Fabes con Almejas (Beans with Clams)

If you want clams, you have to be ready to shell out some clams. That got me to thinking about why we some use the word "clams" to refer to money.  It seems that the reference is to clam shells, and may have originated with the practice of Native Americans in what is now known as California.  Those Native Americans -- the Miwok -- strung small clam shells together for use as currency. 

Fast forward a couple of decades and clams are no longer money.  Instead, they cost a lot of money.  Recently, I was standing in front of my local seafood counter.  The sign read little neck clams ... $0.45 cents each.  Forty-five cents for what barely constitutes a bite of clam. The only alternative was to buy a bag of little neck clams.  That would set me back $18.99. Either way, these clams were very expensive.  However, I do love clams and it has been a very long time since I have cooked with them.  A very long time. 

So, I decided to spend the clams for the clams.  I had a recipe that I wanted to make ... Fabes con Almejas or Beans with Clams.  This recipe hails from the northern Spanish region of Asturias and, according to many, it is a staple of Asturian cuisine.  This stew incorporates ingredients that embody the region, clams from the coastal shores and Fabada beans from the inland.  These two ingredients -- along with onions, garlic and bay leaves -- are melded together with some Spanish wine to produce a stew that is cucina povera (a phrase used by Tuscans to describe peasant food).

That is the irony of the dish, at least in my case.  Fabes con Almejas is a peasant dish, something that would grace the table of the poor.  They could grow the beans themselves and head out to the coastal waters to forage for the clams.  Go across the pond, and, this simple dish becomes fancy fare ... to the tune of more than $19.00 for just the clams.   And, without having grown any Fabada beans, I had to spend another couple of dollars for some beans, such as cannellini beans. That peasant dish becomes a fancy meal.  Rather than feeling cheated for having to spend a lot of money for something that could otherwise be very cheap, I just feel blessed that I have the money to put food on the table for my family. 

FABES CON ALMEJAS (BEANS WITH CLAMS)

Recipe from Culinaria Spain, pg. 208

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 pound of white beans

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

1 clove of garlic, chopped

1 bay leaf

Salt and pepper

1 pound of clams

1 cup white wine

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

Directions:

1.  Prepare the beans.  If using dried beans, soak overnight in cold water.  

2. Cook the onions.  Heat the olive oil and add the onions and garlic.  Saute until the onions are translucent.  Add the beans and just enough water to cover them.  Season with the bay leaf, salt and pepper and let simmer over medium heat for an hour.  Stir several times during cooking and add more water if necessary.

3.  Cook the clams.  Clean the clams and discard any clams that are opened.  Add them to the beans and pour over the wine.  Once the clams have opened, add the parsley.

ENJOY!

Sweet Pepper and White Bean Soup

Mario Batali introduces a recipe for sweet pepper and white bean soup in words that are seemingly quintessential Mario: "The creamy bass notes of white beans play perfectly against the high-hat brightness of the peppers' sweet acidity, extending the spectrum of flavor to the perimeter of yum."

The thing about Mario Batali is that he is exactly on point when it comes to this recipe.  The white beans have a creamy note that fulfills the base of this dish.  I expected the beans to do this, so it is not a great surprise.  What shocked me is the range of those red bell peppers.  I have always known that bell peppers are sometimes called "sweet peppers," because, quite frankly, most other peppers are considered "hot peppers."  However, the red peppers provided an unexpected, yet completely welcomed, sweetness that did, in fact, elevate the soup to levels that I did not expect.

The one thing that Mario left out about the recipe is its versatility.  I made this recipe for my beautiful Angel, who is no fan of pancetta and does not eat chicken.  I substituted turkey bacon for the pancetta and vegetable stock for the chicken stock.  The only difference was the color, which became a more deep red (due to the vegetable stock).  I am sure that other substitutions could be made, such as different beans or even the use of chickpeas in the place of the beans.

In the end, my soup differed from Mario's recipe.  The vegetable stock and turkey bacon provide different flavors than chicken stock and pancetta.  However, Mario's description is still appropriate because the main stars of this soup -- the sweet pepper and white beans -- still perform flawlessly, providing the sweetness and creamy bass notes as Mario suggests.

SWEET PEPPER AND WHITE BEAN SOUP

Recipe adapted from America Farm to Table by Mario Batali at pg. 73

Serves 6 to 8

Ingredients:
4 cups of chicken or vegetable stock (homemade or low sodium-store bought)

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for serving

1 large Spanish onion, cut into 1/4 inch dice

4 fresh sage leaves

1/4 pound pancetta or bacon, cut into 1/4 inch dice

2 tablespoons of tomato paste

3 red bell peppers, seeded, and cut into 1/2 inch dice

2 (15 ounce) cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1.  Saute the pancetta, onions and peppers.   In a medium pot, bring the chicken stock to a boil.  In a Dutch oven, heat the extra virgin olive oil over medium heat until almost smoking.  Add the onion, sage and pancetta.  Cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes or until the onion is slightly browned.  Mix in the tomato paste and the bell peppers and continue to cook, stirring, for about 2 minutes more.  

2.  Make the soup.  Add the boiling chicken stock to the Dutch oven and return to a boil.  Reduce the heat to maintain a simmer and cook for 5 minutes.  In small batches, transfer the mixture to a blender or food processor and puree until smooth, then pour into the pot in which you heated the stock.  Add the white beans and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to maintain a simmer and cook for 5 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.  

3.  Serve the soup.  Ladle the soup into bowls and serve with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and freshly cracked pepper.

ENJOY!  

Three Bean Dal

The dal is an important part of the cuisine in Southern Asia.  A dal is a preparation of different types of legumes (such as lentils, peas or beans, that is often made in the form of a stew.  The stew is often served with rice and different vegetables.  A variety of dals an be found in cuisines of Bangladish, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Dal dishes serve an important function in the cuisine of each of these countries.  Many of the people in countries eat vegetarian diets, whether by necessity (because they don't have access to meat or cannot afford to buy it) or by choice.  Whatever benefits a vegetarian diet may have, it has one significant drawback ... a lack of protein.  This is where the dal plays an important role.  The legumes, such as lentils or beans, are full of protein.  And, while they may not pack as much protein as a chicken thigh or a pork chop, they nevertheless provide an important source of protein for the daily diet of millions, if not billions of people.

This recipe comes from Chef Vikram Sunderam, the executive chef at Rasika, which is a restaurant in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.  The name Rasika is derived from the Sanskrit word for "spices."  Chef Sunderam's dal recipe definitely includes spices -- jalapeno, cumin, cayenne pepper, ginger and garlic.  I made only two change to this recipe.  First, I used canned beans rather than rehydrating dry beans.  I just did not have the time to rehydrate the beans.  Second, instead of using yellow split peas, because I did not have any handy, I used a can of great northern beans.  Another substitute could be canellini beans. Notwithstanding these substitutions, this dish turned out very well.

THREE BEAN DAL

Recipe adapted from one by Vikram Sunderam

and available at Food & Wine 

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients:
1 15-ounce can of canellini or great northern beans
1 15-ounce can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 15-ounce can of red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
3 tablespoons of canola oil
2 tablespoons of fresh ginger, minced
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup water


Directions:
1.  Begin the dal.  In a large, deep skillet, heat the oil.  Add the ginger, garlic, jalapeno, cumin adn cayenne and cook over moderate heat until softened about 6 minutes.

2.  Add the tomato.  Add the tomato and tomato paste.  Cook until the tomato is slightly broken down, about 5 minutes.

3.  Add the liquid and the beans.  Add the cream, butter and water. Bring to a boil.  Stir in the beans and chickpeas.  Season with salt.  Simmer over low heat until thickened, about 15 minutes.

You can serve this dal with basmati rice and naan.

ENJOY!

Stewed Tomato and White Bean Bruschetta

Bruschetta is quintessentially Tuscan and it is not.  According to Culture Discovery, the name "Bruschetta" (broo-SKET-ta) is a word of Tuscan origin.  However, the concept of putting ingredients upon slices of toasted, rustic bread is a concept universal to all Italian regions.  People would toast the bread over hot coals, sprinkle olive oil on the bread and season it with some garlic and salt.  According to Culture Discovery, that is what led to the garlic bread that has become ubiquitous in Italian restaurants in the United States. 

While mainstream American restaurants continue to butcher a basic recipe (and I am thinking of one in particular, which offers endless garlic bread and salad), the Italians refined the bruschetta.  I like to think that, deep down, they view the bruschetta as a canvas.  They then "paint" that "canvas" with different ingredients.  Red color from tomatoes, green color from fresh basil, and white color from cheese. 

Recently, I found a recipe for such a "painting" in one of the pregnancy cookbooks that I bought so that I could cook for my beautiful, pregnant Angel.  The recipe brings stewed tomatoes, cannellini (white beans), fresh basil and feta cheese.  According to the authors of Healthy Eating During Pregnancy, the secret to the "full, rustic deliciousness of this Italian-style appetizer" is in the "sauce."  They recommend the use of vine-ripened tomatoes for the best flavor.  Ripe tomatoes obviously work well, but the best ones are usually found only in the summer.  I think that the recipe would be just as good with any ripe tomato that you can find.

STEWED TOMATO WITH WHITE BEAN BRUSCHETTA

Recipe from Healthy Eating During Pregnancy, at pg. 69

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

2 cloves of garlic

2 large vine-ripened tomatoes, peeled, cut into 

     6 pieces and seeded

Generous pinch red peppers flakes

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Generous pinch freshly ground black pepper

1/3 cup chopped basil

3/4 cup cooked white beans, drained and rinsed

4 thin slices of crusty Italian bread or 

    8 thin baguette slices

1/4 cup pasteurized feta, crumbled

 Directions:

1.  Stew the tomatoes.  In a wide pan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat.  Crush 1 clove of garlic and add to the pan.  Add the remainder of the garlic, tomatoes, red pepper flakes, salt, and black pepper.  Cook for 5 minutes or until the tomatoes start to soften.  Using a potato masher, smash the tomatoes.  Continue cooking until the tomatoes become a thick sauce and there is very little liquid remaining, about 10 to 15 minutes.  Stir in the basil and white beans.

2.  Prepare the bruschetta.  Preheat the broiler.  Rub one side of each slice of bread with the remaining garlic clove.  Transfer to a broiler safe pan, garlic-side up and toast the bread until golden.  Top with the bean and tomato mixture and the crumbled feta and broil until hot, about 5 minutes, watching to make sure it does not burn. 

ENJOY!

Around the World in 80 Dishes: Andorra

After a break from eating Chivitos al Pan, which was necessary to clear the added cholesterol from my arteries, my culinary adventures take me across the Atlantic Ocean to the little country of Andorra.  I did not select this challenge at random; instead, this is a planned challenge.  I chose Andorra for two reasons. The first reason lies with the cuisine of the country.   Andorra or Principat d' Andorra is a small country nestled in the Pyrennes Mountains between Spain and France.  Despite its location, Andorra is neither Spanish nor French.  Instead, Andorra is Catalan.   The Catalan people have a long history, artistic tradition and cuisine; however, today, the people are split between Catalunya in Spain and Rousillon in France, with the independent country of Andorra in the middle.

Catalan cuisine draws from ingredients found along the Mediterranean coast.  These ingredients include tomatoes, garlic, eggplant, chiles, chickpeas and artichokes, along with poultry, pork, lamb and seafood.  The dishes created by Catalan cooks vary from the seafood-based dishes along the Mediterranean to the heavier, pork dishes found inland.  The inland Catalan cuisine includes, and is sometimes referred to as, "Catalan mountain cuisine."  The cooking in Andorra is a good reflection of the Catalan mountain cuisine.

The second reason for selecting Andorra as my next challenge is the date.  The day, January 17, is St. Anthony's day is Andorra.  Back in the 1970s, some friends got together to prepare the national dish, Escudella, for their neighbors and shopkeepers.  This celebration is a revival of the much older tradition of distributing food amongst the poorest residents.  With every year, more and more Andorrans gathered together to cook and share their national dish.  The celebration was eventually moved to the Village Square in the capital, Andorra La Vella.  And, over time, the Brotherhood of the Escullaires were formed to prepare the stew for each celebration. 

THE MAIN COURSE

This challenge presents me with the opportunity to "join" the Germandat de Escullaires for a day.  I decided to prepare the national dish for Andorra as part of the Around the World in 80 Dishes challenge.  The first reference to escudella was made by a Franciscan writer, Francesc Eiximenis, who was Catalan, in the fourteenth century.  Brother Eiximenis wrote that the Catalan people eat escudella every day.  After having made this dish, I can see why.  Generally speaking, escudella is a Catalan soup with two primary components: (1) the broth and (2) the meats and vegetables used in making the broth.  The broth is basically a stock, flavored by bones, meats and vegetables.

In making this dish, I had to make a couple of substitutions.  The first substitution involves the bones used for the broth.  The recipe calls for both marrow bones and ham bones.  I could easily find the marrow bones, but not the ham bones.  So, I substituted an additional marrow bone or two for the ham bone.  The second substitution relates to the sausage.  The recipe does not specify the particular type of sausage to be used.  After a little research, I decided to use butifarra (or botifarra), which is a traditional Catalan mild pork sausage.  Butifarra can be difficult to find; however, I did find a recipe for making butifarra sausage.  I got all of the ingredients, except for the cure.  I did not need the cure because I was not curing the sausage.  The raw sausage would be browned and go straight into the escudella.  If you plan to make butifarra sausage, check out Len Poli's website, which has general instructions for making the sausage.  

ESCUDELLA

Adapted from My Hungry Tum

Serves 8

Ingredients (for the Escudella):
2 cups of dry cannellini beans
1 marrow bone
1 ham bone
2 chicken breasts or 3 chicken thighs
8-12 cups of cold water
1/2 head green cabbage
1 large potato, cut into eighths
1/4 cup of rice
1 cup chick peas
1 cup of pasta (such as shells)
6 sausages, removed from casings and rolled into balls
2 slices of prosciutto
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
Salt, to taste
Ground pepper to taste

Ingredients (for the Butifarra Sausage):
1 pound of ground pork
1 teaspoon of salt
1 clove of garlic, finely minced
1/8 teaspoon of ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon of ground black pepper
1 very small pinch (1/16 teaspoon) of nutmeg
1/4 tablespoon of wine vinegar

Directions:

1.  Make and brown the sausage.  Mix the ground pork with all of the ingredients (salt, garlic, cumin, ground black pepper, nutmeg and wine vinegar.  Form small balls or links. Gently brown sausage in cast iron Dutch Oven or pot/casserole w/vegetable oil over medium heat.

2.  Begin the stew.  Rinse the beans in cold water and tie the bones in cheesecloth.  Put both with the chicken, cooked sausage and ham in the pot or casserole with at least 8 cups of cold water and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce flame, and cook gently, covered, about 2 hours or until beans are cooked and chicken very tender.

3.  Remove the meats.  Remove ham and marrow bones and discard them. (I have seen recipes that call to extract and use the marrow, which I did.)  Put chicken aside.

4.  Return the soup to a boil.  If there is only a little liquid left, add a bit of water for the cooking of the remaining ingredients and bring soup to a rapid boil.

5.  Add the remaining ingredients.  When it is boiling, put in cabbage, potatoes, rice, pasta, chick-peas, and pepper to taste.  Continue cooking over medium flame for 30 minutes (or until newly added ingredients are cooked through).

6.  Return the meat to the stew.  A few minutes before serving, put chicken meat, removed from bones and shredded, in the pot to heat.  Season to taste.

7.  Plate the dish.  There are two ways to serve escudella.  One way is to serve the components separately: a bowl of the broth and a plate of the meats and vegetables.  This is known as Escudella i carn d'olla.  The other way is to serve the components together, like a soup or stew.  I chose this second presentation, which is sometimes referred to as Escudella Barrejada.  For this challenge, I plated the escudella using this second presentation. 

*     *     *

Although I was not standing side by side with the actual Brotherhood of Escullaires, this challenge nevertheless offered me the opportunity to cook this amazing Catalan and Andorran stew.  The escudella was great ... the broth was very flavorful, with the beef bones, chicken, ham and sausages making their contributions to the earthy and hearty soup.  The cabbage, potatoes, rice and pasta all added textures that underscored the earthiness of this dish.  Once again, I finish a challenge stuffed, not only with great food, but also with the desire to move on to the next challenge.  Until then, I would like to wish all of the Andorrans out there a very happy St. Anthony's Day, and ...

ENJOY!

For more information about Escudella, check out Slavic Nerd's Travel Blog.