A month to go till Christmas, which I shall be celebrating alone this year for the first time in over seven decades of my life.
"De Rodríguez".
Why? I’ll explain later*.
Preamble
I was going to cook myself a traditional roast turkey with all the trimmings, which I love dearly, but rarely get to have, as the missus, Rita, and I either celebrate Christmas in Germany or at home in Spain, where in neither of these countries is a roast fowl typical.
And since my good lady Ehefrau Rita insists on doing the cooking in Spain and her daughter Katrin is in charge in Talheim, Germany, Christmas roasts are a rarity for me.
A traditional English Christmas Dinner [Photo: BBC]
Back to my Christmas “de Rodríguez”
Rita has found a couple of recipes which she has suggested I consider instead of my planned English-style Christmas roast.
I must admit, they sound enticing.
Starter:
Crema de calabaza y naranja con marisco
[Cream of pumpkin and orange soup with shellfish]
Crema de calabaza y naranja [Photo: FrutaMare]
Ingredients:
(4 people 45 minutes)
400 g pumpkin
2 oranges
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
400 ml vegetable stock
100 ml cream
8 mussels
8 prawns
1 squid
100 g of cooked octopus
Paprika
Chives
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Method:
1. Peel the pumpkin, clean it by removing the seeds and filaments and chop it into chunks. Peel and chop the onion and garlic. Wash and dry the oranges, grate the peel of one, reserve the zest, squeeze both, strain the juice and set it aside as well.
2. Heat a pan with a little oil, add the onion and garlic and fry for 5 minutes, until the onion is soft. Add the pumpkin and sauté it for 7-8 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Pour in the broth, season with salt and pepper, stir and cook over medium heat for another 5 minutes, until everything is very tender. Blend with the arm of the mixer and pass the cream through a Chinese sieve, so that it is finer.
4. Wash the mussels and clean them; Steam them in a saucepan with a finger of water, remove one of the valves and set aside. Cut the octopus into slices. Clean the squid, wash it, dry it and cut it into rings. Peel the prawns. Beat 50 ml of oil with 1 tablespoon of sweet paprika.
5. Heat a pan with oil and sauté the squid and prawns for 4 minutes. Add the octopus, stir, sauté everything together for 1 more minute and remove. Spread the hot cream on the plates and add the sautéed seafood and mussels. Garnish with a few threads of paprika oil, reserved orange zest and washed, dried and chopped chives and serve immediately.
Main course:
Lubina rellena de gambas a la vizcaína
[Sea bass stuffed with Biscay prawns]
Lubina rellena de verduras [Photo: OkDiario]
Ingredients:
(4 people 2 hours)
4 sea bass, cleaned and opened like a book
600 g red prawn tails
4 tablespoons choricero pepper pulp
50 g tomato sauce
2 slices of bread
2 cloves of garlic
1 white onion
1 red onion
1 carrot
300 g medium whole mushrooms
200 ml of fumet
1 glass of white wine
3-4 sprigs of parsley
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Method:
1. Peel the white onion, cut it into julienne strips. Poach it in a saucepan with a drizzle of oil, over medium heat and covered for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the peeled garlic cloves, without the germ and sliced, and continue cooking for 30 more minutes, stirring all the while.
2. Add the choricero pepper to the casserole, along with the tomato, stir well and pour in the broth; Let everything cook together for 30 minutes. Add the crumbled bread and cook for 15 more minutes. Blend the contents of the casserole to obtain a fine sauce, add salt to taste and set aside.
3. Scrape the carrot and cut it into cubes. Peel the red onion and chop it finely. Heat a frying pan with a small amount of oil, sauté both for 3 minutes, season with salt and pepper and set aside. Wash the mushrooms, remove the stumps and empty the caps a little. Fill the mushrooms with the previous sautéed vegetables and set them aside. Sauté the prawns for 2 minutes in the same pan as before with a few drops of oil and set them aside also.
4. Wash the sea bass, season the insides with salt, pepper and a few drops of oil and fill with the prawns. Close them and place them in a baking dish. Sprinkle the fish with a little more oil and wine, cover the dish with parchment paper and bake at 180 for 20 minutes. Uncover, add the stuffed mushrooms and continue baking for 5 more minutes. Spread the hot sauce on the plates, add the sea bass and mushrooms and serve with chopped parsley.
Accompaniment:
A dry sherry as an aperitif (fino or manzanilla) followed by a nice dry albariño or un vino blanco de Cádiz for the main course.
Lucy and Amy drink a manzanilla in Cadiz [selfie] A selection of prize-winning albariños [Photo: Decanter]
Examples of Cadiz white wines [Photo: El Pais]
Pudding:
No room, probably, but if I can find one anywhere, maybe on the coast, I’ll do a traditional Christmas pud.
Christmas pudding in flames [Photo: Raymond Blanc]
*Footnote:
Why am I celebrating Christmas "de Rodríguez"?
Quite simple. We recently rescued a kitten from the rubbish tip near our home, and Paulinchen is too young to be left alone or to go to a cattery for a week.
With thanks to:
Clasicos de Navidad (RBA Revistas SL 2024)
Paul Whitelock (translation into English)
© Rita Whitelock
Photos:
BBC, Decanter, El País, FrutaMare, Ok Diario, Raymond Blanc
Links:
Costa Press Club Christmas Party - Help me, Ronda
... de Rodríguez? - Secret Serrania de Ronda
Fish for Christmas and no gifts? - Secret Serrania de Ronda
Wir sprechen Deutsch in Montejaque! - Olive Press News Spain
Tags:
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