GAZPACHOS—PERFECT ON A FRIGID WINTER DAY

 

Gazpachos for winter? Yes, this La Mancha stew is called gazpachos. What looks like squares of pasta are pieces of torta, a thin, unleavened bread.

Here’s a robust and warming stew, perfect for these frigid late winter days. Yes, gazpachos. Take note, this stew is “gazpachos”—plural—not to be confused with Andalusian cold soup (though the origin of the name is the same, as "gazpacho" refers to fragments of bread). 

Gazpachos is an ancient dish, with its roots in the pastoral life of La Mancha. Shepherds tending their flocks far from villages cooked whatever small game they could shoot or bring down with a slingshot, such as hare, rabbit, partridge, dove. Sometimes foraged greens such as collejas, bladder campion; wild herbs such as pebrella, a kind of thyme, or wild mushrooms were added. The meat was stewed over a wood fire and embellished with torta cenceña, a round, unleavened campfire bread that thickened the stew and served as an edible dinner plate.

Tortas for adding to gazpachos stew.

Over the years, gazpachos has been “domesticated,” prepared in home kitchens with chicken and farm-raised rabbit, rather than game. A commercial version of the torta is sold in La Mancha today. It’s a crisp, flatbread, about 15 inches in diameter, that looks, for all the world, like matzah on steroids.  (Tortas cenceñas, pictured at left, can be ordered in Spain from Rincon de la Mancha.)

Homemade torta--flatbreads cooked on a griddle.

Homemade torta is soft and pliable when fresh off the griddle, but, it quickly dries into hardtack. Break it into pieces before adding to the stew, where it cooks up like pasta.

If you don’t want to prepare the homemade version, substitute other unleavened bread/crackers, such as Hebrew matzah or water biscuits (crackers).

I am using dark meat turkey instead of wild game for this stew. The bone-in turkey makes a deeply flavored cooking liquid. Once the meat is tender, it’s skimmed out and stripped off the bones. Instead of foraged greens and wild mushrooms, I’ve added chard and (cultivated) oyster mushrooms. 

Instead of wild game and foraged wild greens, I've added turkey and chard to the stew.

Chunks of meat, soft torta, mushrooms and greens make a hearty winter stew. Serve gazpachos with a D.O. La Mancha Tempranillo wine. 

La Mancha Gazpachos Stew with Tortas

Gazpachos Manchegos

Dark meat turkey lends this stew a slightly gamey taste, reminiscent of wild hare. It's a firm meat that won’t disintegrate easily in slow cooking. If you are substituting regular chicken or farmed rabbit, take care not to overcook the meat. It can be left on the bone or deboned as directed for the turkey. 

Use the same sofrito and tortas to make vegetarian or seafood gazpachos. 

 

Serves 6.

Debone the turkey after cooking.

3 pounds turkey drumsticks and/or thighs

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup chopped green pepper

1 cup chopped red bell pepper

2 teaspoons pimentón de la Vera (smoked paprika)

1 cup grated tomato pulp or crushed tomatoes

1 whole head of garlic

6 cups hot water

2 bay leaves

Sprigs of thyme

Sprig rosemary

Pinch of ground cloves

1 ½ cups sliced oyster mushrooms, sautéed in oil (optional)

2 cups chopped and blanched chard or other greens (optional)

6 tortas (recipe follows) or sheets of matzah or 24 water biscuits, broken into pieces

Sprinkle the turkey with salt and pepper and allow it to come to room temperature.

Heat the oil in a deep pan or cazuela. Brown the turkey pieces on a medium heat, turning them to brown all sides, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the turkey.

Stew turkey with garlic, herbs.

In remaining oil, sauté the onion until it begins to brown, 5 minutes. Add the two kinds of peppers and continue sautéing. Stir in the pimentón. Add the tomato pulp and fry a few minutes. Return the pieces of turkey to the pan.

 

Peel off papery outer layers from the head of garlic. Slice off the top of the head, leaving the cloves attached at the root. Tuck the head of garlic into the pan with the turkey. 

Add the water to the pan. Add 2 teaspoons of salt, pepper, thyme, bay leaves, rosemary and cloves. Bring to a boil, cover, and cook slowly until turkey is very tender, turning the pieces occasionally, about 1 hour.

Lift the turkey pieces and head of garlic out of the broth and reserve. Discard bay leaves and sprigs of herbs. When cool enough to handle, strip the turkey meat, with or without skin, from the bones, discarding bones and tendons. Cut the chunks of meat into pieces. Reserve. Squeeze softened garlic from the skins. Mash the garlic and return it to the broth in the pan. (The meat and cooking broth can be stored separately, covered and refrigerated, until the following day. Bring them to room temperature before continuing the stew.)

Add the mushrooms and chard, if using, to the pan. Bring the liquid to a boil. Break the tortas or matzah into approximate 2-inch pieces. Drop them into the pan. Reduce heat to a gentle bubble. Cook the tortas until they soak up some of the cooking liquid, 5 minutes. (If most of the broth has cooked away, it may be necessary to add water before incorporating the pieces of torta.)

Add the pieces of cooked turkey and cook until they are thoroughly heated, 5-10 minutes. Allow the stew to settle 5 minutes. The gazpachos stew can be served in the same pan in which it cooked. If desired, garnish with a fresh sprig of thyme.

Unleavened Flatbreads

Tortas Cenceñas para Gazpachos

Thinly rolled dough of flour, salt and water is cooked on a griddle until blistered and browned. 

Tortas can be made days before using in the gazpachos stew. They turn hard as they cool. Store them in air-tight zip bags. 

Roll the dough out as thinly as possible--cenceñas means "thin;" ácimas means "unleavened."

The tortas can be cooked—with no oil—on a plancha, griddle or cast iron skillet (I watched a YouTube video for homemade tortas where they were cooked on an upside-down skillet of rolled steel on a gas stove!) or baked in the oven. 

Break them up into small pieces to add to the stew. The pieces will soften in about 10 minutes of cooking in the liquid. You can also place a whole one in a bowl and ladle some of the liquid on top to soften it, then serve the stew over it. 

½ cup water

2 teaspoons salt

1 ¾ cups flour plus additional for rolling out

Place the water and salt in a pan and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and stir to dissolve the salt. Pour the water into a mixing bowl and allow it to cool to tepid.

Roll dough into balls.

Stir the flour into the water gradually. Once it comes together as a dough, press into a ball and turn out onto a board. Using a little flour if necessary, knead the dough until it is smooth and no longer sticky. Gather into a ball, cover the dough with a damp cloth and allow it to rest at room temperature for 1 hour.

Divide the dough into 8 equal-sized pieces. Roll them into balls. Keep them covered so the dough doesn’t dry out. Roll the balls out thinly into 8-inch disks. Stack the disks with parchment between them to make it easier to separate them. Cover again with damp cloth.

Cook the disks on a plancha, griddle or cast-iron skillet until they begin to blister and brown in spots, about 1 minute per side. Remove from the heat and allow the tortas to cool. They will harden as they cool.

Torta pieces for gazpachos.

Alternatively, the tortas can be baked (400ºF /15 minutes). Prick them all over with a fork so they don’t puff up in baking. If desired, they can be cut with a pastry wheel into squares. 

Store the tortas in an airtight zip bag.

Add torta pieces to the stew. They soak up liquid.

To use the tortas, cut or break them into pieces—any shape or size. Incorporate them into the gazpachos or other soup or stew during the last 10 minutes of cooking. They will soften, somewhat like pasta, as they cook and soak up cooking liquid. 

TURKEY: YOU SAY, ROAST; I SAY, STEW

I won’t be roasting a turkey for Thanksgiving this year. For the upcoming holiday I´m making a main dish for guests who include one vegetarian and another who is gluten- and dairy-intolerant. 

I’ve got nothing against turkey! In fact, I eat lots of it, year-round. But, I like my turkey in parts—boneless breast, marinated in adobo, roasted and thinly sliced for “lunchmeat” and salads; drumsticks simmered until the meat is falling off the bones, to shred for enchiladas; thighs cut into cutlets, for breading like veal piccata.

This week I’m using turkey thigh meat cut in chunks to make an Andalusian stew. The traditional recipe, with typical spicing of saffron, pepper, cinnamon, cloves and cumin, is made with veal or beef. All I’ve done is substitute turkey—and cut the cooking time in half.

A savory stew with Andalusian spices. This version is made with turkey.

Potatoes, carrots and squash cook with the meat.

Serve the stew with bread for dunking in the gravy.

Andalusian Stew with Turkey
Estofado Andaluz con Pavo

Often this stew is made by simply combining all the ingredients—including the olive oil—in a stew pot and simmering them until done. Another version calls for the onions and meat to sofreir—fry—before adding the other ingredients and cooking liquid. 

The potatoes can be stewed with the meat or cut as for fries, fried separately and added to the stew at the end of cooking. Seasonal vegetables can be incorporated in the basic stew. I’ve used squash. Artichokes, green beans, peas, fava beans are also typical. 

Seasonal vegetables go into this stew.

In Andalusian home cooking, of which this stew is typical, the wine used in cooking would be the local village wine, usually a vino generoso, a medium-dry, slightly oxidized white wine. Sherry is the best substitute, but a not-too-acidic white wine can be used instead. 

If you like, thicken the sauce/gravy of the stew with a little flour mixed in water or stale bread mashed to a paste. In any case, serve the stew with bread for dunking in the savory gravy.

Serves 4-6.

Turkey thighs cut into chunks for stewing.

2 pounds boneless turkey, such as thighs
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup olive oil
2 medium onions, sliced
1 green bell pepper, cut in strips
2 medium tomatoes, peeled and cut in eighths
2 carrots, cut in thick slices crosswise
½ cup medium Sherry or white wine
1 cup turkey or chicken stock
½ teaspoon saffron threads
10 peppercorns
2 cloves
½ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ cup water
1 head garlic, charred
1 bay leaf
2-inch cinnamon stick
3 medium potatoes, peeled and cut in chunks
12 ounces pumpkin or squash, cut in chunks
Chopped parsley, to garnish

Cut the turkey into chunks of about 2 inches. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Heat the oil in a cazuela or heavy stew pot. Add the sliced onions and let them brown slowly, 8 minutes. Add the pieces of turkey and sauté a few minutes. Add the strips of pepper, tomatoes and carrots. Add the Sherry and cook on high heat until the alcohol cooks off. Stir in the turkey stock.

Char-roast head of garlic.

To char-roast a head of garlic: Spear the whole head of garlic on a fork and hold it over a gas flame (protect hands) or place it under broiler. Roast, turning, until the outer skin of the garlic is blackened and charred. Peel the individual cloves. They will be only slightly softened. Either add them whole to the stew or crush the garlics to a paste in a mortar.

 In a mortar crush the saffron with the peppercorns, cloves and cumin. If desired, crush the charred and peeled cloves of garlic too. Stir in the water. Add the spices to the stew. Add peeled garlic cloves if they were not crushed with the spices plus the bay leaf, cinnamon and cut-up potatoes. Cook, covered, 20 minutes.

Add the pieces of squash to the pot. Cook until turkey, potatoes and squash are tender, 20 minutes more.

Serve the stew garnished with chopped parsley.

More recipes with turkey:
Turkey Breast Roulade with Spinach-Walnut Stuffing.
Turkey Meatballs in Gazpachuelo Soup.
Marinated Turkey Breast.
Turkey and Watermelon Salad.

Another Andalusian stew:
Andalusian Style Braised Tongue.

TALKING TURKEY

I know, turkey day is past and, once you finish the leftovers, you’ll probably forget about the bird for a year. But before you put turkey back in the coop until next Thanksgiving, I want to tout its versatility as a year-round dish for home entertaining.

Thanksgiving is not a holiday in Spain (although “Black Friday,” called by its American name, has come to be “celebrated” here), so we had our special meal Thursday evening, on a school night. (We get school holidays on December 6, Constitution Day, and December 8, Immaculate Conception holiday, with a "puente," or "bridge," so kids are off school the weekend plus Monday and Tuesday).

Turkey with all the trimmings for a small gathering.

With few Americans around to invite for dinner, a whole turkey was not on the bill of fare. Instead, I prepared boneless turkey breast rolled around a filling of chopped spinach and walnuts. With gravy and accompanying dishes of bread-mushroom stuffing, sweet potatoes with mandarin juice and Sherry and glazed onions we had a properly festive dinner. (Pumpkin tartlets for dessert were not so successful.) The turkey leftovers are made-to-order for sandwich fixings today.

With a swirl of green, the turkey breast is also good served cold.

That turkey breast roulade is equally good served cold. For a summer buffet meal, I roasted two of the rolls a day in advance and served them accompanied by a cold sauce.

This rolled and stuffed turkey breast looks elegant with its swirl of green in the center, but it’s ever so easy to prepare. The food processor makes short work of chopping the spinach, which needn’t be pre-cooked. One turkey breast half serves 6 to 8 persons as part of a buffet. If serving a larger group, you only need to double the stuffing ingredients and divide them between two half-breasts.

The turkey can be roasted as much as 24 hours before serving. Leave it tied, wrap in foil, and refrigerate. At least one hour before serving, remove from the refrigerator, remove the twine, and slice it while still cold. Arrange on a serving platter and allow to come to room temperature.

As the season for entertaining is just getting started, I suggest you keep turkey on call.

Turkey Breast Roulade with Spinach-Walnut Stuffing

Rulo de Pechuga de Pavo con Espinacas

 

Pomegranate molasses is a thick concentrate of pomegranate juice with a decidedly sweet-sour flavour. Here it makes a beautiful glaze on the roasted turkey. Look for pomegranate molasses in the Middle Eastern food section of the grocery store.

If possible, ask your butcher to open the turkey breast, slicing through the thickest parts to create a rectangular slab of meat of more or less even thickness.

Serves 6 to 8.

1 clove garlic   
4 ounces fresh spinach, washed and stems trimmed   
¼ cup walnuts     

1 tablespoon chopped parsley or fresh dill     

1 tablespoon plain yogurt
1 egg white   
¼  cup fresh bread crumbs    

2 tablespoons olive oil     

Salt and freshly-ground pepper     

1 (2 ½  -pound) boneless, skinless turkey breast half
¼ cup pomegranate molasses
¼ cup white wine
Chicken or turkey stock (optional)
Cornstarch (optional)
Pomegranate seeds, to garnish (optional)

Preheat oven to 375ºF.

Mince the garlic in a food processor. Add the spinach leaves and process until they are chopped. Add the walnuts, parsley or dill, yogurt, egg white, bread crumbs and 1 tablespoon of oil and process until nuts are coarsely chopped. Season with salt and pepper.

Open up the turkey breast half by cutting horizontally through the thickest parts and folding open the meat to make a rectangle approximately 12 X 7 inches. 

Spread spinach-nut mix on the turkey.

Spread the spinach mixture on the turkey. Starting with a narrow end, roll up the turkey. Fasten with a skewer. Use kitchen twine to tie the roll at 2-inch intervals.

Place the turkey in an oiled baking pan. Brush the turkey with 1 tablespoon of oil and place in the oven. Lower oven temperature to 325ºF. Roast for 30 minutes.

In a small bowl combine the pomegranate molasses and wine. Pour half of it over the turkey breast.

I roasted some drumsticks and onions with the breast. Pomegranate molasses makes a luscious glaze.

Roast 30 minutes more and spoon remaining pomegranate and wine over the turkey. (Take care that the juices don’t completely cook off and burn.) Roast until turkey is done (internal temperature of 160ºF), about 1 ½  hours total. Remove the turkey to a cutting board and spoon some of the thickened pan drippings over it.

If meat is to be served hot, let it rest 10 minutes before removing string and carving. 

For gravy, add about 2 cups of chicken or turkey stock to the roasting pan and heat, stirring up all of the drippings. Combine cornstarch with a little cold water and stir into the stock. Cook, stirring, until thickened and smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

Garnish the sliced turkey with pomegranate seeds, if desired.

Rest the turkey roll before slicing.

With onions, sweet potatoes and dressing for a holiday meal.