULTURAL FISH BALLS

At a roadside restaurant on the banks of the Guadalquivir, not far from Sevilla, my friends and I ordered the menu del día, a fixed-price meal consisting of primer plato (starter), segundo plato (main dish) and postre (dessert) for €8.50 (about $9.20). There were a couple choices for each course. 

For the primer plato, we chose albondiguitas de pescado, fish balls. Served in shallow bowls with sauce and bread to go with, they were four or five small balls, nicely seasoned, very tasty. I asked the cook for the recipe.

Fish balls in sauce--a Spanish dish that dates from medieval times.

I later discovered almost the identical recipe for albóndigas de pescado in Sephardic (Jewish) cookbooks. Sephardic cooking originated in medieval Spain, when Jews lived in many parts of the Iberian peninsula along with the Moorish (Arab) overlords. The word “albóndiga” comes from the Arabic al-bundaq, meaning “round.” Albóndigas is the word for either fish or meat balls.

You can use any white fish, such as hake, cod, sole, grouper or halibut for these fish balls. Fresh fish is best, but frozen will work just fine. (If you’re in Spain, you might want to try this recipe with the widely available rosada, a fish caught wild in the South Atlantic (Genypterus capensis, pink cusk eel) and marketed frozen or thawed.)

The fish balls are also a good way to use leftover cooked fish. Use about 2 cups flaked, cooked fish and leave off the poaching step.

My current favorite fish is corvina. (More about corvina  here.) Because it is farmed in Spain, the fish is reasonable in cost. I cut two fillets from the lomo, thick center section, for grilling and save the skinny tail ends and thick “belly” section with rib bones for making these fish balls. Once the bony pieces are gently poached, it’s easy to remove any remaining skin and bones.

After frying, the fish balls can be served as a tapa.

Add fish balls to soup with cooked rice and peas.

Serving ideas. Make small fish balls (marble-sized) and serve them, without the sauce, as a tapa. Accompany the fried balls with a garlicky alioli. As a starter, they’re good with bread for mopping up the sauce. If you’re serving them for dinner, make walnut-sized balls and accompany them with steamed white rice, pasta or potatoes. At my house, kids like fries with the albóndigas. Remaining broth from poaching the fish can be saved for fish soup. Add any leftover fish balls to the soup.

Fish balls in sauce on the dinner plate, with new potatoes and snap peas from the garden.

Fish Balls in Sauce

Albondigitas de Pescado

If you’re starting with fish that has some skin and bone, use about 20 ounces fish, as some will be discarded.

Makes 16 fish balls or 32 small ones.

For the fish balls:
1 pound boneless, skinless white fish
4 ½ cups water
Slice of lemon
Sprigs of parsley
Slice of onion
1 bay leaf
Salt
2 ounces crustless bread (about 8 baguette slices)
½ cup milk
2 cloves garlic
½ cup chopped parsley
Pinch of crushed saffron (optional)
½ teaspoon salt
Grated lemon zest
1 egg
Plain flour for dredging the fish balls (about ¼ cup)
Olive oil for frying 

 
For the sauce:
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
½ cup chopped green pepper
½ cup grated tomato
½ cup fino Sherry or dry white wine
¾ cup reserved fish broth or water
Salt and pepper
Chopped parsley to serve

For the fish balls: Wash the pieces of fish. Place the water in a pan with lemon slice, parsley, onion slice, bay and 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil and simmer 5 minutes. Add the fish to the pan and simmer just until it flakes easily, about 5 minutes. Lift the fish out with a slotted spoon and allow to cool. Strain and reserve ¾ cup of the broth in which the fish was poached. (Remaining broth can be saved for soup.)

After poaching, it's easy to remove bones.

When fish is cool enough to handle, flake or chop it, discarding any skin or bones.

Pour the milk over the bread slices in a small bowl and allow to soak for 10 minutes.

In a food processor finely chop together the garlic and parsley. Squeeze out excess liquid from the bread. Add it and process until bread is fairly smooth. Add the saffron, if using,  ½ teaspoon salt, lemon zest and egg and process to blend. Place in a bowl.

Add the flaked fish to the processor and pulse several times just to chop it. Combine the fish with the bread mixture. Refrigerate the fish mixture, tightly covered, at least 30 minutes and up to 8 hours.

Mix chopped fish with bread.

Place the flour in a shallow pan. Shape the fish mixture into 1 ¾ -inch balls (or small ones, half that size) and place them in the flour. Roll the balls to coat evenly with flour.

Roll fish balls in flour.

Add enough oil to cover the bottom of a large frying pan. Heat the oil and fry the fish balls, in two or three batches, turning them to brown on all sides, about 5 minutes total. Remove them as they are browned.

After frying, fish balls are ready to serve. Or, reheat them in the sauce.

For the sauce: Heat the 3 tablespoons oil in a clean frying pan. Sauté the chopped onion and green pepper on medium heat for 5 minutes. Add the tomato and fry on a high heat until tomato sweats out its liquid, about 5 minutes. Add the wine and reserved strained fish broth. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer 20 minutes.

Add the fish balls to the sauce and reheat gently, about 8 minutes.

Sprinkle with chopped fresh herbs to serve.

Fish balls are light, juicy.

More recipes for meatballs and fish balls.

Chickpeas and spinach with cod dumplings.

Meatballs with leeks.

Meatballs in almond sauce.

Recipes for alioli to accompany fried fish balls: http://mykitcheninspain.blogspot.com.es/2015/03/rice-on-side.html and http://mykitcheninspain.blogspot.com.es/2010/02/jug-of-olive-juice.html.

GONE FISHING!

I’m trawling local seafood markets, searching out fish that I don’t ordinarily buy, taking advantage of the seasonal abundance (spring + Lent). A few weeks ago I landed a colorful wrasse (see that post here). This week I’ve hooked a silvery-grey corvina.

Corvina, also known as a "croaker," is a fine fish.

Belonging to the family Sciaenidae, the corvina in English is “croaker” or “meagre”. Also known as drums, for the noise they make under the water, these fish are lean, white, flaky and of excellent flavor. Don't you think corvina is a nicer name than meagre or croaker?

This fish is not abundant in the wild anymore, but my specimen, a whole one weighing more than two pounds (gutted and scaled), is of cría, raised in fish farms in Spain.

My favorite way to cook a whole fish is baked with potatoes and other vegetables. But since I’ve given you that recipe already (recipe + more about aquaculture in Spain ), I pulled up a recipe for a tumbet, a Mallorcan casserole with fish, potatoes and eggplant.

Tumbet is a casserole with fish, potatoes and eggplant.

Once I decided what I was going to cook, I realized I would have to fillet the fish myself. Oh well, good to bone up on my filleting skills. With a good knife and patience, it’s really easy.

To fillet a fish: Starting from the head end, cut down along the backbone, keeping the knife as close to the spine as possible. Separate the top fillet at the tail. Turn the fish over and remove the second fillet in the same manner, cutting the flesh off the spine. Cut away side fins and attached bones. Use your fingers to locate any other bones.

To remove the skin: Make an incision at the tail end. Grasp the skin firmly with one hand and with the knife angled against the skin, pull the skin to release the flesh.

Save head and bones for stock.

Other fish that can be used in place of corvina are sea bass, wrasse, or, a Mallorcan favorite, llampuga, which is dolphin fish, better known as mahi mahi (and not related to the marine mammal called dolphin). This casserole can be made without the fish for a vegetarian meal.

Typically in Mallorca, one of the Balearic Islands, this casserole would be prepared in the morning and served at room temperature as a light supper dish.

Tumbet de Pescado a la Mallorquina
Fish and Vegetable Casserole, Mallorcan Style

Baking melds the flavors in this casserole.

Serves 4 as a main course.

12-16 ounces fish fillets
Salt and pepper
3 medium eggplant (about 1 ¾ pounds)
½ cup olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 can chopped tomatoes (1 2/3 cups)
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
1 bay leaf
4 medium potatoes (1 ¾ pounds)
1 ½ cups chopped green pepper
Flour for dredging
¼ cup liquid (fish stock, white wine or water)

Cut the fish into 3-inch pieces. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and allow to stand for 30 minutes.

Slice the eggplant crosswise ¼ inch thick. Put the slices in a colander and sprinkle with salt. Allow to drain for 30 minutes.

Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a small skillet. Add the onion and garlic and sauté 5 minutes without letting them brown. Add the tomatoes, ½ teaspoon salt, cinnamon, bay leaf and freshly ground black pepper. Simmer 15 minutes until sauce is thickened. Pass through a sieve or puree in a blender.

Peel the potatoes and slice them ¼ inch thick. Heat ¼ cup of oil in a large skillet. Fry the potatoes slowly, turning occasionally, until they are fork-tender, about 15 minutes. They do not need to brown. Remove them, reserving the oil.

Fry the green pepper in the oil until softened. Remove.

Place flour in a dish and dredge  the pieces of fish in it, patting off excess. Add enough additional oil to the skillet so the bottom of the pan is covered. Fry the fish until lightly golden on both sides, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove.

Pat the eggplant dry with paper towels. Dredge the slices lightly with flour and pat off excess. Add remaining oil to the skillet. Fry the eggplant in batches until it is tender. Remove.

Preheat oven to 375ºF.

Layer vegetables and fish.

Lightly oil a cazuela, gratin dish or oven-proof casserole. Spread half the  potatoes on the bottom of the cazuela. Sprinkle with salt. Scatter half of the chopped pepper on top of the potatoes. Layer half of the eggplant.

Place the pieces of fish on top of the eggplant. Add another layer of potatoes and sprinkle them with salt. Continue with remaining peppers and eggplant. Pour over the liquid. Spread the tomato sauce over the top. Cover with foil.

Bake until the casserole is bubbling, about 40 minutes. Allow to rest at least 15 minutes before serving. Serve hot or room temperature.

Flaky fish, tender vegetables.