IAN & SPAIN

Although Christmas Eve is probably the most lavish meal of the Christmas holidays in Spain, originally it was Christmas day, much as it is in the UK. It was a day for bringing together the entire family including grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins and any other family member that you may not have seen throughout the year. Depending on the family, each year it would move house and thus the hosting of this enormous event would be shared amongst the family members. Nowadays, still very much a family event though, Christmas Eve and Christmas day is now normally split between the parents and the in-laws, one day with each.  

Each region of Spain has its own tradition for the Christmas menu, which is determined mainly by local cuisine, for example on the coast seafood or fish is common and inland, meat plays a more important role such as roasted suckling lamb, however nowadays most regions tend to combine both, especially on Christmas Eve. However, Christmas day in the Valencian community is a day for enjoying a rather special typical dish called ‘Puchero de Nadal’ ó ‘Cocido Navideño’.  Effectively it is a stew with giant meatballs but it is enjoyed in two stages. It may seem very simple and rustic but it is a very long meal and takes time to digest. It contains almost everything you could possibly imagine putting in a stew. What makes this stew different from the rest of the stews in Spain is the use of local sausages and local vegetables. The Valencian community is well known for its vegetables and this is well portrayed in the Valencian ‘Puchero’.

As with most traditional recipes, there is nothing written in stone, except using a giant cauldron!  So grab the biggest pot you can find otherwise there is no way all the ingredients will fit in. Remember the stock, the meat and the vegetables can all be frozen afterwards so if you have a lot left over, you will, ration it out in Tupperware and freeze it for another day or use it for another recipe as mentioned later on.

For the stew you will need the following :

½ medium sized Chicken (approx. 1,25kg of meat)
2 large meatballs (recipe as follows)
1 piece of bone marrow
1 piece of knee bone
150 grams of beef 
1 Blanquet sausage 
1 Onion Morcilla sausage 
100 grams of pork fat
300 grams of chickpeas (soaked in water overnight)
Saffron
1 stick of Celery, 1 stick of Cardoon, 1 sweet potato, 1 white turnip, 1 yellow turnip, 1 parsnip, 3 potatoes, 3 carrots, 1 leek, 5 runner beans and ¼ cabbage. (As far as the vegetables go, you can chuck in whatever you have at hand, but this is the standard recipe in Valencia)

So, to make the stew it is as easy as cleaning and peeling the vegetables and placing them all in the pot with the meat and the meatballs, except for the carrots, potatoes, runner beans and the morcilla. These need to be held back for later as they cook more quickly. Cover with water and slowly bring to the boil then reduce the heat to low heat and let it simmer for 90 minutes. Remember to skim off the foam that rises to the top. After 90 minutes pop in the rest of the ingredients that were held back and then simmer for another 90 minutes. To make the meatballs all you will need are the following ingredients:

2 eggs.
150g lean minced beef
150g minced pork.
1 sausage (with skin removed)
200g Breadcrumbs
1 tbsp. Fresh chopped parsley 
50g Pine nuts
1/2 tsp. Cinnamon powder
10ml fresh Lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste

Stew net for binding
Cabbage leaves for wrapping up the meatballs.   

If you feel like saving some time you can always make the balls the day before. Mix the meat, salt, pepper, parsley, cinnamon, eggs and pine nuts to taste. Pour the breadcrumbs in and knead it all together until it forms a thick mass. Add the lemon juice and knead it all together again. Separate the meat mass into two parts and then roll it into two large balls. Once you have made the balls wrap each ball in cabbage leaves and then place them inside the stewing net and tie them up tight and add to the rest of the meat for the stew.

Once the stew is ready it is customary to first enjoy a bowl of soup from the stock cooked either with rice or noodles. Some may add a piece of the meatball to the soup and others may add a bit of everything and then move on to the rest of the meat and vegetables, the choice is yours. It would also be customary to make 'oven-baked rice' (arroz al horno) the following day with the leftovers. So there you have it, a very hearty meal from the heart of Valencia and ideal for this time of year, it may not look very sophisticated but it tastes incredible! 

    Enjoy!

As with the majority of Spanish cooking, simplicity is king and their success will depend entirely on the quality of the ingredients. This dish - Garlic Prawns - is a classic Spanish tapas which is bursting with flavour. So if you are short of an idea for next gathering this might tickle your fancy.

You will need for this dish, a good quality extra virgin olive oil, as it is the main ingredient and any old olive oil will definitely not give the same result. The best variety for this dish is a Picual or an Hojiblanca as they are high in antioxidants and resist the high temperatures better, they also make a wonderful contrast in flavour with the sweetness of the prawns (about 75ml). Additionally, you will also need 10 large prawns, I suggest medium-sized king prawns (gambones in Spain), as the smaller prawns or shrimps will reduce in size considerably when cooked and not make for a very appetising bite! They must be raw prawns, preferable fresh, but frozen will work too although the end result is noticeable. If you are looking for a special touch make sure they are fresh. The peeled prawns should be left to marinate for a couple of hours in a little white wine (medium dry). Next, you will need 4 cloves of fresh garlic, two whole red dried chillies, salt and paprika and a sliced baguette for dipping.

This will serve two people as a starter.

Start by peeling the 10-15 king prawns and clean them, if you want you can butterfly them, as I did, just slice a little groove along the back of the prawn, this will help you get everything out and make the presentation look so much better. (I was preparing for four people)

Put the langoustine heads to one side, we'll need them later. Cut up the cloves of garlic into slices, do not dice them or crush them and slice up the chillies as well in the same manner, we don’t want the chillies crushed for this dish.

Do not prepare the dish until you are ready to sit down and eat them, this dish must be served immediately and piping hot, sizzling. Any other way is just not the same! So once you are ready, put the olive oil in a small pan or clay-cooking dish, as they use in Spain, along with the prawn heads and two tablespoons of the white wine used for the marinade and start to heat up the oil. As the oil is heating up squeeze down on the heads of the langoustines with a fork so that they release all of their juice and cook them for a couple of minutes on high heat.

Once they are slightly browned remove them from the oil and put in all the garlic and the chillies and then a few seconds later pop in the raw langoustines, as soon as the langoustines are turning pink remove them from the heat, sprinkle some paprika over them, season with a little salt, a little diced parsley and let them sit for 1 minute and then serve immediately while they are still piping hot. Enjoy, they are an absolute delight and don’t forget to dip your bread in the richly flavoured olive oil!

There are times when we just simply lack the time or even the desire to cook and as a result we all too often resort to the so-called fast-food or ready-made meals. A good alternative is to resort to a healthy express recipe that is still homemade but with a few shortcuts. One example is this recipe for "White Beans & king Prawns" that you can have ready in 15 minutes and put a smile on everyone's face.

If you find this recipe useful and would like more express versions of traditional Spanish recipes just let me know in the comments section and I will do my best to share some more!

Ingredients for 4 people:

1  Jar white cooked beans - 400 g
12 Large king prawns (Gambones in a Spanish supermarket - frozen are fine)
2 tablespoons of fried tomato in olive oil - jar 
4 Garlic cloves
1 Medium onion
1 Tablespoon of chopped parsley
500ml fish or seafood stock - I prefer seafood stock - enough to cover all the ingredients and a little more which will evaporate off during the cook. 

Although we can make this recipe by cooking the beans fresh and preparing a homemade fish or seafood fumet, I assure you that this express version has nothing to be ashamed of. Trust me!

• First, start by breaking off the heads and then peel the prawns and clean them. You can butterfly them by cutting a line along the back and also remove the black thread (digestive tract). 
• Pour the stock into a pan add the prawn heads - heat the stock and squash down the prawn heads to release their flavour. Let the stock boil for a few minutes.
• Now we need to prepare the sauce by frying the finely chopped onion, the garlic cloves, also finely chopped, and two tablespoons of fried tomato. Fry together for five minutes. Meanwhile, wash the beans well.
• Now add the prawns to the pan and cook them for about 2 minutes. Add the beans to the saucepan and then add the stock (pass the stock through a sieve first). Salt to taste, add the parsley and then cook it all together for about 3-5 minutes on high heat to reduce the stock a little. If you like it a little spicy, now is the time to add a couple of dried chilis. 

Now all you have to do is serve with a side of crispy bread and a green salad.

When I first arrived in Spain, it wasn’t long before some good friends of mine insisted on taking me to a restaurant on the outskirts of Madrid to enjoy a regional classic; Lechazo de Churra roasted in a clay oven with wood. I have to admit that that meal made an impression on me and has become one of my favourite dishes, the crispiness of the skin and the tender juicy meat was just out of this world. It is such a simple dish and one wonders how it could have so much flavour. Originally used to the typical roast lamb and mint sauce back in the UK, this was a completely different approach and an unforgettable experience. For those who have tried this, know what I am talking about. This nationwide dish which originated in the region of  “Castilla y Leon”, has become a classic especially at Christmas in Spain. Many households around the country will be celebrating the seasonal festivities this year with lamb on the dining room table.

The region of Castilla-Leon was also the place that gave birth to this breed of Sheep. The "Churra" breed of sheep goes as far back as the Celtic invasion of Spain starting around 1000BC when the Celts crossbred their sheep with the local breed. Since then this breed has been the predominant breed in Spain and was also the breed that the Spanish introduced to the Americas. Nowadays it is considered the breed of choice for traditional “Lechazo Asado” (also know as Lechal) or roasted suckling or milk-fed lamb. However, there are certain parameters that need to be addressed to get the perfect result. The main one is the age of the lamb, as it names suggest it must still be a lamb that is being fed only on breast milk which means it must not be older than 6 weeks when slaughtered or weigh more than 12kg. Specialist chefs in the field consider 3 weeks to be the maximum age, that way you achieve the maximum succulence possible and the meat is even richer in proteins, iron, phosphorous, Zinc and Sodium as well as vitamins B2 and B12. This makes for a very healthy meal, particularly low in fat. As this young animal has still very little fat on it special considerations need to be taken when cooking it too, which I will go into very shortly.

The story of roasting lamb in Spain begins centuries ago, during the Reconquista. As Christian kingdoms reclaimed land, sheep farming flourished in regions like Castilla y León. Lamb, readily available and prized for its tenderness, became a symbol of celebration, often gracing tables during religious festivals and special occasions. The traditional method of slow-roasting in a wood-fired oven further enhances this succulence, creating the melt-in-your-mouth texture Lechazo de Churra is renowned for.

Over time, this dish became deeply associated with Christmas. Its seasonal availability, combined with the symbolism of abundance and prosperity embodied by the lamb, made it a perfect fit for the festive season. Furthermore, the communal aspect of sharing this generous meal reflects the importance of family and togetherness during Christmas in Spain.

This dish although it is at its best cooked slowly in a clay oven with wood, it can still be enjoyed at home using a conventional oven, clearly, the taste of wood is not present but we can simulate that rustic country taste with fresh herbs. Alternatively, if you have a wood pellet pizza oven, that will also do the trick! But most importantly you need to buy good quality suckling lamb, any breed will do but if you can find “Churra” that is better. I am going to explain the few easy steps to create a perfect Spanish suckling lamb roast and it is as easy as 1,2,3. You can either buy the meat fresh or frozen, although fresh is always better but is you do buy frozen make sure it is slowly defrosted in the fridge beforehand.

For 4 people you will need the following:

2 front-quarters of Suckling Lamb (my favourite cut - paletilla - shoulder blade)
2 garlic cloves unpeeled
200g of lard or 100ml of Extra Virgin Olive Oil if you want to avoid adding animal fat.
1-2 glasses of water (around 150-200ml)
1 large sprig of fresh Rosemary
1 large sprig of fresh thyme
Rock Salt
4 potatoes for the garnish

Traditionally this dish is cooked in a clay dish however you can obviously use a baking tray but it does taste better in a clay dish, still not sure why though. Simply place the hindquarters skin side down in the baking dish pop in the two garlic cloves and the herb sprigs and roughly spread the lard over the top of the lamb. Add the water to the bottom of the dish (don’t pour it over the meat) and season all over with a sprinkle of rock salt.  As the lamb has very little fat we need the lard, not only to enhance the flavour but also to maintain the stock while roasting, so you can also use olive oil but for the authentic taste I recommend lard. This one of the few times I would actually recommend lard over Olive Oil!  The oven should be pre-heated to 165ºC and then pop it in the oven for 1 hour. After an hour take it out of the oven and turn the lamb over and baste with the juices. Season with a little more rock salt and place it back in the oven for another 45 – 60 minutes depending on the size of the meat. What we want is the skin to go nice and crispy with a golden to brown colour. This roast takes it time; if you rush it by bumping up the heat it will dry out.

We need to make sure that there is always some water in the bottom of the dish, this is to provide constant humidity to the meat and keeps it succulent, so check on it from time to time and if there is no water, add some more. You might be thinking, when do I add the potatoes or can I add the potatoes to the same dish as the meat and cook everything at once? The answer is no. The potatoes will need to be cooked separately. There are two reasons for this, one that the potatoes will give the meat a slightly different taste if cooked in the same oven and two they will steal part of the humidity from the meat meaning the lamb with dry up quicker. So traditionally the potatoes are always cut into thin slices and fry for a few minutes in extra virgin olive oil until they are half cooked. They are then removed and dried on a kitchen towel.

Next, place them in a baking tray on top of some tinfoil or in a different clay dish if you happen to have one. Once the lamb is ready, remove the lamb and quickly pop in the potatoes for about 5 minutes at 200ºC just to crisp them and finish them off. Serve together and there you have it. There are other variations using white wine and vinegar and so on, which are great, but the traditional Lechazo de Castilla-Leon is as simple as that, let the quality of the meat and the oven do the work. An ideal wine would be a Crianza from the Castilla y Leon region such as "Yllera", a fantastic and reasonably priced wine which I highly recommend, but make sure it is at room temperature before drinking it.

There you have it. If you fancy a more Spanish Christmas this year why not give it a go!

Enjoy!