LATE SUMMER FRUITS

 

Late summer fruits--melon, mangoes, pears and grapes.

Oferta! Special offer: melons for 59 centimos per kilo (about 30 cents a pound). I bought three of those big, green piel de sapo melons. This Spanish variety (the name means “toad skin”) is the perfect combination of crisp, juicy and sweet. 

Springtime’s berries and the stone fruits of mid-summer are still in the markets, but pricey. Winter’s citrus isn’t here yet. Filling in the late-summer gap are the end of the melons and figs, the peak of the pears and grapes and the first of the (local) mangoes.  Sounds like fruit salad to me! 

One of the three “bargain” melons I bought was not especially sweet—a sure sign of the season drawing to an end. I used it to make two savory dishes—pickled melons and melon gazpacho.

Fruits of the season--mango, melon, grapes, figs and pears. Sugar not needed but a dribble of muscatel wine or liqueur is nice. Cream? Dollop of yogurt?

Melon gazpacho gets its color from a bit of tomato plus pimentón.

This melon is called piel de sapo--toad skin--for its rough, green skin. The flesh is pale yellow.

Pickled melon is terrific!

Grape and cheese salad with fennel for crunch.

Melon Gazpacho

Gazpacho de Melón

Chopped serrano ham garnishes the melon gazpacho.

Any melon can be substituted for the Spanish piel de sapo variety. Honeydew might be a good choice.

Use melon and tomatoes in any combination to make about 2 pounds (about 5 cups) of chopped fruit-vegetable combo. If the melon is especially sweet, add enough vinegar to balance the sweetness. Sherry vinegar is more acidic than ordinary wine vinegar, but it adds a pleasing mellow flavor. 

Ham with melon is a cliché, but it’s such a great combination that ham seems the perfect garnish for this gazpacho. Use chopped or sliced serrano or ibérico.

Serves 4-6.

Chopped Melon (about 1 ½ pounds)

Tomatoes, peeled and chopped 

1 slice slightly stale bread, torn into pieces

1/3 cup chopped onion

1/3 cup chopped red bell pepper

¼ teaspoon sweet pimentón (paprika)

¼ teaspoon hot pimentón or a pinch of cayenne

Grated lemon zest

¼ teaspoon grated ginger

½ teaspoon (or to taste) salt

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon (or to taste) Sherry vinegar

Water to thin the soup

Chopped cured ham, to serve

Put the melon and tomatoes in a blender with the bread. Let stand until the bread is slightly softened. Then blend until pureed. Add the onion, red pepper, two kinds of pimentón, lemon zest, ginger and salt and blend again until smooth. Blend in the oil and vinegar. Thin the soup with water (about ¼ cup). 

Chill the soup.

Serve the soup garnished with chopped ham.

Melon Pickles

Melón Encurtido

Cubes of chicken with spicy pickled melon.

Peel bell pepper.

Chopped melon

Thinly sliced onion

Salt

Slivered red bell pepper

Red pepper flakes

Rice or white wine vinegar

Sugar, to taste

Place the chopped melon and onion in a bowl and sprinkle generously with salt. Cover and refrigerate up to 8 hours.

Drain the melon and onions. Rinse them in cold water and allow to drain well. Place in a bowl and add the bell pepper, red pepper flakes and rice vinegar or wine vinegar. Taste and add just enough sugar to balance the vinegar. 

Allow the pickles to marinate at least one hour. They keep, covered and refrigerated, up to a week. 

Grape and Cheese Salad

Ensalada de Uvas con Queso

This salad was inspired by a Spanish saying, “Uvas y queso saben de beso.” “Grapes and cheese taste like a kiss.” A little sweet, a little breathy, a perfect combination. Use seedless grapes, if you’ve got them. Otherwise, halve the grapes and nip out the pips. 

Fennel flowers with pollen.

    I’ve added raw fennel for crunch and complementary flavor. (Celery would be a good substitute.) And, another late summer ingredient—fennel pollen. I dusted the salad with the pollen from wild fennel flowers. If not available, use a few fennel seeds, lightly crushed.  

    I used a cured mixed-milk cheese (cow, goat and sheep). Manchego (sheep’s milk) would be even better. Different, but equally good are fresh cheeses such as queso fresco, feta or mozzarella. 

¾ pound grapes, seeded (about 2 cups)

1 cup chopped fennel

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

4 ounces diced cheese (about 1 cup)

For the dressing:

1 tablespoon finely chopped shallot

½ teaspoon mustard

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon Sherry vinegar

½ teaspoon salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Fennel pollen or fennel seeds

Salad greens

Toasted almonds or pumpkin seeds (optional)

Combine the grapes and fennel in a bowl. Add the lemon juice. Add the cheese.

For the dressing, combine the shallot, mustard and vinegar in a small bowl. Whisk in the oil until the dressing is emulsified. Season with salt and pepper and fennel pollen or a few seeds. 

Stir the dressing into the grapes and cheese. (If made in advance, cover and refrigerate the salad until ready to serve.)

Arrange salad greens on individual plates and spoon the grape and cheese salad on them. Sprinkle with a few toasted almonds or pumpkin seeds, if desired.

Grapes and cheese taste like a kiss. The salad also has crunchy raw fennel, fennel pollen and pumpkin seeds.

More recipes for late summer fruits:

Salmon with Cava Sauce and Grapes.

Green Bean Salad with Grapes.

Chicken Braised in Spiced Grape Juice.

Ham With Melon.

Melon-Yogurt Soup.

Turkey and Melon Salad.

Duck with Pears.

Pear Cake with Olive Oil.

Pear and Fennel Salad.

Pear Gazpacho.

Pears in Málaga Wine.

Pears in Cava with Fresh Cheese.

Cheese Custard Tart with Pears.

Pork Chops with Mango.

Mango Chutney.

Mango-Tomato Gazpacho Cream.

Rosé Sangría with Mango.

IRRESISTIBLE GRILLED OCTOPUS

 It was the aroma, not of sardines but of octopus, that grabbed me. I had already enjoyed  lashings of espetones, sardines and sea bass grilled on skewers at a chiringuito by the sea. Strolling along the beach path after lunch, at the next beach shack, I spotted the octopus, whole ones, speared on sticks stuck in the sand and searing by the fire. The smell was enticing, irresistible. I’ve been dreaming about octopus ever since.

Grilled octopus, skin a little charred, is irresistible.

I occasionally cook octopus (links to several recipes are below). It’s a bit of a process, but pretty straightforward once you conquer any initial queasiness about this slippery cephalopod. But, it was finding packaged cooked octopus at the supermarket that inspired me to prepare grilled octopus at home.

Yes, you have to cook the octopus before grilling. Grilling does not cook the octopus, it provides “value added.” It takes about three minutes and adds the distinctive flavors of seared flesh and smoke. Starting with pre-cooked octopus, it’s quick and easy. So much so that no recipe is needed, just a little orientation.

If you buy fresh, uncooked octopus, it must first be tenderized by freezing it for three days (never mind beating it). Thaw, then cook it in simmering water for 10 to 15 minutes per pound or until tender when tested with a skewer. Discard viscera from inside the head and the mouth beak. Do not remove the skin. (Complete instructions are here.)

Small octopus (1-pound or less) can be grilled whole. Large ones need to be dismembered—cut off each tentacle (it’s actually an “arm” or, in Spanish, a “pata.”) to be grilled separately and cut the head into several strips. Keep the purplish skin with the suckers intact, if possible. The skin helps to keep the octopus juicy.

Cooked, shrink-wrapped octopus tentacles.

The cooked octopus I purchased was already divided into tentacles. They only needed washing and patting dry. 

If you plan to grill the octopus over coals, brush the pieces with oil. If grilling on a plancha or in a skillet, heat the plancha, then brush oil on the grill, not the octopus.  

Heat the grill very hot, so the octopus quickly sears and does not release a lot of juice. Once one side is browned, use tongs to turn it. 

How to serve? Grilled octopus is amazing straight off the grill, with the skin just a little crispy. It can be served as finger food—just pick up a tentacle with fingers—or cut into bite-size pieces. 

In Galicia (northwest Spain), octopus is invariably served with a simple ajada of coarse salt, olive oil and pimentón (paprika). In Andalusia (southern Spain), it is accompanied by aliño, a dressing of chopped garlic, parsley, olive oil and lemon. I made a sauce by combining mayonnaise with both hot and sweet pimentón. 

In Galicia, octopus is usually paired with cachelos, boiled potatoes, dressed with the same oil and pimentón as the octopus. Another version calls for smooth mashed potatoes. I served the octopus with “smashed” potatoes. 

Grilled octopus tentacles accompanied by smashed potatoes and a spicy pimentón mayonnaise. Crisp Albariño wine from Galicia is the perfect match.

Slather the sauce on the octopus and the potatoes.

Cut grilled octopus in bite-sized pieces to serve as tapas.

Toss chopped grilled octopus in a salad with tomatoes, green peppers, onions and potatoes. (Good idea for leftovers.) Add a vinaigrette of olive oil, lemon juice and Dijon mustard.

Grilled Octopus

Pulpo a la Parilla

Serves 4.

1 pound cooked octopus (about 6 tentacles)

Olive oil

Flaky salt

Sauce to serve (recipe follows)

Grilling in cast-iron skillet. 

Heat coals, plancha or skillet very hot. Oil either the octopus or the plancha. Lay the tentacles on the grill. Sear them until lightly browned on one side, about 1 minute. Use tongs to turn the pieces and grill the other side, about 1 minute.

Remove the tentacles with tongs. Sprinkle with flaky salt and drizzle with additional olive oil. Either serve the octopus immediately or allow it to cool, then use kitchen shears to cut into pieces. Serve accompanied by sauce.

Mayonnaise-Spicy Pimentón Sauce

Mojo Picón con Mayonesa

This sauce is a blend of mojo picón, a spicy chile sauce, and mayonnaise. Use regular sweet pimentón (paprika), not smoked, plus one or two spoonfuls of smoked spicy-hot pimentón. If pimentón picante is not available, use fresh red chile or cayenne to taste. The mojo picón is usually thinned with water. In this version, bottled mayonnaise gives it a smooth, creamy texture. It’s delicious with potatoes and other vegetables as well as the octopus.

4 cloves garlic

1 small shallot, coarsely chopped

3 tablespoons sweet pimentón (not smoked)

2 teaspoons hot smoked pimentón (picante)

½ teaspoon cumin

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons wine vinegar

½ cup mayonnaise

Salt to taste

In a mini food processor, mince the garlic and shallot. Add the two kinds of pimentón, cumin, oil and vinegar and process until smooth. Add the mayonnaise and process again to mix well. Add salt to taste (about ½ teaspoon). 

If not using immediately, store the sauce, covered, in the refrigerator.

More recipes with octopus:

Octopus with Tomato Sauce.

Galician Octopus and Potatoes.

Octopus Salad.

Garlic-Parsley Sauce for Grilled Foods (Aliño)

A chiringuito beach lunch.

WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU LEMONS—

 Make ice cream.  Ice cream beats lemonade. It’s smooth, sweet, tart, icy-cold. Please tell Beyoncé.
In my case, the lemons are literal. At the end of their season, the skins thicken and the fruit begins to fall off the tree, bruising the tomatoes that grow beneath it. Using a squeeze here and a squeeze there, I can’t possibly consume so many lemons.

So, it’s ice cream. I recall many years ago in my pueblo, ice cream was a seasonal phenomenon. Corpus Christi day in early June marked the first day for eating ice cream as well as bathing in the sea. A truck delivered an ice cream kiosco to town, where it was installed in the plaza.  A vendor dispensed cortes, ice cream sandwiches, hand-cut from a block of ice cream in one of three flavors—nata (cream), vanilla or chocolate—and sandwiched between cookie slabs and polos, sweetened ices on a stick, akin to Popsicles. Those of us with a fridge with freezer could buy a whole brick of ice cream to enjoy at home, dipped into bowls. On trips to the city, at old fashioned ice cream parlors, we enjoyed hand-made flavors, including intensely lemony ice cream frozen inside a lemon shell. What a treat!

Lemon ice cream frozen in hollowed-out lemon shells. What a treat!

You don´t need an ice cream churn to make pretty good ice cream at home. If you do have one, use it for this recipe. Otherwise, partially freeze the cream, then use an immersion blender to beat it smooth, breaking up ice crystals and whipping in some air. 

This version is not really a “cream.” It’s made with evaporated milk that is cooked with eggs to make a custard base. Scald the milk with a strip of lemon zest and, if desired, a sprig of herbs (I used lemon thyme).

Ice cream frozen in lemon shells makes a pretty presentation. For this you need six medium lemons, hollowed out. Squeeze the flesh and membranes for juice. Scrape the shells clean.

I had more juice than needed for the ice cream, so I followed up with lemony ice cubes, perfect for a gin-tonic or fizzy lemonade.

These diminutive ice cubes are flavored with lemon juice, tonic water and botanicals. 

A custard base gives the ice cream a smooth texture--no ice cream machine needed.

Hollow out the lemon shells to serve as molds for the ice cream.

So good, it will briefly make you forget your woes.

Lemon Ice Cream

Helado de Limón

Serves 6.

6 lemons
3 eggs
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon water
½ cup fresh lemon juice
Pinch of salt
2 cups evaporated milk or light cream
½ cup sugar
Sprig of herbs (optional)

Remove a strip of zest from one of the lemons and reserve it. Cut a sliver off the bottom of the lemons so they will stand upright. Cut off the tops (stem end). Use a spoon to scoop out the flesh and juice from the lemons. Reserve it in a sieve set over a bowl. Use a thin knife or serrated grapefruit spoon to ream out the shells, scraping away all membrane. Drain the shells and reserve them.

Scrape out lemon shell.

Crush the lemon flesh in the sieve to release the juice. Press the juice through the sieve and discard the seeds and membrane. (Six lemons makes approximately 1 1/3 cups juice. You need only ½ cup juice for this recipe.)

Beat the eggs with an immersion blender. In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch and water and stir until smooth. Blend it into the eggs with the lemon juice and salt.

In a saucepan, heat the evaporated milk with the sugar, strip of reserved lemon zest and herbs, if using, until it just comes to a boil. Remove from heat and skim out and discard the zest and herbs. With the motor running, ladle about 1 cup of the hot milk into the eggs and lemon juice in the blender. Blend until smooth.

Whisk the egg-milk mixture back into the saucepan. Cook on moderate heat, stirring constantly, until the egg-milk custard thickens, about 4 minutes. Do not allow the custard to boil or the eggs will curdle.

Cool the custard, then freeze it in an ice cream maker or in a bowl. If freezing in a bowl, take it out when partially frozen and beat it again with the immersion blender in order to break up ice crystals and whip in some air.

Set the lemon shells in a muffin tin and spoon ice cream into them. Freeze to harden. 

Set the reserved lemon shells in cups or in a muffin tin so they stand upright. Spoon the ice cream into the shells, mounding it as much as possible. Place the shells in the freezer to harden. Once they are frozen, wrap them individually in plastic wrap. 

Remove the lemon shells from the freezer to soften 15 minutes before serving. 

Lemon-Tonic Ice

Hielo de Limón con Tonica

Gin-tonic with lemon-flavored ice cubes.

This ice can be frozen in ice cube trays or in a flat pan to be scraped or crushed for granizado (granita) or slushies. The lemon-tonic cubes are perfect with gin. Or fill a tall glass with the cubes and add fizzy water to make (non-alcoholic) lemonade. Tonic water, with sugar or non-caloric “diet” soda, provides the sweetening for the ice. You may like additional sugar to balance the lemon and slight bitterness of the botanicals. The tonic water can be bubbly or flat. Besides quinine, tonic is flavored with various botanicals. As is gin, though the main ingredient is juniper berries. This ice adds emphasis to those flavors.

Fills 3 small (9 X 4 ½ -inch) ice cube trays.

Botanical flavorings.

1 ½ cups water

½ teaspoon juniper berries

½ teaspoon coriander seeds

3 cardamom pods

1-inch piece of fresh ginger

1 bay leaf

1 strip lemon zest

1 strip orange zest

3 tablespoons sugar (optional)

½ cup fresh lemon juice

2 cups tonic water (2 cans)

Place the water in a saucepan with the juniper, coriander, cardamom, ginger, bay, lemon and orange zest and sugar, if using. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and cover the pan. Allow to steep until the infusion is cool.

Pour the infusion into a bowl or pitcher. Add the lemon juice and tonic water. Ladle or pour the mixture into ice cube trays or metal cake pans. Place in the freezer until solid. 

Use the ice cubes as needed in drinks. The solid-freeze in pans can be scraped or crushed for granizado (granita) or slushies.

More recipes for when life gives you lemons:

Herbal Lemonade.

Sherry-Lemon Cocktail.

Lemon Sangría with Botanicals.

Lemon Salad.

Lemon-Roasted Chicken.