THE SPANISH COOK

Evening Post, Volume CXXVII, Issue 133, 8 June 1939, Page 19

THE SPANISH COOK

LEISURELY PREPARATION

Once the Spanish cook has returned from the early morning marketing she ■is ready to devote herself to chopping, i pounding, beating, and frying for the j dinner at one or two o'clock, says a writer in the London "Daily Telegraph." The careful marketing and unhurried preparation r.ccount largely for the average Spanish meal being more appetising than the English one. However, disregard at time tends to make meals un punctual, as travellers in Spain have often found to their cost. The evening meal is a very late supper, often more elaborate than our late dinner. It is served at any time from 9 o'clock onwards, and means another long session for the cook. The frying-pan is her favourite utensil and the casserole makes a good second. The chopping board is used more often than the mincing machine, while a pestle and mortar are frequently in her hands for stuffings and sauces. Even in stews the frying-pan has a part. This may be the reason why conservative English people think Spanish food rich. Actually it is less buttery than the French. A properlycooked' Spanish dish is never greasy, and it is never made from reheated meat. Large joints do not need using up, for they are rarely seen. Here are some typical Spanish recipes:— CROQUETAS. These are Spanish croquettes of meat or fish. Take Jib of fresh, lean meat or white fish. Cook till tender — in the case of fish, cook in part milk. Chop very finely. Put h tablespoonful of butter in the pan and three tablespoonfuls of flour. Fry till golden and then add slowly a large cup of milk. When mixture is quite smooth add the chopped meat or fish and boil for a minute, stirring well. When mixture is neither loose nor thick put it in a basin to get cold. Have ready breadcrumbs and beaten egg. Shape the ' croquettes like sausages. Roll in bread, dip in egg and roll in bread again. Fry in very hot fat, quickly and carefully. ARROZ A LA VALENCIANA. Different provinces in Spain have different methods for preparing savoury rice, but the "Valenciana" is the most tasty. Two breakfast-cupfuls rice, 2 onions, 2 cloves of glaric, 4 tomatoes, ljlb spare-rib pork, 2 kidneys, 3 red pimentos (canned), one penny worth saffron, salt, and pepper. The saffron is important for flavour and colouring. Other meat may be used instead of the pork, such as chicken, rabbit, lamb, or veal cutlets. Spaniards sometimes add cockles, mussels, or snails. Chop onions and garlic finely. Fry in lard, adding the tomatoes, also sliced. Cut the pork in small pieces free from bone. Cut kidneys small. Add the two cups of rice (unsoaked) to the pan. Season and stir a few minutes. Turn the whole into a casserole. Add five breakfast-cupfuls of boiling water or stock and at the same time the pimentos, freed from seed and cut up. Add the saffron crumbled' small. Stir and add salt again if necessary. Put in a brisk oven until it simmers, then lower the regulator and simmer very gently for one hour. As soon as "Ihe rice is cooked the gas should be put out. FISH A LA ESPANOLA. A good piece of cod or,hake, say 21b, 2 onions, 2 or 3 large cupfuls tinned tomato, knob of butter, pepper, and salt. Place fish in a good-sized baking dish, which can be brought to table. Put butter and seasoning inside the fish. Slice finely and fry the onions in lard, adding the tomato when they are golden and stir all together with pepper and salt. Fry for two or three minutes and then pour over and around the fish. Bake in a moderate oven for 2of an hour. Should be served in same dish and accompanied by potatoes, boiled, mashed, and browned in the oven. TORRIJAS. Puddings are foreign to Spain. Raw fruit or pastries take their place, generally speaking. Here, however, is a nice little Spanish sweet, very easy to make. Slices of bread, a little milk, beaten egg, honey, butter. Trim off crusts, dip each slice in milk, fry immediately in a little butter, dip in egg, and fry again till golden and crusted. Heat honey mixed with a little water over a low flame, dip the torrijas into it, and serve hot. The recipes given are. for four persons.