CELEBRATE EGGS

 

Prettily tinted or lavishly decorated, Easter eggs nestling in a straw basket are a happy feature of the season. Since antiquity, the egg has symbolized new life, thus its appearance at the springtime festival celebrating the Resurrection.

Hornazos are eggs baked in bread for Easter.

The traditional Easter egg in Spain is not necessarily colored, but is baked in a basket of bread dough—hornazos—or sweet dough—monas de Pascua. These can be found in bakeries at Easter.

Jewish custom also includes the egg in the springtime holiday of Passover, when it is one of the symbolic foods served at the seder dinner, representing the temple sacrifice of old.

The egg is a highly-valued food in Spain, where many will pay premium prices for fresh, free-range eggs. Many years ago when I lived in the village, I would exchange vegetable scraps with a neighbor (for feeding her pig) for a few fresh eggs. Such a delight.

Huevos solos, mil manjares y para todos.
With only eggs, a thousand dishes and enough for everybody.

Mas vale un buen dia con huevo que un mal mes con un cerdo.
Better a good day with only an egg than a bad month with a whole pig.

For years, I could never find white eggs and the brown ones just weren’t suitable for coloring. But this year, there they were, just in time for my grandson Leo to help with the tinting.

What to do with a surfeit of hard-cooked eggs after the Easter egg hunt? In Spain, sliced eggs in a fresh tomato sauce with patatas fritas, Spanish fries, on the side make an easy and satisfying supper dish. Stuffed eggs are a terrific lunch dish. The Spanish version uses tuna or shrimp in the stuffing (see that recipe here). Or, if you want something a little fancier, try these “double” eggs—they are stuffed, coated with bechamel, then dipped in crumbs and fried. These are fun to prepare (though time-consuming) and fun to eat.

"Double" eggs are stuffed, then breaded and fried.

“Double” Eggs (Croquettes with Deviled Eggs)
Huevos Dobles

The coating is thicker and crisper if the eggs are dipped twice in flour, egg, and crumbs.

The recipe makes more stuffing mixture than needed for the 6 egg whites. The leftover makes a fine sandwich spread.

 The eggs can be stuffed and fried up to 24 hours in advance and refrigerated. Bring them to room temperature. Place in an oven pan and heat in a preheated 400ºF oven 8 to10 minutes.

Serve the eggs, one per person, as a starter. Tomato sauce makes a good accompaniment.

Serves 6.

6 hard-cooked eggs
1 tablespoon olive oil plus 2 cups additional for frying
¼ cup finely chopped onion
¼ cup minced serrano or cooked ham
¼  plus ½ teaspoon salt
Pinch of caraway seed
½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
Pinch of hot pimentón or cayenne
1 tablespoon plus 1 ½ cups milk
2 tablespoons butter
5 tablespoons flour plus additional ½ cup for dredging
1 to 2 eggs
1 cup fine dry bread crumbs
Tomato sauce to serve (optional)

Peel the cooked eggs. Pat them dry. Cut in half lengthwise. Remove yolks to a small bowl.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a small skillet. Sauté the onion and ham until softened, 5 minutes. Add the contents of the skillet to the yolks. Add ¼ teaspoon salt, caraway seed, mustard, pimentón, and 1 tablespoon of milk. Mash the yolks smooth. Press the yolk mixture into the hollows of the egg whites.

Cover a tray with a layer of plastic wrap. Place the egg halves, stuffed side down, 2-inches apart in a single layer. Refrigerate.

In a saucepan melt the butter. Stir in 5 tablespoons of flour and stir until smooth over a low heat. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in 1 ½ cups milk very gradually, until the mixture is smooth. Return to a medium heat. Cook, stirring, until the sauce is thick and smooth, 5 minutes.

Spoon the hot sauce over the egg halves, napping them smoothly with the sauce. Refrigerate the eggs until coating is chilled and solidified, at least 3 hours and up to 24 hours.

Roll one egg half over, stuffing side up. Pick up another egg and place it on top, so the stuffing is enclosed. Repeat with the remaining eggs. Return the tray to the refrigerator.

Place flour for dredging in a shallow pan. Beat 1 or 2 eggs and place in a shallow dish. Place half the breadcrumbs in another shallow pan.

Dredge each egg in flour. Pat off excess and gently press the two halves together. Roll the eggs in beaten egg. Place them in the tray of breadcrumbs. Sprinkle remaining half of crumbs over the eggs. Roll or pat the eggs so they are completely covered with crumbs. Allow to dry on a tray for 15 minutes.

If desired, repeat the breading, dredging the eggs first in flour, then eggs, then crumbs.

Heat oil in a deep skillet to a depth of ¾ inch. Fry the eggs, turning to brown all sides, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Serve hot or warm accompanied by tomato sauce, if desired.

Leo helped to color Easter eggs.

ADOBO--ANOTHER TANGY MARINADE

Marinated fried fish.

Last week I wrote about escabeche, a tangy marinade used for cooked foods. To follow up on that, here is another popular marinade, adobo.

Adobo is a mixture of spices and vinegar used to marinate fish or meat before cooking. Before the days of refrigeration, both adobo and escabeche were used to conserve foods.

Fish in adobo marinade.

Adobo marinades usually contain wine vinegar, oregano, garlic and pimentón (paprika). Pork and solid-fleshed fish such as shark are good candidates for adobo marinades. The food to be marinated is submerged in the mixture for 24 hours (for fish) to several days (for meat). A whole pork loin in its vinegar marinade would keep for a week or two in cold weather. Then it could be sliced and fried in oil to make a quick and satisfying meal.

Bienmesabe 
Bites of Marinated Fish

This is a popular tapa throughout Andalusia. Bienmesabe means, more or less, “yummies.” The tapa is also called cazón en adobo. Cazón is tope shark or dogfish, which is perked up nicely with a tangy, adobo marinade. Any solid-fleshed fish, such as monkfish (angler fish), could be substituted. I used small pintaroja, (lesser spotted dogfish), cut crosswise into chunks. 

Makes about 45 pieces.

Shake off excess flour.

2 pounds shark or angler fish (monkfish) fillets
3 tablespoons olive oil
5 tablespoons wine vinegar
1 tablespoon water
3 cloves chopped garlic
¼ teaspoon pimentón (paprika)
¼ teaspoon hot pimentón (optional)
1 teaspoon crumbled dry oregano
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon salt
Flour for dredging fish
Olive oil for frying

Cut the fish into 1 ½-inch cubes, discarding any skin and bone. Put the cubes in a non-reactive container.

Mix together the oil, vinegar, water, garlic, pimentón, oregano, pepper and salt. Pour over the fish and mix well. Marinate for at least 6 hours and up 48 hours.

Drain the fish well, dredge it in flour, shake off the excess and fry the pieces a few at a time in hot oil until golden and crisp. Drain on kitchen towels and serve hot.

Fish in adobo has tangy flavor.

ESCABECHE--A TANGY MARINADE FOR COOKED FOODS

Quail legs in escabeche marinade make a tasty tapa.

Escabeche is one of my favorite cooking methods. I use it for fish, poultry and game. The procedure, which involves putting cooked food into a vinegar marinade, makes tangy foods that are great for tapas and for salads.

Escabeche is an ancient way of preserving foods. Hunting once was much a part of rural life in every region of Spain. where small game—rabbit, hare, partridge and quail—were free for the taking on scrubby hillsides and in dry ravines. During the season when hunters returned with an abundance, the game would be dressed-out and cooked in a marinade, then packed into clay pots. Olive oil in the marinade would rise to the top and create a protective seal, allowing the escabeche foods to be kept for several months during the cold season. Chunks of marinated meat could be reheated with beans or added, cold, to salads.

Typically, escabeche is made with white wine, vinegar, olive oil, onion, garlic, salt, peppercorns, pimentón or dried chile, cloves and bay leaf. In order to conserve the game, the marinade needed to be very strong in vinegar. Nowadays, with refrigeration, the escabeche is not so sharp.

Escabeche marinade is also used with fish, both fresh water trout, pike and tench, and seafood such as mackerel, sardines and oysters. Fish is gutted, floured and fried until thoroughly cooked. Then hot escabeche marinade is poured over the pieces of fish. Left to marinate for a day or two, the fish acquires a delicious tang. Escabeche fish is usually served as a cold dish, on a bed of lettuce and garnished with lemon and sliced tomatoes.

When  preparing escabeche marinades, use nonreactive pans and bowls—glass or ceramic. Dusting the fish or poultry pieces with flour before frying keeps them from splattering in the hot oil and allows them to brown nicely. If using leftover cooked food (for example, roast turkey), simply add it to the marinade and bring to a boil. It does not need to cook further. Warming escabeche before serving helps to liquefy the jellied marinade. The foods can can be served warm or room temperature. 


ChupaChups de Codorniz en Escabeche
Lollipops of Quail in Escabeche Marinade

ChupaChups is a popular brand of lollipop. Eat these miniscule quail legs right off the bone like a lolly, a two-bite tapa. Leave drumstick and thigh connected if you’re cutting them from whole quail. This recipe can also be prepared using chicken drumettes, the thick, first joint of a chicken wing. 

To serve as finger food, reheat the legs or wings to liquefy the sauce and skim them out of the liquid. If desired, wrap ends in foil, and serve with paper napkins, as they are a bit messy. They can also be used in the following recipe for Salad of Pickled Partridge or Chicken.

Makes 12 tapas.

12 whole quail legs or chicken wings
Flour for dredging
Salt and pepper
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 leek (white part only), sliced
1 carrot, sliced crosswise
1 slice of onion
1 slice of lemon
2 cloves garlic, slivered lengthwise
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon pimentón (paprika) stirred into 1 tablespoon water
1 small dry red chile (optional)
10 peppercorns
1 teaspoon oregano
2 teaspoons salt
1 cup water
 ½ cup white wine
½ cup wine vinegar
Salad greens and cherry tomatoes, to serve

Sprinkle the quail legs with salt and pepper. Dredge them in flour and shake off excess. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a skillet on medium heat. Brown the quail on both sides, about 2 minutes. Remove. Wipe out the pan.

Add remaining 2 tablespoons of oil to the pan with the leek, carrot, onion, lemon, garlic, bay leaf, pimentón, chile, if using; peppercorns, oregano, salt, water, wine and vinegar. Bring to a boil. Return the quail to the pan. Cover and simmer until quail is tender, but not falling off the bone, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat and allow the quail to cool in the marinade.

Cover and refrigerate at least 24 hours or up to 48 hours. Serve cold or room temperature, garnished with salad leaves and tomatoes.

Salad of chicken wing escabeche.

Ensalada con Escabeche
Escabeche Salad

Partridge in spiced escabeche is an emblematic dish of La Mancha (central Spain). If you find canned pickled partridge at gourmet shops, serve it in this delectable salad. The salad is almost as good made with chicken wings in escabeche. Strip the meat from the bones, discarding most of the skin too. You’ll need the meat from about 8 wings (16 wing pieces) to serve 4. Use some of the carrots from the marinade in the salad too. The salad can be garnished with pickled mushrooms and onions. Or, omit the pickles and scatter pomegranate seeds over the salad.

Serves 4.

4 cups mixed salad greens
3 cups boned partridge or chicken wings in escabeche plus pickling liquid
8 hard-cooked quail eggs, halved, or 4 hard-cooked eggs, quartered
Cherry tomatoes or sliced plum tomatoes
¼ teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons chopped scallions
Pickled mushrooms, optional
Pickled onions, optional
Olives or capers
4 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Divide the salad greens between 4 salad plates. Divide the boned partridge or chicken between the plates. If there are carrot pieces in the escabeche, scatter them around the partridge or chicken.

Garnish the partridge with hard-cooked eggs, tomatoes, oregano, scallions, pickled mushrooms and onions, if using, olives or capers.

If escabeche liquid is jellied, heat it briefly in microwave or in a saucepan to liquefy. Drizzle 2 teaspoons of the pickling liquid over each salad. Dribble 1 teaspoon oil over each. Garnish with chopped parsley.