CAULIFLOWER MAGIC

 

Cauliflower in the garden.

Look what’s peeking out from floppy leaves in my garden! The first cauliflower. I’m always surprised how rapidly they develop. I poke around every few days and find nothing—except, maybe some caterpillars—then, suddenly, there’s a cauliflower almost ready to pick. 

Cauliflower fritters and dip.

My favorite ways with cauliflower are roasted (on a sheet pan with olive oil, salt, pepper, thyme) and Madhur Jaffrey’s Indian-spiced cauliflower (with lots of garlic, fennel and mustard seeds). But there are plenty cauliflower recipes to love in Spanish cuisine, too. Today, it’s buñuelos de coliflor, cauliflower fritters. 

Buñuelos are puffy balls of fried batter. Some versions start with a sort of choux paste, with olive oil instead of butter. But this batter with mashed cauliflower gets its puffiness from baking powder. The buñuelos should be golden-brown on the outside and, unlike croquettes, spongy on the inside. 

The batter can be prepared in advance, but the buñuelos are best consumed freshly made, although not necessarily hot. 

The buñuelos are good as an aperitivo with drinks, with or without a dipping sauce (see below for a yogurt dipping sauce). They’re terrific as part of a vegetarian meal. They make a fine side with simple roast meat or grilled foods.

These puffy fritters and a tangy dipping sauce are terrific for aperitivos with drinks.

Buñuelos make a good side dish for a vegetarian meal.

Instead of traditional alioli garlic sauce, these buñuelos are served with yogurt sauce.

Fritters have a light, spongy texture.

Puffy Cauliflower Fritters

Buñuelos de Coliflor

Makes about 3 dozen fritters.

1 pound cauliflower (approx. ½  medium cauliflower)

Salt

1 egg

2 ounces cheese, grated (½ cup)

2 tablespoons finely chopped scallions or grated onion

2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley

Pinch of cumin

Pinch of hot (picante) pimentón (paprika)

5 tablespoons milk

½ cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

Olive oil for frying

Separate the cauliflower into florettes, discarding thick stems. Cook in simmering, salted water until very tender, 10 minutes. Drain well. Coarsely chop the cauliflower in a food processor or mash it with a potato-masher. Don’t puree the cauliflower.

Beat the egg in a bowl. Add the grated cheese, scallions, parsley, cumin, pimentón and ½ teaspoon salt. Beat in the milk. Combine the flour and baking powder. Stir the mixture into the egg and milk until fairly smooth. Fold in the mashed cauliflower. The batter should be the consistency of very creamy mashed potatoes. If too stiff, stir in additional milk.

Drop spoonfuls of batter into hot olive oil. Turn the fritters and fry until golden.

Place oil in a skillet to a depth of 1 ½ inches. Heat the oil on moderately-high heat. Dip two teaspoons into the oil. Use one spoon to scoop up batter and the second to push the batter into the hot oil. Fry the balls of batter, turning once, until they are slightly puffed and golden-brown, about 3 minutes. Don’t let them brown too fast or the flour won’t cook in the center. 

Drain the fritters on absorbent paper. Serve immediately. To reheat the fritters, place them in a single layer on a baking sheet and heat in 400ºF oven until hot, 8-10 minutes.

Yogurt Dipping Sauce

Salsa de Yogur

½ cup plain Greek yogurt

¼ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon smoked pimentón (paprika)

Chopped chives

Stir together the yogurt, salt, pimentón and chives. Serve room temperature. 

More versions of buñuelos:

Fried Pumpkin Puffs.

Fried Crullers.

Cheese Puffs.

Figgy Fritters.

More recipes with cauliflower:

Cauliflower Salad.

Cauliflower Patties (Tortitas).

Cauliflower Soup with Cheese Flan.

Cauliflower with Almond Sauce and Black Garlic.

Salt Cod with Cauliflower and Ajada Sauce.

Paella with Cauliflower Rice.

About frying with olive oil here.

 

CAN´T PASS UP THE FISH VENDOR

 

A find at the fish market--razor shell clams. In Spanish, they are navajas, or "pen knives."

I already had a fat chicken in my market basket, but could not pass by the fish stall without stopping to check out the day’s selection. It’s been more than a year—coinciding with, but not due to, the pandemic—that the village market has been without a fish vendor. I am thrilled to once again have fresh fish and shellfish available locally, so I invariably buy something.

On this day I found razor clams, a shellfish I’ve enjoyed at restaurants specializing in mariscos, shellfish, but never cooked myself. Prepared simply grilled on a plancha and topped with garlic-parsley aliño, they were a quick appetizer while the chicken roasted. The leftover clams and sauce made an instant pasta sauce the following day.

Razor clam shells don't close tightly, so they usually hold sand and grit. Soak them before cooking.

The clams need only one or two minutes to cook on a plancha. Any longer and the delicate flesh becomes tough. In Spain, clams such as these are often served para picar, as a shared plate before a meal.

Quick sauce--garlic, parsley and olive oil in a mini-processor.

Go ahead, pick it up with your fingers and slurp the clam right off the shell. 

My grandson said the clams were like "eating worms." He seemed to enjoy them.

Leftover clams? Cut them up and add them with their sauce to cooked pasta.

Plancha-Grilled Razor Shell Clams with Garlic-Parsley Sauce

Navajas a la Plancha con Aliño

Razor shell clams do not close up tightly. If they’re alive, protruding bits should retract when prodded. Discard any clams whose shells are open and especially heavy ones, as they may be filled with grit.

Two notes of advice: one, be sure to allow the clams to soak in salt water to cleanse them of sand and silt, and, two, do not cook them longer than one or two minutes or they become tough and chewy. 

Use a plancha—a griddle or flat grill pan—or cast-iron skillet to cook the clams.

2 dozen razor clams

Salt

½ cup coarsely chopped parsley

2 cloves garlic

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil + more for the griddle

1 teaspoon coarse salt

½ teaspoon grated lemon zest

Red pepper flakes (optional)

Wash the clams in running water. Place them in a bowl and add water to cover. Add ½ teaspoon table salt. Let the clams set at least 2 hours. Lift them out of the water and rinse again. Discard any that are open. Drain and pat them dry.

Sauce in mini-processor.

Use a mini-processor to grind the parsley and garlic. Add the oil, ½ teaspoon coarse salt, zest and red pepper flakes, if using. Process to make a smooth sauce.

Heat a plancha or cast-iron skillet and brush it with oil. Sprinkle with ½ teaspoon coarse salt and place the razor clams on the griddle in a single layer. Grill 1 minute or until the shells open. Remove the clams from the heat. Place them on a serving platter and spoon some of the parsley-garlic sauce over them. Serve accompanied by bread and remaining sauce.

Leftovers:

Remove clams from their shells. Discard the shells. Use kitchen scissors to cut the clams into pieces. Combine with leftover garlic-parsley sauce in a bowl. Cook linguine or other pasta to taste. Ladle some of the boiling pasta water over the clams and sauce. Drain the pasta and serve tossed with the clams and sauce.

More recipes with clams:

Fishermen-Style Clams (Marinera).

Rice with Clams.

Clams with Butter Beans and Saffron.

WOULD YOU CALL THIS POTATO SALAD?

 

A traditional Málaga salad--potatoes, oranges, olives and cod.

So, is this a potato salad? It’s got potatoes, yes. Plus onions, olives and—oranges! The dish is dressed with extra virgin olive oil, vinegar and orange juice. It’s topped with flakes of cod or, if you prefer, chunks of tuna. It’s a very traditional salad in southern Spain, where I live, but nothing like the creamy mayo-based potato salads you’d find at a church supper in Midwest America, where I grew up.

In Spain, this is a winter-spring potato salad, much like the best known potato salad, patatas aliñadas, with cut-up oranges substituted for out-of-season tomatoes. If you visit Málaga, you’ll find it in tapa bars where it’s called ensalada malagueña.

This salad is served as a tapa.

The local olives are cracked, green, brine-cured ones. But black olives instead of green add contrast. Also, you can substitute chunks of tuna for the cod.

Last week I cut up a side of bacalao, salt cod, to prepare Bacalao con Tomate. In that recipe, I advised you to “save the thin and scrappy bits for another use.” The saved scraps of cod are perfect for this salad. But, if salt cod was never on your shopping list, use canned tuna. Or use diced smoked ham. Wouldn’t that be a pretty dish on the Easter table? 

In Spain, you can buy packaged migas of bacalao, “crumbs” of salt cod. If you’re starting out with pieces of cod (see last week’s blog about how to pre-soak them), poach the pieces in water to cover just until white foam starts to form. Do not let the cod boil. Drain and rinse the cod. While still warm, use your fingers to flake the cod, discarding all skin and bones.

Málaga Salad with Oranges, Potatoes and Cod

Ensalada Malagueña

Serves 4 as a starter.

2 medium potatoes

Salt

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 large oranges

1/3 cup chopped spring onions or scallions including some of the green tops

2 tablespoons orange juice

1 tablespoon Sherry vinegar

Salad greens (optional)

½ cup flaked cod or tuna

Green brine-cured olives

3 tablespoons chopped parsley

1 hard-boiled egg, quartered (optional)

Cook the whole potatoes in lightly salted water until they are tender when pierced with a skewer. Drain and allow the potatoes to cool.

Peel the potatoes, cut them in half lengthwise and slice them crosswise. Place the potatoes in a bowl and add 1 tablespoon of the oil and ¼ teaspoon salt. 

How to peel oranges.

Prepare the oranges. Slice off top and bottom. Set the orange upright on cutting board and use a sharp knife to cut downwards, following the contour of the orange, removing skin and white pith.

Cut segments.

Either slice the oranges crosswise or use a thin-bladed knife to separate the segments from their membrane. Reserve the juice. 

Combine 2 tablespoons of reserved orange juice, 1/2 teaspoon salt, the remaining 3 tablespoons of oil and the vinegar in a small bowl. Arrange the salad greens, if using, on a serving platter. Spread the potatoes on the platter. Arrange the oranges on top. Add the pieces of cod. Stud with olives. Drizzle the orange juice dressing over all the salad. Sprinkle with parsley. Garnish with quartered egg, if desired.

More salads with oranges:

Orange and Cod Salad (Salmorejo).

Potato-Orange Dunking Salad (Mojete).

More potato salads:

Potato Salad with Seaweed Mayonnaise.

"Russian" Potato Salad.

Potato Salad with Lemony Dressing (Aliñadas)

Purple Potato Salad.

Moroccan Potato Salad.

Some other ways to use up scraps of salt cod:

Cod Fritters with Molasses (Tortillitas).

Chickpeas and Spinach with Cod Dumplings.