Barcelona
- Recipes - Meat
Catalan
Lamb with Garlic
Servings Size: 4
1 shoulder of
lamb
2 tablespoons olive oil
20 garlic cloves, peeled
Flour
1 cup stock
1 tablespoon of tomato puree
In a wide casserole which can be used on top of the stove, heat
the olive oil and brown a shoulder of lamb on both sides. Remove
the meat and add to the saucepan 20 peeled whole garlic cloves.
Cook gently for a few minutes and sprinkle in a few tablespoons
of flour, stir well.
Then continuing
to stir, add 1 cup stock mixed with a tablespoon of tomato puree.
Return the meat to the casserole, turn it over in the stock mixture,
cover tightly and simmer very gently until the meat is cooked. Turn
the meat over halfway through cooking and check at intervals, adding
more stock if the sauce is getting dry.
Catalan
Stew
Servings Size: 6
2 chicken feet,
skinned or 1 chicken neck
1 chicken gizzard
1 lamb foot and ankle
1 1/3 pounds lamb shank
1 ham bone (about 2 pounds) or 1/4-pound piece ham with its fat
2 pounds beef or pork marrow (soup) bones
5 quarts water
1 slice stale French bread, crust removed
1 large egg, beaten
1/2 pound ground pork
1/2 pound butifarra or chicken sausage, casing removed and meat
crumbled
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves, finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/4 cup fresh bread crumbs, if needed
1 potato (about 1/2 pound), peeled and cut into chunks
1 carrot, cut up
1 pound Swiss chard, stems removed and leaves chopped
Flour for dredging
Place the chicken
feet or neck, chicken gizzard, lamb foot and ankle, lamb shank,
ham bone or piece of ham, beef or pork marrow (soup) bones in a
large stew pot. Cover with the water and bring to a boil. Boil for
2 hours, turning the meat occasionally. Replenish the water if necessary.
Meanwhile, make
the large meatball. Soak the slice of bread in water. Squeeze the
water out and place in a medium-size mixing bowl with the beaten
egg. Add the ground pork, botiffara or chicken sausage, garlic,
and parsley and season with salt and pepper. If the meatball doesn't
hold together well add some of the bread crumbs. Form the meat into
a single large ball and set aside in the refrigerator.
After the meat
bones have been boiling for 2 hours, turn the heat off and remove
the bones. Remove the marrow from the soup bones and the meat from
the lamb shank, cut it up, and discard all the bones. Transfer the
marrow and meat to a stew pot or large casserole. Strain the broth
and add it to the stew pot.
Bring to a boil
and add the potato, carrot, and Swiss chard. Season to taste with
salt and boil for 10 minutes. Dredge the meatball evenly in flour,
tapping off any excess, add it to the broth and boil until firm,
about 20 to 25 minutes, replenishing the water if necessary. Serve
immediately. The meatball can be divided by each diner.
Catalan
Roast - Rustido a la Catalana
Servings Size: 4
2 lb Veal roast
2 tablespoon lard
1/4 cup dark rum
3/4 cup dry white wine
1 head garlic, unpeeled
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1 sprig thyme
6 black pepper grains
1 bay leaf
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 stick cinnamon
Heat lard. Brown
thyme, bay leaf, cinnamon stick, pepper grains, head of garlic,
and the cloves in a deep casserole with the meat over a moderate
fire. Turn the meat frequently until well browned, then sprinkle
with salt and pepper, pour wine and rum over it, cover casserole,
and cook over fairly low flame for 2 hours or until meat is tender.
If necessary, add small amounts of hot water during cooking. Before
serving, strain sauce. Slice meat and serve in sauce. Meat reheated
slowly in sauce the following day is excellent.
Chicken
and Avocado Salad - Pollastre i Amanida del Aguacante
Servings Size: 4
1 lb cooked
chicken, cubed
8 anchovy fillets, soaked in milk, rinsed and dried
1 small red Spanish onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons fresh tarragon, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh chives, chopped
4 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
1 cup fresh mayonnaise
1/2 cup natural yogurt
2 tablespoons tarragon vinegar
1 teaspoon of hot pimenton (paprika)
1 teaspoon of sugar
1 large leafed lettuce, shredded
1 ripe avocado, cubed
Mix all the
ingredients (except the chicken, avocado and lettuce) in a food
blender. Whizz until smooth. This dressing is best left in the fridge
for an hour or so, for the flavours to blend. When ready to serve,
arrange the shredded lettuce on plates, top with the cubed chicken
and avocado and spoon over the dressing.
Chicken
with prawns
Serving Size: 4
3.5 lb chicken
8 prawns
6 ripe tomatoes, peeled and seedless
2 carrots
3 onions
1.5 lb toasted almonds
3 shallots
1 small bunch of herbs
1/2 cup chicken broth
Olive oil
2 small glasses of brandy
Salt and pepper, to taste
Cut the chicken
into pieces, season and brown it in a frying pan with the olive
oil. sauté the prawns too. Chop the vegetables and fry them
gently with the onions, shallots and the small bunch of herbs in
a separate frying pan. Place the chicken pieces and the prawns flat
in an earthenware dish and add the oil they were fried in.
Cook on a low
flame and when it is hot, pour on the brandy. Wait a few minutes
for it to evaporate, then add the vegetable sauce and the hot chicken
broth. Leave to boil a further 15 minutes or so, but add the ground
toasted almonds before it reaches boiling point. Once cooked, carefully
separate the chicken and the prawns.
Pass the sauce
through a colander. Place the chicken and the prawns in a serving
dish and pour on the sauce, making sure it is hot. Serve immediately.
Duck
with Pears
Servings Size: 4
1 duck of 3
1/2 - 4 lb
8 pears from Puigcerdà
1/2 onion
2 oz of lard
1 glass of mellow wine
4 cups of broth
Salt and pepper, to taste
Clean and season the duck. In an earthenware dish on a low flame,
place the lard, the onion cut into strips and 4 pears which have
previously been browned and cut. When this begins to brown, add
the whole duck so that it takes on some colour and then add the
wine. Two or 3 minutes later, add the broth, season and leave to
cook on a low flame for around 3/4 hour. Remove the duck from the
dish and put the sauce through the blender. Peel the 4 remaining
pears and boil them in the sauce for 10 minutes.
Fillet
Steak with Mushrooms
Servings Size: 4
4 fillets of
beef of 1/3 lb
2 oz jamon serrano ham (dry cured ham), diced
4 slices of thinly sliced white bread
1 chicken liver, cut into small pieces
1 truffle, sliced or cut into small pieces
1 small glass of dry sherry
1 tablespoon tomato purée
1/2 lb mushrooms, washed and thinly sliced
Olive oil
Butter
Salt and black pepper, to taste
In a frying
pan, sauté the sliced mushrooms in some oil and butter, adding
a pinch of salt and some black pepper. Keep aside. In the same pan,
fry the bread on both sides, until golden, place onto serving dishes
and keep hot. In the same pan, fry the fillets of beef, seasoning
if desired, and place on top of the slices of bread.
In the oil that
is left over, toss the pieces of ham, truffle and liver. Stir well
and add the tomato purée and sherry, leaving to heat through
for one minute. To serve, pour the sauce over the fillets and dish
the mushrooms on the side. Serve very hot.
Flamenquillos
- Rolled Pork Fillets
Servings Size: 4
8 pork fillets,
about 1 inch thick
1 large glass of milk
8 thin slices of jamon serrano
3 1/2 oz lard or butter
4 tinned red pimentos, cut in half lengh-wise
1 hard boiled egg, sliced
1 beaten egg
Dried bread crumbs
Olive oil for frying
Start by slicing the fillets nearly all theway through the centre,
opening them like a book, and leaving them to soak in the milk for
2 hours. Drain them well, season with salt and pepper (remembering
that ham already is salty).
Now fill the
fillets by placing in each first a slice of serrano ham, then a
slice of pimento, a knob of lard or butter and a ring of hard boiled
egg. Roll up the fillets, securing them with a cocktail stick or
thread.
Have the beaten
egg ready in a shallow dish to dip the fillets into, and then roll
them in the breadcrumbs in a separate dish. In a large frying pan,
heat the oil and fry the fillet rolls until golden brown. A bowl
of hot tomato sauce goes well with this dish.
Gammon
Steaks in Sherry
Servings Size: 4
4 thick gammon
steaks (ham steaks)
1 small onion, peeled and finely sliced
1 wine glass of dry sherry
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 level tablespoons white flour
1 beef stock cube, dissolved in a glass of boiling water
A knob of butter
Salt and ground white pepper, to taste
Heat the oil
in a frying pan, and sauté the onion until light golden.
Now stir in the flour with a wooden spoon, mix this in well, and
carefully, stir in the beef stock and sherry a little at a time.
Stir constantly, and cook for about 10 minutes. Strain if necessary.
Now, meanwhile
the gammon steaks are heating in a separate frying pan, stir butter
into the gravy. Place the steaks on a serving place, and pour the
hot gravy on top. You can sprinkle some chopped fresh parsley over
the dish, if desired.
Rabbit
Stew with Red Bell Peppers
Servings Size: 5-6
2 x 1 1/2 lb
rabbits, jointed and cut into 6 pieces
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 lb onions, chopped
6 garlic cloves, chopped
1 1/2 lb fresh tomatoes, skinned and chopped
1 1/2 lb red bell peppers, seeded and diced
3 oz jamon serrano ham, diced
3 oz chorizo sausage, diced
2 tablespoons fresh parsley or thyme, chopped
1 tablespoon sweet pimenton (paprika)
Salt and pepper, to taste
In a large pot heat half the oil. Add the onions and sauté
for about 15-20 minutes then stir in the tomatoes and a pinch of
salt. Cover and simmer gently. Take another pot to heat the rest
of the oil and fry the rabbit pieces until golden brown (about 10-15
minutes). Add the pimenton, chopped garlic, serrano, chorizo, and
stir well.
Empty this into
the pot with tomato mixture and mix well. In the empty pot add the
diced bell peppers and cook on a medium heat until soft and then
tip them into the pot with the tomato mixture. Stir in the herbs
and check the seasoning, cover and simmer gently for 35-45 minutes.
Rolled
Chicken and Jamon Serrano
Servings Size: 4
4 large chicken
breasts, skinned and flattened
3 oz butter, soft
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon fresh or 1 teaspoon dried oregano
16 slices of jamon serrano ham
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Preheat the
grill to medium hot. Flatten each chicken breast between 2 pieces
of damp greaseproof paper. Mix together the butter, garlic, oregano,
salt and pepper. Divide just more than half of this mixture, spreading
some over each flattened chicken breast.
Lay 4 slices
of jamon serrano on top. Roll up each escalope, making sure the
sides are tucked in, and secure with a cocktail stick. Spread the
remaining butter over the outside of the rolls. Cook the rolls under
the medium hot grill for about 15-20 minutes, turning occasionally.
To serve, slice each roll into 1/2 in. rounds.
Note: If preferred,
you can lightly sauté the chicken rolls in a frying pan,
instead of grilling.
