Sara Woodward's Iberian Menu
From the Archives
Having lived in Portugal for several years in the late 80’s early 90’s, this Iberian Menu is one of my favorites from deep in the archive of mealplans we included in our home delivery boxes. Originally created in 2011 by the wonderful Chef Sara Woodward (who is now head of private dining at the amazing Le Bernardin restaurant in NYC), this is a wonderful summer menu that I hope you will enjoy! Use the shopping list of ingredients listed in the “Box Contents” we delivered, if you want to cook the entire menu (and have some seasonal fruit to snack on too!)
Spanish Tortilla with potato, onion and chorizo
Lamb Tagine with tomato, carrot and couscous, Green Salad with Cucumber and Radish
“Caldo Verde” – potato, amaranth, poached egg and lemon, Zucchini with Cumin
Arroz con Pollo – chicken with saffron rice
Green Bean and Red Pepper Salad with Cabecou
Bacalao with Roasted Peppers
Spanish Tortilla with Potato, Onion and Chorizo
The dish that the Spanish call a tortilla is what we might think of as closer to a potato frittata or an omelette. Cut into larger wedges it makes a delicious main course, or into smaller pieces as an appetizer or tapas.
Ingredients:
3-4 medium potatoes, peeled
1 whole yellow onion, diced
5-6 large eggs
Spanish chorizo, cut into thin slices
2-3 cups of olive oil for pan frying
Salt to taste
cilantro
Process:
Cut the peeled potatoes in half lengthwise. Then, with the flat side on the cutting surface, slice the potato into thin slices. Put potatoes and diced onions into a bowl and mix them together. Season with salt and pepper.
In a large, heavy frying pan, heat the olive oil on medium high heat. Carefully place the potato and onion mixture into the pan, spreading them evenly over the surface. The oil should almost cover the potatoes. You may need to turn down the heat slightly, so the potatoes do not burn. Cook on gentle heat until the potatoes are tender, then remove with a slotted spoon and allow to drain. In the same pan, add fresh oil and allow to heat – Meanwhile, break the eggs into a bowl and whisk together. Add the potato-onion mixture to the eggs and when the pan is hot, pour the mixture into the pan and spread out evenly. Allow the egg to cook around the edges. Then you can carefully lift up one side of the omelet to check if the egg has slightly browned. The inside of the mixture should not be completely cooked and the egg will still be runny.
When the mixture has browned on the bottom, you are ready to turn it over to cook the other side. Take the frying pan to a sink. Place a large dinner plate upside down over the frying pan. With one hand on the frying pan handle and the other on top of the plate to hold it steady, quickly turn the frying pan over and the omelet will “fall” onto the plate. Place the frying pan back on the range and put just enough oil to cover the bottom and sides of the pan. Let the pan warm for 30 seconds or so. Now slide the omelet into the frying pan. Use the spatula to shape the sides of the omelet. Let the omelet cook for 3-4 minutes. Turn the heat off and let the tortilla sit in the pan for 2 minutes.
Slide the omelet onto a plate to serve. If eating as a main course, cut the omelet into 6-8 pieces like a pie. If as an appetizer, into 10-12. Garnish with cilantro.
Lamb Tagine with Tomato, Carrot and Couscous
This dish represents the Moorish influence in Spain and Portugal. Since I’m assuming most of you may not have a tagine or couscousiere in your kitchens, were going to create this dish restaurant-style, which means that we’re going to prepare this as we would a braise... in a roasting pan or dutch oven.
Ingredients:
Lamb shoulder, cubed
Onion, cut into wedges
Carrot, cut into 1” pieces
Tomatoes, quartered
2 qts water or stock
garlic cloves, crushed
onions, sliced
orange, sliced into thin rounds
For the couscous:
2C couscous
1T olive oil
2 1/4C water or stock
For the salad:
Salad greens
Radish, sliced
Cucumber, sliced · Lemon
Olive oil
For the Lamb:
Marinate the lamb in salt, pepper and crushed garlic, at least an hour before you plan to begin cooking. Sear the lamb in a hot skillet until caramelized on all sides and place into roasting pan or dutch oven. In the same pan, lightly caramelize the onion and carrot. Just before removing from pan, add the quartered tomato – cook for 1 minute more and add the vegetables to the lamb. Scatter pieces of the sliced orange over the vegetables, add a bay leaf and cover by 3⁄4 with water or stock. Cover and place in 325°F oven for 45 minutes or so. Just check to see that the meat is tender. When ready to serve, strain the liquid from the lamb and vegetables and reduce to a saucy consistency, adjusting for seasoning. Add back to the warm meat and vegetables and serve with couscous.
For the Couscous: In a wide bowl or long shallow dish, add your couscous. Pour the tablespoon oil into the couscous and stir to coat with your hands, coating each grain. This will keep the couscous fluffy when cooked, preventing the grains from sticking together and forming lumps. Bring to a boil, the water or stock, heavily seasoned. Pour over the couscous, making sure to moisten all of the grains and cover immediately with plastic wrap. Set a timer for 15 minutes, remove plastic and fluff with a small whisk or a fork. Serve warm with the tagine. (note: it’s also nice to season the couscous with herbs or spices by steeping them in the water before cooking or simply placing within the raw couscous before pouring the liquid over.)
For the Salad: Toss together chilled salad greens with sliced radish and cucumber. Season with salt and pepper and dress with lemon and olive oil. The crunchy fresh cucumber and radish will be a perfect foil to the rich tagine.
“Caldo Verde” – Potato, Amaranth, Chorizo, Poached Egg & Lemon Zucchini with Cumin
Considered to be Portugal’s national dish, this hearty soup is adored in rural country homes and fine dining restaurants, alike. Traditionally served with kale, we are using amaranth in this recipe – it is a softer, more tender green than kale (more akin to spinach) and also bursting with nutrients.
Ingredients:
1 large Spanish onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
chorizo, diced
6 medium potatoes, peeled and diced · 8 cups cold water
amaranth, sliced into very thin ribbons (or sub with kale)
eggs, 1 per person
lemon
Salt and pepper to taste
For the Zucchini:
Zucchini, cut into batons
Cumin, toasted and ground
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
For the Soup:
In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until they are translucent. Add the garlic and half the chorizo and cook for 2 minutes. Add the potatoes, cover everything with the water, bring to a boil and lower the heat, simmering until the potatoes are almost done, about 15 minutes.
When the soup is cool enough to handle, purée it with an immersion blender or in a food processor and return to the pot. Add the greens, bring everything back to a boil and simmer for 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and at the very end, poach an egg for each portion of soup. Ladle into bowls with one egg per bowl and garnish with remaining chorizo and a squeeze of lemon.
For the Zucchini:
In a large skillet, heat a small amount of olive oil and when quite hot, add the batons of zucchini. Season with salt and pepper and allow to caramelize in the pan. When just about ready (careful not to overcook or they’ll want to become mushy) add a few pinches of the cumin and allow to sizzle in the oil and coat the zucchini. Remove from the pan to drain, squeeze lemon over and serve warm.
Arroz con Pollo – Chicken with Saffron Rice
Probably one of the most satisfying chicken dishes ever, and thankfully, also a one-pot meal.
Ingredients:
chicken leg/thighs
Salt and pepper
olive oil
onion, diced
red bell pepper, seeded and diced
pinch saffron threads
pinch dried chili
garlic, minced
2 1⁄2 C cups water or stock
2 tomatoes, roughly chopped
3C rice
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. In a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, warm 1 Tbs. of the olive oil. Working in batches, brown the chicken on all sides. Transfer to a plate. Pour off the oil in the pan and in the same pot over medium heat, warm the remaining 1 Tbs. olive oil. Add the onion, bell pepper, saffron and red pepper and dried chili, and cook slowly over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until softened but not browned. Add the sherry and cook until slightly reduced. Add the chicken, broth, tomatoes and their juices and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and cook for 20 minutes.
Stir in the rice, increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a simmer. Check for seasoning again, adding a pinch or two if salt, if needed. Cover the pot, transfer to the oven and bake for 30 minutes, stirring once halfway through the cooking time.
Remove the pot from the oven and let stand for 10 minutes. Serve immediately.
Green Bean and Red Pepper Salad with Cabecou
A light Spanish-inspired summer dish...
Ingredients:
Green Beans, trimmed and blanched
Red peppers
Olives, pitted and sliced
Garlic, pounded to a paste
Lemon juice
Olive oil
Red wine vinegar
Mint and parsley, chopped
Cabecou (marinated Goat Cheese)
Process:
The preparation of the peppers is the most exciting part – if you have a gas burner and a pair of good metal tongs what you want to do is turn the peppers over and over on the flame until the skins have blackened and will peel away easily. This should take about 8-10 minutes, depending on the size of your peppers. Be careful not to cook them too long one one side as you just want to char the skin and not the flesh underneath. When successfully blackened, place the peppers in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap to allow them to steam. After 10-15 minutes, remove the peppers and rub the skins off, pull them apart to remove the seeds and tear them into strips. You can “squeegee” most of the seeds and skin away with your fingers but if they are being pesky and sticky, just give them a quick rinse under running water.
Once you have the roasted peppers, blanched beans and pitted olives ready, you may put the salad together by making a quick vinaigrette with garlic, lemon, red wine vinegar and olive oil (and salt and pepper to taste) and tossing all the ingredients together to marinate. Just before serving, sprinkle with chopped mint and parsley and serve with a wedge of the cabecou.
Bacalao with Roasted Peppers
Bacalao is the Spanish term for dried salt cod. Fortunes were made and lost in the trade of this remarkable fish over the centuries. It is rumored even that the Portuguese were actually the first to discover America while fishing for cod across the Atlantic but because of the need to protect the location of a prized fishing spot, lest others intrude, their discovery went unmentioned until Spanish explorers declared their discovery, much later. Salting the cod was a way to preserve the catch over long fishing expeditions and so became a staple of Portuguese and Spanish cuisines in this preserved form. Through taste as much as tradition, cod continues to be used this way, as once rehydrated it is delicate, tender and concentrated with flavor.
*Before using, rinse the cod under running water for 15 minutes and then soak in cold water for 24-48 hours, changing the water at least once a day
Ingredients:
Soaked cod, broken into large pieces
2-3 potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks · half an onion
2-3 cloves garlic
bay leaf
milk
olive oil
peppers, roasted as in method above
olives
For the Bacalao:
In a heavy pot, place the potato, onion, garlic, salt cod, and bay leaf. Cover with milk and bring to a simmer. Cover with parchment or a lid slightly ajar and simmer on low until potatoes are cooked through and cod is soft, stirring occasionally. When the mixture is cooked, strain the excess liquid away and pour contents into a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a kitchenaid with paddle attachment. Mix with paddle or wooden spoon until the mixture is fairly smooth and drizzle in slowly a cup or so olive oil, making sure it is emulsifying into the mixture. Check for seasoning – most likely it will not require any additional salt, but perhaps a bit of black pepper. Serve warm on grilled toast or with flatbreads or crackers. Garnish with roasted marinated peppers.
For the Peppers:
Prepare as in the recipe above, and marinate in a dressing of salt, pepper, sherry or red wine vinegar (or a mixture of both) and a drizzle of olive oil. Serve warm or room temperature. Also nice with chopped parsley and mint.