Spanish Downturn in Economy is good for BULLS

The Lack of Bull Market in Spain is good news for the Bulls at least (The Olive Press 4/1/10)
The worst economic downturn since the 2nd World War has seen fewer bulls being killed in Bullfights.With 18% unemployment across Spain and consumer spending dropping, many bullfight fans are cutting back on their hobby.The number of bullfights fell to 1,443 in 2009 from 1,887 the year before - a drop of 23%. According to the Union of Fighting Bull Breaders more than 4,000 bulls have been saved from death in the ring and will now be kept on farms around Spain and slaughtered for food later.
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Christmas Pomegranate Joy

Christmas isn’t all about food – it’s about wine and sherry too. Overindulgence is the norm but boy do we regret it!

It can certainly be no coincidence that Mother Nature gifted pomegranates to us at this time of year. Pomegranates are, quite simply, one of nature’s super foods. Packed full of anti-oxidants, they not only help clear your body of free radicals but they also lower cholesterol, prevent heart disease, aid dental and blood plaque, to list a few of their benefits. Above all, a dish of glistening seeds or glass of juice from this fabulous fruit is one of the best hangover cures.

Pomegranates are an ancient fruit, even mentioned in the Book of Exodus. The ancient city of Granada in Spain was renamed after the fruit during the Moorish period. Spanish colonists later introduced the fruit to the Caribbean and Latin America, leading to the naming of the country Grenada – often also known as Granada. Its regal crown has been depicted in ancient monuments and coinage. It is believed that the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden was indeed the pomegranate and not an apple after all. This vitamin rich fruit has indeed a rich history.

At Annie B’s Spanish Kitchen, we become really excited when the new season’s pomegranates arrive in the market – normally at their best from September through to December. We use pomegranate seeds (called arils) in couscous, through salads, mixing through cucumber raita, as well as sprinkling them over any Moroccan inspired dish. They are great through fruit salads, over cereal and this year, I’ve been making cocktails!

Pomegranates probably fell out of fashion because they aren’t really user friendly. In our time- conscious society, sitting down to extract the edible seeds of a pomegranate can be messy and time consuming. Many supermarkets in UK and in Spain now sell small packets of fresh pomegranate seeds which are convenient but many fresh vitamins will have been lost. Pomegranate juice can be bought commercially too which is great but again, the longer the juice is outside the fruit shell, the more the vitamins disappear.

Extracting the juice

I’ve tried putting a skin free Pomegranate through my juicer with no success. What works best for me is actually cutting it in half and treating it like a half orange, using a normal electrical juicer. Wash the fruit first and then gently cut it in half across the circumference. Squeeze with gentle pressure on the electrical squeezer watching the fabulous ruby red juice fall into the jug below. Between squeezing each half, remove the discarded seeds caught in the basket. I squeeze these by hand to remove the final drops of nectar. And then squeeze another half and continue the above process until you have the desired amount of juice.

Extracting the seeds

One of the many things I’ve loved about running my cooking classes is the exchange of information between us all in class. It’s great to learn different techniques and methods from guests. One lovely guest this summer from Seattle, demonstrated how to painlessly remove the seeds from a Pomegranate. This method is simple, fast and no redecoration required.

With a serrated knife, cut of the crown of the fruit, exposing the beginning of the seeds. Then make 8 small incisions along the exposed flesh at 12 o’clock, 3 o’clock etc. Take a bowl large enough to fit the pomegranate and your hands, fill it with water and submerge the fruit. With both hands, start pulling apart gently, allowing the seeds to become free from the pith. The white membrane will float to the top and the seeds will sink to the bottom. Discard the skin, skim off the pith and then drain. Amazing – so easy!

NB.Depending on the variety, some Pomegranates and more bitter than others – adjust additives (soda, tonic, orange, honey etc) to suit taste

Cocktails

Annipov

In a BIG glass with several ice cubes, mix 3 parts Pomegranate juice and 3 parts Clementine juice with 2 parts Vodka or Gin. Add a squeeze of fresh lime (optional) and top up with as much soda or tonic as desired. This is a health drink so enjoy without guilt!

Pom Royale

Either using Pomegranate juice on its own or again mixed with Clementine or Orange juice, half fill a glass and top up with cava. Excellent hangover cure.

The Morning after Breakfast

It’s an idea to prepare this the day before so that you open the fridge that morning and there it will be, winking at you.

Pomegranate seeds

Fresh Orange Juice

Ground Cinnamon

Place seeds in individual dishes. Cover with chilled juice and sprinkle with fresh ground cinnamon. Serve with yoghurt if desired.

Industry News | Mintel predicts flavor and scent trends for 2010 | Food Processing

Industry News | Mintel predicts flavor and scent trends for 2010 | Food Processing

Pork with fennel seeds and lemon

I prepare this dish when I have people for supper or lunch at short notice – you need the patience to queue at the butchers and let the slices of Presa spend no more than 2 hours in the marinade. Note that you should never crush garlic for a marinade. As soon as you BBQ or a la plancha the meat – the crushed garlic will be the first thing to burn. Burnt garlic not only flavours an entire dish, it is also indigestible. This marinade requires unpeeled cloves of garlic, given a huge thump with the side of your fist or the back of a sturdy knife, until they split.

Broken/ Bruised/ Bashed Garlic Cloves x 4

This marinade will do a 600-800g sliced Presa

Soy Sauce x 6 tablespoons

Lemon Rind x 1 large, finely grated

Olive Oil x 2 tbs

Fennel Seeds x 3 tsp

Parsley - very small handful - roughly chopped

Good grind of Black Pepper

Sprinkle of Crushed Chilli

Assemble all ingredients in non-metallic dish. Stir with fork. Add slices of Presa and mix. Leave for up to 2 hours.If it's a larger piece for roasting, leave for 24 + hours, turning occasionally

BBQ or grill on each side for a few minutes. It is perfectly acceptable to serve this pink – not rare – just pink. It’s at its best when pink.

This is also perfect with Chuletas de Cerdo Ibérico (pork chops).

I occasionally buy a piece of Aguja de cerdo blanco, without fat and without bone.

As far as I can make out, this cut is the spare-rib chop – without the chop.

If you marinade the aguja in the above for a day or so, turning it when you remember, then removed from marinade and discard any garlic cloves attached to the meat and seal in a very hot oven proof pan.

Pour the marinade – including the garlic cloves and a litre of Galician cider over the sealed meat. Cover tightly with foil and roast at 140 deg for about 2 hours – checking to see if you should add more cider from time to time.

This is fabulous served with Pea Puree and Warm Potato Salad with Sundried Tomatoes & Onion.

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The World's Healthiest Pork

Spain's most famous gourmet product - The worlds healthiest pork.

Without a doubt one of Spain’s genuine world leading gourmet delights is Cerdo Ibérico – the pork from the black Iberian Pig.

What makes this meat so incredibly special is that for the last few months of each pig’s life, they are allowed to graze free range Dehesas (acorn forests), munching their way through tons of bellotas (acorns), which have fallen from helm oak and cork oak. It is these acorns which gives the fat of the pigs its unique, sweet flavour. When you see Cerdo ibérico in its raw state, you first notice how the meat is shot through with streaks of creamy white fat. This fat dissolves during the cooking process and flavours and tenderises the meat to such an extent that it must be one of the top edible gifts from Mother Nature.

The happy Iberian pig can only be bred in a few parts of Spain and there is nowhere else in the world that it will get this unique flavour. In Spain this region stretches from as far south as the Aracena region, around Jubago - the jamón capital of Spain - and then up to as far north as Salamanca.

The acorns are the key to the quality of the meat. The acorns make these pigs terribly thirsty, so they run around looking for water, making them athletic little things, developing fine bones which are evident in the bone of jamón ibérico (hams), usually produced from their rear legs. When I first came to live in Spain, my Spanish friends would tut, tut and finger wag at me when I pulled the fat off a slither of jamón ibérico (also refered to as Pata Negra because of their black hooves) and cast it aside. They regard this fat as a delicacy and I now tend to agree. Its sweetness literally melts in your mouth. Wrapped around a tiny picos (break stick), followed by a sip of Fino, is simply divine.

Breeding these pigs is no cheap task – this is the opposite spectrum of intensive pig farming. This is then reflected in the price which makes jamón ibérico de bellota the most expensive ham in the world.

The most expensive and best quality is called jamón ibérico de bellota (acorn). These pigs have been free range, dining on the carpets of fallen acorns on dehasas in Southern Andalucía for the most part of their lives. The more exercise these pigs get, the more the fat blends into their muscles and the tastier the meat becomes. It is considered that 5J ["cinco jotas"], is the King of jamón bellota.

The next grade is called jamón ibérico de recebo. This ham is from pigs that are both pasture and compound fed a combination of acorns and grain.

The third type is called jamón ibérico de pienso, or simply, jamón ibérico. This ham is from Iberian pigs that are solely compound fed on grain and some acorns. The term pata negra is also used to refer to jamón ibérico in general and may refer to any one of the three above types.

It is important to note that Jamón Serrano comes from Cerdo Blanco (the more common white pigs) that is solely grain fed. This comprises around 90% or the pork and ham production in Spain. It is the cheapest of all the jamóns. It’s still delicious and perfect for sandwiches or cooking should your recipe call for jamón.

Another important thing to understand – in terms of price and quality – is which leg you are buying. A jamón ibérico is normally the hind leg of the pig. A paletilla is the front leg. Nevertheless, a paletilla can have an excellent taste and undergoes the same processes of ham-making. The difference is that a paletilla is smaller and has more fat. Therefore it’s cheaper. So if you’re considering buying a whole jamón and can’t afford a Jamón Ibérico de Bellota, ask for a Paletilla Ibérico de Bellota. It is usually half the price.

Here I am banging on about the fabulous flavour of Cerdo Ibérico and now suggesting a marinade to enhance it! When correctly administered (yes Dr.) marinades can bring out flavours - wrongly administered and they can kill them all. Fennel seeds and pork are an Italian marriage. Italian salami’s are often are spiked with fennel seeds. It’s said that Roman Legionaries would chew on fennel seeds as they marched to suppress the pangs of hunger. I have tried this. I have even tried being massaged using pure fennel seed oil – it doesn’t work........

Presa Ibérico is my favourite cut of Cerdo Ibérico. Presa is the muscle between the top of the shoulder and the beginning of the loin. It can be found in most supermarkets pre packaged and sliced. If you go to your butcher – don’t be put off when you see a LUMP of pork, looking rather fatty. Remember it’s the fat that makes it special. As it cooks, the fat will caramelize and intensify the sweetness. Tell your butcher it’s for the BBQ or plancha. He should slice it like we slice smoked salmon in UK. Another cut on offer, Secreto is much cheaper but I find it a bit gristly and too fatty. Some people far prefer this cut because of the tasty fat content. These are the people you can sell your fat to whilst ripping it off a slice of jamón ibérico!

Finally, it should be noted this type of saturated animal fat is actually good for you as not only is it the best quality fat; it also leaves you feeling more satisfied. Animal fats give us energy and boost the immune system and can actually lower bad cholesterol

Peña Gastronómica de Vejer "La Viña", Vejer de la Frontera, 11150 Cadiz, Andalucia, Spain

Telephone: +34 620 560 649 Email: info@anniebs.co.uk This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Pomegranates

It's Pomegranate season here in Vejer! Pomegranates are one of Mother Nature's Super Foods. Beneath the tough outer skin, those jewelled morsels are packed with anti-oxidents and offer numerous health benefits. Today I was invited to pick pomegranates and oranges. The rounded fruits weighed heavily on the delicate branches and those that had already fallen were being targeted by thousands of health conscious ants.

Tomorrow I'm planning to squeeze the pomegranates and oranges, mix the juices with loads of ice and Vodka - it's a health drink so don't let anyone suggest otherwise.

More Pomegranate ideas coming soon from Annie B's Spanish Kitchen!

Salud!