WHEN YOU HAVEN’T GOT AN EEL

 

All-i-pebre means "garlic and pepper." It's a Valencian fish stew usually made with eel. This version is with monkfish.

Writing about the foods of València recently, I was reminded of my visit to the great Mercat Central de València where, amongst other fabulous produce, seafood and meats, I saw tanks of live eels. 

Eels are fished in the nearby Albufera, wetlands where rice is grown, not far from València capital. At Restaurante Matandeta in Alfafar, while waiting for our paella to cook, I sampled a dish of eels, prepared all-i-pebre. 

“All” means “garlic” in Valencian lingo and pebre is “pepper,” in this case, specifically dried red peppers that are ground to powder—pimentón. Pimentón here is the same as sweet paprika, not smoked pimentón de la Vera. 

Eel is anguila, a fish that spawns in the Sargasso Sea between Bermuda and the Azores. The larvae migrate with the Gulf Stream to estuaries on the European continent. Tiny elvers, netted at this stage, are called angulas and are prized catch. The ones that escape capture make their way up rivers and spend the next 10 years growing into full-sized eels. 

Where I live, eel does not turn up in the local markets. But this simple fishermen’s stew can be made with almost any seafood. Monkfish (angler or, in Spanish, rape) is a firm-fleshed fish that is perfect. Rosada would also be a good substitute for eel.

Pimentón gives the ruddy color to the stew of fish and potatoes. A little hot chile adds pungency.

Monkfish with Garlic and Pimentón

All-i-Pebre de Rap

Vary the amount of garlic and pimentón to suit your tastes. This is one dish in which a dose of hot chile—guindilla—is used. Again, to taste.

Monkfish instead of eel.

1 pound 14 ounces boneless monkfish 

Salt

6 cloves garlic

Parsley leaves

1 teaspoon coarse salt

2 pounds potatoes 

½ cup olive oil

Crushed dry red chile (to taste)

2 tablespoons pimentón (paprika)

4 cups water or fish stock

Chopped parsley to garnish

Cut the fish fillets crosswise into 2 ½-inch chunks. Sprinkle them with salt and allow to come to room temperature.

Peel the cloves of garlic, chop them coarsely and place in a mortar with a few leaves of parsley and the coarse salt. Crush the garlic to a paste.

Add pimentón to potatoes.

Peel and snap the potatoes into, roughly, 1- to 1 ½- inch pieces. Heat the oil in an earthenware cazuela or deep pan on medium heat. Fry the potatoes slowly, turning frequently, 5 minutes. The potatoes shouldn’t brown. Scrape the crushed garlic into the pan with the potatoes. Stir and fry 5 minutes more.

Add the crushed chile and pimentón to the potatoes. Add the water or stock. Bring the liquid to a boil, reduce heat and cook 5 minutes. Add the chunks of fish and cook, turning the fish once, until it is cooked through and potatoes are tender, 10 to 15 minutes.  Let rest 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with chopped parsley.

More foods from Valencia here.

A YIN-YANG SALAD

 

Black sesame seeds.

An open packet of black sesame seeds reminded me of gomasio, a sesame-salt condiment that I used to make, way back in my hippy days (late 1960s), when we dabbled in Macrobiotics. 

Some of the expats in the Spanish village where I still live came round with a book called You Are All Sanpaku by George Ohsawa (translated by William Dufty). Sanpaku is a Japanese term meaning “the whites of your eyes are showing beneath the pupils”—a sure sign of physical and spiritual imbalance, according to the book. 

We checked each other out. If the whites were showing, you were told, “Hey, man, your Yin and Yang are out of whack.” The cure was a Macrobiotic diet, consisting of whole grains, organic and seasonal vegetables, little meat and fat, absolutely no sugar at all.  That may sound like an ideal diet for the whole world, but it had some severe restrictions. It was almost the antithesis of the Mediterranean diet and here we were, living in sight of the Med. 

For instance, tomatoes, eggplant and potatoes were to be completely avoided, because they were the most yin of vegetables.  Poison to the system. Fruit, too, was yin. An occasional apple might be acceptable, if it was baked to increase its yang properties. But citrus? No way. Maybe one orange a year. And we lived in an orange grove. Salads and raw vegetables were yin. Adios, gazpacho. Yeast was yin, so macrobiotic bread, as produced by local practitioners, was as dense as lead weights.

Nevertheless, we gave it a try, beginning with the 10-day brown rice fasting diet, which was supposed to sort out the body´s balance. At the end of which, I had gained weight. You were supposed to restrict fluid intake so you only peed once a day. I never drank a drop and still peed six or seven times. I was perpetually yinned-out.

But, I picked-up some new habits during my macrobiotic period. One was to eat slowly, chew 100 times, to reduce the grain to liquid before swallowing. Not that I count anymore. In a little macrobiotic cookbook, I found a really great recipe for roasted brown rice with vegetables that I still make. And, in this white-bread nation, Spain, I got hooked on whole grains. I also acquired a real fondness for that yang condiment, gomasio, toasted sesame seed ground with sea salt.

This week, once I had made a batch of gomasio, I experimented a bit, sprinkling it over some very yin-ful strawberries. Add some olive oil dressing, call it salad. I make no claims that this salad balances yin and yang elements. In fact, I imagine it bends strongly toward yin. But it is gorgeous and, with the contrasts in flavors and textures, quite delicious.

Sliced strawberries with vinaigrette, balls of goat cheese and a few rose petals amongst the salad greens. The salad is speckled with toasted black sesame-salt.

Strawberry Salad with Goat Cheese and Sesame Salt

Ensalada de Fresas con Queso de Cabra y Sal de Sésamo

Use either black or tan sesame seed (called ajonjolí or sésamo in Spanish) for the gomasio. The cheese balls, with two kinds of goat cheese, might be replaced with cubes of mozzarella, feta or any queso fresco. Because the roses in my garden are fabulous right now, I’ve added (optional) rose petals to the salad. Black olives or blueberries make a visual contrast with the red strawberries. If you have a choice, go for the briny olives. Blueberries are pretty, but insipid.

For the sesame salt (gomasio):

3 tablespoon black or tan sesame seeds

1 ½ teaspoons coarse sea salt

Crushed sesame and salt.

Toast the sesame seeds in a heavy skillet on medium heat until they are lightly toasted and fragrant. (It may be difficult to judge the color for the black seeds.) Add the salt to the sesame seeds and toast a few seconds so the mixture is completely dry.

Remove the skillet from the heat and empty the sesame seeds into a bowl. Let them cool. Working in small batches, crush the sesame seeds and salt in a mortar. Store the sesame salt in a jar with a tight lid.

Fresh goat cheese.

For the cheese balls (bolitas de queso):

Makes about 2-dozen (1-inch) balls.

3 ½ ounces goat cheese log (½ cup diced), room temperature

3 ½ ounces fresh goat cheese (½ cup diced), room temperature 

Milk or plain yogurt to thin the cheese

Olive oil for shaping

Place the two kinds of diced cheese in a mini-processor. Process until smooth and creamy, adding milk or yogurt a teaspoon at a time if mixture is too stiff to process. 

Oil a flat container. Oil the hands. Shape the cheese mixture into marble-sized balls. Place them in the container and chill them, covered, until ready to assemble the salad.

For the dressing (aliño para ensalada):

Makes more dressing than is needed for the strawberry salad

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

½ teaspoon pimentón de la Vera (smoked pimentón)

¼ teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon Sherry vinegar

1 tablespoon brine from a jar of olives or capers

6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Whisk together the mustard, pimentón, salt and vinegar. Stir in the brine. Whisk in the oil until dressing is emulsified. 

For the salad:

Serves 4 to 6.

12 ounces strawberries (2 cups sliced)

¼ cup pitted black olives (or blueberries)

3 tablespoons salad dressing (above)

1 to 2 cups mesclun, microgreens, rucula, red endive or baby spinach 

Rose petals (optional)

Cheese balls (recipe above)

Pea shoots (optional)

Basil leaves

Sesame salt (recipe above)

Wash the strawberries, remove hulls and slice or quarter them. Place them in a bowl with the olives or blueberries and add 2 tablespoons of the prepared dressing. 

Place the mesclun or other salad greens in a small bowl and toss them lightly with 1 tablespoon of the dressing. 

Arrange mesclun/greens on a platter or individual salad plates with the rose petals, if using. Spread the strawberries on the greens. Add the balls of cheese. Garnish with pea shoots, if using, and basil. Sprinkle the strawberries and cheese balls with sesame salt.

More recipes with strawberries:

Strawberries with Custard Pudding (Natillas) and Meringue.

Instant Strawberry Shortcake.

Strawberries with Sponge Cake.

Strawberries with Orange-Blossom Sauce.

LAMB—THE 2ND, 3RD, 4TH AND 5TH TIME AROUND

 

A five-pound leg of lamb for dinner and only two people to eat it--a lot of leftovers to look forward to. (Link to the recipe for Roast Lamb with Spring Herbs is below.)

We were three for Easter dinner and one was vegetarian. Nevertheless, I wanted roast leg of lamb, roasted with lots of herbs. To start, we had asparagus grilled on the plancha, with sour orange mayonnaise. I served the lamb with browned potatoes on the side, a taboulleh salad (made with cous cous, not bulgur), eggplant pisto and a vegetable terrine. Strawberries with almond cookies for dessert.

From a five-pound leg of lamb, now I have a week’s worth of leftover lamb! 

Leftovers for two

1st day—sliced lamb reheated with pan juices, embellished with preserved lemon and chopped dates. I dithered, almost deciding to serve the lamb cold with a mojo verde (green chile sauce, somewhat like chimichurri), but I wanted to reheat the lamb to melt the fat. 

2nd day--cous cous with lamb, vegetables and chickpeas.

Leftovers from Easter dinner become a whole new meal--cous cous, eggplant pisto and roast lamb are recycled, with the addition of Moroccan spices, canned chickpeas, fresh carrots and zucchini.

3rd day: Lamb with spinach, Indian spices.

My favorite recipe from Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Cookery (BBC Books; 1994), Lamb with Spinach (Dilli ka saag gosht). Made with spinach from a bag and pieces of roast lamb, it is quick to prepare. 

4th day: Stuffed Eggplant, Turkish style.

Scraps of cooked lamb are folded in with onions and tomatoes and stuffed into eggplants. (Recipe below.) Served with rice pilaf and cucumbers with dill on the side. 

5th day: Bone broth and vegetable soup

Lamb bone broth becomes spring vegetable soup.

Bonus: Lamb Shank. I separated the shank before roasting the lamb, carved the meat off the bone and saved the bone for the soup pot. The meat cut into pieces made a quick sauté for one—me—with garlic and rosemary, served with a little homemade chutney. 

Stuffed Eggplant (Karniyarik)

Berenjena Rellena

I first sampled this stuffed eggplant dish at a cooking workshop in Istanbul given by Selin Rozanes of Turkish Flavors. There we made it with raw ground beef. In this version, I have used the last scraps of roast lamb, cut off the bones. The lamb needs only a few minutes to cook with the onions and tomatoes. 

Long, thin eggplants are best for this recipe. The technique calls for peeling the eggplants in stripes, slow-frying the whole eggplants in oil, then “splitting their bellies” and stuffing. The eggplants finish in the oven. Delicious served with rice pilaf. 

Turkish pepper sauce.

You will need Turkish pepper sauce, a mildly hot condiment. It’s easily made by blending roasted red bell peppers (or drained ones from a jar or can) with a spoonful of hot pimentón, Aleppo pepper or red pepper flakes; lemon juice and salt.  

The following recipe is for two servings, but the recipe is easily doubled or tripled.

Chopped lamb for stuffing eggplants.

2 medium eggplant (each about 10 ounces)

Olive oil

3 ounces cooked lamb (about 1 cup, chopped)

¾ cup grated or finely chopped onion

1 clove garlic

½ cup crushed tomato

1 tablespoon Turkish pepper sauce (directions above)

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

¼ cup chopped parsley

Sliced tomato, for topping

Sliced green pepper, for topping

1/3 cup hot water

Peel off strips of eggplant skin.

Trim the eggplants’ stems but don’t remove them. Use a vegetable peeler to remove three lengthwise strips of the skin, striping the peel. Heat enough oil to cover the bottom of a skillet. Fry the whole eggplants gently until they are golden on all sides and beginning to soften. Remove them and place in an oiled baking dish with the flatter sides up. 

Slit eggplants, spread them open.

With a knife, slit open the eggplant from top to bottom, without cutting them all the way through.  Use the fingers to gently spread open the slit, making a place for the filling.

Preheat oven to 375ºF.

Chop or shred the cooked lamb and set aside.

Add more oil to the skillet, if needed. Sauté the onion and garlic on medium heat until softened, 5 minutes. Add the crushed tomato and pepper sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until sauce is thick, 5 to 10 minutes. Add the cooked lamb and heat. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the parsley.

Eggplants ready to bake.

Divide the lamb mixture between the two eggplants, pressing it into the slits and mounding it slightly. (If there is too much stuffing mixture, spread it around the eggplants in the baking dish.) Top with sliced tomato and green pepper. Pour the hot water into the baking dish. 

Bake until the eggplants are bubbling hot and the pepper slices are cooked, about 30 minutes. Serve hot.

Cous Cous with Leftover Lamb

Cuscus con Cordero Asado

Instant cous cous (pictured top right) was presented the first time round as taboulleh, a salad with herbs, olive oil and lemon juice. After reheating in the microwave, I added raisins and almonds.

Eggplant pisto (top, left), a vegetable stew with peppers, onions and tomato, makes the basis of the cooking sauce for the carrots and zucchini.

Ras el hanout spice blend (center) gives authentic Moroccan flavor to this quickie meal with leftovers. If you don't have ras el hanout, combine a spoonful each of ground cumin and coriander with a half-teaspoon of turmeric, powdered ginger, cinnamon, black pepper and a pinch of cloves. 

Add canned chickpeas, well drained, and some water or lamb bone broth to the pan. Cook until carrots and zucchini are tender. Add chunks of leftover roast lamb. Serve the lamb and vegetables around a heap of cous cous. Garnish with fresh cilantro.

Lamb Bone Broth

Caldo de Cordero

Bones, skin and trimmings from the roast lamb and the uncooked shank are cooked with aromatics to make a flavorful broth. Once strained, the broth is chilled overnight. Then the congealed fat can be skimmed off.  

For the vegetable soup, sauté chopped onions, garlic, celery, carrots and peppers in olive oil. Add cut-up vegetables--I've used chard, zucchini, potatoes and, for a touch of spring, fresh fava beans.  

Peel the fava beans? 

I don't usually peel the favas but I liked their bright green color when the outer skins are removed. They only need a few minutes to cook when the other vegetables are ready. The rest of the jar of chickpeas finish the soup. It's seasoned with cumin and thyme. 

Indian Spiced Lamb with Spinach 

Cordero con Espinacas Estilo India

Toast the spices and aromatics--peppercorns, cloves, cardamom, onions, garlic, ginger, cumin, coriander, chile--add spinach (from a bag) and yogurt. Stir in chunks of already-cooked lamb at the end. Serve with rice.

Eggplant pisto

Eggplant pisto--served as a side with the roast lamb; recycled as the cooking sauce for the cous cous. The recipe for basic pisto is here.

Taboulleh with cous cous.

Cous cous taboulleh salad with fresh herbs, served as a side dish for the Easter dinner. The recipe for this version of taboulleh is here.

Recipe for Roast Lamb with Spring Herbs.

Recipe for the Vegetable Terrine.