THE OREGANO HARVEST

 

Oregano soon to be harvested.

"Wait till it starts to flower," Reme told me. "Then cut off the stems and dry them." She had given me a small potted oregano plant last winter that I set out in the garden. It's budding now, soon to be harvested.

Reme, my aerobics teacher and also author of a cookbook about traditional pueblo cooking, said she uses the pungent herb in any kind of guiso—cazuela de arroz or fideos (rice or noodle casserole), pisto (medley of summer vegetables), adobo (marinade for pork or fish). 

She also adds oregano to chopped raw tomatoes and keeps them in a jar ready for slathering on breakfast toast. Now that's a great idea, I thought. Must try that.

How to use the tomato sauce? Spread it on toasted bread, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, and top with sliced ibérico ham or your favorite cheese. Use it in place of cooked tomato sauce for pizza, pasta, eggplant parmigiana. 

Raw tomatoes chopped with oregano and garlic, perfect for spreading on breakfast toast with extra virgin olive oil.

Tomato-oregano spread, toasted molletes (buns) with extra virgin olive oil, ibérico ham, anchovies, olives, queso fresco (fresh goat cheese) add up to brunch.  

My dream breakfast--toast, olive oil, and superb ibérico ham.

Same uncooked tomato-oregano sauce, spread on molletes, with pizza toppings. (From top right to bottom right; sliced chorizo and mozzarella; artichokes from a jar, diced serrano ham, and mozzarella; and anchovies, black olives, and mozzarella.) Split molletes, spread with tomato sauce, add toppings, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, bake in fan-oven at 400ºF. until cheese is melted and edges of crusts beginning to brown, 10 minutes.

The tomato-oregano spread is quickly made in a food processor or blender. The tomatoes needn’t be peeled. The more thoroughly you process the tomatoes, the fewer bits of tomato skin remain in the sauce. But if you like it chunky, process less. 

A tablespoon of chopped fresh oregano for two pounds of tomatoes seems about right—noticeable flavor without dominating. If you use dried oregano, reduce to one teaspoon. Use a minimum of salt in the mix and serve the tomato spread at the table with flaky salt. 

Don’t blend in the oil or you’ll end up with an emulsion, like gazpacho. Once the tomatoes are placed in a clean jar, add enough oil to completely cover the surface so the tomatoes are sealed from exposure to the air. Store capped and refrigerated. Use a clean spoon to dip the sauce. Tomato sauce keeps 4 to 5 days. 

Uncooked Tomato Sauce with Oregano

Salsa Cruda de Tomate con Oregano

It's early in tomato season, but these big plum tomatoes (tomate pera) are super flavorful. 

2 pounds ripe tomatoes 

1 clove garlic

1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried

½ teaspoon salt

2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

To serve

Toasted molletes, sliced bread or crusty rolls

Extra virgin olive oil

Flaky salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Sliced ibérico ham, cheese, anchovies, etc

Remove the stems and cores of the tomatoes and cut them up (makes 5 to 6 cups cut-up tomatoes). Place them in a food processor or blender with the garlic, salt, and chopped oregano. Process until fairly smooth. 

Place in a clean glass jar. Add enough oil to cover the surface of the tomatoes. Cap the jar and refrigerate. 

To dry oregano:  Cut the stems when the buds begin to flower. Tie them together and hang the bunch upside down in a dry place away from direct light. Place a tray underneath to catch bits of leaves that fall off or enclose the bundle loosely in a paper bag. When completely dry the leaves can be stripped off the stems and stored in a jar. (In humid weather, dry herbs in an oven with the “dehydrator” setting.) 

Gastronomía Tradicional Mijeña by Remedios Valenzuela.

About those toasted buns called molletes.

With my oregano spread I am sampling a very exclusive ham, Raza & Oro,  100% ibérico of the rubio-dorado (golden-blond) breed from Dehesa de los Monteros in the Serranía de Ronda. 

PICNIC IN THE WILDFLOWERS

A field of dwarf irises in bloom.

The campo—countryside—is abloom. After spring rains, wildflowers spring up everywhere. On an embankment near my house, I pick 10 or more different wildflowers. In a nearby field, drawf irises cover the ground in a mauve carpet.

Pack up some lunch and let’s go on a picnic! A merienda campestre—“lunch in the country”—is a favorite diversion on fiesta days, such as May Day, coming up next week; the fiestas of San Isidro, mid-May in Madrid, and San Juan, the midsummer’s day holiday in June.

Tortilla de patatas, potato-egg tortilla, is probably the most favorite picnic food of all. In Madrid, a variation on the classic, tortilla de escabeche, with potatoes and escabeche tuna, is typical for a verbena or outing in the park. In Galicia (northwestern Spain), empanada, a thick-crusted pie filled with pork loin or sardines,  is essential for country outings.

Coques--flat breads--with two different toppings. (Photo by Sofie Koevoets)

In Catalonia, it is the coca, a flat bread with topping, that is considered picnic fare. The coca (plural is coques in Catalan or cocas in Spanish) is sort of a cross between pizza and focaccia. Made from bread dough, the coca is usually served room temperature, rather than hot from the oven. Barcelona bake shops sell it in huge slabs or in tiny, individual coques. Unlike pizza, coca rarely has cheese (although, I quite like slices of fresh goat cheese as a final embellishment). The toppings can be a simple as a few strips of red pepper and olives or as replete as the coca de recapte, provisioned with everything in the cupboard. Canned tuna or sardines in olive oil are often added to vegetable toppings.

Below I’ve given recipes for two favorite toppings, escalivada, of roasted eggplant and peppers, and menestra, a mélange of mushrooms and artichokes. Also good are pisto, also known as samfaina, stewed vegetables much like ratatouille (pisto recipe), and spinach or chard with raisins and pine nuts (recipe ).


Coques
Catalan Flatbread with Two Toppings

Makes 14 (5-inch) mini-cocas or 2 (14-inch) cocas

For the coques:
1 recipe Basic Bread Dough, risen once
Olive oil to brush the coques
Escalivada (roasted eggplant and peppers)
7 anchovy fillets from a can
7 olives, preferably Arbequina
Oregano
Menestra (mushroom and artichoke mélange)

Basic Dough for Coques

This basic bread dough recipe can be used for coques, for empanadas, for pizza or for making bread rolls. After rising once, the dough is kneaded again with additional olive oil.

2 ½  teaspoons active dry yeast (1 envelope)
½ teaspoon sugar
1/3 cup + ¾ cup very warm water (100º-110ºF)
4 cups flour plus additional for dusting baking sheets
1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons olive oil plus additional for the bowl and dough


Place the yeast and sugar in a small bowl and add 1/3 cup warm water. Stir to dissolve. Allow it to stand 10 minutes until bubbly.

Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the center and add the yeast mixture, remaining ¾ cup of warm water and 2 tablespoons of the oil. Stir to combine the ingredients into a ball. Turn out on a board and knead the dough until smooth and glossy, 3 minutes. Dough will gradually become less sticky with kneading.

Clean out the mixing bowl and oil it lightly. Gather the dough into a ball and turn it in the bowl to coat on all sides with oil. Cover with a dampened cloth and leave in a warm place to rise until doubled in bulk, one to two hours.

Before rising--

after--dough doubles in bulk.

To assemble the coques

Preheat oven to 425ºF.

Punch down the dough and turn it out onto the board. Press the dough out flat and sprinkle it with 1 tablespoon of oil. Fold the dough over several times, then knead until the oil is incorporated. Knead in 1 tablespoon more of oil in the same manner.

Divide the dough in half. Roll, pat and stretch each ball of dough into a rectangle or oval, approximately 14 inches X 8 ½ inches. Place each sheet of dough on a baking sheet. Brush the dough with olive oil and prick it all over with a fork.

Spread one coca with the roasted eggplant, peppers, onions and garlic. Lay strips of anchovy fillet across the eggplant and peppers. Scatter olives on top and sprinkle with oregano. Drizzle with additional olive oil.

Spread remaining coca dough with wild mushroom and artichoke mélange. Drizzle with olive oil.

Bake the cocques until edges are lightly browned, 15 to 20 minutes. Serve hot or room temperature.

Menestra con Setas y Alcachofas
Mushroom and Artichoke Mélange

Coca with topping of menestra--mushrooms and artichokes.

Menestra can be made with all manner of seasonal vegetables. For this version, use wild mushrooms, if available, or any cultivated mushroom. I used fresh artichokes, quartered, and cooked in olive oil. You could substitute a jar of oil-packed artichoke hearts.

Use half of the mushroom and artichoke mélange as a topping for 1 coca.

12 ounces mushrooms
4 tablespoons olive oil
½ onion, sliced crosswise
2 cloves garlic, sliced crosswise
1 ounce chopped serrano ham
Salt and pepper
Pinch of thyme
1 (15-ounce) jar artichoke hearts, drained (about 1 cup)

Clean the mushrooms carefully. Slice them crosswise.

Heat the oil in a skillet and sauté the onion and garlic on medium heat for 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and ham and continue sautéing on high heat until mushrooms release liquid and begin to brown. Add the salt, pepper, thyme and artichokes. Cook gently until most of the liquid has cooked away.


Escalivada
Roasted Aubergines and Peppers

Coca with escalivada--roasted eggplant, peppers and onions.

You can roast the eggplant and peppers under the broiler or on a grill. Use half the recipe as a topping for 1 coca.

1 small eggplant, about 10 ounces
1 red bell pepper, 8 ounces
1 medium onion
1 small head garlic
1 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil

Preheat broiler.

Arrange the eggplant, pepper and onion in a shallow oven pan. Pierce the eggplant and pepper with a sharp knife in 3 or 4 places (to prevent steam from building up inside the skin). Slice the top off the head of garlic and add to the pan. Place the pan under the broiler. Grill until eggplant and pepper are charred on one side, about 10 minutes. Use tongs to turn the vegetables. Return and grill until charred on all sides. Remove them to a bowl.

Cover the vegetables and let them set until cool enough to handle. Peel the eggplant. Pull the flesh into strips and place in a bowl. Peel and cut pepper in strips and add to the eggplant. Peel onion and cut in lengthwise slivers. Squeeze the softened cloves of garlic from the skins. Season the vegetables with salt and pepper, vinegar and olive oil.

Wildflowers galore.