By ISAAC MASSIASAndalusia(photo credit: AYA MASSIAS)
I feel privileged to have a little farm on the Andalusian countryside surrounded by little white villages, and each and every one of them carrying an amazing history, most of them even with their own Juderia neighborhood or street where their Jewish community once lived before the Inquisition.Casares is a beautiful white village in the mountains surrounding us and where my friend Paco lives. He breeds goats for milk and cheese, and every week we exchange gifts: he brings us goat milk, and I bring him a box of matzot from the kosher shop in Gibraltar that he loves.One of our recipes this time will be stuffed anchovies – Anchoas rellenas de Barbate – named after Barbate, where you can find the best fish market in Andalusia. In Gibraltar, we usually serve them cold for Friday night dinner as an appetizer together with salads.The other authentic recipe I would like to present to you today is a beef sausage and chicken paella, usually prepared outside on an open fire.We will conclude with Mantecados – peanut-butter cookies.Stuffed anchovies (Anchoas rellenas de Barbate)Serves 6 ■ 1 kg. fresh anchovies (ask your fishmonger to take the middle bone off)■ 1 garlic clove finely chopped■ 1 tsp. Dijon mustard■ 1 egg■ ½ cup fresh cilantro finely chopped■ ½ tsp. cumin■ ½ tsp. paprika (sweet or hot) to your liking■ ½ cup bread crumbs. For a dairy recipe, use Parmesan cheese instead■1 cup flour■ 1½ cups extra virgin olive oil■ salt and pepperStart by mixing with a fork the egg, garlic, mustard, cilantro, spices and bread crumbs or cheese, until you have a thick paste. Then place all the anchovies open (skin down) on a tray, and with a teaspoon cover each anchovy with stuffing. When they are all covered, place a medium- sized frying pan with your olive oil on the fire, and when hot, dip stuffed anchovies in the flour and deep fry them. Make sure your oil is hot, or the stuffing will come off the anchovy.In Gibraltar we like eating them cold, but they are excellent to eat hot straight after frying them with garlic and basil mayonnaise.Peanut-butter cookies (Mantecados)■ ¾ cup brown sugar■ ½ tsp. aniseed■ 2 Tbsp. peanut butter■½ glass extra virgin olive oil■ flour (see recipe below)Start by mixing the oil, aniseed and sugar.When creamy, add the peanut butter, then with a wooden spoon start adding flour. I am not giving you an exact amount of flour, as it’s all done by eye and feeling. Start adding flour until you have a nice dough, not too dry and by no means sticky – it has to be very easy to work with, and easy to make little round balls the size of a golf ball (you can make them smaller or bigger).Place them in an oven tray and bake for 18 minutes in a medium-hot oven, 170°.Beef sausage and chicken paellaThis dish is usually prepared in the countryside over burning wood.Serves 6■ 6 beef sausages (sliced)■ 6 chicken thighs (leave bone and cut in half)■ 6 chicken legs (not too big)■ 500 gr. risotto rice■ 2 liters chicken stock■ 1 small onion, finely chopped■ 1 green pepper, finely chopped■ 5 garlic cloves, finely chopped■ 1 cup fried tomatoes, without skins■ 1 cup good dry red wine■ ½ cup extra virgin olive oil■ 2 bay leaves■ 1 tsp. saffron powder■ sea salt and pepperStart by placing a big round flat pan, or a paella pan, on the fire. When hot, add the olive oil, onion, pepper, bay leaves and garlic. Mix well with a wooden spoon, and when vegetables are nice and brown add the fried tomatoes and red wine. Cook for around 20 minutes, then add the chicken, sausage and a quarter of the stock. Cook for another 20 minutes. When you see that you have a nice sauce going, add the rice and mix well, then cover all ingredients with the leftover stock, saffron, salt and pepper. Leave to cook on a low heat for an extra 45 minutes – depending on the rice you use, you might have to add a little more stock. Each serving should have a quarter of fresh lemon, as it’s lovely with freshly squeezed lemon.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
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