My dad is leading a study abroad program in Santander, Spain this semester. Since he's been gone, at least a few minutes of each of our phone conversations have been devoted to detailed descriptions of the terrific food that he is enjoying. It occurred to me that he might share and record some of his food experiences through this blog. The following is his response to my request. This looks to be a recipe for a delicious stew that I can't wait to try. Sounds perfect for the upcoming fall and winter days here in the States! Thanks Dad!
"Here is a Spanish dish that I have been preparing for years. It is a Guisado, or Cocido; a stew. But somehow, it always tastes better here, in Spain. I am not sure if that is because of the quality of the meat or poultry one uses in it, the quality of the potatoes they have here in Spain, or the quality of the olive oil you use to sauté the meat, or even the quality of the bread crumbs with which you “dust” the meat at the end of sautéing it. In the past month I have made this at least three times, using three different main ingredients. I have used chicken, cubes of pork, and skirt of veal. Though in most supermarkets in Spain you can now buy both “corral” (free range) and “normal” chicken, I find all chicken to be somehow less processed and better. I have no explanation for this though I do not think it is my imagination. The cubed pork and skirt of veal that you use for this are some of the least expensive meats you can buy in the supermarket. But they are really very good. There is very little fat in this meat here; If you fry it without oil when you are finished the bottom of your pan will be just about as dry as when you began. When you cook the pork you can clearly see that it is white meat. The veal skirt sometimes has layers of fat running through it, and I cut this away, leaving meat that I also find very lean. This does not mean that you must cook the stew for a long time; you can have this done in about ½ hour or less. You can also use an express pot (pressure cooker) and have it done in a few minutes, once you have assembled the ingredients.
There are no measurements for this stew; use more or less of whatever you like to eat. Aside from the basic ingredients –meat, onion, garlic, a little wine, potatoes, broth—you should throw in whatever else you would like to use.
1. Cut the meat into the size pieces that you want. If you are using chicken do not take it off the bone. Just get a good, sharp, heavy knife and cut right through it if you want small chunks (in the markets—the ones with individual venders specializing in one kind of food at each post; also in lots of supermarkets, though not in quite a professional a manner—you can still watch the butcher with huge, heavy knives working on a butcher block cut the chicken any way you like; unfortunately we have lost this in many smaller cities and towns in the USA). I take the skin off the chicken to cut down on fat.
2. In the bottom of a deep pot heat up about a tablespoon of oil; enough to coat the bottom. I get the bottom of the pot hot first and then add the oil. Put in as much cubed (the size of the cubes is up to you) onion as you want (probably at least ½ a medium onion for ½ chicken).
3. When the onion begins to get translucent throw in as much fresh chopped garlic as you wish (you can also use a garlic press if you don’t like chopping the garlic; even dried garlic, though be careful not to burn it). Then throw in the meat. Sauté until the meat starts to get brown.
4. When the meat begins to brown give it a good dusting with bread crumbs. Be careful not to burn the bread crumbs. You can use flower also, but I think the recipe is better with bread crumbs. Ultimately, this is going to thicken up the sauce. I am not sure why I add it at this point and not at the very end, to the sauce; I suppose the bread crumbs absorb the flavor of the meat and add flavor as well as thickness to the sauce. But if you forget the bread crumbs you can still add them at the end. I really don’t think flour or starches are as good as bread crumbs (but matzo meal works pretty well also).
5. Pour in some broth. I don’t think it really matters what kind; remember this is just plain old home cooking. I have never tried using fish broth with meat but I have used chicken broth with both pork and veal when that is all that I had around. It tastes good to me.
6. Now add the ingredient that makes all cooking good: wine. How much? Just tip the bottle over the pot and give it a shot. If you are serving several people I would use up to ½ cup. Probably, most recipe books will tell you to use white wine. But I have always used red wine because that is what I keep around the house. Maybe the best advice is to just add a little of whatever you are drinking at the time you are cooking. I do not suggest keeping a bottle of wine around the house just for cooking since, red or white, you are liable to drink it when you really need a glass of wine and there is nothing else around. You can probably use beer or cognac instead of wine; but why cook cognac when you will surely want to drink it and it is not as plenty as wine?
7. Add any spices you wish. Recently I have used just salt and pepper to taste (a few good, fresh, whole white peppers, only because that is what I have had around the kitchen). I add the salt at the end because I am never sure how salty the broth already is.
8. Add potatoes cut in chunks, as for all stews. Of course the time to add the potatoes and other ingredients depends on how long you think it will take the meat to get cooked and soft. If you sauté the meat for a while you can add the potatoes almost immediately. If you make this recipe in a pressure cooker (express pot) remember that the potatoes will cook in just a few minutes. I often throw all of the ingredients in together almost immediately after the meat, as soon as I have each ingredient cut up. Sometimes the potatoes will come out a little soft but I have never had them turn into puree and they are always good.
9. Add any and as many vegetables as you wish to add (do add some; but probably not enough to overpower the meat). Carrots are great. In Spain, big, sweet, red bell peppers are just wonderful! I always add them. The Spaniards also sell long thin green peppers for frying (some supermarkets call them “Italian peppers”); I do not fry them but just add them raw. Recently I have had good buys on zucchini and keep it around; I add a little of that. I recently have been keeping raw soy beans that I have soaked and will throw some of them in. Some tomato works well or some tomato puree –around a tablespoon or as much as you want, but not too much to turn it into a tomato sauce—is very good in it. I keep cooked garbanzos around and sometimes throw in a few of them. Whatever you have around and want to get rid of. For the principal ingredients –meat and potatoes and the major vegetable(s)-- I suggest good fresh vegetables; but if you have a little of something that is on its way out, throw it in.
Now cook on a low heat.
This recipe must be eaten with decent bread. You can use a normal baguette made of white flower and even that will be pretty good. But a more artisan bread will be much better. I expect that what makes the artisan baguette or “bar” better is the less refined flower and hand kneading; it does not come out as fluffy and is more chewy; the quality of a good rye bread in the USA though I do not think rye is the right flavor; not for my taste. Perhaps a good pumpernickel bread, even if it does not have a hard crust. They call such a baguette a peasant or farmer’s bread, or a Roman bread. You can also get a Galician bread, which can be round. There are also breads of various numbers of cereals that are very good. You should preferably have a bread with a good hard crust and that is not too light.
You must also have a good wine with this (though not necessarily an expensive wine) and I don’t think a white will work (though I am always partial to reds, anyway). I naturally prefer Spanish wines because they are the ones I know. The wines from Rioja are famous, but recently I have been enjoying very good wines from Navarre, Rioja’s neighboring region. In the USA you can try Red Guitar, for example. I have also been enjoying some wines from Valdepeñas (the central region; Castilla-La Mancha) made with Tempranillo grapes, though I cannot recall any labels for these wines in the USA. But you can find them. Solaz is good brand name; I do not think it is considered a Valdepeñas but is still from the region of Castilla –La Mancha.. Aldi sells a good wine from Cariñena also. Cariñnena wines are a little less full bodied for my taste, but still good. I have not had Sangre de Toro from Cataluña in many years but it would probably be great with this. Another good one that is very inexpensive, made of a blend of grapes, if I recall correctly, is called Catalunya, produced by Barbieri. Don Hugo, which is around the same price las Catalunya, is sold as a very inexpensive wine in Spain also (though here you can still get cheaper wines that are also pretty good). Of course, there is also Aldi’s Winking Owl, which for the money probably cannot be beat. If you do not want to buy a Spanish wine a Malbec will no doubt work.
Vegetarians can probably try this recipe by substituting a good, meaty vegetable for the chicken, pork, or veal and using vegetable broth and adding more garbanzos. But please, do not try tofu. There is a limit to just how forgiving this recipe will be.
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