Gazpacho Andaluz

Gazpacho is all about the freshness and quality of the ingredients.  So here goes...

Traditional Gazpacho Andaluz

Like all European classic dishes, there are 1,001 versions of this wonderfully refreshing cold summer soup that comes from the Andalusian part of Southern Spain.  I will stick to a very traditional recipe and would remark that the process for making the soup is probably more important than defining strict ratios between the different ingredients.   The vinegar features in the soup and will impart a distinct characteristic, so whether you opt for red, white or sherry vinegar, use a good quality one.  The exact quantities of salt, vinegar and oil will vary with the quality, flavour and water content of your vegetables, so adjustments will be required.  The origins of the soup can be traced back to Roman times when a more basic version of bread, water, oil and garlic was made.  Christopher Columbus brought tomatoes and bell peppers back from the New World which subsequently got added to the soup. Incidentally, in the days before stick blenders, the bread and vegetables were pounded to a paste in a very large mortar, before being passed through a sieve.

Kitchen equipment required:

A stick blender

A conical sieve and conical wooden pestle

Ingredients:

1 kg ripe flavourful tomatoes

1 small cucumber, skinned

1 medium Spanish sweet onion

1 or 2 cloves garlic, to taste

1 red or green pepper, seeded

2 slices stale bread. Stick or sourdough would be ideal.

75ml vinegar, or more to taste

200 ml extra virgin olive oil (or more to taste)

250 ml Water

Salt & pepper

Method:

Roughly chop the tomatoes, cucumber, onion, garlic and peppers and place in a large bowl on top of the stale bread. Generously salt the vegetables (but don’t overdo it as the salt can’t be removed later), and add a couple of teaspoons of vinegar. Leave to macerate in the fridge, ideally for a few hours.

After the maceration, add the cold water to the bowl and stick blend until the mixture is smooth.  Now pass the liquid through the conical sieve, which will remove skin, pips etc. and leave you with a pleasant consistency.

Into the mixture add the extra virgin olive oil and once again stick blend to emulsify the oil. The more oil you add, the creamier the soup will become.

Refrigerate the soup until required.  Adjust the seasoning and vinegar before serving as the refrigeration make alter the levels.

Traditionally, the soup is served with a garnish of finely chopped red pepper, tomato, onion, cucumber and croutons, which are spooned individually into the bowls at table side, and a small swirl of fine extra virgin olive oil on the surface of the soup.  Enjoy!

Broad bean hummus

350g blanched (2 - 3mins) shelled broad beans
1 crushed clove of garlic
juice of half a lemon
1tbsp tahini
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1tsp sugar
Salt and pepper to taste

Put all ingredients into a mini blender and blitz until smooth.

Move over chickpeas.

Croziflette

Croziflette

This is a variation on the famous Alpine Tartiflette recipe, a real Winter treat.

400g Crozets

250g Smoked bacon or lardons

3/4 Shallots finely chopped

250ml single or double cream

50g butter, 1cm cubed

100g Compte or Gruyere, grated

1 whole Roblechon cut into half to make 2 discs

Put the crozets into plenty of boiling water and simmer for 15mins (or according to instructions).

In the meantime cut the bacon into small pieces and render in a frying for a few minutes, the add the shallots and some water and cover to soften.

In a baking dish, put the butter cubes, cream and grated Compte. Add the drained crozets and bacon & shallot mix. Combine together well and season but remember the bacon will be salty. Place the Roblechon pieces cut side down on the top and put in a hot oven for 15/20 mins, until the Roblechon has melted and its skin started to soufflé.

Allow to cool for 5 minutes and serve.  A green salad goes well, and I have used this as an accompaniment to Fondue Bourguignonne.

Pinchitos Morunos - Andalusian pork skewers

These fabulous pork skewers are from the Andalusian region of Spain, and are themselves inspired by the flavours of the African Moorish invaders brought with them centuries ago.  A pinchito is a thorn or small skewer, and Moruno is the Spanish word for Moor.  Ironically, the Moors would not have been using Spain's beloved pork in this dish.

They can be served simply as tapas with some chilli sauce (the Quinta d'Avo Piri Piri sauces work well here), or combined in a wrap with Greek yoghurt and salad vegetables for a very satisfying informal meal.

Will comfortably feed 6.

You will need:
1 kg Pork fillet, cut into regular 2cm cubes

For the marinade:
1 tbsp. ground coriander
1 tbsp. ground cumin
1 tbsp. ground turmeric
1 tbsp. Pimenton (Spanish paprika)
1 tbsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. Cayenne pepper
Half cup of olive oil
Salt and fresh ground Pepper
4 decent cloves of garlic, crushed
Juice of 2 lemons

Combine all the ingredients in a small pan with the exception of the lemon juice and garlic. Gently heat it for 2/3 minutes to release the flavours of the spices in the oil. Take off the heat and leave to cool for 10 minutes, before combining with the garlic and lemon juice.

Poor the marinade onto the pork cubes, combine well and leave to stand for at least an hour, but a few hours will give even better results in the fridge.

If using bamboo skewers, soak them for 30 minutes so they don't scorch.  Thread the meat onto your skewers. I tend the place the completed ones over an oven dish turned sideways whilst I do the rest, to minimise the mess.

Cook them on a barbecue or under a grill, turning regularly. Timing will depend on the heat of your grill/barbecue, but should take no longer than 10 minutes.  Try not to overcook them as pork fillet has a tendency to dry out.

Incidentally, this marinade works equally well with chicken and lamb, but I have stuck with pork for Spanish authenticity.

Spanish inspired butterflied leg of lamb

YouTube Spanish butterflied leg of lamb

Marinade Recipe

4 big cloves of garlic, crushed
Quarter cup olive oil
Juice and zest of 2 large lemons
Teaspoon dried Oregano
Teaspoon dried Thyme
Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
Generous salt and pepper
Tablespoon (or more to taste) of quality Spanish Paprika (Pimenton)

Give the combined ingredients a quick blitz with a stick blender and rub into the butterflied leg of lamb. Leave to infuse for at least and hour but overnight in a refrigerator will really let the flavours develop.  If you are leaving the marinading for longer than an hour don't add the salt until just before cooking.

Briquettes or Lumpwood?

This is a question that challenges novice grillers and seasoned pros alike, and the debate goes on.

Firstly, to avoid confusion, what we in the United Kingdom refer to and Barbecuing, is what the Americans refer to as Grilling.  To the Americans, Barbecuing is low temperature slow cooking with smoke, and what we would refer to as hot smoking.

The two most common forms of barbecue (grill) fuel are lumpwood charcoal and briquettes.  Both are relatively easy to use and both have specific strengths and weaknesses in their application.

Lumpwood are the traditionally made gnarly pieces of coal which have been baked in a kiln. It is a pure form of charcoal, in irregularly shapes and sizes.  It burns hot, clean and fast, and leaves very little ash.  The fast element is what can let this fuel down.  By the time the coal is cool enough to cook on, it can be dying fairly quickly and your cooking window can be relative short, meaning that longer cook/thicker items are more difficult to manage.

Briquettes are manufactured typically from a coal dust which is bound together with a starch agent.  The advantages to this fuel are that they are regularly in shape, burn evenly and for long periods of time. Critics will point to the stronger smell and smoke during the lighting phase and the larger ash deposits.

Traditionally, open style barbecue grills use lumpwood whilst kettle style grills like the Webers recommend the briquettes, but either can be used in each situation successfully if managed properly.

Being a Weber fanatic, I shall concentrate this post on the Kettle style grills.

Weber promotes the use of briquettes and suggests using its chimney starter for quick and  efficient lighting.  But all briquettes are not equal. Whilst some, like the Weber own brand, will burn fairly consistently for up to three hours, other cheaper varieties can burn with less heat for much shorter periods of time, so there is an element of trial and error until you find a brand that satisfies your requirements.

As to how much heat you want inside your kettle, again there is some trial and error required here.  Rule of thumb is that more coal equals more heat, assuming it is all well lit.  In colder climates you will additionally require more coal as ambient temperature and humidity play a role in the burn.

So, back to the question Briquettes or Lumpwood, in the context of Kettle Grills.

Well, the answer is both, with the ratio depending on what you're cooking, expected duration and heat required.

Upping the lumpwood ratio increases the heat. I have read research that suggest briquettes and lumpwood burn at the same temperature, but I believe the ash the briquettes throw off starves the coal of the oxygen it needs and does not burn as optimally as the lumpwood.

As an aside, in the U.K. it is worth buy "Restaurant Grade" lumpwood, easily sourced on the internet.  The chunks are generally bigger and of high quality, and work well with the briquettes.

At the moment I am experimenting with ratios, but typically if I'm grilling steaks I will go 60:40 briquette/lumpwood, whereas something that needs longer and less aggressive heat like big chicken bone in pieces, e.g. quarters, will be more like 80:20.

Please feel free to contribute to the debate, and get grilling!