A Slice of The Pyrenees PDF

A Slice of the Pyrenees
And then to my very good friends;
T his book is dedicated to all the food and Happy days at Sarrato with the van Dessels; Nic,
photography people in my life. Caroline, June, Jack and Betsy.
First and foremost my talented family; Dave, Tina, Ella and Sam Roberts. Memories of
good food, lazy days at Tyle - so good to spend time
Jen, Charlotte, Angus, Melanie, Tobin, Zac and Edith.
with.
Darren and Corallie Arkwright and their ‘mountain

food’ loving children; Ruben and Lucas.
Long-term friend Richard Kenward from whom I

learned all the important things about photography.
Those two old Bulgogi eating, funghi hunting and

flying mates from way back; Eddie Jelonek and
Robin Goodwin.
Simon Quinn and Tita or to give Tita her full

title; Zenaida Quiñnones de Leon Vidal-Quadras
- a potent mixture of rugby, cricket, gardening and
Spanish aristocracy.
And finally to those who never needed a clock to

tell them that dinner was ready: Sally, Belle, Annie
and Harry. Also, I mustn’t forget Wally whose table
manners are improving with time - I think.
The second photo down on the third contents page was captured by Charlotte Rose,
as were the photographs on pages 104 and 115.
The photograph on page 165 was taken by Jen Rose.
All other photographs by Walter Gunn.
Books by Walter Gunn: A Slice of the Pyrenees
The Snail Cookbook
Copyright © 2012 by Walter Gunn

All Rights Reserved
Contents
Peña Cocinar de Coscojuela 1
Introduction to Sobrarbe and Coscojuela 3
Introduction to the recipes 9
Traditional aragonese dishes 14
Chorizo with lentils and sautéed potatoes 16
Muleteers’ cod 18
Garlic soup 20
Migas 22
Pork sausages, potatoes, almonds, parsley and garlic 24
Potato and garlic mayonnaise 26
Rabbit with beer and garlic 28
Buried rabbit 30
Rabbit in escabeche 32
Rabbit with orange 34
Ricardo’s Aragonese lamb stew 36
White bean and herb salad 38
Wood-fire grilled fresh sardines 40
Salads 42
Raw beetroot and carrot salad 44
Chicken, cucumber and horseradish salad 46
Chickpea, avocado and fresh herb salad 48
Simple couscous salad 50
Curly endive and pomegranate salad 52
Goat’s cheese and roasted red pepper salad 54
Mussel and rice salad 56
Fish and seafood 58
Boquerones 60
Hake and sofrito with almonds 62
Fresh mussels 64
Mussels and potatoes 66
Prawns al ajillo 68
Prawns, cannellini beans, garlic and parsley 70
Red mullet and orange 72
Salted cod with sofrito and black olives 74
Sardines with cider 76
Squid stewed in white wine and tomatoes 78
Squid Bits tapa 80
Pasta, rice and egg dishes 82
Revuelta of eggs with wild fungi 84
Revuelta of eggs with young garlic shoots 86
Tortilla, traditional and simple 88
Spaghetti with sofrito and anchovy 90
Pasta with pork, sofrito and rosemary 92
Boiled long-grain rice - easy and delicious 94
Chicken, pork and seafood paella 96
Chicken with sage, thyme, lemon and rice 98
Rabbit paella 100
Celery risotto 102
Meat dishes 104
Garlic chicken 106
Chicken, potatoes, garlic al cabañil 108
Chicken, shallots, tarragon and cream 110
Chicken with rosemary and lemon 112
Chorizo with apples and cider 114
Pork sausages, peppers, tomatoes and vinegar 116
Pork with dried apricots and thyme 118
Rabbit with leek, bay leaf and clove 120
Garden Snails a la Restaurant 88 - Ainsa 122
Tita’s lomo of pork and basil 124
Vegetable and pulse dishes 126
How to cook dried white beans and chick peas 128
Chickpeas with rosemary, tomatoes and garlic 130
Courgettes, garlic, parsley and tomato purée 132
Leeks with butter and olive oil 134
Peas with cognac, moscatel and bacon 136
Peas with cognac, muscatel and thyme 138
Potatoes with garlic and rosemary 142
Potatoes, anchovies and green olives 144
Potatoes with celery, garlic and lemon 146
Spinach with raisins and pine nuts 148
White beans, garlic and parsley 150
White beans and tender garlic shoots 152
Desserts and drinks 154
Almonds in brittle dark toffee 156
Apples, demerara, butter and nectar sherry 158
Fresh figs, nectar sherry and mascapone 160
Natillas 162
Pacharán and sloe gin 164
Quemadillo 166
Rice with cream and lemon 168
Turrón with whole almonds 170
Sauces, dressings, spreads and stocks 172
All-i-oli 174
A couple of salad dressings 176
A few mayonnaises 178
A few spreads 180
Sofrito of onion, tomatoes and bay leaf 182
Chicken & vegetable stocks 184
Peña Cocinar de Coscojuela
T he ‘Peña Cocinar de Coscojuela’ - a wonderful

group of like-minded friends from Coscojuela de
Sobrarbe. An inspirational bunch who show that it is
the company you prepare and eat food with where the
real enjoyment of a meal lies.
So much of their culinary philosophy helped shape

this book; traditions preserved alongside new ways
and ideas, using the best ingredients, simple methods
employed with willing hands and hearts, a splosh of
wine and chat around a big table. The best recipe for
the best of times. I thank them all for making me so
welcome.
I give you...
Altemir Bestué Isabel

Arilla Solano Marcelino
Baiget Marquès Josep Maria
Barreda Martínez Roser
Bartolomé Lacambra Esther
Buesa Medrano Pedro
Carilla Ana
Bea van Cooten
Co van Cooten
Nicolas van Dessel
Fortuño Laura
Guijo Pérez Pedro
Walter Gunn
Latorre Palacio Gloria
Martin Ricardo
Olivera Gilabert Jose Mª
Olivera Latorre Jorge
Caroline de Roeck
Romero Lombardo Dolores
Charlotte Rose
Jen Rose
Sánchez Campo Esther
Soro Palomera Juan Antonio
Uriondo Llanos Endika
Velasco Cobaleda ana
2
2
Introduction to Sobrarbe and Coscojuela
T
his is where I lived: the ancient kingdom
of Sobrarbe. A heavenly region stretching
from the Sierra de Guara in the foothills of the
Aragonese Pyrenees to the highest peaks that
form the Spanish border with France. Here,
there are steep sided, flower-strewn valleys
and even steeper sided canyons. There are
crystal clear rivers coloured with the slight-
est hint of turquoise, and isolated glacial lakes
visited only by shepherds, marmots and the
occasional walker. It is a lofty, beautiful wil-
derness, its higher mountains often snow-
capped throughout the year. It is the home
of the Lammergeier, Griffon Vulture, Golden
Oriel, Chamois and the rare Iberian Ibex. This
is where I lived for nearly five glorious years.
When speaking of people, the word ‘independent’ is often compounded with some
adjective, usually ‘fiercely’. Sobrarbians are certainly independent; it might not pay
to push your luck with them, but they are not necessarily fierce. They embody many
contradictions; laid-back and hard working, drink plenty without being drunkards,
honest, though keenly interested in getting a good deal for themselves and sharp
enough that you need your wits fully engaged. Sobrarbians are a pragmatic bunch,
and in common with most mountain people they have the same reluctance to change
those things that work well. They have little time for the trivial. Discarding what is not
useful and adopting that which is, but rarely adopting without adapting: they put their
own particular slant on everything, including food - and what amazing food that can be.
So this is where I lived. I had found the right place with the right sort of people
– I am deeply fond of both. I live elsewhere now. I go back as often as I can.can.
Above: Valle de Chistau.

Right: Monte Perdido from Coscojuela de Sobrarbe.
4
Door detail - Coscojuela de Sobrarbe.
Ainsa old town.
Coscojuela de Sobrarbe - Juan and Ana’s place.
Window detail - Coscojuela de Sobrarbe.

Coscojuela de Sobrarbe - Casa Sarrato in morning sunlight.
6
Griffon Vulture - Buitre Leonado.
Cañon de Anisclo.
The winds and snows of the Alto Aragón - Monte Perdido.

Across lake Mediano from the Author’s land near Coscojuela.
Peña Montañesa from the Author’s land near Coscojuela.
8
Introduction to the recipes
I
f I were asked to write or compile a cookery book of my all-time favorite dishes,
it is likely that I would include all the recipes in this book. For it was in So-
brarbe that I found some of the most unusual, tasty and least complicated dishes
one can come across – buried rabbit, migas, dishes: a la cabañil, a la chilindrón
and a la pastor. All can be cooked on the stove top, over an open wood fire or
in the case of buried rabbit it would be more appropriate to say; under it. Many
of them are surprising and most, surprisingly simple. All of them are delicious.
The recipes I have separated into two sections; The first

is concerned with the region’s traditional, and sometimes
off-the-wall, cuisine. So many of these recipes are those
that have been handed down over the centuries with hardly
a change. Often they are still cooked over the raked-out
embers of an open fire, where that extra fragrant in-
gredient, wood smoke, adds its essential contribution.
These are dishes from robust people brought up on robust

food. They are not the result of some dim recall of how
one’s grandmother used to prepare them, they are cur-
rent, it is how you can find them being cooked today.
In the second part, the recipes are not necessarily traditional

Aragonese - their origins being less easy to pin down. Al-
though many may have been cooked in Sobrarbe for years,
they do not necessarily come from the area. In these dishes,
it is easy to sense the influence from near neighbours,
Greater Spain, Catalonia, Navarra, France and, as you might
expect, there are ever-present nudges from the entire Medi-
Above: open-air cooking Sobrarbe style.

Right: cooking a paella on a trivet over flames.
terranean. However, Sobrarbe has its own way of doing things -
rarely adopting without adapting, and it’s this local slant that lends
so much to the recipes’ individuality. If Sobrarbians can adopt
and adapt, then so can I. So, by using some of their priceless
methods I have created a small selection of this section’s dishes.
This is not a book about healthy eating - nor is the food un-
healthy. The salt I use is flaky sea salt and therefore, the recipes
are designed with this in mind. The use of other types, espe-
cially refined table salt, will require using a lot less. The reader
is credited with having the intelligence to decide for themselves
10
Introduction to the recipes continued
how much salt to consume - with the above caveat

taken on board, use what the recipe states and if
necessary, cut down on salted peanuts and crisps.
Rules: Perhaps this should be in the singular

and read ‘rule’ - because there is only one; I
ask you, in the first instance of cooking any
of these dishes, to follow the recipe absolute-
ly. This way you will get the correct result and
it will be as close to the real thing as it can be.
There are recipes that I have not included - every cuisine has its dark side. And
though this is not a history book, I think you might find the making of one of them,
‘Sebo’ , interesting - if nothing else, it will give you a little more insight into the frugal
nature of mountain households and why calories pay so much importance in their diet.
Before describing Sebo, I’ll just touch on why such a huge uptake of calories is
so important. In the Pyrenees, winter night-time temperatures often slump to
around -8 to -17°c and in the daytime they rarely rise above zero in the shade.
The older houses in Alto Aragón are built with thick stone walls. The benefits of
central heating absent, and in some, window openings, never designed to take
glass, have only wooden shutters to shelter the interior from all weathers - these
houses are cold. It is said that houses with thick stone walls are ‘cool in the
summer and warm in the winter’; this is a myth. ‘Cool in the summer and gla-
cial in the winter’ is a truer way of putting it is. I speak from personal experience.
So, to Sebo. Several kilos of uncooked pig fat and, depending on availability, unren-
dered fat from sheep and goat are cut into small pieces and placed in a shallow wooden
dish. They are then beaten with a wooden mallet into a homogeneous mass and just
Above: a parilla of longanizas and wild herbs cooking over a wood fire.
Right: longanizas drying in one of the bodegas of Casa Sarrato.
in case there are not enough calo-
ries, olive oil is poured over. Salt is
added along with garlic, cinnamon
and a handful of chopped parsley.
A second round of bashing with the

mallet mixes the lot together. This
mixture is then formed into large
sausages each of which is coated
with flour to stop them sticking
together. That is Sebo, the Alto
Aragonese equivalent of blubber.
A pastor tending his sheep away from

the pueblo takes with him a sausage of
Sebo, some dry bread and garlic, and
almost certainly, that indispensable
item: a leather porrón of wine. Water
is boiled, garlic is rubbed onto the sur-
face of the stale bread and a thin slice
is taken from it. The rubbing on of
garlic and the slicing is continued until
all the bread has been used. The bread and pieces of Sebo are put
into a bowl and the boiling water poured over. This dish contravenes
all advice on healthy eating. It remains a complete mystery to me
how Spain is second only to Japan in terms of life expectancy. They
wasted nothing. The fats that were left over from making Sebo, were
used in the making of soap. It pays to know the difference. Here’s how
you tell; the soap contains no parsley or garlic and nor does it lather.
12
platos tradicionales
aragonesa
Traditional aragonese dishes
Chorizo with lentils and sautéed potatoes
Cod, Muleteers’
Garlic soup
Migas
Pork sausages & potatoes with almonds, parsley and garlic
Potato and garlic mayonnaise
Rabbit with beer and garlic
Rabbit - buried
Rabbit escabeche
Rabbit with orange
Ricardo’s aragonese lamb stew
White bean and herb salad
Wood-fire grilled fresh sardines
14
Chorizo con lentejas y patatas salteadas
C
horizo, lentejas y patatas salteadas. Very traditional, very
Aragonese notwithstanding, this was first cooked for me
one night by a Belgian mate of mine: Nick van Dessel. He is
a master of this dish and, I should add, plenty of others. He
makes - and this is not my opinion alone, it is also the opinion
of many of our Spanish neighbours - the finest paella going.
Going back to the night first mentioned, Nick put this chorizo
dish together, from start to finish, in under half-an-hour - it was
perfect. Bucketfuls of flavour and varied textures throughout.
He’s a great judge of good food and combinations of flavours.
Maybe it comes from his background, six years studying
classical greek and then owning and running the famous Nick’s
Cafes in Antwerp. You meet interesting people in Aragón.
Ingredients:
500g Lentils – cooked and drained weight.
150g Chorizo sausages chopped into 1 cm chunks.
400g Potatoes peeled and torn into 2 to 3cm chunks.
175g Sweet Spanish onion finely chopped.
4 Cloves of garlic – with skins left on and cut 3/4 through.
1 Clove of garlic crushed.
2 Bay leaves.
25g Butter.
4 tablespoons Olive oil.
Salt and pepper to taste.
Preparation:
1. Pre-cook the potatoes in a little water and a good pinch of salt until they are al dente. Then
strain them.
2. If using dried lentils follow the pack’s cooking instructions.
3. Whether using pre-cooked lentils or ones you have cooked yourself, strain them and reserve the
liquid.
Chorizo with lentils and sautéed potatoes
serves 2 as a main course
Cooking:
1. Put the olive oil into a sauté pan over a medium to low heat and gently fry the onions, the
uncrushed garlic and bay leaves until the onions are soft.
2. At the same time, in another pan, fry the pieces of chorizo sausage until they start to
brown nicely.
3. Leaving behind the oil, remove the fried chorizo, and add it to the onions and garlic.
4. To the pan with the chorizo oil, add the butter and, over a medium to high heat, sauté the
pre-cooked potatoes until they are golden.
5. Add the strained lentils and the crushed clove of garlic to the onion/chorizo mixture. Give all
a good stir and leave to simmer for 5 minutes. If the mixture starts to look a bit dry, add
a little of the reserved lentil juice one tablespoonful at a time.
6. Add the sautéed potatoes, a few grindings of black pepper and carefully combine both sets of
ingredients without breaking up the potatoes.
7. Raise the heat to medium and cook for another 3 minutes
8. Check seasoning and serve.
16
Bacalao al ajoarriero
I
n Spain, bacalao can mean both fresh or salt cod. Salt cod
from Galicia has been traded throughout the Mediterranean for
centuries – there are records of it being used by the ancient Greeks.
For the life of me, I don’t remember ever seeing salt cod in the UK.
It is at this point the more picky of you might ask “ then why include
it?”. Here’s a couple of good reasons: one is that it is so traditional
that I couldn’t possibly write this section without including at least
one recipe using it. In fact, just to annoy the picky, I’m also including
one in the fish section - Salt Cod with Sofrito and Black Olives. The
other reason is this; if a fishmonger sells you something that looks
like a frosted boot insole, you’ll know what to do with it.
To rid bacalao of the salt, it needs quite a bit of pre-soaking. The

amount depends on three things: the recipe being cooked; what
part of the cod the portion is taken from; and the size of the pieces
being cooked. Recipes that include plenty of potatoes or rice take
up much of the salt and will generally only need 24 hours soaking
and three changes of the water, whereas those with less absorbent
ingredients will take at least 48 hours. You can see, cooking bacalao needs that little extra forward planning.
Ingredients:
500g Salt cod – bacalao.
250g Potatoes - peeled weight.
4 Eggs.
4 Cloves of garlic.
25g Butter.
2 tablespoons Extra virgin olive oil.
1 tablespoon Parsley – finely chopped.
Preparation:
1. Cut the cod into pieces no wider than 2.5 cm.
2. In a pan large enough to allow the fish plenty of room, soak the pieces for at least 48 hours in cold
water, - changing it at least 4 times each day. For 500g of cod allow 21⁄2 litres of cold water.
3. Drain and rinse the fish and pat dry with kitchen paper.
4. To make the skin easier to remove, place the bacalao skin-down in a frying pan and, over a med heat, lightly
cook for 1 minute.
5. Remove the skin and bones and flake the flesh.
6. Spread out the flaked fish in an even layer on kitchen paper and leave for 2 to 3 hours to dry out a
little.
7. Finely chop the garlic and parsley and set aside.
8. Beat the eggs well in a bowl large enough to hold all the ingredients.
9. Peel the potatoes and dice them to around 1cm.
Muleteers’ cod
Cooking:
1. Put the olive oil and butter in a sauté or large frying pan over a high heat. When hot, add the diced
potatoes and sauté until golden.
2. Add the flaked fish and, giving a few stirs, sauté for 3 minutes.
3. Add the chopped garlic and parsley and continue to sauté until most of the liquid has evaporated and only
the oil and butter remain.
4. Add the beaten eggs and stir in to the bacalao.
5. When the eggs are nearly cooked, check seasoning
6. Serve.
18
Sopa de ajo
T
his is a peasant soup, another relic of hard times.
It should be called ‘soup out of thin air’. I have
seen it made, and made it myself, using just those basic
ingredients listed immediately below. It is the Aragonese
equivalent of ‘bread and dripping’, in that you may need to
have been brought up on it before you can appreciate its
hidden qualities.
1 head of garlic
4 tablespns olive oil
400g stale bread
1 lt water
salt
To include the recipe in its most basic form represented

a mild dilemma for me. It isn’t a dish where I wake up
in the morning thinking; ‘yippee today’s the day we have
Sopa de Ajo’ - at least I don’t if it’s to be made in its most
primitive form. Even though nutritious and attributed with almost mythical curative properties for hangovers, I
couldn’t really expect anyone, unless they were born in Aragón, to gasp with pleasure at the prospect of a second
helping.
So I chickened out - as do many restaurants - and elected to include an alternative version, genuinely Aragonese
and traditional, but with just a touch more sophistication. Think of it as Sopa de Ajo with ideas way above its
station.
Ingredients:
100g Thinly sliced bread with crusts removed – wholemeal is preferable.
1/2lt Vegetable stock.
1/2lt Water.
2 Eggs – beaten.
2 Heads of garlic – that’s around 20 to 25 cloves peeled and flattened.
25g Butter.
3 teaspoons Paprika.
1 teaspoon Thyme or fresh oregano.*
Salt.
* Instead of using thyme or oregano, you can use a tablespoon of fresh parsley. However, if you do
so, add it at the last moment before serving.
Garlic soup
serves 4 to 6 as a starter
Cooking:
1. Put the olive oil and butter into a large sauté pan over a fairly low heat.
2. Add the flattened cloves of garlic and sauté them very slowly until they are soft and turning golden.
3. Remove the garlic and set aside.
4. Raise the heat to medium high and fry the bread on both sides until nicely golden.
5. Sprinkle the paprika and thyme (or oregano) over the fried bread and cook for 1 minute.
6. Return the garlic to the pan, add the stock and water, and when simmering, reduce the heat to as low as
is possible on your stove and cook very slowly for 15 minutes.
7. Add the beaten egg in a fine stream all over the top of the soup.
8. When the egg looks as if it is done, serve.
20
Migas
I
n Spanish, migar means to crumble. Miga, when talking of
bread, means the soft inside part. In the culinary sense, migas
means fried breadcrumbs. It is a relic from hard times when
nothing was wasted, and this particular recipe is just one the many
different traditional ways of preparing them. The simplest version
I’ve seen uses only the most basic of ingredients: stale bread
crumbs; various fats; garlic; water and salt. Others add olive oil
to the fats and use all, or a combination of, potatoes, red peppers,
green peppers and onion. It is not unusual to see chopped-up
fried eggs mixed in with the migas. I’ve chosen this version
because it is both simple, tasty and will give you a genuine feel for
the authentic dish. It is also the way we cook it for ourselves.
Migas are full of heat-producing calories and were eaten before

the shepherds or farmers went out to the fields or flocks in the
early morning – with wintertime temperatures in the Aragonese
mountains dipping to minus 17°c, these calories were necessary and justifiable.
In the less classy restaurants, the type that I tend to frequent, you can still find migas in their more-or-less
original form. In the more chic establishments, where art is more important than substance, migas can still be
found, albeit more or less unrecognisable; would you believe with Kiwi Fruit? Dear God, preserve us from the
pretentious.
Ingredients:
300g Stale bread with crust removed – cut into 1⁄2cm bits.
75 - 100g Chorizo sausage – cut into small bits.
75 - 100g Bacon – cut into small bits.
75 - 100g Pork sausage – cut into small bits.
50g Lard.
25g Suet – if not already finely chopped, then do so.
6 Cloves of garlic – finely chopped.
100ml Water.
11⁄2 tablespoons Tomato purée.
1⁄2 teaspoon Sea salt - if using fine table salt, use less.
3 teaspoons Paprika – pimentón dulce.
Migas
Cooking:
1. In a large pan, over a fairly high heat, put in all the fats and melt them – the suet may need rendering
down until it has given up all its juices.
2. Add the chorizo, bacon and sausage pieces and fry until they are cooked.
3. Add the garlic and paprika and sauté for 2 minutes.
4. Add the tomato purée, water and salt.
5. Add the bread crumbs constantly stirring and mixing them so that they remain free and loose while they
absorb the liquids.
6. Continue doing this until all the liquids are soaked up and the crumbs are heated throughout.
7. Take off the heat and allow to stand for 5 minutes to let the flavours permeate the crumbs.
8. Turn the heat up to max and continue stirring and mixing until the crumbs just start to crisp up at the
edges whilst the inside remain nice and moist.
9. Serve very hot on very hot plates.
22
Longaniza, patatas con una picada de almedras
perejil y ajo
A
nother example of those suprises that Aragonese cooking can produce.
The flavour is extraordinarily rich, complex even, and try as I like, I’m at
a loss to describe it accurately. I can say however, that when it’s put on the
table, it’s a dish that’s likely to make the most modest-mannered eater forget
his upbringing and drool down his shirt.
The main ingredients may be sausages and potatoes, but Bangers & Mash it
isn’t - the picada, a mixture of chopped parsley, garlic and almonds, sees to
that. The intense flavour is not down to the picada alone, much comes from
the way it is cooked. I was so impressed with this method - i.e. letting the
liquid reduce almost back to the bare olive oil, and therefore the goodness
back into the ingredients - that I used it for other dishes of my own concoction
included in this book; Slow cooked Leeks in butter and olive oil; Potatoes with
Garlic and Rosemary, and Potatoes, Celery and Lemon.
The pictures on these pages were both taken in the kitchen of Casa Fumanal
near Abizanda. I had the remarkably good fortune to be given the keys to this ancient rambling house and happily
lived and cooked there for a long, long season. This is how they cooked; on a huge stone hearth in the middle of
the room. Once the knack of keeping the fire just right has been learned - you need plenty of embers and not too
much flame - this way of cooking becomes the most satisfying of experiences.
Ingredients:
400 to 450 g Pork sausages cut into 3 cm pieces.
700 to 750 g Potatoes cut into 1cm thick rounds.
1 teaspoon Maldon sea salt - if using fine table salt, use less.
Water.
The picada:
4 Cloves of garlic.
3 tablespoons Parsley.
24 Raw almonds - skinless.
Cooking:
1. Make the picada by finely chopping together the parsley, almonds and garlic – set aside for later
use.
2. Put the olive oil in a large sauté pan over a medium to high heat and fry the sausage chunks
until they are nicely browned. At this stage they do not need to be completely cooked.
Pork sausages, potatoes with almonds
parsley and garlic
Cooking Cont...
3. Remove the sausages and set aside.
4. Add the potatoes to the oil and fat mixture that the sausages were cooked in, add the salt, and sauté
over a medium to high heat until the potatoes are golden. Again, these do not need to be thoroughly cooked
at this stage.
5. Return the sausages to the pan and mix with the potatoes.
6. Sprinkle the picada over the mixture.
7. Add the water so that it barely covers all the ingredients.
8. When the water begins to simmer, cover and cook at a medium heat for 10 minutes.
9. Remove the cover and cook until about 3/4 of the liquid has evaporated – do not stir at this stage or
the potatoes may break up.
10. Serve.
24
Mayonesa con ajos y patatas
I
would imagine this Aragonese variation on the
theme of all-i-oli was originally conceived by some
frugal soul desperately trying to make a few meagre
ingredients go a long way. Sometimes, however
understandable, frugality doesn’t always work, but
here it does. Potato and garlic mayonnaise is perfectly
valid; it holds own very well against traditional all-i-
oli and garlic mayonnaises. It is so good with snails,
cold meats and sausage dishes. Try it the next time
you have barbecued spare ribs - you may just find you
haven’t made enough.
The switched-on amongst you will have noticed that

there are two methods given below. The first one is
the method used at Ainsa’s Caracolada - snail fiesta,
and the other has a much more varied texture.
I’ve made this both ways. It’s just an opinion you
understand, but I have this feeling blenders can be
too much of a good thing. They can tend to make
things too smooth. So, of the two methods, I prefer
the slightly coarser texture of the second. Here, and I accept that it may be my imagination at work, I also think
that done the second way, it tastes better.
Maybe I’m getting soft, I’ve been quite modest with the amount of garlic suggested - it will take a lot more.
Ingredients:
400g Potatoes – peeled weight.
100ml Extra virgin olive oil.
2 Cloves of garlic.
1 Egg yolk.
1/2 teaspoon Sea salt - if using fine table salt, use less.
Preparation:
Method 1.
1. Peel, dice and steam potatoes until cooked.
2. Leave the potatoes to cool.
3. Using a blender, mix all the ingredients into a creamy paste.
Potato and garlic mayonnaise
enough for a healthy side dish
Method 2.
1. Peel, dice and steam potatoes until cooked.
2. Leave the potatoes to cool.
3. Put the garlic and salt in to a mortar and pound until it forms a smooth paste.
4. Add the potatoes one by one to the garlic and continue to pound them until they are well mixed, though
still a little lumpy.
5. Still using the mortar, blend in the egg yolk.
6. Add the olive oil 25 ml at a time and keep stirring until it is well incorporated into the mixture.
26
Conejo al ajillo con cerveza
A
l ajillo means: cooked with garlic. Now here’s a point worth
remembering; when the Spanish say something is cooked
with garlic and have coined a special term for it, you can bet they
don’t mean just one itty-bitty clove, they mean lots. This recipe
only calls for 10 cloves - the bigger and juicier, the better. And
yet for all these, it doesn’t taste over garlicky. So don’t chicken
out and use fewer. Oh, I’ll concede that afterwards your breath
may make a badger gag and your circle of close aquaintances
isn’t so close any more. Just be as strong as your most intimate
vapours and remember it’s their problem, not yours.
A small point about the photos. These, and the ones taken for;
‘Pork sausages, potatoes with almonds, parsley and garlic’ and
‘Wood fire grilled fresh sardines’ show how the cooking in many
houses is still done. No fancy cookers, just done over the
embers in an open hearth. Wood smoke and frying rabbit - just
too much.
This recipe is not only different and delicious, it has the

advantage of being very quick to cook. It is at the same time very forgiving - slurping a little too much coñac or
being a touch overgenerous with garlic or beer won’t really matter. This is also a great meal to cook at a barbecue
- don’t be surprised if you don’t get a look in yourself.
One other thing, as this is initially cooked at a fairly high heat, I leave the skins on the garlic to stop the bulb inside
burning - these are soooo tasty.
Ingredients:
1/2 Rabbit jointed and chopped into 5 cm chunks.
150ml Lager – San Miguel is ideal.
75ml Coñac.
10 Cloves of garlic with skins left on and cut 2/3 of the way across.
4 Good sprigs of fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon of dried.
100ml Water.
Rabbit with beer and garlic
Cooking:
1. Put the olive oil into a sauté pan over a high heat.
2. When it is really hot, add the rabbit, thyme, garlic and salt.
3. Sauté until the rabbit is nicely browned.
4. Add the beer and water, reduce the heat to medium, cover, and cook for 5 mins.
5. Remove the cover and, stirring occasionally, cook at a good simmer until the beer has been absorbed or
evaporated and only the oil is left.
6. Raise the heat to medium/high, add coñac and flame.
7. Cook for a further 2 to 3 minutes or until the rabbit has absorbed the coñac.
8. Check seasoning.
9. Serve.
28
Conejo enterrado
I
f you really want to piss your neighbours off, try this
one Sunday morning instead of washing the car. There’s
probably a whole slew of bylaws you can break just by digging
a hole and cooking your lunch.
Originally, Conejo Enterrado was seen as a great way for

cooking a meal when working in the fields: once the rabbit
had been prepared, buried and the fire lit on top, it needed
no further attention until it was ready to be eaten. There was
the added advantage that dogs couldn’t get at it while backs
were turned.
Rabbit meat has little natural fat of its own to keep it moist,
Preparing & cooking: 7.
so lard is smeared all over the outside and olive oil liberally
poured inside - extra moisture also comes from a complete
head of garlic. To keep all the juices intact, the whole thing is wrapped and sealed in baking parchment and foil.
This is a meal that will suit most palates. I have eaten rabbit cooked in so many different ways, but few have been as
tender and tasty as this method produces. Coming through the flavour of the rabbit and garlic there is a gentle hint of
bay leaf – absolutely stunning. Though it’s not nearly as much fun, you can, if you are already the subject of an ASBO
or short-listed for an MBE, cook it in an oven for 2 1⁄2 hours at 170°c - uncovering it for the last half hour to brown.
Prep & cooking: 1, 2, & 3.

Ingredients per rabbit:
1 Rabbit.
1 Head of garlic - peeled and cut into thick slices.
4 Bay leaves.
50 - 75g Lard.
Freshly ground black pepper.
Salt.
Preparing & cooking:

1. Lay the rabbit on a piece of baking parchment large enough to completely envelop it.
2. Smear the lard over the outside of the rabbit and season it with plenty of salt and freshly ground
black pepper. Put about a third of the garlic and 2 of the bay leaves around and underneath.
Prep & cooking: 4a. Prep & cooking: 4b.

Buried rabbit
serves 2 as a very substantial main course
Preparing & cooking continued...
3. Inside, place the remaining bay leaves, the remaining garlic, the olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
4. Wrap the paper around the rabbit, folding the edges together to form a tightly sealed envelope. Put this
envelope inside a similarly formed envelope made from strong kitchen foil.
5. Place in hole that has been dug deep enough to contain the rabbit and allow for a soil covering of 4cm.
6. To minimise the amount of soil that falls into the envelope when finally removing the rabbit, put a loose
cover of paper or foil over it. Cover the rabbit with 4cm of loose soil.
7. Build a substantial wood fire on top, with enough wood to produce plenty of hot embers, and leave for 4
1/2 hours minimum. After this time, remove embers, scrape back the soil to reveal the top cover of paper,
peel it back carefully, remove the rabbit in its envelope and serve.
Prep & cooking: 5. Prep & cooking: 6.
30
Conejo en escabeche
J
ust off to one side of the road that goes from Ainsa
to Barbastro you’ll find Abizanda - a small pueblo with
possibly the finest views of the Pyrenees to be had. You
can’t miss it, it has this wonderfully restored medieval
defensive tower. This tower, so well worth a visit, is not
the only reason for stopping-off there for a couple of hours.
Now here’s the point, there’s a little restaurant in Abizanda
run by a Catalan and a Belgian - Josep Caballo and Nick van
Dessel. If heaven was an all male institution, these are the
two guys I would most like to spend eternity with. Should
you cook this recipe, you’ll know why.
Conejo in escabeche was one of the courses that made up

the first meal I ever had from their kitchen. It made such an
impression; I’d heard of, and been served, escabeche before,
but never like this; this was the first time I understood
why the dish is so revered in Aragón. Dictionaries have it
that escabeche means to be pickled or cooked in vinegar -
somehow, this explanation seems to fall well short of doing
justice to something so absolutely sublime.
Ingredients:
1 Rabbit - jointed and chopped to around 3cm chunks along the spine.
3 Carrots - cut into 1⁄2 cm rounds.
1 Large spanish onion - finely chopped.
2 Leeks - cut into 5cm lengths.
1 Head of garlic - left entire with skin on.
2 Bay leaves.
2 Branches of rosemary - about 10cm long.
3 Sprigs of thyme - about 6cm long.
1 level teaspoon Black peppercorns - freshly milled or crushed in a mortar.
11⁄2 teaspoons Sea salt - if using fine table salt, use less.
200ml Olive oil.
200ml White wine.
125ml Sherry vinegar.
Note: should you want to use only 1/2 a rabbit, reduce these particular quantities to: 1 carrot, 1 med
onion, 1 leek, 6 cloves of garlic, 1/2 teaspoon of pepper, 3/4 teaspoon of salt, 150ml olive oil,
150ml white wine and 100ml sherry vinegar. The bouquet garni remains the same for both.
Preparation:
1. make a bouquet garni by tying together the bay leaves, thyme and rosemary with a piece of cotton
or string.
Rabbit in escabeche
Cooking:
1. Over a medium to high heat, put the olive oil into a pan large enough to hold all the rabbit pieces in one
layer.
2. Add the rabbit pieces and sauté them until they are nicely browned and sealed.
3. Remove the rabbit from the pan.
4. Lower the heat to medium/low and add the head of garlic and other vegetables - do not include the herbs
at this point.
5. Without letting them colour too much, gently sweat the vegetables for 10 to 15 minutes until they have
softened.
6. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the salt and the crushed pepper.
7. Tuck the bouquet garni under the vegetables, cover the pan and leave to rest for 30 minutes.
8. Remove the bouquet garni and add the vinegar and white wine to the pan.
9. With the pan over a medium heat, bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes.
10. Return the pieces of rabbit to the pan and, over a low heat, simmer for 30 minutes.
11. Allow to cool and leave to rest in the covered pan for 24 hours.
12. Reheat and serve.
32
Conejo con naranja
T
he Aragonese love their rabbit meat - you get a
feel for just how much, by the number of recipes
for them included in this book. In the mountain
villages, it would be a rare thing indeed to find an old
house that was not equipped with a traditionally built
hutch - often with more than one floor, elaborate and
spaciously constructed in stone. This old recipe is
very simple to put together.
Rabbit meat can be a bit prone to drying out during

prolonged cooking. But here, the orange juice, water,
wine and also cooking it at a low heat, do such a
wonderful job in keeping the meat so succulent and
tender.
This recipe tastes as good as it looks. The meat and

the thick herby sauce would be good taken on their
own; when partnered with the tangy orange aromatics
they are simply out of this world.
Ingredients:
1 Rabbit - med to large - jointed and including the liver.
2 to 3 Oranges or sufficient to produce 200ml of fresh juice.
(keep the rind and flesh of one of the oranges)
1 Large spanish onion - finely chopped.
1 dessertspoon Plain flour.
300ml Dry white wine.
150ml Water.
1 teaspoon Sea salt - if using fine table salt, use less.
1 Bay leaf.
1 tablespoon Fresh parsley - finely chopped.
1⁄2 teaspoon Dried rosemary.
1⁄2 teaspoon Dried basil.
1⁄2 teaspoon Dried thyme.
1⁄2 teaspoon Dried dill.
Preparation:
1. Cut the rabbit into good sized chunks of about 3 to 4cm - the legs can be cut at their joints
if you wish.
2. Squeeze the oranges to produce 200ml of juice and reserve.
3. Cut 1 of the crushed oranges, both flesh and peel, into approx 16 segments and reserve.
Rabbit with orange
Cooking:
1. In a sauté pan over a medium heat, fry the onion in the olive oil until it has softened and is beginning to
turn colour.
2. Season the pieces of rabbit and liver with the salt, then add them to the fried onions.
3. Turn the heat down to medium/low, cover the pan and cook slowly for 20 minutes.
4. Sprinkle the flour over the rabbit and onions and give all a good stir.
5. Add all the dried herbs and give another good stir.
6. Raise the heat to medium/high and add the wine.
7. When the wine begins to bubble, cook for 1 minute stirring the ingredients and using this opportunity to
scrape all the tasty residues from the bottom of the pan into the sauce.
8. Reduce the heat down to low, cover, and let it all gently simmer for 15 minutes.
9. Add the reserved orange skins, their flesh and the water, then cover and stirring occasionally, gently simmer
for another 15 minutes.
10. Add the orange juice and with the pan uncovered, very gently simmer for another 15 minutes.
11. Scrape all the tasty residues from the bottom of the pan, stir them into the sauce and baste over the
meat.
12. Sprinkle with the fresh parsley and serve.
34
Estufado de cordero aragonese al Ricardo
W
hen writing a book of this kind there is always the danger
of upsetting folk by not including their recipes – handed
down over many generations, they can be very precious to people.
Sometimes, chauvinism rears: ‘this is the way my mother cooked
it’. Naturally, this has to be the best and only way to do things. You
get my drift, this is dangerous territory to wander into. So when my
good amigo and neighbour brought me a recipe for his favourite stew,
flitting through my mind was the possibility that it wouldn’t be usable
and our friendship was about to end.
Unannounced he came, ‘I have a recipe for your book, it’s very

traditional, very easy to cook, very cheap and very tasty, I’m going to
cook it for you’. This was not a promise for the future you understand,
he’d actually brought all the ingredients up to my little Casita and we
were to cook and eat it there and then.
Let’s set the scene; now Ricardo is very proud of his stew, but he
doesn’t like onions at all - he can’t stand them. Garlic’s fine, but
onions no! To be Spanish and not like onions is as unlikely as me
waking up one morning and finding myself able to understand my wife’s handwriting – which is about as likely as
speaking in tongues. A stew without onions? ‘Oh crap, I’m going to have to tell him it’s not possible and he’ll stab me
with that knife he’s butchering the meat with. I never wanted to die in a foreign country. I really don’t want to fight to
the death - mine - over an effin’ stew’.
The pictures on these pages should say it all; I remained sufficiently alive to have taken them and this stew tastes as
good as it looks. He was dead right, it doesn’t need onions. It would also seem there is no reasonable length to how
long it can cook for – the flavour just keeps on improving hour on hour. Often when cooking it, once it’s simmering, I
move it from my cooker over to the top of the wood-burning stove, and there I let it gently chunter for anything up to
4 hours. Do try it.
Ingredients:
3/4 kg Neck of lamb – your butcher will normally supply this ready cut.
3/4 kg Breast of lamb – get the butcher to chop this into 2 to 3 cm strips down the ribs.
1 kg Potatoes – peeled weight and cut into large pieces
1 Red pepper - chopped into 2 cm chunks.
1 Green pepper - chopped into 2 cm chunks.
1 Complete head of garlic – cut in half across its equator.
100ml Olive oil.
100ml White wine vinegar.
1 teaspoon Paprika.
1 Bay leaf.
Water sufficient to almost cover ingredients - though I would limit this to 11⁄2 litres
Ricardo’s Aragonese lamb stew
Preparation:
1. Remove excess fat from the meat.
Cooking:
1. Put all the ingredients into a large saucepan, over a high heat.
2. Add sufficient water to come to about 2 cm below the top of the ingredients.
3. When it starts to simmer, cover and reduce the heat to medium/low.
4. Cook at a steady simmer for 20 minutes.
5. Check the salt, cover, reduce the heat to low, and cook until the potatoes are done and the meat has shrunk
down the bone somewhat.
36
Ensalada de judias blancas y hierbas
I
n an ideal world; one where I had the time to do things
just so, I would always make this simple salad a couple
of hours ahead of time, letting it rest while the herbs and
olive oil work their magic - though if your stomach should
be rumbling, ignore the above, it is perfectly delicious
eaten as soon as it’s prepared.
Again, with enough time, I would always soak and cook

dried beans in preference to using tinned ones - see
elsewhere in this book for cooking instructions. This is
not to say you can’t get very acceptable results from the
tinned variety, you can - it’s just that from brand to brand
the quality can be a bit iffy. Choose wisely and of a type
that are well cooked, on the soft side even - they will take
up the flavours much more readily.
The olive oil, garlic and herbs should always be added while
the beans are still warm after being cooked, not hot, just
nice and warm. This way, the flavours will soak deep, deep
into them - naturally, this implies, if using tinned beans,
you should gently heat them until warm. While we are talking of flavours, parsley or thyme are acceptable alternatives
to savory. In Aragón, they use winter savory - one of their many wild herbs. If you can get the fresh, young leaves,
these are best of all. And young they must be, older leaves are quite tough and though fine for cooked dishes, they
are entirely unsuitable for salads. The best bet is to go for summer savory, which is an annual that grows well in the
UK and will do the job very well.
I use white beans prepared this way as an accompaniment to meat - hot or cold - with fish dishes or simply eaten on
its own, and sometimes, with the simple addition of a few green olives.
Ingredients:
300g Dried white beans – see elsewhere in this book for cooking instructions.
or if you’re using tinned ones...
400g Tinned white beans - cooked & drained weight - cannellinis, haricots or judias blancas.
50g Spanish sweet onion.
2 Cloves of garlic – crushed.
2 tablespoons White wine vinegar.
1 teaspoon Fresh savory leaves - finely chopped.
1/2 teaspoon Paprika – pimentón dulce.
Optional herb alternatives:

1 teaspoon Fresh or dried thyme – finely chopped or 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley.
White bean and herb salad
Preparation:
1. Finely chop and soak the onion in cold water for 30 minutes.
Cooking:
1. Drain the chopped onion and dab dry with some absorbant kitchen paper.
2. If using tinned cannellinis, drain and rinse them under cold water, then slightly warm them up before proceeding
to step 4.
3. If you have cooked cannellinis yourself, allow them to cool until they are just warm before proceeding to the
next stage.
4. Simply mix all but the paprika gently together.
5. Sprinkle the paprika over the top.
6. Check seasoning.
7. You can serve it straight away - though if you have time to leave it to rest for a couple of hours for the
flavours to develop, do so.
38
Sardinas al parilla
S
ardines are simply young pilchards. They are
abundant and are caught in their millions in the UK
waters - we export tons each day to Spain. You should
really have no trouble obtaining good quality fresh or
salted ones.
The cleaning technique for sardines is almost as simple

as that of boquerones, except that you will probably
need to use a sharp knife if you choose to gut them.
I much prefer the local way of doing these, it saves so

much messing around. The sardines are cooked in a
parilla, entire - without gutting and with their heads left
on. To eat them, simply bite off the flesh from the spine
leaving the bones, head and cooked innards behind.
The easy pleasure of sitting round a fire eating sardines
this way, accompanied by heavy red Somontano wine
and hunks of fresh bread is something everyone should
experience. It is profoundly ancient.
Ingredients:
500g Fresh or salted sardines - beheaded and gutted, if you absolutely insist.
A drizzle of olive oil.
A little salt if using fresh ones.
Optional:
3 teaspoons Finely chopped garlic.
Preparation:
1. If choosing to gut them, clean the sardines under a running tap. Remove their heads and then, with
a sharp knife, slice down the belly to their tail. Open them up and with your thumb, remove their
innards.
2. If using garlic, peel and finely chop it.
Wood-fire grilled fresh sardines
serves 2 as a starter
Cooking:
1. Placed the sardines on a grill over the barbecue or in a parilla - see photo - over the hot ashes of a wood
fire.
2. Drizzle a little olive oil - and garlic if using this option - on each sardine and cook for 2 to 3 minutes
each side. If you are using fresh sardines, sprinkle each with a little salt after drizzling the olive oil.
3. Serve hot.
40
Ensaladas
Salads
Beetroot - raw beetroot and carrot salad
Chicken, cucumber and horseradish salad
Chickpea, avocado and fresh herb salad
Couscous - a simple couscous salad
Endive - curly endive and pomegranate salad
Goat’s cheese and roasted red pepper salad
Mussel and rice salad
42
Ensalada de remolachas y zanahorias crudas
B
efore you are tempted to remark ‘those don’t look like
carrots to me’, I should point out that they are a very
tasty and crunchy variety called ‘Purple Haze’ and they are
supposed to look like that. Let’s move on... Maybe I’ve lived
a sheltered life, nonetheless, before having tasted this salad, I
cannot recall ever eating raw beetroot.
This recipe was given to us by an East German friend of ours,

Henke. She lives tucked away in a valley in Castellazo, a
remote village in the Sierra de Guara. When I first met her I
had no idea she was Eastern European - her English accent is
perfect. Henke only speaks to her young children in German
and her English husband, Guy, only speaks to them in English.
The children go to the local school with the result that they are
already fluent in Spanish. At the time of writing, the eldest
is ten. Fancy having three languages under your belt at that
age.
Henke made this salad her part of a ‘joint effort’ meal at our, then, home ‘Casa Fumanal’. She had
pulled the beetroot and carrots, still wriggling, from her garden that morning and prepared the salad
just before leaving home The salad seemed to marry perfectly with the dishes of cold chicken, pork,
potatoes and naturally, full glasses of red wine from the nearby vineyards of Carineña. She told us
that to be at its best, both vegetables need to be young, small and fresh - she’s right of course. If we
can’t get young and fresh however, we do use older ones and the result is still very good.
You may see for sale white beetroot or, indeed, you may even grow them. White beetroot are
generally sweeter than the traditional kind and can lack their earthy quality. If you use them for this
salad you may wish to omit the honey in the dressing.
Ingredients:
300g Raw beetroot - grated.
100g Raw Carrot - grated.
50g Spring onions - sliced into rings.
2 tablespoons Honey and red wine dressing - see this book.
1/2 teaspoon Hot chilli sauce.
Raw beetroot and carrot salad
serves 4 as a side salad
Preparation:
1. Peel and then grate the raw beetroot and carrot into a serving bowl.
2 Add the salt and mix in well.
3. Add the hot chilli sauce to the dressing and then add it to the beetroots and carrots.
4. Slice the spring onions into thin rounds and sprinkle over the salad.
5. Serve as soon as possible after adding the dressing.
44
Ensalada de pollo, pepino y rábano
C
ucumbers have virtually no calories at all. Chicken has a
modest amount. Mayo has stacks. So when you’ve got over the
‘really I shouldn’t eat anymore of this’ stage and are currently digging
into your second or third helpings, content yourself, that in dietry
terms, statisticians might say that it’s a fairly well balanced matter
- you will of course be kidding nobody but yourself; ‘pudgy’.
On those occasions when I put on a little spread of morsels under the

olive tree next to my casita, this salad and tzadziki were always the
first things to disappear - reasonably bred people would lose all dignity
and, if uncontrolled, would scoff the lot.
Salting the cucumber was found not to be necessary in Spain - there,

their flesh is a little firmer. In the UK however, they seem to contain a
lot more liquid and its removal is a must. Now, no matter how much
you rinse the cucumber, it retains some of the salt. So, if you are
making the Mayo 3. from this book, as recommended, it is a good
thing to consider reducing the salt to 1⁄4 of a teaspoon.
Roast chickens from supermarkets can be a good buy and you will find
this is a really good way of using up the leftovers - although I suggest
around 150g of meat per person; less is acceptable. If horseradish is not to your taste, then leave it out - you will still love
and eat far too much of this salad.
Ingredients:
300g Roast chicken meat - sliced or torn into 5cm chunks.
1 large Cucumber.
4 tablespoons Mayonnaise No. 3. from this book.
21⁄2 tablespoons Horseradish sauce.
4 teaspoons Chives - finely snipped - 2 are mixed in the salad and the remainder sprinkled
over.
Preparation of the cucumber:

1. Peel the cucumber and slice the ends off until the seeds can be seen.
2. Split it along its length and remove the seeds - a teaspoon is just the job for doing this.
3. Cut the cucumber into approximately 1 cm chunks. In a single layer, place these on a plate and cover
with a sprinkling of salt to reduce the moisture content. Leave them for 30 - 40 minutes.
4. Rinse the chunks under cold water several times to rid them of most of the salt.
5. Allow to drain in a colander for a few minutes and then dry with kitchen towel.
Chicken, cucumber and horseradish salad
Serves 2 as a main course or 4 as one plate of many
Preparation:
1. Put the cucumber and chicken into a mixing bowl.
2. This is the best time to add, and mix in well, 2 teaspoons of the snipped chives.
3. In a separate bowl, mix the mayo and horseradish sauce together.
4. And mixing it well in, add the mayo mixture to the cucumber and chicken.
5. If you are so disposed, put it all on to a serving plate and sprinkle with the remainder of the chives.
6. Serve - and very nice too.
46
Ensalada de garbanzos, aguacate y hierbas frescas
D
elicious and substantial would seem to be the
perfect way to describe this salad. A cocktail of
flavours from the freshly grown herbs, succulence from
the tomato, substance from the chick peas all pulled
together with creamy avocado. The avocado is so
important; it pulls the dish together and it can only do
this if it is really ripe. If not, things will not be as they
should, and the mark will be missed completely - a bit
like fish and chips without any fish, or chips.
Sometimes avocados will ripen if they are placed in a

brown paper bag and then put in the airing cupboard. I
use the word ‘sometimes’ because this doesn’t always
happen, and they go from being unripe to unusable in
one neat step - completely cutting out the useable ‘oh,
isn’t this yummy’ stage. There’s a good reason for
this; avocados do not begin ripening until they have
been picked and then, they need to be kept several
days at a good temperature. So, if the hasty producer
refrigerates them too early - while still unripe, they are
damaged irrevocably, with the result that they will never, never ripen. When buying, check that they are almost
soft to a light pressure. Check the broad end, it’s from here that they start ripening. If they are soft here, then
there’s a good chance you can continue the ripening process in the bag.
Ingredients:
500g Chickpeas - cooked and drained weight.
350-400g Fresh tomatoes – chopped roughly into 1cm chunks.
150-200g Sweet spanish onion – finely chopped - or use an ordinary engish onion- see note 3.
Preparation of chickpeas and onion.
1 Ripe avocado pear – really ripe - chopped roughly into 1 cm chunks.
3 tablespoons Honey and vinegar salad dressing – see this book.
1 teaspoon Fresh mint – finely chopped

1 teaspoon Fresh tarragon – finely chopped
1/2 tablespoon Fresh chives - finely chopped
1/2 tablespoon Fresh large leaved basil - finely chopped
Chickpea, avocado and fresh herb salad
serves 2 as a main course or 4 as one plate of many
Preparation of the chickpeas and onion:

1. If using tinned chickpeas, drain and rinse them under cold water.
2. If you have soaked and cooked dried chickpeas as described in this book and allow them to cool.
3. Should you be using an english onion, to reduce the harshness, when finely chopped soak it in a bowl of cold
water for at least 1⁄2 an hour. Then drain well.
Preparation of the salad:

1. Using only half of the chopped onion, simply mix the rest of the ingredients together.
2. Check seasoning - for the purpose of this recipe, I include the remaining half onion, of which you add just
as much as you like.
3. Serve.
48
Ensalada de couscous facile
T
hey have a saying in Sobrarbe ‘esta lloviendo a cántaros’ which roughly
translates ‘it’s raining pitcherfuls’ - to most people this would seem a piece
more appropriate than ‘raining cats and dogs’. More on this later...
Isabel made this couscous for the ‘Fiesta Anual de Coscojuela’. It was to accompany
the succulent barbecued chops taken from lambs that had fed on lush herbs in the
mountains above. The fiesta takes place on the nearest Sunday to the 1st of August
in the little square in Coscojuela. I mention the date because at this time of year in
Spain there’s not a lot of rain around and, bookies would give fair odds on it doing
so. In the previous ten years, it had only rained once during the evening of the
fiesta and prior to that, no one could remember. Now, you know what’s coming...
It thrashed down, villagers and guests grabbed what food they could off the tables
and thrust it onto the stage of the covered bandstand. It takes a lot more than this
to spoil the ‘Fiesta Mayor’ and the party continued with everybody huddled in the
church or bandstand eating and drinking amidst the thunder, hail and rain of the
biggest summer storm for years. That is how I first tried Isabel’s CousCous. How
can you forget something like that?
Notes on Ingredients:
1. Use the following proportions if it is intended that the couscous is to accompany a meat dish - it goes
excellently with lamb or chicken.
2. If on the other hand, you want to have it as a course on its own, and why not? then, double-up the apples,
sultanas, olives, gherkins and flaked almonds. In the latter case, you may wish to also add around 250g
of tuna. If this is the case, use tinned tuna in oil - sunflower or olive - but not in brine, it’s just too
salty for this dish.
Ingredients:
1lt Couscous.
11/2 lt Boiling water.
2 Eating apples finely chopped – use firm textured and good flavour: Cox’s, Fuji or
similar.
4 tablespoons Dried sultanas.
24 Green olives - stuffed ones a fine; either, with red pepper or anchovy.
2 tablespoons Small gherkins finely chopped.
2 tablespoons Flaked almonds.
Juice of 1 lemon.
Optional:
250g Tinned tuna in oil.
Simple couscous salad
serves 4 as a side dish or a course on its own
Preparation Stage 1:
1. Boil the 1 1/2 lt of water and add to it 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and the salt.
2. Put the couscous in a casserole or large dish and pour the boiling water over it.
3. Leave it to rest for 5 minutes.
4. Add the remaining 4 tablespoons of olive oil and mix well ensuring that there are no lumps – leave to
cool.
Preparation Stage 2:
1. Cover the sultanas in boiling water and leave to soak for 10 minutes then finely chop.
2. Cut the olives into quarters.
3. Chop the gherkins into roughly the same size as the olives.
4. Peel and core the apples and chop into small cubes then cover with the lemon juice to stop them going
brown.
5. Dry toast the flaked almonds in a frying pan until they just begin to brown.
6. Mix together all the ingredients from stage 2. - including the tuna if taking the option, and when the
couscous is cool, add the mixture to it. then, give all a good stir.
7. Check seasoning, serve.
50
Ensalada de escarola y granada
A
fine winter salad, the sharp, almost bitter, outer leaves of
the endive are just what are needed to prepare the palette after a
heavy meat course and prior to diving into desserts and cheeses.
The more outer leaves you use, the more this salad bites back. Though
you must use some to give essential contrast. What ratio? in these
matters you are the best judge. The same goes for the pomegranate
pips, try my guideline of 3 tablespoons at first - add more if you like
when checking the seasoning.
There’s a great trick for removing the pips shown to me by a Catalan

friend ‘Roser’. I’ve loved pomegranates ever since I was a kid and I
wish I’d known about it then. Digging them out with a fork was a bit of
a trial and inevitably with the pips came great chunks of the bitter pith.
What you do is, when you’ve been shown, easy. One simply cuts the
fruit across its equator, inverts each half in turn over a bowl and bashes
the hard skin with the back of a dessert or tablespoon. After a little of
this abuse, the pips immediately see who’s boss, wave the white flag,
and drop out.
The recipe was originally shown me by a Spanish friend ‘Lola’ - short for
Dolores in case you’re interested. Lola had added a small amount of steamed cod but, because I like this salad as
a palette cleanser, I’ve left the addition of fish as an option. You can substitute tuna for cod though don’t use too
much or it will overpower the endive and pomegranate - a tablespoonful is plenty. Cod or any other mild flavoured
white fish is to be preferred.
Ingredients:
1 Small curly endive - with plenty of blanched centre leaves.
1 Pomegranate from which you need 3 heaped tablespoons of seeds.
2 tablespoons Vinegar and honey dressing - see this book.
Sea salt.
Optional:
2 tablespoons Cod - steamed and flaked.
Curly endive and pomegranate salad
serves 2 as a salad course
Preparation:
1. Wash, rinse and dry the endive.
2. Using mainly the inside blanched leaves, and only a few of the outer ones which can be a little bitter,
roughly tear them into not too small pieces and put them into a serving bowl or platter big enough to take
the salad.
3. Cut the pomegranate across its equator with a stainless steel knife.
4. To remove the seeds, hold each half over another bowl and beat its back with the rounded part of a dessert
or tablespoon. The seeds, you will find, are easily dislodged.
5. Add 3 heaped tablespoons of seeds and 2 tablespoons of dressing to the endive and mix well.
6. Check for salt and serve.
52
Ensalada de queso de cabra y pimientos del piquillo
I
f, years ago, you had asked me what countries I associated
with quality cheese production, Spain would not have been among
them. Not because of any prejudice on my part you understand,
but rather centuries of excellent marketing by countries such as
France, Italy and not forgetting our own UK - Stilton is internationally
revered.
To get to the point, I have sampled cheeses in Spain that are the
equal of any, from anywhere. They have cheeses of such a great
variety; the lusty blue Cabrales to the most sublime soft sheep’s and
goat’s cheeses. The greater majority of the latter not produced in
sufficient quantities to stir the interest of importers. I’m so glad, this
means they will be produced as they have been for centuries, and this
way, the quality will remain.
Pimientos del Piquillo are not hot, nor are they the large sweet
peppers we are familiar with. They are much smaller, broad pointed
and roughly triangular. It is this that gives them their name - Piquillo
translates as small beak. When they have been toasted over hot
embers, allowed to cool a little, skinned, de-seeded and then drizzled
with olive oil, they radiate such delicious honesty.
Pimientos del Piquillo are just one of the seemingly hundreds of

varieties of small red peppers grown along the French and Spanish
Pyrenees. Each area claiming to grow the very best of all of them. The reputation of those coming from Espelette
in France and Ludosa or Menavia in Navarre have reached almost mythic status.
I’m sure that if you search around a good deli’ you’re bound to find these little gems bottled in oil and I know that
there are excellent, locally produced goat’s cheeses to be had nearly everywhere in England. Give it a go, there’s
so much coming from this elegant simple plate.
Ingredients:
250g Soft goat’s cheese.
9 pieces Pimientos del piquillo - at room temperature.
Extra virgin olive oil.
Poppy seeds.
1 Really fresh crusty baguette.

Goat’s cheese and roasted red pepper salad
allow one piece per person as a salad side dish
Preparation and cooking:

1. Cut the goat’s cheese into slices of around 1 to 11⁄2 cms thick and place them on an oven-proof dish.
2. Put the plate under a hot grill or microwave and cook at a high heat for a few seconds - just enough to
start melting the centre of the cheese and no more. You’ll see the centre begin to sag at this point.
3. Drizzle a generous amount of olive oil over them - you can mop up the surplus with fresh bread after you’ve
scoffed the cheese and wiped your face. Think; ‘waste not, want not’.
4. Lay the pieces of pimiento on and around the cheese.
5. Now sprinkle liberal pinches of poppy seeds over the lot and get stuck in. while it’s still warm.
54
Ensalada de mejillónes y arroz
T
here are three ways I use to prepare the mussels for this
salad; each of them have their advantage. For out-and-out flavour,
fresh mussels take the day. Cooked with shallots, celery leaves, butter
and a drop of white wine, these do take some beating. The downside
- isn’t there always, is that this method is not the best if you’re short of
time - the fiddle factor is on the high-side and the mussels really should
be bought on the day you are going to use them. A provident slack day
and a ready abundance of mussels, this is for me the only route to take.
Frozen mussels are my choice 80% of the time. The flavour is very good,
they’re not too salty, and given a quick de-frost and they’re immediately
ready to add to the rice. The disadvantage; they have a relatively short
shelf-life so, it’s not advisable to keep them in the freezer for too long.
If value for time spent is considered, I recommend a second option for
frozen mussels, I have given it below. This way, the mussels are first
defrosted and then warmed through in a shallot, butter and wine base.
Mussels canned in their own cooking juices have a long shelf-life - I am

rarely without a tin in the cupboard. They have good flavour. They are
though, very salty and need to be well drained with the excess moisture
dabbed-up using absorbant kitchen paper. If you are going to use these,
omit the salt in the dressing. Do try it, this is such a good salad.
Ingredients:
250g Mussels - pre-cooked and drained weight - fresh, frozen or tinned.
150g Red pepper - finely sliced - more or less 1 large bell pepper.
100g Button mushrooms - finely sliced.
20 Black olives - stoned and quartered.
1 tablespoon Almonds - blanched and sliced.
1 batch Lemon and olive oil dressing - see this book.
1 batch Boiled long-grain rice - ratio 90ml rice to 150ml of water (see this book)
Ingredients and cooking frozen mussels in shallots, butter and wine: (see main text above)
250g Frozen mussels.
1 Shallot - finely chopped.
A small handfull - 3 or 4 - of celery leaves or chinese celery leaves.
1. Gently sauté the shallot and celery leaves in the butter until the shallots are soft.
2. Add the wine and simmer for 2 minutes, then add the defrosted mussels and warm through being careful not
to over-cook them.
3. remove the mussels from the juices and add them to the salad at the appropriate point.
Mussel and rice salad
Preparing and cooking the salad:

1. Cook the boiled rice. There is plenty of time to prepare all the other ingredients while the rice is cooking
and then cooling.
2. As soon as the rice has finished cooking, turn it out into a shallow dish so that it can cool and steam-
off some of its moisture.
3. While the rice is still warm, but not hot, add 2 tablespoons of the dressing and stir in well.
4. If using fresh mussels, prepare and cook them as per the instructions in this book ‘Fresh Mussels’, omitting
the flour and water. Remove the mussels from their shells and proceed to step 5. below.
5. When the rice is cool, add the mussels and other ingredients, check seasoning and, if it suits your taste,
add more of the dressing.
56
pescado y marisco
Fish and seafood
Boquerones
Hake with a sofrito of tomatoes and almonds
Mussels - fresh
Mussels and potatoes
Prawns al ajillo
Prawns, canellini beans, garlic and parsley
Red mullet and orange
Salted cod with black olives
Sardines with cider
Squid stewed in white wine and tomatoes
Squid bits tapa
58
Boquerones
B
oquerones are anchovies - usually maybe a useful
caveat to throw in here, for boquerone seems to be a
name that is used for any number of related small fish. You
may find fresh anchovies a bit on the rare side in Britain so,
small sardines will do.
The cleaning technique is very simple, and as you get a

rhythm going, it takes only seconds to clean each one – no
knives are used, just the hands. Before you know where
you are, you’ll have cleaned a large heap.
I always prepare these the night before I need them and

refrigerate them overnight so that they are ready early the
next day. During the 12 hours marianading, the flesh turns
from greyish to a soft and creamy white and any notion of
them being raw is completely dispelled. They are simply
delicious.
Our local telephone engineer, a mine of information -

including a very good method of cooking snails, told me that
in Lake Mediano and its feeder rivers, the Rio Ara and Rio
Cinca, there lives a fresh water fish, a bit smaller, but far superior to the anchovy. They go by the lovely name;
Madrillas.
I’ve seen them while swimming in the deep, clear, cool, river pools up in the mountains. They have the ticklish
habit of nibbling the hairs on your arms and legs. I had no idea that these tiddlers were a local delicacy.
Ingredients:
24 Fresh anchovies or small fresh sardines - no longer than about 12 to 13cm.
6 Cloves of garlic – sliced very thin.
Marianade:
150 ml Red wine vinegar.
300 ml Cold water.
1/2 teaspoon Sugar.
Preparation of ingredients:
1. Under running cold water, clean the boquerones by pulling of their heads and then running the thumb
down the gut to open out the fish and to remove their innards. Starting at the head end, the
spine is easily removed by pulling it away from the flesh all the way to the tail end.
2. Peel and thinly slice the garlic.
3. Prepare the marianade by mixing together the vinegar, water and sugar.
Boquerones
serves around 6 as a tapa
Preparation of dish:
1. In a shallow bowl place a few of the slices garlic, over these, flesh uppermost, place the boquerones. Add
another layer of sliced garlic. Continue adding layers this way until all the boquerones are used up. The top
layer should always be of sliced garlic.
2. Completely cover with the marianade.
3. Cover the bowl with cling film and refrigerate for 12 hours - but no longer.
4. Remove the boquerones from the marinade and garlic then lay them out in the serving dish.
60
Merluza con sofrito y almendras
T
here is a certain charm about the name Merluza - it
truly sounds as though it comes from the deep seas.
Hake on the other hand, sounds like a social disease - so
unappetizing is it, it could only have been dreamt up by
the anti-fishing lobby. In light of this, I shall only refer to
merluza twice as hake: once in the English title and once in
the ingredients list so that you know what to ask for.
It would be all too easy to overpower the delicate, sweet

tasting merluza with an inappropriately strong flavoured
sauce. The balance between fish and sauce in this recipe
is just about perfect; the sofrito of tomatoes, the chopped
lightly toasted almonds and the broad leaved parsley
combine beautifully. But, they permit the soft deliciousness
of the merluza to speak for itself.
There are many variations of this recipe. Some use toasted

bread crumbs instead of almonds and some use both. In
the round, I like the crunchiness given by the almonds and
the pure simplicity of flavours. It’s a wonderfully tasty and
quick dish that never palls on the palette.
The flavour and texture of merluza is at its best when just at the point of being done, almost slightly under-done. So,
follow the instructions, not forgetting to pre-warm the sofrito.
Ingredients for the fish:

4 Slices of merluza around 3 cm thick.
4 tablspoons Sofrito de tomate- see this book.
3 tablspoons Extra virgin olive oil.
Ingredients for the picada:

20 Almonds - blanched and skinned and chopped.
1 - 2 tablespoons Chopped fresh broad leaf parsley.
1⁄2 Clove of garlic - finely chopped.
Sea salt - if using fine table salt, use less.
Preparation:
1. If you are using fresh almonds, put the kernels into a little boiling water for a minute or two and
you will then find the skins rub off so easily.
2. Lightly toast the almonds in a dry pan until they’re just turning colour.
3. Chop the parsley, pound or chop the almonds into smal crumbs and mix together.
4. Heat up the sofrito to the simmer.
5. Give the merluza a quick wash under the cold tap and then dab dry with kitchen towel.
Hake and sofrito with almonds
Cooking:
1. In a good sized frying pan, heat the olive oil over a medium to high heat.
2. Lightly salt each side of the merluza and fry for about 3 to 4 minutes a side. To avoid the fish breaking
up, let it cook until serving without turning it again.
3. Pour the warmed sofrito over the fish and allow to simmer for 2 minutes.
4. Sprinkle the almond and parsley mixture over the top and allow to simmer for a further 2 minutes.
5. Allow the dish to rest for 2 or 3 minutes to let the meat firm up and then serve.
62
Mejillónes frescos
A
s usual, we had been talking about food; in fact, that delicious
little construct of prawns, garlic, olive oil and coñac; ‘Gambas al ajillo’.
It was just the passing of time, nothing too philosophical, I said ‘gambas go
really well with white beans’. My mate and neighbour Pedro turned his head
slightly ‘hombre, gambas go well with anything’. It was a drowsy afternoon
and with all incentive sapped the sentences just hung there like dry washing
on a still day. Just before I dozed off, I thought ‘ It’s the same with mussels
only probably more so.
Find a coastal prehistoric site and somewhere near you’ll trip over a mussel
shell midden - we’ve been eating them forever. The hundreds of recipes
dedicated to them are culinary evidence of just how long they’ve been with
us. At their simplest, mussels can be cooked in a tin can with a splash of sea
water and as soon as they’re open, scoffed, - no washing, no debearding;
fresh, simple, perfect. ‘Stuffed fresh mussels’ sits somewhere at the other
end of the scale; much more time consuming - these I’ll go to the restaurant
for.
So given that there are hundreds of recipes for cooking fresh mussels, why this one? There’s no mystery attached.
It’s just the one we use, our adaptation of one of the many. It can also be used as the basis, with some little
modification, for the other mussel recipes in this book.
Allow one more quick point. If you are lucky enough to have a garden, try growing some of that tasty perennial
‘Kintsai’ Chinese Celery in your herb patch. They are easily grown in a large pot, if you haven’t the space, and
their seeds no problem to find. We grow it because it saves the expense having to buy a complete head of celery.
‘Kintsai’ looks after itself and survives, and is croppable, right through the winter. Though still very usable, by
February it can look a little tatty.
Preparation:
1. Scrub and clean the mussels in cold water - these days mussels come in a pretty clean condition
and only require the scantest of attention.
2. Scrape off the beard with a sharp knife - personally, I just remove the worst of the beard and I
never bother to remove any barnacles.
3. Discard any mussels with broken shells and those that have not closed - fresh healthy mussels
will usually close during the scrubbing. If they show any reluctance, a sharp tap with the back
of the knife will usually prompt a reaction. If they still don’t close, play safe and discard.
Fresh mussels
serves 2
Ingredients:
1 kg Fresh mussels - this will give approximately 250g of shelled weight.
2 Shallots - finely chopped.
1 Good handful of inner celery leaves or a nice stalk of ‘Kintsai’ Chinese Celery.
1 tablespoon Plain flour.
50g Unsalted butter.
50ml Water.
Cooking:
1. In a sauté pan over a medium/high heat, sauté the shallots and the celery leaves in all the butter until the
shallots begin to turn translucent - do not let them brown.
2. Add the mussels and over them sprinkle the flour.
3. Add the wine and the water and give all a gentle, but thorough, stir.
4. Cover the pan and, shaking it occasionally, cook for five minutes.
5. Remove the lid, give another good and gentle stir and cook for a further 1 minute.
6. Discard any mussels that have not opened.
7. Serve.
64
Mejillónes y patatas
W
hen pondering over what to do with a glistening heap of
mussels, combining them with potatoes and carrots might not be an
option that elbows its way to the front of your mind. However, once you’ve
tried it, this recipe may always head the list. It is exceptionally tasty and is
a dish I would never hesitate to set before guests - I believe it is impossible
to dislike.
The entire process takes little longer to prepare and cook, than it does to
steam the potatoes. The carrots are sliced into thin ribbons so that they cook
in the same time as the mussels - they are not there simply to ‘add a bit of
colour’ or ‘dress it up a bit’. Their inclusion provides part of the magic. The
fresher they are, and the more carroty they taste, the better the result.
When all is combined in the serving dish, the potatoes soak up much of
the mouth-watering cooking juices and what they don’t absorb, fresh bread
can.
Ingredients:
1 kg Fresh mussels - this will give approximately 250g of shelled weight.
or... 250g Frozen mussels.
750g Potatoes - cut into rounds 1cm thick - boiled or steamed.
2 Carrots - peeled and then, using the peeler, sliced into thin ribbons.
2 Shallots - finely chopped.
1 Clove of garlic - finely chopped.
1 tablespoon Broad leaved parsley - finely chopped.
2 sprigs Thyme around 4cm or a good pinch of dried.
1 Celery leaves - a good handful or a nice stalk of ‘Kintsai’ Chinese Celery.
50g Unsalted butter.
11⁄2 tablespoons Sherry vinegar.
Sea salt and frshly milled black pepper.
Preparation of fresh mussels:

1. Scrub and clean the mussels in cold water - these days mussels come in a pretty clean condition and
only require the scantest of attention.
2. Scrape off the beard with a sharp knife - personally, I just remove the worst of the beard and I
never bother to remove any barnacles.
3. Discard any mussels with broken shells and those that have not closed - fresh healthy mussels will
usually close during the scrubbing. If they show any reluctance, a sharp tap with the back of the
knife will usually prompt a reaction. If they still don’t close, play safe and discard.
Mussels and potatoes
Cooking:
1. Steam or boil the potatoes and reserve keeping them warm in a shallow serving dish.
2. While the potatoes are cooking, in a sauté pan over a medium/high heat, sauté the shallots and the celery
leaves in all the butter until the shallots begin to turn translucent - do not let them brown.
3. Add the ribboned carrots and the garlic and sauté until the garlic just starts to change colour.
4. Add the mussels, thyme, half of the parsley. Stir well, cover and cook for five minutes.
5. Uncover the pan, raise the heat to high, add the white wine and allow the liquids to reduce by half.
6. Discard any mussels that have not opened.
7. Add the sherry vinegar and stir in.
8. Remove the pan from the heat and give the mixture a few twists of black pepper.
9. Pour the mussels, carrots and their cooking juices over the potatoes and check for salt.
10. Garnish with the remaining parsley and serve.
66
Gambas al ajillo
A
l ajillo means cooked with garlic. You might ask, since
nearly every Aragonese dish except ice cream has garlic in
it, ‘why the distinction’? Well, there’s a fairly straightforward
answer to this: most dishes here contain plenty of garlic, al ajillo
has lots – proportionally that is. Usually the main ingredients
in dishes ‘al ajillo’ are limited to two items – ‘something’ and
then, lots of garlic. Like all rules there may be exceptions, but
as a generalisation it holds together pretty well.
Prawns al ajillo normally comes as a ‘ración’ which is more

substantial than a tapa. Served with fresh bread it is the
perfect void filling bite to see you through until your 2 hour
lunch session.
Restaurants and bars fill-up around 1030 for the mid-morning

ritual break, the almuerza. As breaks go in Spain, it’s just a
short one lasting only about half and hour, and so, almost by
definition, anything that qualifies as a ración must be able to be
turned out very quickly.
Traditionally, this dish is served in the same earthenware bowl

as it was cooked, and, understandably, it is very hot. Therefore,
it is customary, to avoid glugging pitch hot oil down the necks of valued customers, for the dishes to be covered with a small
plate when being brought to the table or bar.
So far, I’ve said little about the flavour. Take a quick look at the ingredients and you’ll find nothing too controversial there,
prawns are prawns, garlic is garlic, so why should it be so drool producing and so individual? Once again it’s all in the
method and, just for that extra bit of magic, a drop of coñac is sloshed in during the last minute of cooking. Another
pointer, is that the 750g quoted in the ingredients list is not a misprint - you’ll be ever so glad I mentioned this.
Ingredients:
750g Fresh prawns – peeled and cleaned wt – allow 1 kg if unpeeled.
4 - 5 Cloves of garlic – thinly sliced.
2 Small dried chilli peppers - guindillas.
2 tablespoons Coñac.
1 tablespoons Parsley – finely chopped.
Prawns al ajillo
serves 2
Preparation:
1. Remove the heads, shells and the thin black piece of intestine from the prawns. Then wash in cold water.
Cooking:
1. Put all the ingredients, except the coñac and salt, into a heatproof dish or sauté pan over a medium to
high heat.
2. When they start to simmer, cover the pan and, stirring occasionally, cook for 5 minutes.
3. Remove the cover and cook until all the liquid from the prawns has evaporated and only the oil remains – this
is easily judged, because at the right moment, the juices will quickly turn from being slightly opaque to
clear.
4. Add the coñac and cook for a further 1 min.
5. Add salt.
6. Serve with chunks of fresh bread.
68
Gambas, judias blancas, ajo y perejil
P
rawns, cream and coñac make this a potentially
rich dish. It could easily trespass over the top and
be a bit flash. But it doesn’t go that far. It is neatly
brought to balance by the soft flavoured beans, the
soothing parsley and the piquant guindilla.
It doesn’t need dressing up. It looks and tastes fine as

it is. Though, if I have them handy, I’ll often chuck a
few whole fresh prawns in during the last few minutes
for show.
I use a light chicken stock for a very simple reason; fish

stock makes it taste too, would you believe, fishy?
You might try letting it cool somewhat before serving.

I find the flavours are more appreciated that way. It’s
so versatile, I’ve cooked it with bits of lobster, crab or
any scraps of fresh fish I happen to have. First try it as
the recipe suggests, it will give you a feel as to how it
will behave with other fish or crustaceans.
Ingredients:
400 g Frozen or fresh peeled prawns - needless to say, fresh better.
500 g Canellini beans – cooked and drained weight.
125 ml Chicken stock or...
1/4 a Knorr chicken stock pot in 125ml of boiling water will give a very good result
50 ml Coñac.
1 Small dried chilli - guindilla.
3 tablespoons Chopped fresh broad leaved parsley.
100 ml Single cream.
Optional:
Half a dozen or so whole fresh prawns.
Preparation:
1. If using dried beans prepare them using the method in this book (see: using dried beans).
2. If using tinned beans, rinse them with cold water and leave to drain.
3. If using frozen prawns, defrost them and, to reduce their saltiness, rinse them with cold water and
leave them to drain and then pat dry with kitchen towel.
Prawns, cannellini beans, garlic and parsley
serves 2 as a light main course or 4 as one plate of many
Cooking:
1. Put the olive oil in a sauté pan over a medium heat and sauté the guindilla and 2 of the chopped cloves of
garlic until the garlic starts to turn colour.
2. Raise the heat to medium high and add the prawns. Sauté them for about 3 minutes.
3. Add the coñac and stir in.
4. Add 2/3 of the parsley.
5. Add the remaining clove of chopped garlic and give the mixture a good stir.
6. Add the cooked beans, stir well and simmer for around 5 mins.
7. To thicken the soup, mash about 1/3 of the beans with the back of a wooden spoon or spatula.
8. Add the stock and give another good stir.
9. If using the optional whole prawns add these now.
10. Reduce the heat to low and, .stirring occasionally, simmer for 5 mins.
11. Add the remaining parsley.
12. Remove the pan from the heat, stir in the cream and serve.
70
Salmonetes y naranja
S
almonetes are a pretty orange fish that taste as
good as they look on the plate. There should be
no problem in finding them in good supermarkets or
fishmongers. There, they will probably lurk under
the less than attractive name of Red Mullet, which,
to me, always conjures up an uneasy image of an
extreme socialist with a naf hair style - someone
who probably thinks that fish really have fingers.
Alternatively, should your supplier have imagination,
they may have them listed more appetisingly as the
Spanish do, Salmonetes, or as the French, Rouget
or Barbet.
This is very likely a Catalan dish that has made its

way into Aragón. Oranges as bed partners with
fish may not spring immediately to mind. Catalans
though, are a creative bunch and this dish combines
their flair for art and for the preparing of good food.
Slow cooking over a gentle heat is key, then, the juices from the fish and oranges combine into a most
subtle sauce that in no way overpowers the meat.
Ingredients:
4 Red mullet.
2 Oranges - the juice only - plus a little of the zest.
1 Clove of garlic - finely chopped.
1 tablespoon Broadleaved parsley - finely chopped.
Sea salt - if using fine table salt, use less.
Black pepper - freshly milled - a few twists.
Preparation:
1. Leaving the heads on, descale, gut and wash the mullet - if your supplier is half decent
they will do this for you.
Red mullet and orange
serves 2 as a fish course
Cooking:
1. Season the fish on both sides with the salt and pepper.
2. Place them in a sauté pan and sprinkle over them the chopped garlic, the parsley, the olive oil,
the orange juice and on top of all, a few scraping of the orange zest.
3. Cover the pan and gently cook over a low heat until they are done - this will be evident by
the flesh beginning to part.
4. Serve immediately.
72
Bacalao con sofrito y acetunas negras
With this, the second of the two salt cod recipes,

you’ll notice the cooking time isn’t particularly long; it
shouldn’t be. There are two simple ways of destroying
this dish; not soaking the cod long enough - thereby the
end result is far too salty, and, through overcooking.
Given that you follow the instructions to the letter, you’ll
find the marriage of cod, sofrito and black olives an
extremely toothsome one.
Give or take a tweak or two, you can find versions of this

dish all around the Mediterranean. Some may include
fresh oregano, some a pinch of chilli. This version gets
my vote. I favour it because the other ingredients are
not too dominating. The sofrito and olives let the cod
speak for itself. If you are moved to try it, note that fresh
cod can substitute for salted. Naturally, in this case, one
ignores the pre-soaking. If going down this path, cook the
fish for the same length of time as advised by the recipe.
Ingredients:
500g Salt cod.
4 tablespoons Sofrito - see this book.
18 Black olives - preserved in brine and halved.
2 Cloves of garlic - finely chopped.
1 tablespoon Parsley – finely chopped.
1 tablespoon Olive oil - extra virgin.
Sea salt - if using fine table salt, use less. Usually tho’ salt is not required.
Pepper - black, freshly ground.
Preparation:
1. Cut the cod into strips around 2.5 cms wide.
2. In a large pan, soak the pieces for a minimum of 48 hours in cold water, changing the water at least 4
times each day - for 500g of cod, allow 21⁄2 litres of cold water in a pan large enough to avoid the cod
being packed too tightly.
3. Drain and rinse the fish and pat dry with some kitchen paper.
4. To make the skin easier to remove, place the bacalao skin down in a dry frying pan and, over a med heat,
lightly cook for 1 minute.
5. Remove the skin and bones and flake the flesh.
6. To keep saltiness to a minimum, also rinse the olives in cold water.
7. Finely chop the garlic and parsley and set aside.
Salted cod with sofrito and black olives
Cooking:
1. Put the olive oil into a sauté pan over a medium to high heat and saute the garlic until it is lightly
coloured.
2. Add the sofrito and bring to the simmer.
3. Add the desalinated cod and gently cook for 10 minutes.
4. Add the olives, pepper and half of the chopped parsley.
5. Cook for a further 5 minutes.
6. Check and adjust the seasoning.
7. Sprinkle the remaining parsley over the top and serve.
74
Sardinas con sidra
S
ampled by itself, the cider sauce has quite a
tart edge to it. There is, because of this tartness,
a temptation to add more sugar than suggested. This is
not a good move as its character is modified when put to
the sardines, then, you will find the combination produces
an altogether much softer flavour.
Taken with fresh crusty bread and a green salad, sardines

with cider is a delight. Whether to eat it while it’s still
piping hot or, to leave it to cool and marinade in the sauce
is a decision you are going to have to make for yourself
- I get over this dilemma by eating half oneway and half
the other.
As with the recipe for Boquerones, these sardines are so

easy to prepare - get a rythm going and they are done in
just a few minutes. With a fair wind, this little snack can
be ready in lass than a quarter of an hour. As with all the
recipes in this book, they exist in it because they are good
- give this one a go.
Ingredients:
Sardines: Cider Sauce:
6 -20 Fresh sardines - 12 to 15cm long. 150ml Dry cider
1 teaspoon Extra virgin olive oil. 25g Unsalted butter
50g Unsalted butter. 1 tablespoon Sherry vinegar
Flour. 1 tablespoon Fresh orange juice
Sea salt - if using fine table salt, 1 teaspoon Sugar
use less.
Pepper.
Preparation:
1. Under running cold water, clean the sardines by pulling of their heads and then running the thumb down
the gut to open out the fish and to remove their innards. Starting at the head end, the spine is
easily removed by pulling it away from the flesh all the way to the tail end.
2. Dab the excess moisture off the sardines with kitchen towel.
3. Sprinkle the flour on a large plate, lightly season it with the salt and pepper.
4. Lightly dust the sardines in the flour and, to avoid the coating taking up too much oil, shake off
the excess.
Sardines with cider
serves 2 as a light fish course
Cooking the cider sauce:

1. In a saucepan over a medium high heat, put the dry cider, sherry vinegar, 25g of butter and the sugar.
2. Reduce this liquid until it takes on a slightly syrupy aspect - you’ll know when this is so when the note
of the bubbling changes to a more sharp tone.
3. Add the orange juice and heat through for 1 minute - or longer if you wish the sauce thicker.
Cooking the sardines:

1. In a frying pan over a medium high heat, put in the 50g of butter and the teaspoon of olive oil.
2. When the butter foam has subsided and the oil is almost smoking, fry the floured sardines for 1 minute on
each side or until they are browned.
3. Serve with the sauce spooned over.
76
Guisado de calamar con vino blanco y tomates
I
n case you have not read the other squid
recipe, I’ll repeat the rules: Freshness: Never
leave uncooked squid hanging about - its flavour
will deteriorate rapidly. If it has been bought
fresh, cook asap. If frozen, and this a good option,
cook as soon as it is defrosted.
Cooking time and temperature: Squid can be

cooked for a short time over high heat - under
3 minutes. Or long and slow over a low heat -
40 minutes to 11⁄2 hours depending on the size.
There is no in-between and should you try taking
the middle-of-the-road approach it’ll have all the
chewability of a flip-flop.
This recipe lays before you the benefits of long cooking. If you follow these two simple rules, the result, you’ll
find, will be sweet, succulent and tender. You will also find it is a doddle to make. Oh, by the way, after you’ve
cooked this the first time, you might like your squid in bigger chunks. Because of the long cooking time, this will
be fine.
Ingredients:
350 to 400g Squid - cleaned weight - wrigglingly fresh or freshly defrosted.
75g Onions - finely chopped.
400g tin Tomatoes - chopped.
2 cloves Garlic - finely chopped.
3 Bay leaves.
1⁄2 teaspoon Sugar.
1⁄4 teaspoon Hot chilli sauce or a pinch of chilli powder.
Sea salt - to taste.
Pepper - black, freshly milled - a few generous grindings.
Preparation:
1. We’re a bit pushed for space on this page, so look at the next recipe; squid bits tapa - it’s
exactly the same process.
Squid stewed in white wine and tomatoes
if served with pasta or plain boiled rice, enough for 2 as a main course
Cooking:
1. Before any heat is applied to the sauté pan, put into it the squid, chilli sauce or powder, bay leaves and
olive oil. This is done so that after applying heat, the moisture will mostly evaporate before reaching its
cooking temperature and so minimising splatter.
2. Raise the heat to medium high and when the mixture starts to sizzle, cook for 3 minutes, stirring
frequently.
3. Add the onion, garlic and wine.
4. Sauté until the onion softens and colours lightly golden and the liquids evaporate leaving only the oil - this
will take around 5 to 10 minutes.
5. Add the tomatoes and their juice, sugar and a few grindings of black pepper.
6. When the tomatoes reach simmering point, check for salt, turn the heat to low, cover and cook for 1 hour.
7. If, before the end of cooking, the sauce is looking a little dry, add a tablespoon of water. Repeat this
as necessary.
8. Check the seasoning and serve - on its own with crusty bread, with pasta or plain boiled rice.
78
Calamar
T
he Japanese often eat their squid raw
dipped in sauce - it is very tender this way.
Problems with texture come with cooking. The
key to cooking this dish is to do it hot and fast.
Do it this way, as the instructions below state,
and you’ll love them. Don’t take liberties with the
timing, you can cook squid for a short time over
a high heat or a long time over low one. This
a really good rule-of-thumb. One you will not
regret following. There is no in between
Ingredients:
250 to 300g Squid - cleaned weight - fresh or frozen.
2 tablespoons Plain flour.
1 Fresh lemon.
Extra virgin olive oil.
Cleaning and preparation of frozen squid:

1. Defrost, wash, clean and cut squid body into rings 5mm wide, or if the body has been cut
lengthways, into strips of the same width.
2. If the tentacles are present, and with frozen small squid they’re not always included, cut them into
two parts and remove the beak from their base.
3. Dry thoroughly with absorbant kitchen paper.
Cleaning and preparation of caught or bought fresh, entire squid:

1. Grip the body with one hand and, with the other, grip all the tentacles and gently pull them away
from the body. If done this way, they will usually detach carrying the squid’s innards with them.
2. Cut across the tentacles close to the eyes to remove them and the attached innards.
3. Cut the tentacles into two parts and remove the beak from their base.
4. From inside the body, remove the transparent bony piece.
5. Thoroughly wash the tentacles and body under cold water and if the squid is large, remove the skin.
6. Cut the body into 5mm rings and dry thoroughly with absorbant kitchen paper..
Squid Bits tapa
serves 2 when you’re peckish or 1 if you’re starving
Cooking - with a simple flour coating:

1. Into a small frying pan, put enough olive oil to give a depth of around 5 to 6 mm. Then over a good heat,
raise its temperature until it is almost smoking.
2 While the oil is heating, put the flour into a plastic bag, add the squid pieces and shake thoroughly.
3.. Remove the squid and shake off excess flour – this is crucial to the end result and is done to avoid
doughiness and the absorption of too much oil.
4. In the very hot oil, saute the squid on each side for 50 to 60 seconds. Only fry enough of the squid
pieces so that: A. they are not cramped in the pan and the hot oil can freely circulate around them and B.
so that the quantity does not dramatically lower the heat of the oil.
5. Remove them from the pan when they are nicely coloured and still tender.
6. Place on kitchen paper to drain off excess oil.
7. Sprinkle with salt, a squirt of lemon juice and enjoy.
80
platos de pasta, arroz
y huevos
Pasta, rice and egg dishes
Eggs - revuelta with wild fungi
Eggs - revuelta with tender garlic shoots
Eggs - tortilla traditional and simple
Pasta - spaghetti with sofrito and anchovies
Pasta - rigatoni with pork, sofrito and rosemary
Rice - boiled rice made easy and delicious
Rice - chicken, pork and seafood paella
Rice - chicken with sage, thyme, lemon and rice
Rice - rabbit paella
Rice - celery risotto
82
Revuelta de huevos con setas
I
purposely do not translate the title of this, or the next
recipe, as being scrambled eggs. They are no more
that, than beef is bacon. In a revuelta the eggs are not
beaten prior to cooking and they are cooked very slowly
- thus avoiding a texture shift from really nice to wet-suit
neoprene.
I’ve come to the conclusion that the eggs are best put into
a cold pan with the olive oil and gradually heated up over
a low to medium heat. The yolks are carefully broken
and gently stirred a few times into the whites - the action
while cooking is more a moving of the egg mixture than
a stirring. It is not the objective to blend the yolks and
whites to characterless homogeneity. Cooked slowly and
stirred the way described will leave the eggs with a lovely
fresh colour, flavour and aroma.
With nearly all revueltas, this recipe being one of the

exceptions, the accompaniments are cooked separately
and folded in just before serving, keeping all the flavours
separate. This is especially so when using button or field
mushrooms, which, if cooked in with the eggs, can turn the dish a fairly revolting dishwater grey and not do much
for the flavour.
The pan used is important. In my experience, for revueltas and other eggs dishes of the type, it is best to use one
with a thin base. The advantage over a heavy based pan, is that they are very quick to heat up, more importantly
though, they are much quicker to cool down when removed from the heat. This is just what you need when trying
to judge the exact moment when the dish is ready. Heavy based pans hold their heat, so much so, that the eggs
can continue cooking way past their point of perfection.
Ingredients:
200 g Wild fungi - coarsely chopped - almost any kind of edible fungi will do - chanterelles
are a particular favourite of mine in revueltas - button mushrooms can be used as
well, tho’ take note of what is said in the main text about cooking separately.
6 Fresh eggs - the fresher the better.
1 clove Garlic - finely chopped.
1 tablespoon Parsley - chopped.
1 1/2 tablespoons Olive oil.
25 g Butter.
Freshly milled black pepper to taste.
Revuelta of eggs with wild fungi
serves 2 as a first course
Preparation:
1. Break the eggs into a bowl with half of the salt and a few good twists of the pepper mill - do not beat
them as you would for scrambled eggs or an omellete. Put the bowl to one side.
Cooking:
1. In a sauté pan over a medium heat put the butter and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil.
2. When the butter stops foaming, add the fungi and sauté for 5 minutes or until they have given up their
juices.
3. Add the finely chopped garlic and sauté for a further 2 minutes. Season with the remaining half teaspoon
of salt and a few grindings of pepper and then set aside.
4. In a cold, thin based non-stick frying pan put the remaining olive oil and add the eggs.
5. Break the yolks and moving the mixture gently and occasionally, cook the revuelta over a low heat until the
eggs are nearly done – they will continue to cook after they’ve been taken off the heat.
6. Add the sautéed fungi, half the parsley and gently fold into the eggs.
7. Sprinle with the remaining chopped parsley and serve immediately.
84
Revuelta de huevos con ajos tiernos
A
jetes, ajos tiernos or garlic shoots; however you wish
to call them, they’re delicious and different with a
flavour somewhere between garlic and mild spring onions.
If you can get your hands on them, or indeed grow them
yourself, then this is just the dish to try them out.
To grow ajetes is so easy: buy a few complete heads of

garlic and plant them whole. If you have a fairly mild
climate you need only to cover them with about an inch
of soil/compost, if colder, then make it two inches. Plant
them in pots or the garden any time between December
and the late spring. If you plant them in pots, water them
regularly. Harvest them when the tips of their stalks begin
to turn yellow - see photo left.
The method used here to cook the shoots is perfect. One

lets them cook until all the liquid has evaporated away,
leaving them so tender and with all the flavour retained in
the dish rather than being drained down the sink.
If you have read the intro to the traditional tortilla in this

book, you will see that I have now adopted a similar method for cooking this revuelta, to wit, putting the sauteéd,
and still hot, ingredients into the egg mixture and letting their heat cook a thin layer of egg around them - the
flavour is more pure and the eggs remain a bright yellow. I did say ‘this revuelta’, for if I’m cooking one with field
or button mushrooms, I always cook the mushrooms separately and then add them at the last moment when the
eggs are done. This stops the revuelta taking on a nasty shade of institutional grey.
The eggs should not be cooked beyond nice and soft; they need to be slightly underdone and this why I use a thin
based pan - the reason being the same as for the previous recipe, they lose their heat almost immediately they’re
removed from the stove, giving you much more control over the outcome.
Ingredients:
75 g Garlic shoots – peeled weight – chopped into 1/2 cm pieces.
6 Fresh eggs - the fresher the better.
1 1⁄2 tablespoons Olive oil.
25 g Butter.
200 ml Water.
Revuelta of eggs with young garlic shoots
serves 2 as any course you like
Preparation:
1. Break the eggs into a bowl with half of the salt and a few good twists of the pepper mill - do not beat
them as you would for scrambled eggs or an omellete. Put the bowl to one side.
Cooking:
1. In a sauté pan over a medium to low heat put the butter, 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, water, half of the
salt and all of the chopped garlic shoots.
2. When the mixture starts to simmer, turn the heat to low, cover the pan and cook for 5 minutes.
3. Remove the lid, raise the heat to medium and, taking care not to burn the ajetes, cook until only the olive
oil and butter remain - the butter and oil should become clear at this point.
4. Pour the cooked ajetes and any remaining juices from their pan into the bowl with the eggs and give the
mixture a gentle turn while the ajetes are still hot.
5. In a cold thin based non-stick frying pan put the remaining olive oil and add the egg and ajete mixture.
6. Break the yolks and moving the mixture gently and occasionally, cook the revuelta over a low to medium heat
until the eggs are nearly done – they will continue to cook after they’ve been taken off the heat.
86
Tortilla tradicional y facile
T
ortilla traditional and simple - simple it may be, plain it’s
not. Lightly browned on the outside, soft on the inside.
Fragrance of freshly cooked eggs and sautéed potatoes; so
very good. I doubt a week goes by in our house without us
cooking at least one. In bars they are often served at room
temperature, though without doubt they are at their best
straight from the pan
I could not contemplate writing this book without including

the Tortilla. At their simplest, they are made from just eggs
and potatoes, a dash of salt and a splash of olive oil to fry
them in. In tapas bars you will get them cooked using these
basic ingredients, but you will also find them with added
green peppers or onion or chorizo or with spinach - the list
is almost without end. I’ve chosen for this book the simple
and traditional one. There’s a couple of good reasons for this
choice: first, I like it the most of all I’ve tried, and secondly,
when you’ve mastered this one you’ll be well qualified to try
any combination you like.
Tita, a Spanish lady I know, is a super cook. She has that

indefinable magic touch; her dishes are not simply better, they scintillate. Once she gave me an invaluable gem of advice
for cooking tortillas; ‘always’ she said ‘ always put the hot sautéed potatoes into the egg mixture in the bowl, not the other
way round’. This, it appears, cooks a thin layer of the egg around the hot potatoes, seals them, and stops them going
soggy. ‘Also’, she said, ‘don’t over-cook it in the pan. Tortillas should be served with the eggs slightly underdone in the
centre and they will continue cooking in their own heat, judgement is everything.’ Cooking an ace tortilla is less difficult
that it might appear. Don’t be put-off, just follow the instructions and success will follow.
Ingredients:
750g Potatoes, peeled and torn into 2cm chunks.
6 Fresh eggs.
4 tablespoons Olive oil - extra virgin.
1/2 teaspoon Sea salt - if using fine table salt, use less. (with the egg mix.)
1/2 teaspoon Sea salt - if using fine table salt, use less. (with the potatoes while they’re frying.)
Preparation:
1. Peel the potatoes, and then, so that they absorb more flavour, tear them into 2cm chunks. You tear
the potatoes by cutting into them with the blade of a sharp knife and twisting the blade so that a
rough chunk is torn away. It may take a little longer than cutting into cubes but the result in improved
flavour and texture is well worth the while.
2. Break the eggs into pudding basin, add the salt and give a good beating. The basin must be big enough
to hold the beaten eggs and the sautéd potatoes.
Tortilla, traditional and simple
serves 2 as a main course or 4 to 6 as a starter
Cooking:
1. Steam or microwave the potato chunks until nearly done. Don’t cook them until they are soft, they need
to be slightly underdone (al dente) at this stage. When they are ready drain them and set aside.
2. Put the olive oil into a non-stick frying pan over a medium to high heat and add the drained potatoes.
Sprinkle with the salt and sauté them until they are golden and beginning to crisp up.
3. When the potatoes are done, add them to the beaten eggs and give them a quick stir.
4. Put the pan over a medium high heat, add a little oil and then add the egg and potato mixture. Cook for
2 mins and then reduce the heat to low. While the tortilla is gently cooking, part the tortilla in various
places, with a spatula to allow the raw egg mixture through to the bottom of the pan. Keep doing this
until the egg mixture is nearly done. Take the pan off the heat.
5. Place a large plate upside down on top of the pan and with your hand firmly holding the plate in place, invert
the pan so that the tortilla falls onto the plate.
6. Put the pan back on to a med high heat and if it looks a bit dry, add a little more olive oil.
7. Slide the tortilla off the plate and back into the pan with the uncooked side lowermost.
8. Tuck the edges in and cook for a further 2 to 3 mins then serve.
88
Spaghetti con sofrito y anchoas
P
asta seems to be as popular in Spain as it is in Italy and under the
label ‘Spaghetti’ there are thicknesses sold there ranging from very thin
- grade 2, to something heavy-duty enough to reinforce concrete with. To
avoid doubt, my advice is to either use; what you are familiar with, can get,
or what you can get and prefer. I’ve yet to try a spaghetti that doesn’t work
with this sauce.
If you fancy making this straightaway but have not previously made the
sofrito described in this book, don’t panic. Do this instead; increase to 4
tablespoons the olive oil used in stage 1. of ‘cooking the sauce’. At the end
of stage 3., you will need to add 1⁄2 a tin of chopped tomatoes, 1⁄2 a finely
chopped Spanish onion, a pinch of sugar, a bay leaf and, because you will
not have the salt contained within the sofrito, you will need to check the
seasoning. Finally, the cooking time for the sauce should then be increased
to around 30 mins or until the tomatoes start to separate from the oil. Using
the pre-prepared sofrito you can have this on the table in 15 minutes from
the off.
This dish has an intense width of flavours. Softness and sweetness is imparted by the sofrito with the anchovies almost
melting away into the background. The olives and capers then do a wonderful job of drawing it all together by providing
just the right degree of sharpness. This is good food on the cheap. Another quick one you’re going to love.
Ingredients:
For the spaghetti:
250 grm Spaghetti - (grade 2 to 3 thickness).
1.75 lts Boiling water.
Dash of olive oil.
Sea salt - a good pinch - if using fine table salt, use less.
Note: Unless you like to see your guests struggle, the traditional way of serving spaghetti doesn’t
make much sense, so try breaking the sticks of spaghetti in half before cooking.
For the sauce:
5 Anchovy fillets – coarsely chopped – ( a fillet is usually half an anchovy).
100 ml Sofrito - 4 good tablespoons - (see this book)
2 tablespoons Parsley - chopped.
1 tablespoon Extra virgin olive oil.
2 to 3 Good twists of freshly ground black pepper.
2 teaspoons Capers - chopped.
10 Black olives with stones removed and finely chopped - green olives or green olives stuffed with
anchovies will do fine. You may indeed prefer them.
Spaghetti with sofrito and anchovy
serves 2 as a main course or 4 for one plate of many
Cooking.
The sauce:
1. In a small saucepan sauté the garlic in the olive oil over a medium heat until it begins to colour.
2. Add the chopped anchovies and parsley and sauté for another minute.
3. Add the sofrito and pepper.
4. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for at least 10 minutes while the spaghetti is cooking.
The spaghetti:
1. Pre-boil the water. Put a saucepan, large enough to hold the pasta, over a high heat. Add the boiling
water to the pan. To this, add a dash of olive oil and a good pinch of salt.
2. When the water comes back to the boil, add the spaghetti and cook until al dente. The time taken can
vary from maker to maker and thickness to thickness, but as a guide, 10 to 12 minutes should suffice.
3. Drain the spaghetti well and put into a hot serving dish.
4. Add the sauce on top or, toss well and serve.
90
Pasta con cerdo, sofrito y romero
A
round the mediterranean it would be more usual
for a pasta and tomato dish to be joined by their
almost inseperable companion; basil. Not so here, this
recipe uses rosemary. Not a hint, you understand, not a
soupçon, but right up there with the pork and tomatoes
- definitely not lagging behind. It shouldn’t be too
dominant either, though you’d have to be a really heavy
handed for this to be the case, because any jagged
medicinal notes coming from the rosemary are softened
by the smoothing influence of the butter. I use 3 sprigs
of around 8 to 9cm, though this may vary a bit with the
variety, age of the plant, where it is grown or what time
of year I picked it.
A pretty reasonable answer as to why rosemary is used

and not basil would be; rosemary grows wild in Aragón
and basil doesn’t.
This is such an easy and tasty dish to cook. If you start

cooking the pasta and the sauce at the same time, they’ll
be ready more-or-less together. If you love pasta, give
this one a go. You won’t regret it, it’s unusual without being cranky, and in every way; delicious.
Ingredients:
200g Pork - a chop with bone or spare ribs would be perfect.
200 to 250g Pasta - rigatoni is just the ticket - penne or shell pasta will do ok.
1.75 lts Water - for the pasta.
4 tablespoons Sofrito (see this book)
4 sprigs Sprigs of fresh rosemary about 8 to 9cm long - or 2 teaspoons of dried.
3 Cloves of garlic - peeled and flattened with the blade of a knife.
50g Salted butter.
1⁄2 teaspoon Sea salt for cooking the pasta - if using fine table salt, use less.
1⁄2 teaspoon Sea salt for cooking the sauce - if using fine table salt, use less.
Black pepper - a few grindings.
Preparation:
1. Cut the meat off the bones and chop it into a fairly large mince.
2. Pre-boil the 1.75l of water.
Pasta with pork, sofrito and rosemary
Cooking the meat and sauce:

1. Put the olive oil and butter into a sauté pan over a medium heat and when the butter stops foaming...
2. ...fry the meat, bones, garlic and rosemary until the meat is browned.
*. This is a good time to start cooking the pasta - see below.
3. Add and the white wine and fast simmer for 3 minutes.
4. Reduce the heat to low, add the sofrito, the 1⁄2 teaspoon of salt, and the pepper. Give it all a good stir
and allow to simmer for at least 8 minutes - giving it additional stirs now and again.
5. Check the seasoning, add the cooked pasta, mix well and serve.
Cooking the pasta:

1. Put a saucepan, large enough to hold the pasta, over a high heat. Add the boiling water, a dash of olive
oil and a 1⁄2 teaspoon of salt.
2. When the water comes back to the boil, add the pasta, stir well to avoid it sticking together and cook
until al dente. – the time will depend on the type of pasta you’ve chosen to use, but 12 to 14 minutes
should be enough.
3. Drain the pasta well.
92
Arroz cocida al agua - fácil y riquísimo
T
he recipe given here will give you long-grain rice cooked
to perfection in under half-an-hour. It will have a delightful
nutty aspect and its grains will be seperate. As a bonus, you will never
again need to buy expensive rice to get a first class result.
The method I use is the result of modifying and combining of a few

ways I’ve seen used over the years. In one of these the rice was
repeatedly washed and rinsed in cold water until all the external starch
had been removed and the rinsing water ran clear - thus consigning
much of its food value down the plug-hole. As far as I could ever make
out, this was all undertaken in the effort to stop the grains sticking
together. In this, it was successful, though in doing so, it knocked the
guts right out of it.
I’d like to lay a ghost; you’ll read here and there, that the correct
ratio of water to rice is 2:1 or put another way, twice the volume of
water to that of rice. This is given as a universal truth. It is though,
a generalisation, and one, I can only imagine, engendered by celebrity
chefs or people who have not cooked rice very often - perhaps
because their first efforts turned out so bloody awful; and so myths
are perpetuated. The amount of water you need to use will very much
depend on the growing conditions of rice you are cooking - where from, good year, bad year or how old. Even
taking into consideration these fairly wide variables, I do not know of a single instance where I’ve followed the so
called 2:1 golden rule. As you will see in the instructions, for two people, the starting point will be 14ml of boiling
water to 9ml of long-grain rice. And that is that.
The oil used makes a big difference. If you want to tone down the influence imparted by it, you’ll find that using
sunflower oil might suit the purpose. If however, like myself, you prefer the green nutty flavours given by good
extra virgin olive oil, then use that. Whichever oil you decide to use, make sure it is of the highest quality - one
uses so little per serving that well worth getting the best.
Ingredients:
9ml Long-grain rice.
14ml Boiling water.
Note:
For the quantity given for two people it is best to use a small saucepan with a well fitting lid. Its
base diameter needs to be around 17cm or 7 inches.
Boiled long-grain rice - easy and delicious
serves 2
Cooking:
1. Boil more than enough water and have it ready for the next stage.
2. Over a high heat, put the olive oil into a small saucepan and heat it until it’s nearly smoking.
3. Add the rice and stirring make sure it gets nice and hot and is well coated with the oil.
4 Measure and add the boiling water, being very careful of the quite violent initial reaction. Stir well, making
sure that rice grains do not stick to the bottom of the pan.
5. Add the salt, stir in well and, stirring frequently, cook at a fast boil for 3 minutes.
6. Over the lowest heat on the cooker, cover and cook for a further 10 minutes - do not stir or remove the lid
at this stage.
7. Remove from the heat and briefly take off the lid to let the steam escape - you will notice that the rice’s
surface will have a slightly pitted look.
8. Replace the lid, and still off the heat, allow to rest for 15 minutes- do not stir or remove the lid at this
stage.
9. Just before serving, give the rice a light fluffing-up with a fork.
94
Paella de pollo, cerdo y mariscos
T
he dish that a paella is cooked in, is not a paella pan. Nor is it, as it is often
called in Spain, a paellera. Unorthodox as it may seem, the meal is named
after the pan it’s cooked in; a ‘paella’. This is rather like calling eggs and bacon;
‘frying pan’. Be that as it may though, for the avoidance of confusion, I shall refer
to the paella as a paella pan, and, the paella as a paella - I’m so glad we’ve got
that clear.
Cooking the paella is both a performance and a show stopper at any barbeque. And
apart from ‘Buried Rabbit’, I know of no other cooking activity that evokes so many
suggestions, comments and ‘my that smells good’s. Don’t be be daunted by the
list of ingredients or of the cooking instructions. Trust me, paellas are easy and this one is a stunner. You’ll find all the
ingredients are available from good supermarkets, and to master them, all you have to do is to follow this recipe.
Ingredients:
11⁄2 kg Dark chicken meat - chopped into 4 cm slices - drumstick and thigh meat is perfect.
250g Pork meat in 1 cm chunks - meat from chops is fine.
200g Squid rings or squid chunks cut into thin slices.
24 Mussels in their shells.
100g Bacon cut into 1 cm pieces - green or smoked are both good.
250 grms Mushrooms cut into 2 cm chunks - or a mixture of shitake, oyster etc.
400 ml Paella rice - if you can get it, the Bomba variety is excellent.
1 lt Hot chicken stock - use a whole carton of ‘knorr chicken stock-pot’.
150 ml Dry white wine.
500 ml Water - boiling.
200 ml Sofrito (see this book) - (8 good tablespoons).
4 cloves Garlic – finely chopped.
2 Bay leaves.
4 Fresh sage leaves - or a pinch of dried.
4 Sprigs of fresh thyme - 4 to 6 cms long. - or a pinch of dried.
2 Sprigs of fresh rosemary - 4 cms long - or a small pinch dried.
1 Lemon cut into wedges.
Sea salt to taste.
Preparation:
1. Cut the chicken meat into approx 2 cm thick slices.
2. Clean the mussels by removing the beard and barnacles and scrub well.
3. Slice the squid.
4. Clean and chop the mushrooms into 2 cm chunks.
5. Chop up the bacon into approx 1 cm pieces.
6. Peel and finely chop the garlic.
7. Get ready the: rice, stock, wine, water, bay leaf, sofrito, olive oil, salt.
Chicken, pork and seafood paella
Cooking:
1. Over a medium/high heat, put the olive oil into a paella pan with a 36 cm diameter base and a depth
of 5 cm - a frying pan of similar proportions will do the job reasonably well.
2. Brown the chicken and pork chunks well and then, remove all but 2 tablespoonsful of the fat.
3. Add the bacon and pieces of squid and sauté until the bacon starts to take on colour.
4. Add the mushrooms and garlic and sauté all for another 2 minutes.
5. Add the white wine and allow it to reduce to about half of its original volume.
6. Add the sofrito and bay leaves, stir and cook for 2 minutes.
7. Add the chicken stock and water and allow to come to the boil.
8. Check salt - remember the rice will absorb some, so a bit on the salty side at this point is ok.
9. Add the rice, distributing it evenly over the other ingredients.
10. Bring back to the boil, and stirring frequently, cook at the boil for 5 minutes.
11. Place the mussels on top of the rice so that their juices trickle down through all.
12. Lower the heat to minimum and from now on until the paella is finished, DO NOT STIR.
13. Cook for around 10 to 15 minutes or until all the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is very nearly done
- al dente - it may need the addition of a little boiling water before the rice is ready.
14. Take off the heat, cover and leave to rest for 5 minutes - serve with wedges of lemon.
96
Pollo con salvia, tomillo, limón y arroz
Spoilt for choice. In some ways I’m glad we have only three
chicken and rice dishes that we regularly cook at home -
which one to choose always creates a dilemma. There’s
this recipe, chicken paella and chicken with tarragon and
rice, I love them all. With this one in particular, I love the
way the herbs, cognac and wine work together without
a trace of harshness. And then, there’s freshness given
by the lemon that takes the flavours right across to the
otherside of the palette.
The aromatics of these fresh herbs will vary greatly

throughout their growing season and judging how much
to use in comparison with dried is going to be a matter of
experience. If you can get fresh sage or thyme, use them
if you can, there are soft flavours from the oils that never
seem to be present in dried ones – I find this true in nearly
all cases.
I never use chicken breasts in this dish, they just don’t

have enough oomph. I much prefer the dark meat of
chicken thighs and legs. While we’re on the subject of
ingredients, try getting hold of a good variety of round grained paella rice like Bomba - it’s particularly good and
worth seeking out.
Ingredients:
4 Large chicken thighs with the meat cut into 5 cm chunks – when cooking, include
the bones, skins and fat – this is where much of the moisture and flavour comes
from.
6 Cloves of garlic finely chopped.
250ml Paella rice.
1 teaspoon Dried sage or 6 to 8 fresh whole leaves - you can leave them on their stalk if you
like.
11⁄2 teaspoons Dried thyme or 6 sprigs of fresh thyme approx 4cm long.
1 tablespoon Olive oil.
500 ml Chicken stock - (see this book) or a carton of Knorr chicken stock-pot.
75 ml Coñac.
1 Lemon - all the juice and a 1cm wide by 5cm long strip of peel - avoid taking the
white bitter pith.
Sea salt to taste.
freshly ground black pepper to taste
Chicken with sage, thyme, lemon and rice
Cooking:
1. Season with the salt and pepper and sauté the chicken pieces, bones, skins and fat, in the olive oil over
a medium/high heat until they are nicely browned.
2. Remove all but one tablespoon of the oil/fat mixture from the pan.
3. Pour in the cognac and flame. When the flames have subsided…
4. Add the garlic and sauté for a further minute.
5. Add the sage, thyme, lemon juice, and sauté for another 3 minutes.
6. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pan, and turning the pieces over from time to time, gently cook the
chicken for 5 minutes.
7. Raise the heat to medium high and add the rice, make sure it is well coated with the oil and cook for 1
minute more.
8. Add the dry white wine and stir until it has been absorbed into the rice and other ingredients.
9. Add the stock and give it all a good stir. When simmering…
10. Reduce the heat to low, cover and, stirring occasionally, leave to cook for 10 to 15 minutes or until the
rice is very nearly done - al dente.
11. Check seasoning and add the strip of lemon peel.
12. Take off the heat, cover and leave to rest for 5 minutes and serve. 98
Paella de conejo
L
ate afternoon on Christmas Day in Sobrarbe - golden light, shadows lengthening.
Family, dogs and conejo paella - unforgettable moments never to be repeated.
Of the two paellas in this book, this one is the simplest. It is the best one to cut your
teeth on. Not that Paellas are difficult, if you follow the recipe you’re bound to get
a cracking result. The principal things that will affect the outcome are; as always,
the quality of ingredients, the pan it’s cooked in, and, if it has been cooked over an
open fire. So important is wood smoke, that it’s considered by paella hotshots an
essential ingredient - they go as far as saying a paella is not a paella unless it has
been cooked over an open fire. They will also tell you that the pan is made shallow
so that the smoke can curl round the edges and flavour the rice. A word of caution,
choose you firewood well, don’t use resinous woods such as pine, this includes
packing boxes, they’ll impart a nasty bitterness. And, while we’re on the subject,
don’t burn Oleander twigs they’re poisonous. Also, not that you’re likely to find it in
your hedge in the UK, the smoke from Fig wood will, I am assured, give the inhaler
a nasty headache.
Rabbit paella is simpler than it looks, and it is very very tasty. So there you have it,
you really ought to give it a go.
Ingredients:
1 Rabbit jointed and chopped into 5cm chunks.
500 g Paella rice - Bomba is a good variety.
750 ml Chicken stock - (see this book) or a carton of Knorr chicken stock-pot.
250 ml Water.
50ml Coñac.
1 Large sweet spanish onion – finely chopped.
3 Large tomatoes finely chopped - fresh or tinned.
2 Large red peppers – chopped into 5mm pieces.
150 g Frozen or fresh peas - young and small - petite pois.
3 cloves Garlic peeled and crushed with the blade of a knife.
2 Bay leaves.
Sea salt to taste.
Preparation:
1. Cut the rabbit into approx 5 cm chunks.
2. Wash and chop the red pepper into approx 5mm pieces.
3. Get ready the: rice, garlic, peas, stock, wine, cognac, water, bay leaf, olive oil, salt.
Rabbit paella
Cooking:
1. Put 3 tablespoons of the olive oil into the paella pan* over a medium/high heat.
2. Sauté the rabbit chunks until they are golden.
3. Add the cognac and flame. When the flames subside…
4. Give it a good stir and remove the rabbit from the pan.
5. Put into the pan the rest of the olive oil, add the onion, garlic and chopped tomato. When the onion starts
to soften nicely…
6. Return the rabbit to the pan mixing it well with the onion, garlic and tomato.
7. Add the white wine and allow it to reduce to about a quarter of its original volume.
8. Add the stock, water, red pepper, peas and bay leaf and bring to the boil.
9. Check for salt – remember that the rice will absorb some of the saltiness. Usually, at this point, I need
to add about 1/2 a teaspoonful.
10. Add rice – distributed evenly around the pan and give it a good stir.
11. Cook on the boil for 5 mins – stirring frequently.
12. Lower heat to minimum.
13. From now on until the paella is cooked, do not stir.
14. Cook for 10 to 15 mins or until rice has absorbed the liquid and is very nearly done - al dente.
15. Remove the paella from the heat, cover, and allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving.
* 25cm base x 4cm deep paella pan.
100
Risotto con apio
I
t would be reasonable to ask, ‘what is an Italian risotto doing in a
book of recipes from Aragon?’ I hope this is an acceptable answer;
in Ainsa, I was once dished-up the best risotto I’ve sampled outside of
Italy. Its flavour was fresh and uncluttered and it had such a creamy
consistency. It was as close to perfection as you could hope to get. I
didn’t ask them, but I suspect they used Italian Arborio rice - there
really is no alternative to using a proper risotto rice if want the best
result - many types exist, though Arborio is probably the easiest to
find. On no account should you use ‘Quick risotto rice’ - put bluntly, to
call this stuff rice, is verging on fraudulence.
If you follow this recipe, and make your own simple stock as described
in this book, I promise you’ll end up with a truly excellent result. A
little trick here is to add half the celery early in the process and the rest
later. Done this way, you’ll find it will have the same fresh and delicate
flavour and a most acceptable texture - creamy and slightly crunchy.
It may look complicated, but it isn’t. You will have to stand over it for
around 25 minutes, stirring constantly, but it will be worth it.
Ingredients:
350 g Celery - finely chopped. Use the tender stalks from the centre of the bunch.
300 g Risotto rice - Arborio is splendid.
1 lt Chicken or vegetable stock - (see this book) or Knorr stock-pot cartons.
150g Spanish onion – peeled and finely chopped weight.
25 g Butter.
A few grindings of freshly milled pepper.
Cooking:
1. Put the stock into a saucepan and bring to the simmer – the stock must be kept at the simmer
during the entire cooking process.
2. In a sauté pan over a medium heat, put in the olive oil, half of the butter and when hot, add the
onion and chopped garlic and sauté until they are soft and beginning to turn golden.
3. Add half of the celery and sauté for 4 minutes.
4. Stir in the rice, making sure it is well coated with the oil and butter and sauté for 1 minute – it
will start to look translucent at the grains’ edges.
5. Add the white wine and stir until it has been absorbed by the rice.
6. Set you timer for 10 mins, add the salt and a ladle of simmering broth – about 8 to 10 tablespoons
Celery risotto
Cooking cont....
- and keep gently stirring non-stop. When the stock has all been absorbed by the rice, add another
ladleful and keep stirring. You repeat this process until all the stock has been absorbed. However,
before all the stock is used up, there is another operation…
7. When the rice has been cooking for the 10 minutes, add the rest of the chopped celery.
8. The rice is cooked when it becomes al dente, just a little firm to the bite - the characteristics
of rice vary, and if this point is reached before all the stock has been added, so be it; it’s done.
If on the other hand, you’ve run out of stock before the rice is sufficiently done, then keep adding
and stirring in a little boiling water until it is done. Your aim is to end up with out free liquid
left in the pan and the rice, with a creamy, but definitely not dry, consistency. A good way of
checking its consistency, is take a tablespoonful of the rice and pile it on a plate. If it holds
its shape and doesn’t flow, then it is about right.
9. When the rice is done to your satisfaction, add a few grindings of freshly milled pepper, mix in
the remaining butter, check the salt, cover the pan and leave to rest for 5 minutes before serving.
102
platos de carne
Meat dishes
Chicken al ajillo - garlic chicken
Chicken with garlic and potatoes a la cabañil
Chicken, shallots, tarragon and cream
Chicken with rosemary and lemon
Chorizo with apples and cider
Pork sausages, red pepper, tomatoes and onion chilindrón
Pork with dried apricots and thyme
Rabbit with leek, bay leaf and clove
Garden Snails a la Restaurant 88 - Ainsa
Tita’s lomo of pork and basil
104
Pollo al ajillo
T
he dictionary states, a little too simply, that ‘al ajillo’
means cooked with garlic. Using that rather loose
definition implies, desserts excepted, nearly all Spanish
recipes should have ‘al ajillo’ tacked on to their title. To crank-
up the definition to read ‘cooked with lots of garlic’ still doesn’t
hit the button. In all the proper ‘al ajillo’ dishes I’ve been
served, the common denominator seems to be: cooked with
garlic; lots - the garlic is a feature, not a condiment, there is
also a good splash of cognac and it must be served very hot
- absolutely no resting between pan and plate. Maybe the
lexicographer ran out of space or maybe he’d never eaten it
and therefore never had the pleasure of mopping up those
marvellous garlicky juices with hunks of fresh bread. Don’t
get too hung up on the semantics, just try it.
Ingredients:
4 Chicken legs and thighs.
10 Cloves of garlic (unpeeled) cut 2/3 rds.
100 ml Extra virgin olive oil – 100ml equals 5 tablespoons.
100 ml Coñac.
250 ml Chicken stock or 1/2 a Knorr chicken stock-pot in 250ml of boiling water.
3 8 to 10 cm sprigs of fresh thyme – or 1 heaped teaspoon of dried thyme.
1 Bay leaf.
Salt to taste - (do not add salt if using Knorr stock-pot).
Black pepper - 2 or 3 twists of the mill or to taste.
Preparation:
You can prepare the meat in two ways:
1a. From each of the chicken thighs, cut a couple of strips of meat around a centimeter thick off
each side of the bone. This will reduce the cooking time considerably. Or you can...
1b. Score each piece several times with a sharp knife. Crush two of the cloves of garlic and rub them
into the cuts. This will take a little longer to cook. At stage 7. you’ll need to allow at least
another 10 minutes and take care that the pan doesn’t dry out. If it does, add a tablespoon of
water at a time as necessary.
2. Season the meat with salt and pepper.
3. Get all the rest of the ingredients to hand.
Garlic chicken
Cooking:
1. Put the olive oil in a large sauté pan over a high heat.
2. Fry the seasoned chicken pieces until they are nicely browned.
3. Add the cut garlic in their skins and sauté for 5 minutes or until turning golden brown.
4. Add the coñac and flame. When the flames have died down.
5. Add the thyme, bay leaf and wine.
6. Lower the heat to medium and cook for 5 minutes more.
7. Add the stock and cook for 15 minutes or until the stock has nearly evaporated.
8. Check seasoning.
9. Serve immediately with chunks of fresh bread or baguettes to mop up the oil and juices.
106
Pollo y patatas al ajo cabañil
J
ust five ingredients: if there is one dish that sums up the essence of this book, this is it. What happens is unexpected,
with the result emerging more from the method than from the combination. The robust, juicy flavours come not at
eye-watering expense, nor at the expense of simplicity, and can be on the table just half an hour from the start. In all the
times I’ve cooked this meal, at the end, there are never any left-overs and the pan is always wiped clean.
This recipe is attributed to the Cabañiles - although they would more likely use lamb instead of chicken. Cabañiles were
the men who drove the flocks of sheep during the biannual transhumance - the moving from winter to summer pastures
and back. Note that we are not talking of a few miles up and down a mountain here , these trips were often well over a
hundred kilometers - all done on foot and sleeping rough. Transhumance still takes place, and twice a year everthing stops
in Zaragoza to allow these vast flocks pass right through the city centre on their way from, or back to, places high in the
Alto Aragon like Fanlo. It was, and still is a tough life.
Just one extra little point: you may find that sometimes the garlic turns a rather interesting bluey green. Don’t panic.
It’s perfectly OK. It’s just the vinegar reacting with one of the garlic’s sulphurous flavour molecules. Think of it as added
colour.
Ingredients: Preparation:
4 large Chicken thighs - chopped into 3 cm 1. In a mortar, crush the garlic and add
chunks - when cooking, include their the vinegar and water - it is easier
bones, skins and fat, this is where if the garlic is put through a garlic
much of the moisture and meaty crush first.
flavour comes from. 2. Mash these ingredients until they
Don’t be tempted to use chicken blend into a smooth thin paste.
breasts, they’re far too dry and often 3. Put to one side.
devoid of any real taste. 4. Slice the meat off the thigh bones
500g Potatoes – peeled and torn weight. and cut into approximately 5 cm
5 cloves of garlic - peeled. chunks - include skin, bones and fat.
3 tablespoon Extra virgin olive oil for sautéing the 5. Peel the potatoes and tear them into
potatoes. more or less 3 cm chunks by cutting
1 tablespoon Extra virgin olive oil for sautéing the into them with a strong knife and
chicken. then twisting the blade. You will
11⁄2 tablespoons White wine vinegar. find the rough edges will then soak up
1 tablespoon Water. much more flavour.
Freshly ground black pepper, sea salt. 6. You can part-cook the potatoes with
a little water in a microwave -
though don’t overdo them or they may
lose their crispness during the final
frying stage after the garlic/vinegar/
water mixture has been added.
Chicken, potatoes, garlic al cabañil
Cooking:
1. Put 3 tablespoons of olive oil into a frying pan over a medium heat. Don’t skimp on the olive oil at this
stage - the potatoes can’t soak it up as well if you add more later.
2. Add the potatoes, season well with salt, and fry them until golden.
3. In another pan, over a medium heat, add a tablespoon of olive oil.
4. Add to this pan the chicken pieces, including the bones, skins and any fat. Season with plenty of salt
and pepper and, turning them from time to time, fry them until they’re nicely golden.
5. When the chicken and potatoes are done, remove all but about 1 tablespoon of fat from the chicken.
6. Add half of the garlic/vinegar mixture to the chicken and half to the potatoes and give both pans a good
stir. A word of warning; don’t increase the ratio of water to vinegar. Doing so will harm the flavour,
as the potatoes will tend to soak up the water in preference to the vinegar and garlic.
7. Lower the heat to both pans to minimum and cook for a further 10 minutes.
8. Tip the potatoes and any remaining juices in with the chicken. Mix well and serve.
108
Pollo, chalotes, estragon y nata
T
his is the main course I chose to cook for the inaugral Peña
Gastronomica de Coscojuela de Sobrarbe - sounds much
more gutsy than ‘cookery club’ don’t you think? The latter term,
comes nowhere near adequately describing the goings on at one
of these meetings. To call it a cookery club would fail to give any
idea of the passion, red wine, the starting at 10 o’clock in the
evening and finishing at 4am. It gives no sense of the music,
chat and always ambitious plans for the next do. And finally, it
misses the slightly cross-eyed totting up of the bill - that rarely
exceeds 10 euros a head, and which includes shape-shifting
quantities of red, white and later, multi coloured wine, Cava,
Brandy and Pacharán - the local equivalent of Soe Gin (see
recipe in this book). A good time, is always had by all.
It being the inaugral meeting meant I was quite lucky in that

there were only 16 to cook for. The chicken and tarragon part
was the easy bit - you can prepare and cook it in the morning
and add the cream and yoghurt after reheating and just before
serving. It was the boiled rice to go with it that had me worried.
It’s a lot of rice to get wrong. As it happened it all came off really
well - perhaps because I did a trial run at home and froze what we couldn’t eat during one sitting. The lesson here forms
the golden rule: if you value your reputation, never cook a meal for others that you haven’t cooked for yourself at least
once before.
Touching quickly on tarragon; dried is fine, it will give you a fine result. Though, if you can get it freshly picked you’ll find
the flavour has a soft aniseed note that isn’t present with former.
As a footnote, I ought to mention the dish; it really is gorgeous and I think you’ll love it.
Ingredients:
4 - 6 Chicken legs - either left whole, if they are small, or, cut into 3cm wide strips if
large. When using large legs, include the bones the meat is cut from.
200g Shallots finely chopped - that’s about 8 shallots.
400ml Single, double cream or crème fraîche.
100g Greek natural yoghurt.
100ml Cognac.
250ml Chicken stock - see this book. or...
… 1/2 Knorr chicken stock-pot and 250 ml of boiling water.
1 dessertspoon Dried tarragon or 3 sprigs of fresh 8 to 10cm long.
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
Chicken, shallots, tarragon and cream
Cooking:
1. Put the olive oil into a large sauté pan over a medium to high heat.
2. Season the chicken and sauté until it is starting to colour nicely.
3. Add the shallots and garlic and fry them until they are getting soft but not colouring.
4. Add the cognac and flame. When the flames subside…
5. Sprinkle the tarragon over the chicken and add the stock.
6. Give all a good stir and reduce the heat to low.
7. Turning the chicken now and again, allow to simmer over the low heat for 20 odd mins or until the chicken
is cooked and tender.
8. Check and adjust seasoning.
9. Add the cream and yoghurt and allow to heat through - but not to simmering point.
10. Serve with boiled rice (see this book).
110
Pollo con romero y limón
T
here are four chicken dishes in this section, each of
them completely different in character. This one sits
at the other end of the scale from the soft flavours of
‘chicken, shallots and tarragon’ - a recipe, I suspect, that
has French origins.
This is so simple a dish to cook, so tolerant of abuse,

forgetfulness and inattention. The sharp pungency of
rosemary and the tangy influence of lemon leave no doubts
about its Mediterraean lineage.
If cooking this meal ahead of time, only take the dish as

far as and including step 6. To stop the dish drying out,
transfer the contents of the pan to a bowl and cover with
cling film – making sure that those tasty bits off the bottom
of the pan go with it. You can add a drop of water to help
this process if you need to. When it’s time to prepare the
meal for the table, reheat over a medium to high heat until
it is sizzling hot and then proceed through steps 7 to 9.
Be careful if you intend doubling the size of this dish. The flavours can get a bit out of hand and you’d probably
find it best to use only 50% more rosemary and no more lemon
Ingredients:
1/2 Chicken jointed and cut into chunks of more or less 5 cm or, it’s perfectly acceptable
to use 4 large chicken thighs and legs.
1 teaspoon Dried or 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary around 5 to 6 cm long.
1 tablespoon Olive oil - if the chicken is not particularly fatty you may need to add more.
75ml Coñac.
4 to 5 Strips of lemon peel from 1 lemon about 1 cm wide by 5 cm long.
The juice from 1 lemon.
Sea salt to taste.
Freshly ground black pepper to taste.
Chicken with rosemary and lemon
serves 2 as a main course or 4 for one plate of many
Cooking:
1. Season the chicken pieces and sauté them in the olive oil over a medium to high heat until they are golden
brown.
2. Spoon off all but 1 tablespoon of fat.
3. Pour in the cognac and flame. When the flames have subsided…
4. Add the garlic and rosemary and sauté for another 3 mins.
5. Add the dry white wine.
6. Reduce the heat to low, cover and, turning the pieces over from time to time, gently cook until the chicken
is properly done. this can take from between 10 to 20 minutes depending on the size of chicken pieces.
7. Uncover and raise the heat to medium high.
8. Add the lemon juice, the strips of peel and a dash more of white wine. With a wooden spatula or spoon
scrape any tasty bits off the bottom of the pan.
112
Chorizo, manzana y sidra
A
s pan companions, chorizo, apples and cider wouldn’t
be the first to spring to my mind. They make a
delicious twist on the more usual combining of ‘pork and
apple’. It is an outstandingly individual dish that will take
you less than half-an-hour to put together.
A point worth mentioning when buying chorizos, is that

they come in two forms; one is for thinly slicing and
eating raw - this is the firmer of the two, the other, much
softer, is intended for cooking. I find it advisable, never to
substitute one for the other.
The roots of this dish are in the Basque country - the cider
there is as good as anything you’ll find in England and their
sausages are legend. Traditionally, the recipe uses only
chorizo, cider and a small splodge of olive oil. This more
elaborate version that includes apples - cox’s are perfect - and demerara sugar, is the one I prefer. It is ready to
serve when the cider has almost totally evaporated and the juices from the apples, chorizo, olive oil and sugar
have combined into a delicious syrup.
Ingredients:
300 - 350g Chorizo sausages cut into approx 1 cm pieces.

(300 -350g = about 4 to 5 chorizos).
1 large Apple - Cox’s will do fine - peeled and cut into segments.
300 - 400ml Dry cider - that is, really dry.
2 teaspoons Demerara sugar.
Chorizo sausage, apple and cider
Cooking:
1. Put the olive oil into frying pan over a medium heat.
2. Add the chopped chorizo pieces and sauté them for around 5 minutes or until they are turning colour
nicely.
3. Add the apple segemnts and sprinkle the sugar over the apples and sausage.
4. Add the cider until it just covers the ingredients.
5. Cook until the liquid has reduced to at least a quarter of its original volume - a delicious and thick sauce
results.
6. Serve with boiled rice - (see this book) or steamed new potatoes.
114
Salchichas al chilindrón
D on’t skip past this one. It would be so easy to write it off as just another red pepper and tomato dish.
It isn’t - the way the garlic is handled and the addition of wine vinegar stretches the flavour in a highly
satisfying way.
Al chilindrón means cooked with peppers and tomatoes. And this version is one of those dishes that is equally
delicious eaten hot or cold. If you can see your way clear to cooking it over an open wood fire, you’ll find that it’s
lifted into another orbit.
When I cook this meal in Sobrarbe I always use a longaniza – a robust pork sausage. Don’t let the unavailability
of this original put you off, good quality pork sausages will give you a first class result.
I like dishes that are piquante. Here though, because I think an entire chilli detracts somewhat from the soft rich
flavours, I’ve only used 1/2 and I’ve also removed the seeds. See what you think. By all means try using a whole
one next time. There will be a next time, I can promise you that. It’s one of those meals that if you try it once,
you’ll cook it again, again and again...
A little point about the garlic cloves; cut them about 2/3rds of the way across and cook them with their skins left
on. This way, the insides become beautifully soft and can be incorporated easily into the sauce by mashing them
with the back of a wooden spoon. For me, it’s always a toss-up whether to mash them or eat them as they come
– big life decisions like these are a real sod aren’t they?
Ingredients:
500g Pork sausages chopped into 3 cm
chunks.
1 Large spanish onion finely chopped.
1 Large red pepper chopped into 2 cm
pieces.
1 Large green pepper chopped into 2 cm
pieces.
400g Tin of chopped tomatoes.
4 Cloves of garlic left in their skins and
cut across about 2/3rds of the way.
1/2 Guindilla (dried chilli pepper) with seeds
removed.
1 tablespoon White wine vinegar.
Sea salt to taste.
Pork sausages, peppers, tomatoes and vinegar
Cooking:
1. Put the olive oil in a large sauté pan over a medium heat and fry the sausage chunks until they are browning
nicely.
2. Remove the sausage and set aside.
3. Reduce the heat to low, and in the oil and fat that the sausages were cooked in, fry the onion, garlic and
chilli until the onions start to soften.
4. Add the chopped peppers and vinegar, and return the sausage chunks to the pan.
5. Cover and, stirring occasionally, let this lot gently cook until the peppers are tender.
6. Raise the heat again to medium and add the chopped tomatoes.
7. When the tomatoes begin to simmer, set the heat to low and, stirring occasionally, leave to simmer for 10
to 15 mins.
8. Check for salt. How much you need will depend on how much is in the sausages.
9. Before you serve, you might like to squeeze out the soft insides of the cloves of garlic and mash them
into the sauce. On the other hand, you might like to help yourself to them whole.
116
Chuletas de cerdo con orejones y tomillo
T
his is a dish for those with a sweet tooth. Pork
is a sweet meat, apricots and muscatel are also
both sweet. Tasted in the round though, the dish
never appears excessively or disagreeably cloying. Its
sweetness is tempered by the addition of the water and
its character broadened, in such a nice manner, by the
thyme.
If you were to go shopping in Aragón for dried apricots

you’d ask for ‘Orejones’. This actually means dried
apricots or peaches and appears to be interchangable,
so you’d need to specify which one you wanted -
Albaracoques or melocotónes. Now you can see where
we get the word apricot from, though the Spanish word
it is actually Arabic, left over or adopted, as with many
others, after the Moorish occupation.
You can’t go wrong if you serve this with either boiled

rice or creamed potatoes. Though if push came to
shove, I’d go for the spuds.
Ingredients:
4 Good sized pork chops – scored lengthways 4 or 5 times 1/3 of the way through.
8 Dried apricots – each chopped into 4 to 5 pieces.
1 Clove of garlic - crushed.
150ml Water.
100ml Muscatel.
50ml Coñac.
1 teaspoon Dried thyme or 6 good sprigs of fresh thyme around 6cm.
Sea salt and black pepper to taste.
Pork chops with dried apricots and thyme
Cooking:
1. Put the olive oil into a sauté pan over a high heat.
2. Quickly sauté the chops until they are taking on colour.
3. Add coñac and flame. When the flames have died down...
4. Reduce the heat to medium and lightly sprinkle with salt and pepper, turning the chops a couple of times.
5. Add the muscatel, crushed garlic, chopped apricots and thyme, then sautée for 5 mins.
6. Add the water, bring the dish to the simmer, then reduce the heat to minimum, cover and cook for 1 hour
- by then, the pork will be beautifully tender.
7. If it starts to look a little dry, add a dash of water - repeating this as necessary.
8. Serve.
118
Conejo con puerro, zanahoria, laurel y clavos
R
abbit is one of my favourite meats and as with chicken it
seems to have almost unlimited versatility. Wild rabbit
has a much stronger flavour than ones domestically bred, but
here, the leeks exert a calm authority, softening the impact
of the meat, herbs and garlic - I love it. I have seen versions
of this recipe in France and in England, though it is this one I
picked up in Aragón which is my favourite. There is a master
stroke at play; the liver is lightly sautéed, then ground up with
port and finally added to the other ingredients towards the end
of their cooking time - this dish takes some beating.
I have it on good authority, that it is against the law in Belgium

to sell skinned and butchered rabbits without their heads still
attached. The reason being that it is then not possible to pass
off dead cats in their stead. A quirky law maybe, though at
second glance, more pragmatic than eccentric - it being quite
upsetting to eat something that only a few hours earlier, was
purring on someone’s knee and being called Tibbles. Perhaps there is a similar law in Spain where flayed rabbits
are similarly sold. For an enjoyable meal, the trick is to try and avoid eye contact if possible. Somehow, we’ve
digressed... Why don’t you just get on with cooking it?
Ingredients:
1/2 Rabbit jointed and chopped into 5 cm chunks but leaving the liver whole.
2 Leeks chopped into 1 cm pieces.
2 Large carrots finely chopped.
8 Cloves of garlic peeled and cut across 2/3rds of the way.
25g Butter.
1 teaspoon Dried thyme.
2 Bay leaves.
6 Cloves.
250ml Chicken stock - see this book or 250ml boiling water with 1/2 Knorr chicken stock-
pot.
100ml Coñac – 100ml - which is as near as dammit 5 tablespoons.
100ml Port.
Sea salt and pepper to taste.
Rabbit, leek, carrot, bay leaf and clove
Cooking:
1. Put the olive oil and butter into a large sauté pan over a medium to high heat.
2. Season the rabbit pieces and sauté them until they are nice and golden all over, but, removing the liver when
it is just lightly cooked.
3. Add the cognac and flame. When the flames have subsided, stir and cook for 1 min.
4. Add the garlic and thyme, and sauté for a further 3 mins.
5. Remove the rabbit and set aside.
6. Add to the pan the leeks, carrots and bay leaves and sauté for around 5 mins.
7. Return the rabbit to the pan without the liver.
8. Add the stock and cloves. Give all a good stir and, stirring occasionally, cover and leave to simmer over a
low heat for 20 mins or until the rabbit is done.
9. While the rabbit is simmering, put the liver into a mortar along with the port and grind the mixture until
it is as smooth as you can reasonably make it - rabbit liver is inherently a tads coarse, so you can only
take the motaring process so far.
10. When the rabbit is done, stir in the liver/port mixture and simmer for another 5 mins.
11. Serve.
120
Caracoles a la restaurant 88 Ainsa
H
igh on my list of all-time favourite eating places is Restaurante 88 in Aragón:
to be precise, in Ainsa. From time to time when eating there, I may, vary my
choice for the second course, but never the first: it’s always caracoles done in 88’s,
oh so tasty, style. Of all the ways of preparing snails, this is my absolute favourite.
I’m so grateful to the owners, Josep and Alex, for giving me the recipe - especially
now that I live on the otherside of the Pyrenees and cannot visit 88 as often as I
would like. Now, I can at least conjure up this dish, and with it, memories of the
bustle, music and warmth of this happy little restaurant.
This is the method Josep and Alex were taught by Josep’s mother; Señora Rosario -
from the village of Salás near Tremp. It is a recipe handed down through generations
of her family and completely captures the honest flavours of simple dishes, so valued
in their traditional food.
Ingredients for 1:
40 to 50 Snails – helix aspersa - these are the common garden snail.
350ml Beef stock made using one 28g carton of ‘Knorr Beef Stock-pot’. *
40 - 50ml Coñac.
2 Dried chillis.
11⁄2 teaspoons Freshly ground black pepper.
* Use this type in preference to ‘Knorr Rich Beef Stock Pot’ - by the way, I’m not
sponsored by Knorr or any other supplier. Use of this brand will give the recipe a close,
almost identical result, as you would get in ‘Restaurant 88’.
Preparation:
1. After collecting your snails, they must be confined, without food, for at least 7 days,
or, to put it more pragmatically, until they are no longer producing pooh. This is done
in case they have previously been eating poisonous plants. After their confinement.....
2. ... In fresh cold water, give the snails a thorough washing. Then, rinse and drain them.
3. Sprinkle them with a tablespoon of fine salt and a tablespoon of white wine vinegar.
4. Leave them for 5 minutes and then gently rub them together - this encourages them to
give up some of their mucus.
5. Wash them well. Give them a good rinsing two or three times. Drain them once more
and they are ready for cooking.
Garden snails a la restaurant 88 Ainsa
serves 1 to 2 as a starter
Cooking:
1. Over a very low heat, put the washed snails into a sauté, or frying, pan and add the olive
oil - making sure each snail is well coated.
2. When the heads of the snails have emerged from their shells, raise the heat to medium/
high and sprinkle them with the salt – this is the most important moment in the
whole process. This is when the snails give up their meaty juices and give the dish its
characteristic flavour.
3. Cook at a high heat for 5 minutes while the sauce acquires a khaki like colour.
4. Add the dried chillis, and sprinkle the black pepper over the snails – this is when it
acquires its piquancy.
5. Lower the heat a little and leave to cook for another 5 minutes. When the sauce starts to
reduce, add the coñac, and without flaming, leave cooking until the coñac has evaporated.
6. Add the stock, raise the heat to high, and bring back to the boil.
7. Reduce the heat and adjust it to maintain a steady low simmer for 1 hour – adding a
little more stock, or water, if the dish begins to dry out.
8. Remove from the heat and leave to rest for at least 5 minutes.
9. Serve with alioli or one of the garlic mayonnaises from this book.
122
Lomo de cerdo al Tita con albahaca
L
omo de cerdo, as can be seen from the titles,
translates as ‘loin of pork’. Loin is a premium cut
and that translates as ‘expensive’. A way round its
pocketcentricity is to not use loin at all. Buy nice thick
pork chops in substitution. The large area of meat in a
chop is, after all, a chunk of loin with bones and some
fat still attached, and those extras, will lend more
flavour and some bones for the dog too. So chops will
do just fine.
You now know, that lomo translates as loin and,

you probably already know that Burro is Spanish for
donkey. The term ‘Lomo de Burro’ in no way refers to
a similar recipe where donkey and carrots replace the
pork and basil; it’s a ‘speed bump’. This is one of those
handy things to know.
The Tita in the title is that wonderful Spanish lady who

gave me the master-class on making Tortillas. This is
her recipe and it’s simply delightful. Every dish in this
book is linked to a particular memory. This one, takes
me back to a bright sunny morning - though, it always seems like that in Sobrarbe - when together, we cooked it
as a part of a splendid lunch that was taken in the soft shadows of the trees in their beautiful ‘English garden’ in
Banaston near Ainsa - a garden that took her husband Simon fourteen years to develop. A perfect day; the Lomo
de Cerdo perfumed by basil, enjoyed in a perfumed garden - it doesn’t get much better that that you know.
Ingredients:
4 Pork chops - about 2cm thick.
1 medium Onion - finely chopped - that’s about 150 to 200g peeled and chopped weight.
3 tablespoons Sunflower oil or olive oil if you haven’t the former.
3 teaspoons Plain flour.
3 teaspoons Dried basil.
400ml Chicken stock made with half a Knorr chicken stock-pot.
6 Fresh basil leaves - green or purple or a mixture of both.
Freshly milled black pepper.
Cooking:
1. Over a medium heat, sauté the onions in the oil until they are turning soft but not taking on
colour - around 2 to 3 mins.
2. Remove the onions and put to one side.
3. Fry the slices of lomo or the chops until they are lightly browned on both sides, then, remove them
from the pan.
Tita’s loin of pork with basil
Cooking continued...
4. Remove most of the oil from the pan, leaving only 2 tablespoons in which to cook the flour.
5. Add the flour to the oil left in the pan and, stirring constantly, brown it until it takes on a nice dark
colour.
6. Blend in the stock a little at a time, stirring it in well to avoid lumps forming.
7. When all the stock has been added, cook at a good simmer for at least a minute.
8. Add the dried basil and to it, give a few twists of the black pepper mill and cook for a further 30
seconds.
9. Return the meat and onions to the pan and, over a low heat, cook for at least 15 minutes or until the meat
is cooked to your liking.
10. Tear the fresh basil leaves and add them to the mixture and cook for a further 5 mins.
11. Remove from the heat and allow to rest for 5 mins.
12. Serve.
124
platos de verduras
y legumbres
Vegetable and pulse dishes
How to cook dried white beans and chickpeas
Chickpeas, tomatoes and rosemary
Courgettes, garlic and tomato puré
Leeks slow-cooked in butter and olive oil
Peas, bacon and muscatel
Peas and thyme
Potatoes chilindrón
Potatoes with garlic and rosemary
Potatoes, anchovies and green olives
Potatoes, celery and lemon
Spinach with raisins and pine nuts
White beans, garlic & parsley
White beans, tender garlic shoots & parsley
126
Como cocinar los judias blancas y garbanzos secas
A
ssuming you are going down this do-it-yourself route,
you’ll find that dried pulses sold in supermarkets are usually fine.
Note though, that dried beans have a limited shelf-life - just because
they are dry does not mean they will not deteriorate. Old beans will
lose their subtle flavours, gain musty ones and, take a lot longer to
cook. Best find a supplier with a good turnover and see if you can get
them to confess to the age of the product.
Cost and control over both flavour and texture of the final product are
the real advantages in using dried ones. - it may be that, like me,
you prefer them cooked longer for soups and salads - soaking up the
dressings more readily - or for them to have a slightly firmer bite as
tapas. Using dried beans your choices are not so restricted as with
tinned ones. If you decide to use the optional ingredients, and I
recommend that you do so, add them at the beginning of stage 5.
The absence of salt in the ingredients is not a typo, adding salt during
the cooking process is not a good idea – the skins will become tough
and unpleasant. It is better that you season them when you decide
in which recipe you will use them.
Cooking time can be reduced using a pressure cooker. This is not nearly as dramatic as the ‘asustado’ method - which
achieves the same result. Asustado means shocked or frightened. Here, the beans are brought to the boil and then, a
handful of ice cubes are thrown in, this process is repeated three times in total. Asustado, replaced a much older method
where the beans were brought to the boil, drained, covered with cold water and brought once more to the boil.
Canned white beans or chickpeas can be very good. Price is no guarantee of quality; brand is. Nor is the quality unaffected
by where they come from. I do not make this next statement because this book is about Spanish cooking - when it comes
to food I have no loyalties - what is best is best. Spanish brands in my experience are much prefered to French ones.
Basic ingredients:
250g Dried white beans or chickpeas - to make approximately 500g when cooked.
Water.
Optional ingredients:
1 Medium onion - peeled but left whole.
4 Cloves of garlic – peeled and cut across 2/3rds.
1 Bay leaf.
How to cook dried white beans and chick peas
serves 2
Preparation and cooking:

1. Thoroughly rinse the beans or chickpeas under cold water and drain them.
2. Put them in a saucepan and add sufficient cold water to cover by at least 50mm.
3. Leave to soak overnight or for about 12 hours – this will vary from type to type.
4. Drain, and once again add cold water to cover by 50mm.
5. Add optional ingredients here if using them. Over a medium to high heat, fast simmer whichever type you’re
cooking for 35 to 40 minutes – you will find the time varies from type to type and quality to quality.
6. Drain and set aside for later use.
128
Garbanzos con romero, tomates y ajo
T
here are vegetarian dishes that leave one wondering
‘why?’ - ‘why bother?’ So possibly, for the following
reasons; i) being a commited omnivour and ii) as a
direct result of vegetarians who cooked with ideology in
mind rather than flavour, I concluded that their chosen
cuisine lacked any vestige of oomph and that I should
have nothing more to do with it This dish well and truly
kills-off that lie. I confess it had me fooled for some
time; I had been making this for about a year before I
realised it was vegetarian, perhaps even vegan.
The method and mix of ingredients in this recipe gives

the sort of satisfaction I used only to associate with
meat dishes. Versatile meaty chickpeas sautéed in
fruity olive oil, flavoured by lots of garlic, the slightly
resinous rosemary and the heat of the guindilla. Added
to this you have the sweetness and mild acidity of the
tomatoes - what can be better? It can be on the table in 25 minutes; be stored in the fridge for a few days and
it freezes really well.
Ingredients:
500g Cooked and drained chickpeas - see how to in this book if using dried ones.
10 Cloves of garlic – peeled and flattened.
2 to 3 10 cm sprigs of fresh rosemary or 2-3 heaped teaspoons of dried.
2 Bay leaves.
1/4 teaspoon Sugar.
1 Guindilla – for its piquancy.
A few good grindings of black pepper for its different flavour to guindilla.
Chickpeas with rosemary, tomatoes and garlic
Cooking:
1. Put the olive oil in a sauté pan over a medium to high heat and sauté the garlic, rosemary and guindilla.
2. Just as the garlic begins to colour, add the tomatoes, bay leaf, sugar and salt.
3. Stirring occasionally, cook until the tomatoes separate from the oil – at this point, they will take on a
slightly bruised look. This should take around 10 to 15 minutes depending on how you interpret medium to
high heat.
4. Add the drained and rinsed chickpeas and fast simmer for a further 5 minutes.
5. Add a few grindings of black pepper from the mill, check the salt – serve.
130
Calabacines, ajo, perejil y puré de tomate
W
e stuff ourselves with courgettes cooked like this
all through their growing season. This is not greed
you understand, it’s just that sometimes they grow as fast
as we can crop them. No, definitely not greed, we like to
think of it as the avoidance of waste.
This recipe delivers its best when the courgettes are no

longer than around 14 cm, and are no thicker than 21⁄2 to
3 cm when harvested. If you grow them yourself and can
take them straight from vine to pan, all the better.
Don’t be concerned if they appear underdone when

cooked. This ‘bite’ is what you’re aiming for, it is exactly
how they’re supposed to be in this dish - firm, fresh
courgettes are often used to lend a crunchy texture to
salads.
The apparent size of the courgettes in the photos and

the advice given to use small courgettes may appear
contradictory. It’s not meant to be, it’s just that I took
these photos at the end of the season and ‘large’, was all
I had left - they were still very, very good.
Ingredients:
500g Courgettes – trimmed weight – cut into no less than 1 cm thick slices.
4 Cloves of garlic - crushed.
5 teaspoons Tomato purée.
2 tablespoons Broad leaved parsley – finely chopped.
1/2 teaspoon Sugar.
A few good twists of the black pepper mill.
Preparation:
1. The cooking time is so quick that you’ll need everything prepared before you start.
2. If you have been unable to pick them fresh from your garden, or, they have been bought and are a bit
limp, soak them incold water for 30 minutes before washing and slicing them. Often, this will help
them recover some of their firmness.
3. Wash and top and tail the courgettes and slice them to no less than 1 cm thick.
4. Wash and chop the parsley.
5. Crush the garlic.
6. Get the purée ready.
Courgettes, garlic, parsley and tomato purée
Cooking:
1. Put the olive oil into a large sauté pan over high heat.
2. When the oil is almost smoking, add the courgettes, garlic, salt, sugar and a few good twists of black
pepper.
3. Cook for 2 minutes, or until they are al-dente, stirring all the time.
4. Stir in the tomato purée and cook for a further 1 minute.
5. Add the parsley and stir in and cook for another 30 secs.
132
Puerros con mantequilla y aciete de oliva
T
his wonderful way of cooking leeks was inspired
by the method used with the recipe for ‘Pork
sausages, potatoes with almonds parsley and garlic’.
In this dish, the leeks are cooked partly by steaming
and partly by simmering, then, evaporating most of the
watery liquid off until only the oil and butter remain.
This takes all the soft flavours back into the leeks.
None of this flavour is wasted as it would be if the liquid
was simply strained off.
Young leeks are not strongly flavoured and this recipe

is about preserving all there is to be had. It does just
that, and then adds some too. As the liquid cooks
down, the olive oil and butter develop delicious notes of
creamy caramel.
Firmly staying with the idea of retaining flavour, be sure

not to cut too much off the green leaves - there’s stacks
of additional flavour to be had from these.
Though one doesn’t need to stand over this dish while it’s cooking, an occasional glance won’t go amiss towards
the end of cooking. If it goes a bit dry, it may catch. If you want to prolong the cooking, then add a tablespoon
of water, repeating this as often as necessary.
A nice accompanying touch, is to serve with pieces of bread fried in olive oil; perfect - though a beautifully
satisfying dish with or without them. Toss in the added convenience of being able to be cooked well ahead of time
and then prewarmed just prior to serving, gives it a ten out of ten score for a starter.
Ingredients:
1 kg Leeks – young are best around 21⁄2cm diameter - cleaned and trimmed weight.
30g Butter.
200ml Water.
1 teaspoon Sugar.
Freshly ground black pepper to taste.
Leeks with butter and olive oil
serves 2 as a lightish main course or 4 as one plate of many
Preparation:
1. Remove the outer tough leaves. Then with a sharp knife, split the leeks down the middle almost to their
base.
2. Under a running cold tap, partially seperate the leaves and wash any grit from them.
3. Cut each half of the leeks into 10 to 12cm lengths.
Cooking:
1. In a sauté pan over a low heat, put the cleaned leeks with the butter, olive oil, salt, sugar and water.
2. Cover the pan and cook until they are tender – 15 to 20 mins.
3. Uncover the pan and allow the liquids to reduce until only the olive oil and butter remain.
4. Serve.
5. Make a note to cook more next time.
134
Guisantes con coñac, moscatel y bacón
B
efore being caught completely unawares by the sweet simplicity of flavours in this little dish, I had always
thought of peas as an accompaniment, nothing more. Pleasant, yes, but surely without the legs to carry them
through a complete course.
It was early days for me in Sobrarbe and my Spanish was almost non-existent and if, on the menu, I had realised
that guisantes were peas I probably wouldn’t have ordered them. So, there you have it; the up-side to ignorance
really can be bliss. It was a good lesson.
They make such an easy-going supper and guisantes cooked in this manner are now firmly fixed on our menu - rarely
a couple of weeks go by without us having them dished up this way, or in the manner described in the next recipe.
Ingredients:
400g Small freshly shelled or frozen peas (Petits Pois).
150g Bacon - cut into 1 cm pieces.
1 Medium spanish onion - finely chopped.
25g Butter.
2 tablespoons Moscatel.
2 tablespoons Sherry coñac / jerez coñac - this has a much softer flavour than other coñacs.
2 - 3 Sprigs of fresh mint.
Black pepper to taste.
A few points:
1. Use a good streaky bacon that has plenty of fat. If you feel there is insufficient fat while frying,
add a dash of olive oil.
2. 4 cloves of garlic is not a misprint; it’s the perfect amount.
3. You can part-cook ahead of time until stage 3.
4. Using sweet, small, freshly shelled or frozen petit pois will make all the difference to this dish - get
them if you can. If they’re unavailable, add 1⁄2 teaspoon of sugar at stage 4. - this will help, but
they will not be anywhere near as fine as when using petits pois.
Peas with cognac, moscatel and bacon
Cooking:
1. In a sauté pan, fry the bacon pieces in their own fat until they are just beginning to brown, then remove
them and set aside.
2. Add the olive oil and butter to the juices from the fried bacon, and fry the onion and garlic over a medium
heat until soft.
3. Return the bacon to the pan and combine with the onions and garlic.
4. Add the mint, moscatel and cognac, give a good stir and then leaving it to bubble for 30 secs.
5. Add peas and cook until al dente.
6. Season with black pepper to taste - normally, the bacon supplies sufficient salt.
136
Guisantes con coñac, muscatel y tomillo
I
am a committed omnnivore and I simply cannot
imagine life without meat. Nevertheless, I have
friends who do not share this passion. For them, I came
up with this delightful vegetarian variation of ‘Peas with
Cognac, Muscatel and Bacon’.
The recipe dispenses with the bacon and, to give it the

spread of flavour and savouryness found in the original,
I replaced the mint with thyme. It’s another simple
recipe that works a treat. I love it just as it comes.
My wife though, prefers it with a couple of thin slices
of mild goat’s cheese laid on top. She does this just
before serving so that the cheese warms through, but
doesn’t actually melt.
Ingredients:
400g Fresh or frozen peas - (petits pois)
1 Medium spanish onion - finely chopped
4 Cloves of garlic - finely chopped
25g Butter
2 tablespoons Muscatel
2 tablespoons Cognac
3 tablespoons Extra virgin olive oil
4 or 5 Sprigs of fresh thyme or one level teaspoon of dried
Sea salt and black pepper to taste
A couple of points:
1. to part cook ahead of time, you can take it as far as the end of stage 1.
2. using sweet, small, freshly shelled or frozen petit pois will make all the difference to this dish - get
them if you can. If they’re unavailable, add 1⁄2 teaspoon of sugar at stage 2. - this will help, but
they will not be anywhere near as fine as when using petits pois.
Peas with cognac, muscatel and thyme
Cooking:
1. Put the olive oil and butter into the pan and fry the onion and garlic over a medium heat until soft.
2. Add the thyme, muscatel and cognac and give a good stir and then leaving it to bubble for 30 secs.
3. Add peas, the 1⁄2 teaspoon of salt and cook until the peas are al dente.
4. Season with freshly ground black pepper and, check that the salt is to your taste.
138
Chilindrón con patatas
J
ust sometimes, I feel the need for meat-less meals.
It’s as though the body is saying ‘that 2kg of raw
bison meat you scoffed yesterday has pushed me over
the top - that’s enough, I’ve had it’.
In summer, one can accommodate such feelings by

eating salads. Though in the depths of a bleak mid-
winter, this seems a somewhat inhumane option. No,
we must face up to it - salad and bleak do not make an
acceptable word marriage. Now this chilindrón in winter
will do the trick nicely; meat-less, piquant, hot, filling,
satisfying and very toothsome.
Its delights should not be reserved solely for winter

time. It is equally delicious eaten cold. In summer,
should you fancy something a little more weighty than
lettuce, try it cold with, what must be Moorish in its
influence, yoghurt and mint - a happy combination;
filling and refreshing. It really is very good.
Ingredients:
750g Potatoes torn into 3cm chunks.
1 Large spanish onion finely chopped.
2 Large red pepper chopped into 2cm pieces.
1 Large green pepper chopped into 2cm pieces.
8 Cloves of garlic left in their skins but cut across about 2/3 rds of the way
across.
1 Small dried chilli - Guindilla.
1 tablespoon White wine vinegar.
Optional:
125 to 150g Pot of natural greek yoghurt - if the dish is to be eaten cold.
1 teaspoon Fresh mint finely chopped.
Potatoes chilindrón
Preparation:
1. Peel and tear the potatoes into 3cm chunks and part cook them by steaming or microwaving.
2. Peel and finely chop onion.
3. Clean and remove most of the seeds from the peppers and cut into chunks of around 2 to 3cm.
Cooking:
1. Put the olive oil in a large sauté pan over a medium to low heat and fry the onions, garlic and dried chilli
until the onions start to soften.
2. Add the chopped peppers, vinegar and salt.
3. Cover and, stirring occasionally, cook gently until the peppers are tender.
4. Raise the heat again to medium and add the tin of chopped tomatoes.
5. Add the potatoes to the tomatoes and peppers and when the mixture begins to simmer, set the heat to
low, and, stirring occasionally, leave to simmer for 10 to 15 minutes.
6. Check for salt.
7. If eating cold, serve with a side dish of greek yoghurt - on its own or mixed with the chopped mint.
140
Patatas con ajo y romero
A
t the risk of repeating myself; it really doesn’t
come much easier than this. Try this one and
you’ll understand why we serve it on its own with
no need to attach it to a meat course - it is always
completely satisfying.
Almost any general purpose potato will do for this

recipe. It is best to avoid new ones and those waxy
types perfect for salads as they will not absorb much, or
any, of the oil and little of the flavours released by the
rosemary and garlic. A good extra virgin olive oil will
lend part of its soft green tone to the potatoes - very
rustic almost grassy.
If you are blessed with good tap water; use it. If you
are unfortunate to live in an area where the tap water
tastes as though it’s been piped directly from next-
door’s bidet, then use bottled water – it will make a big
difference.
The cooking method, I nicked from a dish in the Traditional Section - Pork sausages and potatoes with almonds,
parsley and garlic - and I suffer no shame for having done so. Get this down you and you’ll see why.
Ingredients:
750g Potatoes, peeled and torn into 3 cm chunks.
6 - 8 Cloves of garlic with skins on and cut 2/3rds across.
400ml Water - or to barely cover.
1 teaspoon Dried rosemary - or a couple of fresh sprigs of around 12 cm.
Preparation:
1. peel and tear the potatoes into 3cm chunks.
Potatoes with garlic and rosemary
Cooking:
1. Put the potatoes, garlic, rosemary, olive oil, water and salt into a sauté pan over a medium heat. When
it starts to simmer, reduce the heat to low, cover and cook for around 10 minutes without stirring.
2. Remove the lid and, at a fast simmer, cook until the potatoes are done and all the water has evaporated
leaving only the bubbling olive oil behind. Once again, don’t stir – you want the potatoes to remain
intact.
3. Serve.
142
Patatas, anchoas y acetunas verdes
T
he first time I tried a plateful of this was a revelation - such an incredible depth
of flavour, or, to be more accurate; flavours.
It had been cooked by sautéing the potatoes and whole cloves of garlic in the olive
oil. When the potatoes were turning colour the uncooked anchovy mixture was
added with the vinegars and pepper. Then, the entire thing was cooked for a further
10 minutes.
After cooking it myself a few times - it had by then become a regular fixture on our
menu - I needed to cook a much larger batch than normal. A shortage of space and
decent sized pans persuaded me to sauté the potatoes in one pan and the anchovies,
olives, garlic, vinegars and parsley in another. As it turned out, the anchovy mixture
benefited from a much longer and slower cooking time than normal. The anchovies
virtually melted into the vinegars, and flavours of wonderful complexity emerged.
This is how I cook it now: first the anchovy mixture gently matures over a low
heat for at least 1⁄2 an hour before starting the potatoes. The two parts only being
combined when the potatoes are nicely golden. The pan is then covered and all is cooked for another 10 minutes
and just prior to serving I add a few halves of green olives and a sprinkling of freshly chopped parsley.
Ingredients:
1 kg Potatoes, peeled and torn into 3 cm chunks.
8 Cloves of garlic. 6 with skins on and cut 2/3rds across.
2 peeled and crushed – to go with anchovies.
5 Anchovy fillets - a fillet being deemed 1⁄2 an anchovy.
15 Green olives – destoned if necessary. Olives stuffed with anchovies are perfectly
ok.
2 teaspoons White wine vinegar.
4 tablespoons Chopped parsley.
1 teaspoon Balsamic vinegar.
Preparation:
1. Peel and tear the potatoes into 3cm chunks and pre-cook them - either by steaming or in a bowl
with a little water by microwave – until al dente. Then drain them.
2. Chop and mix together the anchovies, 10 green olives, 3 tablespoons of parsley and the two crushed
cloves of garlic.
3. Chop 5 green olives in half for the garnish.
Potatoes, anchovies and green olives
Cooking:
1. In a small pan, over a medium heat, put 1 tablespoon of olive oil. When hot, add the anchovy mixture, the
vinegars and sauté for 3 minutes.
2. Then on a very low heat, allow the mixture to cook for at least 1⁄2 an hour. If it looks to be drying, add
a tablespoon of water - it is however, not intended to be a runny sauce.
3. In another pan, put 3 tablespoons of olive oil over a medium to high heat. Add the potatoes, the 6 cloves
of garlic with their skins on and the salt. Sauté the potatoes until they are nicely golden.
4. Add the anchovy mixture, a few good twists of the pepper mill and mix well.
5. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pan and leave to cook for 10 minutes.
6. Add the 5 chopped green olives halves and sprinkle a tablespoon of freshly chopped parsley before serving.
144
Patatas con apio, ajo y limón
Y
et another of those dishes whose simplicity makes
you wonder where all the flavour comes from.
Each of the main ingredients, potato, celery, garlic
and lemon, blend to provide a mellow flavoursome
background and yet, there always remains a clear hint
of their individual flavours.
It is also another of those dishes where the method

points back to ‘Longaniza and Picada’ in the traditional
section of this book - I have an awful lot to thank that
recipe for.
It is a very tolerant recipe; it can be taken almost to the

point of abuse. The quantity of celery can be allowed
to vary upwards quite a bit, and, to a lesser degree the
garlic. The lemon however, should be used carefully.
Stepping over the line between just right and too much
is not hard to do in a moment’s wild enthusiasm. For all
its tolerance, stick to the recipe until you’ve got a firm
understanding of what the recipe is aiming for, and then adjust it to how you prefer. Tastes differ, and I’ve written
this recipe to suit mine.
Ingredients:
750g Potatoes, peeled and torn into 2cm chunks.
600-650g Celery – cleaned and cut into 3 to 4cm pieces – reserve centre leaves for later.
6 Cloves of garlic with skins on and cut 2/3rds across.
25g Butter.
1 Lemon – all of the juice and 4 strips of the peel about 1cm wide by 6cm long.
350-400ml Water.
A few good grindings of pepper.
Preparation:
1. Peel and tear the potatoes into 3cm chunks.
2. Wash and slit the stalks of celery lengthways and then cut them into 3 to 4 cm pieces.
3. Retain the tender centre leaves for later.
4. From the lemon, cut the 4 strips of peel and squeeze out the juice.
Potatoes with celery, garlic and lemon
serves 2 as a main course or 4 as one plate of many.
Cooking:
1. Pre-cook the potatoes - either by steaming or in a bowl with a little water by microwave – until al dente.
Then drain them.
2. Put the celery, garlic, olive oil, butter, water and salt into a sauté pan over a medium heat. When simmering,
reduce the heat to low, cover and cook for around 15 minutes.
3. Add the pre-cooked potatoes and lemon juice and mix together well.
4. Mushier types of potatoes will tend to break up so, from now on, if possible, avoid stirring.
5. With the pan uncovered, cook at a fast simmer until all the water has evaporated leaving only the olive oil
and butter behind. Lower the heat for the final few minutes to avoid burning the vegetables on the bottom
of the pan.
6. Add the strips of lemon peel and cook for a further 3 minutes.
7. Add pepper.
8. Check seasoning.
9. Serve with the reserved centre leaves to one side.
146
Espinacas con pasas y piñones
A
subtle, though quite important, part of the flavour of
this dish comes from the bacon fat - I try to use that
which has at least a third of its weight as fat. While we’re
on the subject of subtlety, the flavour from smoked bacon
is far too strong and will overpower the delicate flavours
of the other ingredients. So stick to a bacon that is good,
fatty and unsmoked (green).
If you are using frozen spinach and are in a hurry, defrost

the spinach and rid it of as much of its liquid as possible
before cooking. I find the easiest way to do this is to put
it into a colander and, with a small plate on top, press
firmly down on the spinach squeezing out much of the
juice. The downside to this method is that with the juice,
one is discarding some of the spinach flavour that would
otherwise be reabsorbed during cooking. If, on the other
hand, you have time, then simply cook until the juices
have evaporated.
Should you be lucky enough to get possession of young,

fresh spinach, then, simply wash it in cold water and cook
as per stage 4. and onwards. Fresh spinach will not need additional water when being cooked - that which clings
to the leaves after washing will be sufficient. You will however, need to use a much larger pan than required for
the less bulky frozen kind - best check this out before starting.
Ingredients:
400g Frozen whole leaf spinach.
100g Fatty bacon cut into 10 mm pieces - unsmoked.
11⁄2 tablespoons Raisins.
11⁄2 tablespoons Pine nuts.
50g Butter.
400ml Hot water – to soak raisins in.
Preparation:
1. Soak the raisins in the hot water for at least 10 minutes before using.
Spinach with raisins and pine nuts
Cooking:
1. Dry fry the pine nuts until they are turning from golden to brown, then put them to one side – fry them
too little and they won’t develop their true nuttiness ; too much and they can be a little bitter.
2. Over a medium to high heat, fry the bacon in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil for 2 to 3 minutes or until the
bacon is just beginning to colour – don’t overdo it at this stage - it will finish its cooking with the
other ingredients.
3. Drain and add the raisins to the bacon and cook for 1 minute, then, remove the pan from the heat.
4. In another pan put the butter and the rest of the olive oil over a medium to high heat and add the spinach
and salt.
5. Cook the spinach until it is tender or, in the case of frozen spinach, until the liquid has evaporated – with
the better of the frozen brands, this stage is more one of heating than cooking.
6. Add the bacon and pine nut mixture, mix well and cook for a further 2 minutes.
7. Check seasoning.
8. Serve.
148
Judias blancas, ajo y perejil
G
arlicky, savoury, piquant, filling, all that balanced
with freshness lent by the parsley. It is so quick to
get it to the table. This has to be one of healthiest fast
foods going. I try not to waffle on about the colour of
dishes - it’s taste we should be concerned about. Here,
I’ll make one of few exceptions: cook this and look at
the tones of green gold given to it from the olive oil and
parsley - it’s a picture.
Cannellinis, judias blancas, haricots or dried white

beans, when buying them loose it is sometimes difficult
to tell exactly what you’re being sold. There are a
couple of exceptions where it is pretty obvious: butter
beans are substantially bigger and the other, fava
beans, will make your eyes water when you’re given
the price. Take comfort from the fact that, with this
recipe, you can use virtually any white bean and get a
really good result - in France, I once cooked this recipe
using fresh haricots straight from the pod - so creamy.
Although you can get very good tins of pre-cooked white beans, it is always worth the effort of soaking and cooking
them yourself. You have so much more control over the final result. The process is a piece of cake and is described
fully in this book.
Ingredients:
500g Cannellini beans – cooked and drained weight.
250ml Chicken stock or...
1/2 a Knorr chicken stock-pot in 250ml of boiling water will give a very good
result.
1 Small dried chilli - guindilla.
1⁄2 teaspoon Sea salt - if using fine table salt, use less. Tho’ usually not necessary if a Knorr
stock-pot is used.
Preparation:
1. If using dried beans prepare them using the method described elsewhere in this book.
White beans, garlic and parsley
serves 2 as a decent sized course or 4 as one plate of many
Cooking:
1. Put the olive oil in a sauté pan over a low to medium heat and sauté the garlic and guindilla until the garlic
starts to turn colour.
2. Add 2/3 of the parsley.
3. Add the cooked beans and the salt, stir well and gently simmer for around 5 mins.
6. Reduce the heat to low and, stirring occasionally, simmer for another 5 mins.
7. Check for salt and give several twists of freshly milled black pepper.
8. Add the remaining parsley and serve.
150
Judias blancas y ajos tiernos
I
t might seem a bit of a cheat to allocate a two page
spread to a recipe where the cooking of its main
components appear to be covered elsewhere in the same
book. I had thought of putting it as an option to the
‘White beans, garlic and parsley’ recipe - the differences
between the two seemingly small. There were a few
good reasons that stopped me doing this: it would mean
having to refer elsewhere for the cooking of the garlic
shoots - I just hate doing this in the middle of cooking
something. The flavour is so deliciously special that I
thought it warranted its own slot; and finally, I can throw
in a third and equally valid reason; it is an opportunity,
once again, to highlight garlic shoots - which, in my
opinion, cannot receive enough publicity.
The garlic shoots can be prepared and cooked a couple

of hours ahead of time and reheated before adding to
the beans at the appropriate time. I hope, after reading
all this, you are tempted to grow your own.
Ingredients:
500g Cannellini beans – cooked and drained weight.
250ml Chicken stock (see this book) or...
1/2 a Knorr chicken stock-pot in 250ml of boiling water will give a very good result.
2 tablespoons Extra virgin olive oil - for the beans.
1 tablespoon Extra virgin olive oil - for the garlic shoots.
1⁄2 teaspoon Sea salt - if using fine table salt, use less - salt unnecessary if a stock-pot is used.
1⁄2 teaspoon Sea salt - if using fine table salt, use less. (for the garlic shoots.)
200g Garlic shoots - trimmed and cleaned weight - that’s about 6 to 8 good sized shoots.
25g Salted butter.
200ml Water.
Preparation - beans:
1. If using dried beans prepare them using the method in this book (see: using dried beans).
Preparation - garlic shoots:
1. Discard the coarser outer leaves, trim off any damaged tips of the green shoots and then trim
off the roots.
2. Cut the shoots into approx 5cm lengths.
White beans and tender garlic shoots
Cooking the garlic shoots:

1. Put the garlic shoots, olive oil, butter, water and salt into a small sauté pan over a low to medium heat.
2. Simmer gently until the water has been evaporated off and only the oil and butter juices remain. Turn off
the heat and set aside.
Cooking the finished dish:
1. Put the olive oil in a sauté pan over a low to medium heat and sauté 2/3rds of the parsley for 30
secs.
2. Add the cooked beans and the salt if required, stir well and gently simmer for around 5 mins.
5. Add the cooked garlic shoots.
6. Reduce the heat to low and, stirring occasionally, simmer for another 5 mins.
7. Check for salt and give several twists of freshly milled black pepper.
8. Add the remaining parsley and serve.
152
Postres y bebidos
Desserts and drinks
Almonds in brittle dark toffee - Garrapiñados
Apples, demerara sugar, butter and nectar sherry
Fresh figs with nectar sherry and mascapone
Natillas
Pacharan and sloe gin
Quemadillo
Rice with lemon and cream
Turrón with whole almonds
154
Garrapiñadas
T
he coffee I always drink at home is fine-ground
Turkish mocca. Occasionally, for something to go
with this, I quickly knock-up a few Garrapiñadas. They
are made for the moment, the perfect accompaniment.
They go down equally well after a meal.
They are always a hit and more often than not, they’re
scoffed as soon as they are cool enough to eat. Don’t
be dismayed if they disappear like a time lapsed film.
Take comfort: to be eaten, is what they were made for
and they are much nicer fresh. They are so quick to
make, that if you have the ingredients in the cupboard,
it’s nearly as convenient as having them in a dish on
the table.
There are a few things to remember when buying

almonds: the more they are processed the less well
they keep their flavour. By far the best are almonds
still in their shell - cracking them will take a little time,
though the reward will be had at the finish. A good
compromise is to buy them in their skins - the flavour
will be nearly as good and I confess this is how I buy them when pushed for time. Unless you’re absolutely
desperate, never buy them ready skinned or blanched. Apart from the fact that this recipe calls for them to be
cooked with their skins intact, without them, they lose so much of their creamy quality and their oil can develop
an unpleasant rancidity.
Ingredients:
1 Small wine glass of almonds with their skins on.
1 Small wine glass of white sugar.
1 Small wine glass of water.
Notes:
1. If stirring is continued after the sugar has dissolved in Cooking: point 3., the syrup will turn
to fudge. Now although some recipes recommend this, for a very good reason, I do not. They will
not develop the intense toasted flavour that goes so well with coffee.
2. They are perfectly cooked when the almonds are slightly scorched on their bottoms as in the
photo.
Almonds in brittle dark toffee
perfect with good coffee or serves about 4 as an after-meal sweet
Cooking:
1. Over a medium to high heat, put all the ingredients in to a small non-stick pan or frying pan - the pan
should be large enough so that the almonds just about cover the base in a single layer.
2. Stir with a wooden spatula or spoon, until the sugar is dissolved.
3. Then, without stirring allow the syrup to thicken and turn a beautiful reddish brown.
4. Towards the end of the cooking time, you will hear the nuts emit small popping noises and very shortly after
that, a slight burning smell.
5. Remove from the heat immediately and pour onto a sheet of non-stick paper.
6. Allow to cool and enjoy.
156
Manzanas, demerara y jerez nectar
T
here are just a very few simple rules to follow: use
eating apples that have a nice acid bite to them
- Coxs or Rennet are fine, cook very slowly, and finally,
don’t stir them while they are cooking or the apples will
break-up.
This is the first of two recipes in this book where I

use ‘Nectar Sherry’, and, just about everything I say
in the final paragraph of the introduction to that other
one - ‘Fresh figs and nectar sherry’, is also true for this
recipe.
To once again touch on the apples, don’t be tempted

to use gutless apples such as fuji or golden delicious,
they’re just not up to it, often pappy and lacking in
flavour. In short, they have been selected for the
grower and not the consumer. They are, without
possession of good character.
Though it doesn’t really need help, serve it up with cream or mascarpone. I may be guilty of repeating myself,
but it doesn’t come much finer than this.
Ingredients:
4 Large Cox’s Orange Pippins – 450 to 500g peeled and cut weight.
50g Salted butter.
11⁄2 tablespoons Dark demerara sugar.
2 tablespoons Nectar sherry.
Preparation:
1. Peel, core and cut the apples into segments – for segment size, think oranges here.
Apples, demerara, butter and nectar sherry
serves 4
Cooking:
1. Arrange the apple segments in a non-stick pan with all the butter – try not to overlay them too much.
2. Sprinkle with the sugar.
3. Without stirring, over a very low heat cook slowly for 1/2 an hour and then add the nectar sherry.
4. Continue to cook very slowly until the apples are soft and the sugar and butter are almost turned into
caramel.
5. Serve with creme fraiche or mascapone - delightful.
158
Higos frescos, jerez nectar y mascapone
B
lack or green fresh figs are completely unique in
Europe. Not a bit like any other fruit in texture.
Nor have they a taste reminiscent of any other fruits I
can think of. In my internal data base of flavours they
stand alone.
There exists a difference of opinion as to whether black

is more tasty than green. In this polemic I’m in with the
black group. They have it, only by a tight margin mind
you, yet it’s there, just sufficient to encourage one eat
too many rather than just enough.
I once lived in the oldest house in Abizanda and all

around it were dotted fig trees; those with black fruit and
those of green. And for this fruit I was in competition
with the most beautiful Golden Oriel, who also favoured
black figs. In all the time I watched him, I never saw
him take a green one. In the very early mornings he
would sit in the tree below my window, grumbling and
cursing as if that day’s crop was not sufficiently ripe for
his liking. When he wasn’t whinging, he would give the
most beautifully liquid and musical call - imagine, if you can, a flautist playing under three metres of water- it was
something like that. I know this is a book of recipes, but allow just a bit more about Golden Oriels: the male, is
a bit bigger than a Mistle Thrush and a bit smaller than a Jackdaw, they are the most striking black and yellow.
But you just try spotting one. You would not believe how difficult they are to see when perched in the trees - as
bright as their plumage is, it remains the perfect camouflage in dappled sunlight.
So we’ve talked of fresh figs; black and green, and of Golden Oriels. Now, the next bit is quite crucial; use the
sherry recommended. If you can’t get it, don’t substitute any other kind of liquor - it will not be the same. Within
its quite complex flavour, Nectar sherry has this delicious hint of figs and it is this, plus its other virtues, that
combine so perfectly to give your efforts such a special result. And, just for the record, I am not sponsored by
Gonzalez Byass or anyone else for that matter - this sherry just happens to be perfect for the job.
Ingredients:
12 Fresh figs - preferably black.
12 teaspoons Gonzalez Byass - Nectar Sherry - Pedro Ximenez Dulce.
20cl pot Mascarpone - at least 1 pot if not 2.
Fresh figs, nectar sherry and mascapone
serves 4
Preparation:
1. Allow 2 to 3 fresh figs per person.
2. Cut them in half lengthways.
3. Make 3 or 4 deep diagonal slashes in the flesh of each half.
4, With the figs skin side down, pour on to each half, 1 teaspoon of Nectar sherry and let this sink into the
slashes.
5. The figs can be served straight away, though they are better left for at least 2 hours - 4 to 6 hours
even better.
6. Serve with heavy duty mascarpone and reflect on what a marvellous place this universe can be.
160
Natillas
E
asy to get wrong at first this one. Not that it’s
particularly hard, it just needs a bit of care during
its time over the bain marie. If you allow it to cook for
too long, the eggs will over cook and end up looking
more like scrambled eggs; less like a smooth dessert
and more akin to something you should be eating with
toast and bacon. Follow the recipe and all will end up
fine. If it does turn out looking like your breakfast,
don’t worry it will still taste ok even if the texture’s a
bit coarse.
There is an advantage in getting the technique right

- the process is almost identical to the initial steps in
making good ice cream.
This is a delicate little number and no matter how many

courses there have previously been in a meal, there
always seems room for this one to finish off with. If you do decide to use the cinnamon option, make sure it’s
recently purchased. Spices, in general, lose their strength quite quickly once their pack or bottle has been opened.
It pays to buy in small quantities, from a good supplier and then use them up quickly.
Ingredients:
1⁄2 lt Full cream milk
6 Egg yolks
3 tablespoons Sugar
1⁄2 stick Cinnamon
1 Lemon – peel only
Optional:
A sprinkling of fresh powdered cinnamon
Natillas
serves 4
Cooking:
1. Heat the milk with the stick of cinnamon and lemon peel over a medium heat until small bubbles appear round
the edge of the milk – this occurs just before simmering.
2. take off the heat. Remove the cinnamon and lemon peel and leave the milk to rest for 10 minutes.
3. Beat the egg yolks and sugar together until sufficiently stiff to form soft ribbons when poured – the
mixture will go pale as the sugar is absorbed into the egg.
4. Add, little by little, the warm milk stirring continuously with a wooden spoon until well mixed.
5. Again, stirring continuously, cook using a bain marie until the mixture thickly coats the back of the wooden
spoon. The way to check this is to observe how runny and how sticky the mixture is at the beginning and
then to keep comparing its progress – if the water in the bain marie is boiling rapidly, this should take
around 31⁄2 minutes.
6. Pour into individual dishes and allow to set.
7. If you like, you can sprinkle a little cinnamon powder over the top.
8. Serve it as comes or with biscuits – digestives go well, so do macaroons.
162
Pacharán y ginebra de endrinas
S
loes are the fruit of the Blackthorn. There’s no shortage of these
bushes and their berries in the Pyrenees of the Alto Aragón.
On the drier lower slopes where I lived, in Coscojuela de Sobrarbe,
their fruiting was not as reliable. One very dry year, I had to travel
much further up into the mountains and finally managed to find what
I needed high above the provocatively named village of ‘Sin’. The
berries were smaller than those found in the UK, though the flavour
was just as good, if not a bit more intense. The result; perfect.
In the glass, at first glance, but not at first sip, pacharán and sloe
gin appear identical. All it needs is a sniff, much better a snifter, to
dispel all doubt which one is which. It is pointless comparing them
qualitively, they are different. I make them both now and would not
like to decide which one I would take to the desert island.
Commercially produced pacharán, like its counterpart sloe gin,

varies, or suffers, tremendously from brand to brand. Some pacharáns include too many herbs and this, I am
assured, is to disguise the harsh and inferior flavour of cheap anise used as the base liquor in its production.
There should be a good hint of sweet anise coming through the richness of the ripe berries - that is all. Both
drinks are essentially the bottled essence of the hedgerow and require no additional doctoring.
The first time I tried Pacharán was after one of those profile distorting meals in the village hall of Coscojuela de
Sobrarbe. Contrary to what some might think is the correct convention, the Champagne or more accurately,
Cava, comes out at the end of the meal and then, comes the pacharán. What we drank that night must have
been at least 2 years old - it was so very good. If it’s left to mature for at least a year in the bottle, the tannin
slinks off somewhere and the flavour develops richly. Each bottle is a time capsule, carrying the flavour and
aromas of that particular autumn day; where, when and with whom the berries were picked. You may, in the
time it’s been maturing, have gained a few aches and creaks. A glass of any or each of them will put things to
right - medicine from the past; rejuvenators both.
Ingredients: Sloe Gin:

400g Sloes.
100g Sugar.
700ml Gin.
Ingredients: Pacharan:
250g Sloes - 250g equals about 400ml in a measuring jug.
800ml Anise dulce (sweet anisette).
Pacharán and sloe gin
serves 1 over a respectable amount of time
Method:
1. Pick the ripe fruit after a hard frost or, if the birds are taking too many, pick them and stick them in
the freezer for a couple of days or so.
2. When you’re ready to start making the sloe gin or pacharan, lightly crush the berries and put them into a
storage jar.
3. If you are making sloe gin, add the sugar.
4. Add the appropriate liquor - gin or anise dulce - and seal jars.
5. Give the jars a gentle shaking every day for 2 weeks.
6. Store in a dark cupboard for another 10 weeks – giving them a gentle shake once a week.
7. Strain the liquor off the fruit and then filter it through a coffee filter paper or kitchen roll.
8. Store in a green or brown coloured bottle – this way the colour of the liquor will be preserved.
9. If you’re desperate, you can drink either straight away, although the flavours and smoothness will develop
out of all recognition if left for 1 year: even better, for 2 or more.
164
Quemadillo
T
he making of quemadillo has Health & Safety implications; it
should carry warning placards. Its ranking as a hazard in the
kitchen, falls just short of domestic napalm production. Quemadillo is
a drink that is found all over northern Spain; and for all I know, down
south as well. In Cataluña, where it often has whole coffee beans
added and sometimes peppercorns, it is called Ron Cremat, in Galicia,
they add strips of lemon peel and call it Queimada, and, in Aragón,
Quemadillo comes just as it is. It seems that wherever it’s made and
whoever makes it, the ingredients vary just a little. What follows,
is how it was made in the Casa Sociál (village hall) of Coscojuela de
Sobrarbe.
At the end of the meal, a galvanised bucket was fetched from a

cupboard and placed on the floor to one side of a glowing round stove
that sat in the middle of the room. Into the bucket, they poured a
couple of bottles of rum. This, following several courses of dinner, red
wine, pacharán and cava, was to be the nightcap.
The bucket and rum were put on top of the stove to heat up. When it was judged hot enough, they removed it and
set light to the vapours. The idea behind this has nothing to do with showmanship - of which there was plenty.
Its point, was to reduce the volume by about 30% and in doing so, intensifying the flavour of the liquor. A bucket
was used so that its high sides conducted the heat from the flames back down into the rum - thus keeping it hot
enough to continue producing more vapour.
As it burned down, more rum was added in order to end up with right amount of liquid to satisfy all present. This,
I warn you, can involve the use of quite a lot of extra rum. It would seem, that an allowance, of the finished drink,
for each person would be more or less 150ml.
While all this reducing of the alcohol was going on, two other things were taking place; first, a large pot of strong
filtered coffee was made, and second, a tin of condensed milk was opened and mixed with some of the coffee when
it was ready. After being fired for around 20 minutes, with quite a bit of vapour sniffing and stirring with a long
handled ladle that dripped drops of fire as it was withdrawn, the liquor was to everyones’ satisfaction. The cloth
that had been bound as protection around the ladler’s hand, was thrown over the bucket and the flames stifled.
Then about half of the coffee and condensed milk mixture was added and, the sampling and judgement began: ‘It
needs more mixture, a drop more coffee on its own’ - this goes on for some time until all agree the deed is done,
or the judging panel lose coherence and reason.
Quemar means to burn or to set fire to. This then, is the root of the word quemadillo. It is in the drinking that
you realise all references to burning or conflagration are no longer relevant - it can be so smooth. Though this
depends a lot on the hands that made it. Quemadillo is the perfect nightcap - it settles the stomach, produces a
profound sense of well being and, is very, very suppable.
Quemadillo
serves 4 as a cure for just about anything
Ingredients:
20ml Dark rum.
3 tablespoons Sweetened condensed milk.
4 dessertspoons Dark ground coffee.
500ml Boiling water.
Preparation:
1. In a jug, put the ground coffee and the boiling water. Stir well and leave to stand for 5 minutes.
2. Filter the coffee.
3. Add to the coffee the condensed milk and stir it in well.
4. Pour the rum into a high sided saucepan, place over a high heat - preferably in an open space.
5. When the rum is hot enough to ignite readily, remove from the heat and ignite the vapours - if you are
using a normal saucepan, you may need to keep the pan over its heat source.
6. Giving it the occasional stir, allow the rum to reduce to about 70% of its original volume.
7. Dowse the flames by placing a cloth over the saucepan.
8. Add the coffee and condensed milk mixture to the rum and if necessary, reheat - the end result should taste
rummy, sweet, creamy and its texture wonderfully smooth.
166
Arroz con nata y limón
T
here’s nothing stealthy about the calorie uptake
with this one and despite the apparently heavy
combination of rice, cream and sugar, the cooking
method makes it a dessert that is both rich and light.
I use the same type of rice for this recipe as I do for

paellas or risottos, but whereas the texture in those two
dishes relies somewhat on the thickening that comes
from the released starch, this dish has an altogether
lighter feel achieved by rinsing the rice with cold
water after having given it a quick boil. This gives the
freshness and clarity we’re seeking because much of
the stodge producing element has been washed away.
To the now clear and separate rice grains, add the
richness of the cream, the sweetness of the sugar, the
freshness given by the lemon zest and you have a rice
pud like you’ve never had before.
In Sobrarbe they add cinnamon and use milk instead

of cream. I much prefer the less complicated flavours
given by just the four ingredients I’ve used in this
recipe. It’s the perfect dessert for rounding-off most meals and it is delicious eaten hot or cold – bear in mind,
that heat releases more of the lemon’s aromatic oils and it is for this reason I always serve it immediately it is
ready, with its aroma at its most pure and zingy. You ought not to let my preference put you off eating it chilled or
at room temperature - that way it’s perfect on a hot day after a light salad, though, if you intend from the outset
to serve it this way, you may wish to increase the amount of lemon zest.
Having got this far it’s much too late to concern yourself with the figure distorting nature of this recipe, so, try a
little extra zest grated on top and pour over some more single cream just before you dive in.
Ingredients:
100g Short grain paella or risotto rice.
250ml Single cream.
40g Sugar.
Zest or peel from 1 lemon.
1 pinch Sea salt.
3 tablespoons Cold water.
Enough cold water to barely cover rice for initial fast boil.
Rice with cream and lemon
serves 2
Cooking:
1. Put the rice in a small saucepan and barely cover it with cold water.
2. Bring to the boil and fast boil for 4 minutes. Then, take off the heat and rinse with cold water and
then strain the rice.
3. Put the rice back into the saucepan and add all the other ingredients.
4. Give all a good stir and over a low heat cook slowly until the rice is done.
168
Turrón con almendras enteras
T
urrón is just a little more complicated to make
than garrapiñados, though still very simple.
I do not extend myself in effort to choose my favourite.

They serve me different purposes. Garrapiñados with
coffee; Turrón for the simple pleasure of seeing my wife’s
eyes light up when a plateful is plonked on the table
before her.
In Spain, many different confections are sold under the

name ‘Turrón’. Some very similar to marzipan and others
more like nougat, often containing cherries and other
glacé fruits. There are then others covered in chocolate.
None however, approach the simplicity of this recipe.
In case you have skipped over the recipe for garrapiñados

I will repeat some key advice here: There are a few
things to remember when buying almonds: the more
they are processed the less well they keep their flavour.
By far the best are almonds still in their shell - cracking them will take a little time, though the reward will be had
at the finish. A good compromise is to buy them in their skins - the flavour will be nearly as good and I confess this
is how I buy them when pushed for time. Unless you’re absolutely desperate, never buy them ready skinned or
blanched. Sold this way, they quickly lose so much of their creamy quality and their oil can develop an unpleasant
rancidity.
Ingredients:
300g Almonds - shelled and skinned weight.
250g Sugar.
Preparation:
1. To remove their skins, put the shelled almonds into boiling water and leave them for 2 to 3
minutes.
2. Drain them and, when cool, their skins are easily removed.
3. Dry them with absorbant kitchen paper.
Turrón with whole almonds
serves 4 to 6 as an after meal sweet
Cooking:
1. In a frying pan, over a medium heat, toast the skinned almonds, turning them over regularly, until they are
just beginning to scorch.
2. In another pan, or saucepan, over a medium-high heat, put in the sugar and stir until the sugar has
caramelised - don’t let it get too dark.
3. Off the heat, add the toasted almonds and give a few stirs to make sure they are completely coated.
4. Pour the mixture on to baking paper, a pre-buttered shallow tin or a marble slab to cool.
5. While the Turrón is still warm, it can be scored with a buttered knife into squares - bite sized or bigger.
170
Salsas, aliños, pastas para
untar y caldos
Sauces, dressings, spreads and stocks
All-i-oli
A couple of salad dressings
A few mayonnaises
A few spreads
Mayonnaise - potato and garlic - see traditional section
Sofrito of tomatoes and bay leaf
Stock - chicken and vegetable
172
All-i-oli
A
ll-i-oli is not garlic mayonnaise. Oh, I’ll grant you may
hear, or read, of mayonnaise with garlic in it being referred to as
‘All-i-oli’, but they are not the same thing. That is why, I have given
them separate territories. All-i-oli is to mayonnaise as a wolverine
is to a gerbil. True All-i-oli consists of only garlic, olive oil, salt and
occasionally, but not always, a few drops of lemon juice. It never
contains egg yolks, mustard - dijon or otherwise, sugar or vinegar. To
help in the initial stages of emulsification, you may see added a small
piece of bread about the size of a walnut, or even a piece of quince - if
you want to retain any street-cred at all, don’t do this.
This is fearsome stuff, eat this and your breath can melt plastic for
two days afterwards. It is made in a mortar and never a blender - its
creation will not allow haste. A traditional porón is used to deliver the
oil. They are designed to do so drop by drop or to give a thin, steady
drizzle from its spout. These are almost indispensable when making
All-i-oli – you can use a jug with a thin spout, but they’re much less
precise and you’ll have to be very careful not to over-pour. It is said
by the cognoscenti, that All-i-oli is done, dusted, and ready to serve
only when the pestle can remain standing upright in the mixture without visible support.
There happens to be a curious piece of folk-lore concerning the use of the pestle, it’s this; they say that if while making
All-i-oli you start using it in a clockwise or anti-clockwise direction, you must continue throughout the entire operation in
that same direction. Failure to do so will render failure in the All-i-oli. It taking so long to make, I haven’t dared ever to
buck this piece of wisdom and test out my scepticism.
What is true for most vegetables is true for garlic; fresh is best. In the early part of the year before the new crop has
arrived, garlic often sprouts a small green shoot from its centre. Opinions vary as to whether this be removed. It can
taste bitter and it certainly increases the pungency. With garlic mayonnaises I can see the point, they have a much softer
character. With All-i-oli, to leave it out is a bit odd. This is such a ferocious beast and I would have thought subtleties such
as this, irrelevant - a bit like the SAS following ‘Health and Safety’ guidelines.
I have to tell you, this is the hardest thing in the book to get right. The result though, when eaten with cold meats, new
potatoes with their skins on, with lamb chops or those delicious Catalan sausages Butifaras, is outstanding – persevere,
and you’ll love yourself for doing so.
Ingredients:
3 Cloves of garlic.
A good pinch of sea salt - but less than 1⁄4 of a teaspoon.
All-i-oli
as a part of, or accompaniment to, many dishes
Preparation:
1. Raise the oil to room temperature.
2. Raise the mortar and pestle to room temp.
Making:
1. In the mortar, grind the garlic and salt together to form a smooth paste.
2. Using the pestle in one direction only, and without stopping grinding and turning, pour, drop by drop the oil
onto the edge of the mortar so that it gently runs down the side and into the garlic/salt mixture. When
it starts to thicken, then, and only then, can you increase the flow of oil. Keep going until all the oil is
used and the pestle, unassisted, is able to stand up in the resulting all-i-oli.
If it all goes wrong:
Recovery is possible and what you end up with will be first class, but, it won’t be all-i-oli. Here’s what you
do...
1. Put the failed all-i-oli into a measuring jug and using sunflower oil, bring the total liquid up to 200ml.
2. Follow the instructions for Mayo 3. in this section, omitting the oil, garlic and only adding a further 1⁄4
teaspoon of sea salt.
174
Un par de aliños
Sherry vinegar and honey dressing.
F
or chickpea or raw beetroot and carrot salads
the dressing can be added during their making. The
dressing acts as a marinade in this case and has time
blend in with the ingredients. This is especially true with
the chickpeas, as they will soak some of it up and greatly
improve the texture and flavour of the salad. This is not
so with any green salad such as curly endive or lettuce. If
added too early, the crispness of their leaves will be lost and
with it most of the expected pleasure. Dressings for green
salads should be added and the salad tossed immediately
before serving. This is a delightfully simple dressing. Its
components blend so well together that I see no point in
using any other, it being so perfect for all green leaved
salads.
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon Sherry vinegar.
1 teaspoon Honey – a generous teaspoon of runny honey is best.
A few twists of the black pepper mill.
Preparation:
1. Put all the ingredients into a sealable jar and give it a thoroughly good shake until the oil and vinegar
have emulsified.
A couple of salad dressings
used with a few of the salads in this book
Lemon and olive oil dressing.
A
nice tart dressing. My dressing of choice for
‘Mussel and Rice Salad’. When mixed into the still
warm rice its lively fresh fragrence permeates the entire
kitchen. I have tried other dressings with this dish but
none touch the button so well.
I would suggest that for many green salads this can be a

good substitute for the sherry vinegar & honey dressing.
Though if made as suggested below, not for use with
curly endive - its sharpness coupled with that of the
endive’s is taking things a bit far - should you wish to try
this, cut back on the lemon juice to the point where your
cheeks unpucker.
Ingredients:
21⁄2 tablespoons Extra virgin olive oil.
2 tablespoons Lemon juice.
1⁄4 teaspoon Sea salt - if using fine table salt, use less. If using canned mussels for mussel and
rice salad omit the salt.
A few twists of the black pepper mill.
Preparation:
1. Put all the ingredients into a sealable jar and give it a thoroughly good shake until the oil and lemon juice
have emulsified.
176
Unas mayonesas
I
’ll leave the origin of mayonnaise to food historians - they still argue
about it. The Minorcans say it was used in Mahon centuries before the French
had emerged from the caves at Lasceaux, and the French can’t make theirs minds up
whether it’s name stems from manier or moyeu. You see what I mean, it’s best to leave
them to it.
So much has been written on how to recover a curdled mayo. The best way by far is to
not let it happen the first place. This is as easy to do as it is to write.
Follow this and you’ll never have a mayo problem; make sure the eggs and oil are
at a comfortable room temperature. If you try making any of these mayos with eggs
straight from the fridge you stand a good chance of the mixture curdling, and if it
doesn’t, then there’s an equally good chance that your fridge is up-the-chute.
If you do keep your eggs in the fridge, place them in luke warm water and leave it to
warm up for 10 mins. OK let’s say luke warm water is just nice and warm to the touch.
If you intend using a stone mortar and pestle make sure these are also warmed.
Where mustard is used, my preference is for the French ‘Maille’s Dijon fine Mustard’. Both Coleman’s and Maille
work well. Try them both and decide for yourself.
Mayo 1: Softer in nature than the other two mayos due to the use of egg white as well as yolk and the absence
of garlic.
Ingredients:
1 Whole egg – at room temperature.
1 level teaspoon Colemans english mustard or Maille Dijon Mustard.
200ml Sunflower oil.
1⁄4 teaspoon Sea salt - if using fine table salt, use less or to taste.
Mayo 2: This is a much heavier duty garlic mayo. Less so than Mayo 3, but still attention grabbing. Ideal with
any amount of dishes: snails, meat, fish and particularly sausages - hot or cold.
Ingredients:
2 Egg yolk – at room temperature.
3 teaspoons Colemans english mustard or Maille Dijon Mustard.
1⁄4 teaspoon Sea salt - if using fine table salt, use less or to taste.
1⁄2 teaspoon Sugar.
1 tablespoons. White winw vinegar.
6 to 8 Turns of the black pepper mill.
A few mayonnaises
as an accompaniment to many dishes including; salads, meats and snails
Mayo 3. This is without any doubt my favourite mayo of all time. It goes so perfectly with so many dishes; cole-slaw, grilled
lamb chops, fish and snails.
Ingredients:
2 Egg yolks – at room temperature.
1 level teaspoon Colemans english mustard or Maille Dijon Mustard.
2 Cloves of garlic.
50ml Olive oil - extra virgin.
3⁄4 teaspn Sea salt - if using fine table salt, use less or to taste.
1⁄2 teaspn Sugar.
Preparation for mayos 1, 2 and 3:

1. In a bowl of warm water, bring the eggs, still in their shells, to room temperature - about ten minutes.
2. Bring the oil and mixing bowl or whisking goblet to room temp.
Making mayos 1, 2 and 3:

1. If using garlic, grind it together with the salt in a mortar until it forms a creamy, smooth paste.
2. Add all the ingredients except the oil to the whisking goblet.
3. Whisk this mixture together and when it is well combined, continue whisking and slowly pour, in a fine
drizzle, the oil.
178
Unas pastas para untar
I
f you concern yourself about such things, these few spreads might be considered as social lifesavers. You
know how it is, some people - you may even like them - seem to have a genetic disposition to calling round
when you have sod all to offer them except the salty remnants lurking in a near empty packet of peanuts. Now
these three little trifles are unlike anything you can buy in a jar, they can be knocked up in minutes and will satisfy
the fussiest. They are quite rich and therefore filling and so your callers will leave with the impression of having
eaten much more than you should honestly take credit for providing. If the callers are unwelcome, give them the
salty bits of peanuts and, with any luck, they won’t bother you again.
Tuna, mayo and horseradish spread: If you feel that your jeans are getting a little
loose, try this spread as a cure. It’s very easy to eat far too much of it - don’t panic,
self-hypnotism works; repeat after me, plump is good. Again, plump is good... ... stop
the mantra when you hear ripping sounds coming from your underpants.
Depending on how hot the horseradish sauce and, depending on how creamy, you may
wish to alter the amount of mayo, up or down, to compensate. Don’t be tempted to use
tuna in brine it’s far too salty for this one.
Ingredients:
110 - 120g Tin of tuna in oil - olive or sunflower.
11⁄2 tablespoons Mayonnaise - any of the ones in this book.
11⁄2 tablespoons Horseradish sauce.
A few turns of the black pepper mill.
Preparation:
1. Put the drained tuna with everything else into a blender and give it all a good burst - I find with
the quantities suggested that it’s more conveniently done with a mortar and pestle.
2. Serve.
Black olive and anchovy spread: Completely different from the above
spread that has a seductive creamy nature, the flavour here is quite complex
and although green olives can be used instead of black, I feel the blacks give
much more depth. Beware, there are hidden and subtle dangers, its deep salty,
earthy character can lead to drinking just a little too much of that rather tasty
red wine on the table.
Ingredients:
16 Black olives - stoned.
4 Anchovy fillets - 1⁄2 an anchovy is considered to be 1 fillet.
20g Unsalted butter at room temperature.
1 teaspoon Sherry vinegar.
Preparation:
1. Gently rinse the anchovey fillets in cold water and then dab dry with kitchen paper.
2. Put everything into a blender and give it a good burst - as with the previous spread, I find it’s
more conveniently done with a mortar and pestle - serve.
A few spreads
just for a little light something
Capers, tuna and butter
Capers, tuna and butter: This goes well with toast or almost any type of savoury biscuit. Dished up with small pieces of
smoked salmon it’s a great way of making a few scraps go much further. It freezes really well and with gentle defrosting
can be ready in a couple of minutes.
Ingredients:
150g Tuna in olive oil.
100g Butter at room temperature.
6 teaspoons Capers.
1 teaspoon Balsamic vinegar.
6 Full turns of the black pepper mill.
Preparation:
1. Put the drained tuna and the rest of the ingredients into a blender and give it a good whizzing.
2. Check for salt - that’s it.
180
Sofrito de cebolla, tomates y laurel
B
efore sofrito, life must have been viewed in
monochrome; an old black and white movie.
Sofrito means much more than sauce of tomatoes, onions
and garlic. It implies alchemy. How the flavours change
with time on the stove, the slightly sharp tomatoes blend
with the onion, garlic, bay leaves and olive oil to yield
such soft, rich flavours - slow cooking is obviously best
with sorcery.
Bay leaves are essential, though often it is difficult to put

one’s finger on just what their contribution is. Be that
as it may, leave them out and you’ll notice their absence
immediately. Mildly narcotic, they lend warmth and a
flavour softly reminiscent of cloves.
This sofrito freezes really well and will keep in the fridge
for several days. When it has cooled after cooking, I
put it in freezer bags with 4 heaped tablespoons in each
- this is the normal quantity for the recipes that use it in
this book.
Though the advocation is for slow cooking, if you try making it in a deep saucepan, it will take forever. It rids the
excess liquid faster if you use a shallow wide pan - the larger surface area is important for this. I use a small
paella.
Ingredients:
2 400g tins chopped spanish or italian tomatoes.
400g Peeled and finely chopped sweet spanish onions.
1 level teaspoon Sugar.
1 level teaspoon Sea salt - if using fine table salt, use less.
1 level teaspoon Paprika.
2 large Bay leaves.
Cooking:
1. Put the olive oil, chopped onions, sugar and salt into a large sauté pan over a medium to low
heat.
2. Stirring the mixture frequently, cook the onion until it is tender and slightly golden and almost
translucent – this takes from around 15 to 30 minutes depending on the heat setting – the longer
you can afford to wait, the better.
3. Add the paprika to the onions, mix in well and fry for another minute.
Sofrito of onion, tomatoes and bay leaf
used with many dishes in this book
Cooking continued...
4. Add the tomatoes and bay leaves.
5. Raise the heat to medium and stirring from time to time, cook for around 20 minutes.
6. The sofrito is ready when the tomato mixture has darkened and has separated from the olive oil and giving
it a slightly curdled look.
Tip: If the onions start to brown too early, that is, before they are tender and golden, add a dessertspoonful
of cold water. This will reduce the heat, provide a drop more liquid, and at the same time give them that
extra time they obviously need. Repeat this as often as necessary, though it is preferable to cook at a
lower heat.
182
Caldos - de pollo y de verduras
T
he advice given below may seem contrary to the image of the
ever-simmering stock-pot on the stove or hanging over an open fire.
These stocks were made by continually adding and unimaginable array of
ingredients, many of which were scraps, bones, carcasses and leftovers.
Such stocks were of course heavy duty and formed the base for thick
winter soups and broths.
The two recipes given here, are not meant to be highly flavoured. Their
existence is to provide a light background tone to whatever it is you are
cooking - their being is to enhance, not to dominate. For the purpose of
this book, where a stock is called for, rather than use an over rich one, it
would be better to use hot water - the exception to this is the recipe for
‘white beans, garlic and parsley’ where Knorr stock-pots work very well.
Stock cubes are, in general, too harsh and too salty. They are acceptable
for some dishes if used with caution, but, in no way are they do they
match the qualities of these two light brews. If you must use a stock
cube, do so carefully, though the result will not be nearly so clear
flavoured.
Vegetable Stock:
Ingredients:
2 large Carrots – sliced lengthways.
1 large Onion – peeled but left whole.
1 large Stick of celery including the leaves.
1 large Leek – trimmed, cleaned and using as many of the leaves as possible.
1 Bay leaf.
1 Good handful of fresh broadleaved parsley including the stalks.
10 Black peppercorns.
2.2 litres Cold water – the extra 200ml is to allow for steam losses.
Cooking:
1. Peel and trim the vegetables.
2. Split the carrots down the middle.
3. Chop the celery and leek into lengths that will fit the stock pot.
4. Put all the ingredients into the stock pot and bring to the boil.
5. Turn the heat down low and leave at a slow simmer for 1 hour.
6. Allow to cool, strain, then freeze or use.
Chicken & vegetable stocks
used with a few dishes in this book
Chicken Stock:
Ingredients:
2 Chicken carcasses - or 3 if they’re small.
2 large Carrots – sliced lengthways.
1 large Onion – peeled but left whole.
1 large Stick of celery including the leaves.
1 large Leek – trimmed, cleaned and using as many of the leaves as possible.
1 Bay leaf.
1 Good handful of fresh broadleaved parsley including the stalks.
10 Black peppercorns.
3.2 litres Cold water – the extra 200ml is to allow for steam losses.
Cooking:
1. Peel and trim the vegetables.
2. Split the carrots down the middle.
3. Chop the celery and leek into lengths that will fit the stock pot.
4. Put all the ingredients, including the carcasses, into the stock pot and bring to the boil.
5. Allow to simmer at a fast pace for minutes and frequently removing any scum.
6. Turn the heat down low and leave at a slow simmer for 1 hour.
7. Remove the carcasses.
8. Allow the stock to cool, strain, then freeze or use.
184
A Slice of the Pyrenees
Annie & Harry
‘the meal-time gong never called for’

A Slice of The Pyrenees PDF

Caricato da

Informazioni sul documento

Titolo originale

Copyright

Formati disponibili

Condividi questo documento

Condividi o incorpora il documento

Opzioni di condivisione

Hai trovato utile questo documento?

Questo contenuto è inappropriato?

Copyright:

Formati disponibili

A Slice of The Pyrenees PDF

Caricato da

Copyright:

Formati disponibili

A Slice of the Pyrenees

And then to my very good friends;

photography people in my life. Caroline, June, Jack and Betsy.

Darren and Corallie Arkwright and their ‘mountain

Long-term friend Richard Kenward from whom I

Those two old Bulgogi eating, funghi hunting and

Simon Quinn and Tita or to give Tita her full

And finally to those who never needed a clock to

as were the photographs on pages 104 and 115.

The photograph on page 165 was taken by Jen Rose.

All other photographs by Walter Gunn.

Books by Walter Gunn: A Slice of the Pyrenees

The Snail Cookbook

Copyright © 2012 by Walter Gunn

T he ‘Peña Cocinar de Coscojuela’ - a wonderful

So much of their culinary philosophy helped shape

Altemir Bestué Isabel

Above: Valle de Chistau.

Door detail - Coscojuela de Sobrarbe.

Ainsa old town.

Coscojuela de Sobrarbe - Juan and Ana’s place.

Window detail - Coscojuela de Sobrarbe.

Griffon Vulture - Buitre Leonado.

The winds and snows of the Alto Aragón - Monte Perdido.

Peña Montañesa from the Author’s land near Coscojuela.

The recipes I have separated into two sections; The first

These are dishes from robust people brought up on robust

In the second part, the recipes are not necessarily traditional

Above: open-air cooking Sobrarbe style.

how much salt to consume - with the above caveat

Rules: Perhaps this should be in the singular

A second round of bashing with the

A pastor tending his sheep away from

Chorizo with lentils and sautéed potatoes

Pork sausages & potatoes with almonds, parsley and garlic

Potato and garlic mayonnaise

Rabbit with beer and garlic

Rabbit with orange

Ricardo’s aragonese lamb stew

White bean and herb salad

Wood-fire grilled fresh sardines

To rid bacalao of the salt, it needs quite a bit of pre-soaking. The

To include the recipe in its most basic form represented

Migas are full of heat-producing calories and were eaten before

The switched-on amongst you will have noticed that

This recipe is not only different and delicious, it has the

Originally, Conejo Enterrado was seen as a great way for

Prep & cooking: 1, 2, & 3.

Preparing & cooking:

Prep & cooking: 4a. Prep & cooking: 4b.

Preparing & cooking continued...

Prep & cooking: 5. Prep & cooking: 6.

Conejo in escabeche was one of the courses that made up

Rabbit meat can be a bit prone to drying out during

This recipe tastes as good as it looks. The meat and

Unannounced he came, ‘I have a recipe for your book, it’s very

Again, with enough time, I would always soak and cook

Optional herb alternatives:

The cleaning technique for sardines is almost as simple

I much prefer the local way of doing these, it saves so

Beetroot - raw beetroot and carrot salad

Chicken, cucumber and horseradish salad

Chickpea, avocado and fresh herb salad