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FOOD The characters in the Ties of Blood series certainly 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
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 CHANFANA One of the Frenchmen, less than happy to have been captured, had grudgingly told them the pot contained a dish called chanfana. It was essentially goat stewed in red wine... from THE HARDEST FIGHT Chanfana is a Portuguese dish, often served at Christmas-time or for celebrations. Traditionally it is made with goat, but lamb will do just as well. Be careful to get rid of any scraps of bone when chopping the meat. CHANFANA Ingredients: leg of lamb, bone-in, 7/8lbs 4 rashers of streaky bacon, chopped Bulb of garlic, peeled and crushed 2 onions, chopped bottle red wine 2 bay leaves coarse salt tablespoon paprika few drops hot pepper sauce 4 tablespoons olive oil parsley chopped Method: Remove excess fat from lamb and chop into 6 pieces. Prepare marinade by bunging everything except the parsley into a large casserole. Soak the meat for 24 hours, turning occasionally. Don't put it in the fridge, but leave in a cool place. Cook, lid on, for an hour at 200 C, then 2 hours at 180C. Garnish with parsley and serve with boiled potatoes or rice. serves 6 OLLA PODRIDA 'There is a battle, do you think, Captain?' Isobel Truelove asked, helping Tom to another dish of olla podrida, a hearty Castilian stew of ham, sausage, vegetables and chickpeas. It was more simple fare than the conde was wont to serve, but nonetheless welcome to the famished engineer. from THE BLAST OF WAR Olla Podrida is a traditional Castilian stew and is mentioned in Don Quixote. You can put in almost what you want, but chickpeas and pork products are pretty essential. Olla is pot or pan and here Podrida means strong, so almost hot pot! OLLA PODRIDA Ingredients: One and a half cups of dried chickpeas (tin ok for speed) Pig's trotter 500g pork spare ribs 150g smoked bacon (bacon bits are fine) 2 chorizo sausages (or 4 of the little ones!) Black pudding (small one chopped, or 3 of the large slices, bite-size) 2 onions, chopped 2 carrots, chopped 4 cloves of garlic, chopped fine or crushed 2 bay leaves seasoning Method: Soak the chickpeas overnight. Put in casserole/pan with pleanty of water and add trotter, ribs, bacon and bay leaves. Bring to the boil and simmer for on hour. Add the sausage and black pudding, onion and carrots - another half hour. Add the garlic. Remove ribs, trotter (and bay leaves!). Take meat off bone and cut into bite-size chunks. Return to stew. 15 minutes more, season to taste (careful with the salt!) and serve. If you leave it and warm thoroughly next day it will taste better. Serves 6 |
| © Peter Youds 2008 | |