By ISAAC MASSIASThe writer (right), with Chef Miki Calzad in his restaurant in Barcelona(photo credit: AYA MASSIAS)
After spending a wonderful Succot in Israel, my wife, Aya, and I are continuing our journeys in Spain by exploring the colorful food markets as well as the rich Jewish heritage sites of Barcelona, Ávila and Toledo.Ávila is a beautiful town in the autonomous community of Castile and León, and it was home to many Jews before the Inquisition. The Jews of Ávila were shop and workshop owners in one of the town’s most prestigious streets, now known as Calle de los Reyes Católicos, literally “the street of the Catholic kings,” which is quite ironic, in my humble opinion.In every region I visit, I aim to find the typical dishes of the town and determine whether the Jews who once lived there had any influence on these traditional dishes. Ávila was no exception, as you will find from the recipes below.Like Ávila, Toledo, too, has a very rich Jewish history, and it is the region from which my family originated, before the Inquisition; for this reason I become very emotional whenever I visit Toledo.Toledo was chosen as Spain’s Capital of Gastronomy in 2016, and I would recommend this city to any culinary and fine-dining enthusiast.And finally: Barcelona.Barcelona is a paradise for food lovers.Whenever I visit, I save at least a day for cooking with my good friend chef Miki Calzad, who owns a restaurant inside the Ninot Market, one of the oldest markets in Barcelona. He is aware of my kosher requirements and is used to me bringing my personal cooking kit, although I still think he finds it rather odd! Our first recipe – a pan-seared fillet of turbot with sautéed baby vegetables – was prepared with Calzad. The second dish is the traditional Ávila salmorejo (cold soup), and the third recipe is the Toledo-style young chicken with chocolate sauce.SALMOREJO DE ÁVILAIn Spain, this is a very popular puree, served cold. Ávila has its own recipe, very similar to gazpacho but creamier.Serves 6■ 10 medium-size ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped■ 2 large cucumbers, peeled and chopped■ 1 small onion, chopped■ 1 medium-size red pepper, chopped■ 1 clove garlic, chopped■ 3 slices wholewheat bread, wet and chopped■ 2 Tbsp. homemade mayonnaise■Salt and pepper, to taste■ Balsamic vinegar, to taste■ ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil■ 1 boiled egg, chopped■ ¼ cup fresh chopped parsley■ 1 small tin tuna, choppedStart by placing all the vegetables in a blender with the bread. Blend until the vegetables become a very soft cream.Pass through a sieve and put into the fridge for at least six hours. Then add salt, pepper, vinegar and olive oil. Taste before serving. Serve very cold in ceramic bowls. Sprinkle on top the boiled egg, parsley and tuna. Drizzle a little olive oil before serving.TOLEDO-STYLE YOUNG CHICKEN IN CHOCOLATE AND BRANDY SAUCEServes 4■ 4 young chickens (poussins), 250 gr. each■ 250 gr. parve chocolate■ 1 cup good-quality brandy■ 6 garlic cloves, whole■ ½ cup chopped fresh rosemary■ 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil■ 125 gr. parve margarine■ Sea salt and pepper, to tasteTry to find the smallest poussins – 250 gr., or use 500-gr. poussins and cut in half.Place the poussin in a tray. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, olive oil, rosemary and garlic. Put in a very hot oven (250°) for 30 minutes. When they become very crispy and brown, remove from oven and leave to cool.In a bain-marie, put the chocolate, margarine and brandy, wait until the water under the chocolate starts boiling, then start mixing the chocolate with a wooden spoon. When mixture is soft and you have a good consistency going, cover each of the poussins with the chocolate mix and place in a medium- hot oven for 25 minutes to finish the roasting. The aroma that will waft out of the oven will drive every one at home crazy.Serve with any kind of rice or even couscous or quinoa.PAN-SEARED FILLET OF TURBOT WITH SAUTÉED BABY VEGETABLESServes 6■ 2 kg. fresh wild turbot■ 125 gr. butter■ ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil■ ½ cup dry white wine■ 2 cloves of garlic, sliced■ 2 whole baby carrots, peeled and cut in half lengthwise■ 1 baby zucchini■ 4 fresh green baby asparagus■ 3 cherry tomatoes, cut in half■ Sea salt and pepper, to tasteThis recipe can be made with grouper or any other fatty fish. Chef Miki Calzad brought a fantastic turbot from Barcelona’s Ninot Market, so we decided on the turbot.Ask the fishmonger to clean the fish and leave the middle bone and, with a good knife, cut six steaks from the fish.Place in a big pan with a quarter of the olive oil. Place the steaks on a hot fire and cook 10 minutes on each side.It’s a thick piece, so it needs time. After they have cooked 10 minutes on each side, place the steaks in a tray and into a hot oven for an extra 10 minutes, then leave to cool.Boil the baby vegetables for 10 minutes.We want them a little hard. Then put the butter in the same pan where you cooked the fish and start sautéing the half-boiled vegetables. When they are nice and brown, add the wine, salt and pepper. Leave to cool.Heat the turbot steaks and place a piece on each plate. Heat the vegetables in the pan and place them all around the turbot steaks in each of the plates. The colors are wonderful, resulting in an impressive plate.The writer is a trained chef, former owner of restaurants in New York and Jerusalem, and runs Yaya Food & Travel Ltd. (gourmet kosher Jewish heritage and culinary tours). www.jewishheritagetourseurope.com. You can contact him at: massiasisaac@yahoo.es
Related Tagsgourmet kosher cooking
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