TAKING PINE NUTS BEYOND PESTO

If you never thought of pine nuts beyond the ubiquitous pesto sauce, it’s time to take a fresh look at this little nut. In Spanish cooking it appears everywhere that this variety of pine tree grows, from the Marismas of the Guadalquivir (Sevilla) to the upland regions of Murcia and Valencia.

White gazpacho with pine nuts. Serve it with melon balls and crisp croutons.

Several Mediterranean stone pines tower over my terrace. As the weather warms, the pine cones on the trees open and drop the pine nuts onto the terrace. I’ve been collecting them in a bowl, waiting to get a sufficient quantity  to crack them and extract the tiny kernels to use in cooking.

But then, in one fell swoop, all the pine nuts disappeared! No chipmunk or squirrel at work here; I think my grandson snacked on the cache of pine nuts one afternoon!

Pine nuts.

I didn’t really fancy cracking them, anyway. So tiny, they are tedious to open without breaking the delicate little nuts.

Instead I bought pine nuts from the “nut lady” at the market, choosing the expensive Mediterranean pine nuts over the smaller and cheaper imported Chinese ones.

In traditional cooking, a handful of pine nuts goes into the stuffing mixture for chicken or turkey, into meatballs, added to lamb or rabbit stew, with a sauté of chard or cauliflower. They are used in sweets too.

Mashed to a paste, pine nuts flavour sauces, soups and gazpachos.

Chicken Breasts with Pine Nut Sauce
Pechuga de Pollo con Salsa de Piñones

Garlicky pine nut sauce goes with sauteed chicken.

This no-cook sauce starts out like pesto, by grinding together pine nuts, garlic and olive oil. But without the basil and cheese, it winds up tasting more like tahina (sesame) sauce. It’s wonderful on poultry, fish, vegetables, even pasta. While parsely is the traditional herb, use basil if you like.

Toasted pine nuts.

The pine nuts can be used straight, but toasting them first gives an extra  dimension of flavour.

This is such a quick and easy dish. The chicken breasts are marinated and sautéed, then served with the rich pine nut sauce. The sauce doesn’t need cooking, so serve it at room temperature. The chicken can be cooked in advance and served hot or cold.

Serves 6.




For the pine nut sauce

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil 
¾ cup pine nuts (about 5 ounces)
1 clove garlic 
½ cup water
 Juice of 1 lemon (3 tablespoons)
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Place 1 teaspoon of the oil in a small skillet. Add the pine nuts and toast them, stirring frequently, until they are lightly browned. Remove and let them cool.

In blender or food processor purée the pine nuts and garlic, adding some of the water, as needed. Beat in the oil, lemon juice and remaining water. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the chopped parsley immediately before serving. Serve at room temperature.

For the chicken breasts

3 boneless half-chicken breasts (about 2 pounds)
Salt and pepper
1 clove garlic, chopped
Chopped parsley
Chopped thyme
½ cup white wine
3 tablespoons olive oil

Remove the tenders from the chicken breasts and save them for another use.  Place each of the breasts between plastic wrap and pound it to flatten slightly. Place the breasts in a bowl and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add the chopped parsley, thyme, wine and 1 tablespoons of the oil. Cover and marinate the chicken for at least 30 minutes or, refrigerated, up to 12 hours.

Pat the chicken breasts dry. Reserve the marinade. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a heavy skillet until very hot. Add the chicken breasts and cook, without turning, until  browned, 3 minutes. Turn them and brown the other side, 3 minutes. Pour over the reserved marinade. Cook, covered, on a medium heat, turning once until chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes. Remove from the pan and pour over the cooking liquid.

Allow to set 5 minutes before slicing the breasts. Serve hot, room temperature or cold accompanied by the pine nut sauce.

Spoon pine nut sauce over chicken and vegetables.

White Gazpacho With Pine Nuts
Gazpacho Blanco con Piñones

A version of gazpacho, made with pine nuts.

Where pine trees grow, such as in the marismas, marshlands, of the Guadalquivir River basin, pine nuts might be used instead of almonds for white gazpacho. The eggs in this recipe give the gazpacho a silky texture.


Serves 4.

1 ½ cups packed bread crumbs (4 ounces)
¾ cup pine nuts
2 cloves garlic
2 eggs
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons Sherry vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups cold water
Melon balls or peeled and chopped pear or apple
Croutons of fried bread

Soak the bread crumbs in water to cover until softened. Grind the pine-nuts and garlic in a food processor. Squeeze out the bread and add to the pine-nuts with the eggs. Process until smooth.

With the motor running, slowly add the olive oil. Then add the vinegar, salt and 1 cup of cold water. Pour the mixture into a bowl or pitcher and add 1 cup more of cold water.

Chill the gazpacho. Add melon balls or chopped pear or apple to each serving. Garnish with croutons of bread fried in olive oil.


More recipes with pine nuts:
Chard with Pine Nuts 
Pasta Pesto
Morcilla with Raisins and Pine Nuts
 

Pine cones, pine nuts.

TORTILLA TO GO!

Some foods, especially eggs, really should be served hot out of the pan. Others taste just as good after setting a few hours. The Spanish tortilla is the perfect example of a cooked dish that can wait. 

Tortilla with peas, favas and potatoes. Lunch or tapa.

Cooked in advance, the tortilla sets on the bar at room temperature, ready to be cut into tapa portions. Or, it’s packed in a hamper for a picnic or road trip. In the days before high-speed rail travel, anybody going on a long train journey surely packed a tortilla for an afternoon merienda.

Tortilla with eggplant, zucchini and roasted peppers--ready to roll.

The classic tortilla—I don’t call it an omelette—is just eggs, potatoes, sometimes onion and, of course, olive oil. (recipe is here). But all sorts of vegetables can be incorporated in the egg mix. The tortilla can be served for lunch, snack (kids love it), tapa, supper or, hey, even breakfast.

A tortilla that’s going to be eaten immediately is usually cooked so it’s still a little juicy in the center. But tortilla that’s going to be packed to go should be thoroughly cooked through. You can make tortilla a day before it’s going to be eaten and refrigerate overnight. Allow it to come to room temperature before serving.

Tortilla with fava beans and a dollop of alioli garlic sauce.

Traditionalists don’t serve tortilla with anything but bread. But, you might enjoy it with a sauce, such as alioli, garlic mayonnaise. I like a few drops of Tabasco. My kids always liked ketchup.

Tortilla with Fava Beans, Peas and Potatoes
Tortilla con Habas, Guisantes y Patatas

Fava beans and peas from my garden were the inspiration for this tortilla that also includes potatoes. The potatoes should be tender before incorporating them into the eggs and they take a while to cook. Use lots of olive oil—the potatoes absorb very little oil, but it helps them cook quickly without browning. You don’t want crisp potatoes for tortilla.

1 pound potatoes
½ cup olive oil
1 cup shelled fava beans
1 cup shelled peas
¼ cup diced Serrano ham (1 ounce)
¼ cup chopped spring onion or scallions
1 clove garlic, chopped
6 eggs
1 teaspoon salt

Cut the potatoes into ½-inch dice. Heat the oil in a 10-inch skillet. Add the potatoes. Lower the heat to medium and fry the potatoes, turning them in the oil so they cook evenly. Cook potatoes, without letting them brown, until they are tender, about 15 minutes.

Drain off the cooking oil.

Place a heatproof strainer over a heatproof bowl. Carefully pour the oil and potatoes into the strainer, letting the oil drain into the bowl. Reserve the oil.

While potatoes are frying, blanch the fava beans in boiling water and drain. Blanch the peas in boiling water and drain.

Add 1 tablespoon of the reserved oil to the skillet. Sauté the ham, onion and garlic for 1 minute. Add the fava beans and sauté for 3 minutes. Add the peas and sauté for 2 minutes more.

Mix vegetables into beaten eggs.

Beat the eggs in a bowl with the salt. Stir the fried potatoes into the eggs. Stir  the favas and peas into the eggs.

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in the skillet. Pour in the eggs and vegetables. Lower heat to medium and let the tortilla set on the bottom without browning. Don’t stir the eggs. Use a heatproof spatula to firm the edges of the tortilla. 

When the egg is almost set, remove the skillet from the heat. Place a flat plate or pan lid on top of the tortilla and, working over a bowl to catch any drips, very carefully reverse the tortilla on to the plate.

Slide tortilla back into the skillet.

Then, slide the tortilla back into the skillet to cook on the reverse side.

Lift the edge of the tortilla with a spatula and carefully slide it out of the skillet onto a serving dish.

Strain the remaining cooking oil and use it another time.

Eggplant Tortilla
Tortilla de Berenjena

Packed for a picnic. Beach or sierra?

This tortilla is typical of Murcia, which is known for its market gardens. With no potatoes, it’s quicker to prepare than a classic tortilla. Make it with any combination of eggplant, zucchini and roasted peppers. To save time, I used  roasted peppers from the grocery store. Canned ones could be used too.

Unlike potatoes, which absorb very little olive oil while cooking, eggplant absorbs a lot. A smaller quantity of oil is needed for this recipe.

Serves 4-6.

4 cups eggplant cut in ½-inch dice (1 medium eggplant)
1 ½ cups zucchini cut in ¼-inch dice (½  zucchini)
¼ cup olive oil
½ cup chopped onion
½ cups grated tomatoes (1 small tomato
1 ½ cups roasted red peppers, cut in strips (about 3 peppers)
1 ½ teaspoon salt
Pinch of oregano
Red pepper flakes (optional)
6 eggs

On a high heat, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a skillet. Add the onion and eggplant and fry, turning, until eggplant is lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Lower heat and add the zucchini. Sauté 3 minutes more. Add the tomato pulp and strips of red pepper. Season with 1 teaspoon salt, oregano and red pepper flakes, if using. Cook until vegetables are soft and most of the liquid has cooked away, about 10 minutes.

Carefully ladle the vegetables into a strainer and allow to drain for 5 minutes. (Save the liquid for another use.) Wipe out the skillet.

Beat the eggs and ½ teaspoon salt in a bowl. Mix the fried eggplant mixture into the eggs. 

Cook eggs and vegetables until eggs are set.

Heat 1 tablespoon of the remaining oil and pour in the egg and vegetable  mixture. Turn the heat down to medium and let the tortilla cook until set, about 10 minutes. Use the back of a spatula to firm the sides. Shake the skillet occasionally to make sure the tortilla is not sticking on the bottom.

Working over a bowl to catch any drips, place a flat plate or pan lid on top of the tortilla and, very carefully, reverse the skillet to turn the tortilla onto the plate.

Add remaining 1 tablespoon of oil to the skillet and slide the tortilla back into the pan to cook the reverse side, about 3 minutes.

Use the spatula to lift the edge of the tortilla and slide it out of the pan onto a serving plate.

Pack a picnic basket and we're off!

FROZEN ASSETS

The tomato seedlings were becoming leggy, past time to plant them out in the garden. Forced by circumstances to make room in the garden, I pulled out all the kale and chard from the winter garden, washed, blanched and bagged them for freezing.

Then I looked in the freezer. I found a couple bags of last year’s fava beans and I’m picking fresh ones now and may freeze the surplus. Still have lots of green beans, which is fine, because new crop is more than a month away. And, what’s this? A hunk of stewing beef stashed in the freezer for an intended beef stock.

Slow-cooked chunks of beef and two kinds of sausages in this stew.

Stew served as a tapa.

It’s definitely time to finish the stewing season, before hot weather arrives, so I’m making a rustic beef stew from Toledo, with the curious name of carcamusas. Supposedly the name was invented in a bar in Toledo, where the stew is still a favorite tapa dish.

Morcillo is beef shin, a cut full of flavor, but needing long, slow cooking to tenderize it (morcilla is blood sausage, used in this stew). The stew improves if prepared a day in advance and reheated. You can, if desired, skim off the fat that congeals on top. Cook the potatoes and peas separately and add them to the stew when it is reheated.

I'm using fresh peas from the garden for this stew, but the peas will soon give way to pepper plants. And, as I set out those little tomato plants, I'm imagining a surplus so that I can freeze some for the next stew season.

Rustic Beef Stew with Sausages
Carcamusas

Fresh peas add a touch of spring to this beef stew.

Serves 6.

2 ¼ pounds boneless stewing beef, such as shin or shank
3 tablespoons + 1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chopped green pepper
1 cup chopped onion
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 ½ cups peeled and chopped tomatoes
1 cup white wine
¼ teaspoon peppercorns
1 teaspoon salt
1 bay leaf
¼ cup diced serrano ham or bacon
6 ounces chorizo
6 ounces morcilla sausage (optional)
1 cup fresh or frozen peas, par-boiled
1 roasted red pimiento, cut in strips (1/3 cup)
1 pound potatoes, cut in 1-inch cubes and cooked
3 cloves sliced garlic
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
½ teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon smoked pimentón (paprika)

Cut the beef into 1-inch cubes. Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a heavy pan over high heat. When oil is smoking, add the beef. Allow it to brown on one side, 2 minutes, then turn the meat. Add the green pepper, onion, and chopped garlic. Fry on high heat 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes and fry 2 minutes.

Add the wine and 1 cup of water. Season with peppercorns, salt, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat so the stew just simmers. Cook 1 hour.

Add the ham, chorizo, and morcilla, if using. Bring again to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until beef is very tender, about 45 minutes more.

Add the peas, strips of pimiento and potatoes. Cook, uncovered, 10 minutes.

Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil in a small skillet. Add the sliced garlic, red pepper flakes, and oregano and fry until garlic is golden. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the pimentón plus 3 tablespoons of liquid from the stew.

Slice the chorizo and morcilla (kitchen shears work well). Serve the stew, sausage, and cooked potatoes with the fried garlic mixture drizzled on top.

A glass of robust red wine goes best with this rustic stew.