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The Colour of Blood
A Different Kind of War
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The characters in the Ties of Blood series enjoy their food - when they can get it! Here are some of the things cooked and eaten in the books.
CALDO GALLEGO
For a moment his mind pictured the civilised
meal he had shared with this man in the late summer heat of Andalucia, not many
weeks before. Now he was being given stew by a bandit captain in the freezing
cold in the middle of nowhere.
‘There you are,’ Rico said. We call this caldo. Go on, you will enjoy it. It is
potatoes and green winter things with a little ham and paprika to warm you.
Here, I will pour you some cider.’
from ALONE WITH GLORY
Galicia is in the north-west corner of Spain. It is a tough, remote region where the people have a reserved character and speak their own language. Eating and drinking are of prime importance to the people, whose cuisine reflects the mountains and rugged coastline of their land. Caldo Gallego is a soup perfect for the colder days in this green corner of Spain.
CALDO
GALLEGO
Ingredients:
250 g dried white beans
Ham knuckle or shank
Chorizo, sliced
500 g peeled, chopped potatoes
500 g chopped cabbage/green vegetables
Teaspoon Paprika powder
Seasoning to taste
Method:
Put beans and ham in 2 litres of fresh water
Boil the ham and beans, then simmer for an hour or so
Take ham off bone, chop and return to pot
Add potatoes, greens and chorizo
Add seasoning and paprika
Cook for another half hour
serves 4
SALT COD AND POTATO
... on this occasion she had shown her scorn for their French guest by serving only local food - in fact a fine, mouth-watering feast of caldo verde soup, salt cod and potato and a good feijoda kidney stew. The Frenchman, properly in thrall to his belly, had been genuinely pleased
from THE COLOUR OF BLOOD
The Portuguese claim there is a cod dish for every day of the year. Salting fish was the ideal way to preserve it and bacalao is a firm Mediterranean favourite.
SALT COD AND POTATO
Ingredients:
2 pieces of salt-cod
500g sliced potatoes
500g spinach
I chopped onion
finely chopped garlic
250g grated sheep or goat's cheese
cup of fish or vegetable stock
olive oil
flour for coating
seasoning
Method:
Soak fish for 24 hours, changing water twice.
Cook onions and garlic in oil until soft.
Add spinach, season and remover from heat
Cook potatoes in oil, then place in oven-proof dish
Put spinach on top
Fry floured fish in oil (just to seal)
Place on top of spinach
Add stock and dress with cheese
15 minutes in oven at 220C
serves 4
TRIPAS O MODO DO PORTO
Isobel, unused to this reserve in him, nodded and served herself a small portion. the stew was indeed very good, just the right combination of tripe, calves' trotters and sausage
from THE COLOUR OF BLOOD
Tripe is a hugely popular dish in Porto. The legend behind its significance is told in the book. Older British people know about tripe from the war years, when offal wasn't rationed.
Here is a version for hardy souls to try...
TRIPAS O MODO DO PORTO
Ingredients:
200g white beans (or a tin of cannellini beans!)
ham hock or pig's trotter
500g honeycomb tripe, chopped into 2cm squares
100g chopped chorizo
2 onions, roughly chopped
2 carrots, chopped
chopped garlic
tin of chopped tomatoes
olive oil
chopped parsley
tablespoon each, cumin and paprika
2 bay leaves
seasoning
Method:
Soak beans day before if using dried white beans.
They will need cooking for 2 hours next day before adding as instructed
Simmer ham hock/trotter for 2 hours
Add tripe and simmer for 2 hours further
Remove meat, cool and take ham off bone
Add tripe to (cooked) beans in pot, continue simmering
Fry onions, carrots & garlic until tender
Add cumin and paprika
Add sausage, ham and tomato
Simmer for 5 minutes
Add onions etc to pot with tripe and beans
Simmer for 30 mins
Season at last minute and garnish with parsley
Serve with country bread
serves 4
RABBIT STEW
There was an appetising smell from the rabbit stew that had served for Crosse's dinner and would later make his supper.
from THE BIRD-SWINDLER'S FRIEND (short story)
Rabbits formed a necessary part of the countryman's diet. At war, too, "coneys" were a welcome addition to the often unreliable ration of beef or pork.
RABBIT STEW
Ingredients:
225g derinded streaky bacon, diced
1 jointed rabbit
450g diced swede
450g sliced carrots
1 medium onoin, sliced
salt & papper
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
25g flour
Method:
Place bacon, rabbit and vegetables in a large pan
Season with salt & pepper
Just cover with cold water
Bring to the boil, put lid on and simmer for 1 1/2 hours until rabbit is tender
Blend flour with a lttle cold water to thicken
Stir well into the pot and bring to the boil stirring gently all the time
Add parsey, and season to taste
serves 4
HUEVOS FLAMENCOS
He was even happier when they were presented with a dish of baked eggs with potatoes and sausage...
from ALONE WITH GLORY
Huevos flamencos (or a la flamenca) is a tradional dish with, guess what, many regional variations. It is actually a brilliant way of using up leftovers, after Sunday lunch, say - yes, sprouts do work! Slightly nearer the tradition any leftover ratatouille makes a good base for a delicious egg dish.
Here is a recipe a bit nearer to the Spanish...
HUEVOS FLAMENCOS
Ingredients:
100g chorizo
50g bacon bits
2 cloves garlic finely chopped
1 onion chopped
small tin chopped tomatoes
half red pepper chopped
medium potato, chopped and cooked
4 eggs, separated
black pepper
2 teaspoons olive oil
pinch of salt and sugar
Method:
Gently sweat the bacon, onions, red pepper and garlic in a frying pan
Add the chorizo, tomato and potato, warm through
add seasoning
Place in cazuela or pasta dish
Cover with whites of eggs
Bake in oven for 15 minutes at 200C
Add yolks and continue to cook to your preferred state of runniness...
serves 2
PORTUGUESE BREAD SOUP
There was a discarded wine tumbler on the floor, together with an empty bown. The boy had fed him bread soup, enlivened with a little cod-fish.
from A DIFFERENT KIND OF WAR
Bread soup is a popular Portuguese dish even today, but it was widely made in the poorer parts of the country during our period. The fish Diamante would have used would probably be prepared dried cod. You could maybe try some prawns if you have no bacalao to hand. Ciabatta has a good consistency for this - a couple of days old.
PORTUGUESE BREAD SOUP
Ingredients:
1/4 cup olive oil
10 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
litre of water
4 eggs
half a stale loaf (ciabatta or similar country bread)
Cup of spring onions, chopped
20 prawns, peeled and de-veined
chopped coriander
piri-piri sauce and seasoning
Method:
Gently fry garlic and onions in the oil
add the water and bring to simmer
add the eggs (2 or 3 minutes - how you like your eggs poached!)
with a minute to go add the prawns
remove from heat, add coriander and season to taste
pour gently onto chunks of bread
serves 4