It is no coincidence that, in the 30 years since Franco’s death, Spanish creativity in the arts, architecture, business, and gastronomy has blossomed. It is also no coincidence that it has been, predominantly, though not exclusively, Spain’s sub-national and regional groups — who were repressed most viciously by the Fascist dictator — that have led this rebirth. Valencian architect Santiago Calatrava, designer of some of the most stunning buildings of all time, and Catalonian Ferran Adría, who runs what is, almost undisputedly, the world’s best restaurant, are but two whose genius has prospered in the post-Franco era. One could also point to more general trends of economic prosperity (prior to the recent global meltdown) in formerly moribund provincial cities like Bilbao and the resurgence of regional languages as evidence of this Spanish renaissance in recent times.

The Basque Country (País Vasco) has always been somewhat removed from mainstream Spanish affairs, even prior to the 20th century. Linguistically, ethnically and culturally unique, and surrounded on all sides by Indo-European speakers, the Basques have survived millennia of both active and passive discrimination, keeping their traditions alive with stubborn tenacity. One might be forgiven then, for assuming that these remarkable and unique people are a population of stolid conventionalists, unable or unwilling to change their habits. One would be wrong.

Historians trace the epicenter of today’s wave of Spanish gastronomic innovation to a small kitchen in San Sebastian (Donostía) in the mid-1970s. At his eponymous restaurant, Arzak, Juan Mari Arzak pioneered New Basque Cuisine (nueva cocina vasca) virtually single-handedly. Taking inspiration from the French nouvelle cuisine revolution of the late 60s — especially from Michel Guérard, whose spa-restaurant at Eugenie-les-Bains between Bordeaux and Biarritz was a particularly fine ‘local’ example — he began creating lighter and less rustic dishes from the finest traditional Basque ingredients and time-honored Basque techniques. Arzak has been so extraordinarily successful in this that not only do world-famous chefs Ferran Adría and Karlos Arguiñano credit him with heavily influencing their cooking, but his restaurant has retained the 3 Michelin star-rating it achieved in 1989, and only last year it was named the 8th best restaurant in the world.

Anyone who has eaten Basque food knows that it is characterized by simple, unadorned dishes with a weighting towards the maritime, like Marmitako (a tuna and tomato stew), Bacalao al Pil-Pil (salt cod in a spicy garlic sauce), and Txangurro (stuffed crabs), and Juan Mari Arzak’s signature dish — his hake in green sauce with clams — is of this same ilk, featuring very basic ingredients and unfussy technique.

Two things make Juan Mari Arzak such a revolutionary and this dish so seminal: (1) when he first made it, the dish demonstrated exquisitely, and for perhaps the first time by a Spanish chef, that Iberian dishes, Iberian ingredients and Iberian traditions could constitute haute cuisine — an idea that, today, resonates globally; (2) he showed in this dish that the cooking of the future would be as much, if not more, about what you didn’t do to the food as what you did do to it — a truly revolutionary notion at a time when the elaborate and time-intensive dishes of classic French gastronomy were still considered the pinnacle of the culinary arts.

Hake (merluza) is a staple of Spanish seafood cooking, and indeed, so influential has Arzak been that versions of this dish are still, 35 years later, pretty commonplace in Spain. I first ate it at a hole-in-the-wall tasca behind the Plaza Mayor in Salamanca years ago and I can still see its beautiful green color and feel the silkiness of the fish in my mind. Sadly, and for no good reason I can fathom, hake is difficult to get hold of on this side of the Atlantic and obtaining other white fish with similar properties is also problematic for the ethical consumer due to issues of over-fishing and scarcity. Nonetheless, sustainably managed Pacific cod is fairly readily-available, and most mild-flavored white fish, if left skin-on to keep it intact, will make a perfect substitute.

Juan Mari Arzak’s revelation of allowing the ingredients to speak for themselves is taken to its logical extreme here as he hardly applies his hands or any heat to create what is a fully cooked dish. Understanding that white fish can dry out and quickly fall apart if not dealt with delicately, all he does is gently caress it around a barely warm pan with garlic, olive oil, parsley, clam juice and wine. The emulsion created by this careful preparation is as sweet and elegant as you would expect from a three Michelin star chef, but with a flavor as robust as the ancestral Basque fare from which it comes, and as spirited as the revolution it began. Vivá la Revolucíon!

On our final day in Madrid, it was pissing down with rain. We spent about 4 hours walking around the Reina Sofia drooling over Picasso’s Guernica (the size of a giant museum wall) and the large amount of Dali and Miro works. We’re not really artsy-fartsy folks, but that museum made me wet myself with joy. The more we travel, the more I’ve been enjoying museums. But the second my stomach growled in the hallowed halls of the Reina Sofia, I knew it was only a matter of time till I either ripped a painting off the wall and attempted to eat it or I ripped off my husbands head just because he was there and I was annoyed. See, when Amy gets hungry she becomes a bit of a biotch. Ok, that’s an understatement according to anyone who knows me. When Amy gets hungry and can’t find food right away she is basically a total bitch. Even worse, when Amy is wet and hungry she will let you know that she’s pissed and take it out on who ever is closest to her. I know, I know, it’s not fair and it’s mean, but I think of my stomach the way a man thinks of his penis. Just as many men think with theirs, I think with my stomach and when I need it satisfied, it must be satisfied immediately.

As we walked around Madrid on our final afternoon of vacation, starving and cold (I know, poor me, right?), I thought I was going to die if I didn’t get some food in me. It always happens that when you want something you never can find it, but the second you stop looking, there it is. Well, the second I just gave up on finding an open restaurant, there she was – a warm, inviting, cozy and delicious-smelling Galician restaurant – Taberna Maceira. The menu offered an array of food and if I had my choice, I probably would’ve ordered the whole menu. But the thing that caught our eye was the Arroz Marineiro (that’s the Galician spelling for Arroz Marinero) which happened to be a mid-day special. The fact that the menu specifically told you, in so many words, to be patient because this dish takes at least 25 minutes to make, even as hungry as I was, made me smile. We ordered a huge cheese plate with five different types of Galician cheeses and a large jug of wine. Within five minutes I was warm, buzzed and happy. When the steamy hot cauldron of rice, tomato stock and various types of seafood came out, I started to realize that I could be happy sitting in that cozy Galician restaurant with the jug(s) of red wine, my husband and this steamy hot bowl of Arroz Marineiro for the rest of my life… or at least until the rain passed in a few hours.

This dish is similar in flavors to a paella but the main difference is the consistency. It should be like a soupy stew with a bit of the broth left on the top of the rice so you can get a bit of the broth with each bite. Most recipes have a variety of fish included in it. Kind of like the livornese fish stew we made ages ago – it all depends on what’s fresh and what’s available. The dish’s name translates to Marine or Sailor Rice. The small bit of history I could find about this dish told me that it was an easy dish for those that lived on the sea to make with what was readily available. We brought back some razor clams with us from Spain, so we used some of these along with whatever else I could pick up at my local store. Although we weren’t sitting in Madrid when we ate this fabulous healthy meal, it did bring me back to that afternoon.

ARROZ MARINERO – SPANISH MARINE RICE (serves 2 to 3 as mains)

Ingredients:

• 1 onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 to 6 whole, peeled tomatoes (can be from a can), chopped
• 6 cups hot stock (preferably fish stock)
• 1 roasted red pepper, peeled and cut into 2 inch strips
• olive oil
• 2 tablespoons pimenton (paprika)
• pinch of saffron
• a variety of seafood: squid cut in rings, clams still in shell, shrimp with shells removed, mussels, white fish cut in 1-inch chunks
• 2 cups of Valencian rice (Arborio or Bomba rice would work – regular white rice would work only – ONLY – if you can’t find the other 3)
• some chopped parsley
• lemon
• Optional but not traditional: some peperoncino or a hot pepper to spice it up

What to do:

1. In a pot, saute the onions and garlic for a few minutes in some olive oil. After a few minutes, add the clams and mussels along with a bit of hot stock (like 3 or 4 tablespoons) and stir a bit. Put a lid on the pot and give it a few minutes to steam. Don’t let the onions and garlic burn. Lift the lid every 2 minutes to check if the shells have opened. Stir around if necessary and put lid back on. Keep doing this until the shells of the clams and mussels have completely opened. Remove to a bowl and hold until ready to plate.
2. Add the chopped tomatoes, roasted red pepper, squid and fish to the sauteed onions and garlic. Cook for a minute then add the pimenton and saffron. Stir for around for a minute then add the rice and stir, allowing rice to absorb all the flavors in the pot.
3. Add all the broth and stir. Bring the rice to a boil and then turn heat down a bit and allow the rice to cook in the heavy simmering liquid. You want in between a boil and a simmer. The rice should cook in about 20 minutes, but, like me, keep testing it for doneness every 5 minutes. About five minutes before the rice is finished cooking, add your shrimp.
4. When the rice is done, turn heat off, taste for seasoning and ladle rice along with some extra broth and plenty of seafood into a bowl. Top with some of the reserved clams and mussels. Squeeze some lemon juice on to the top along with some chopped parsley. Enjoy!

Check out some other posts you may enjoy:

• JAMAICAN JERK CHICKEN
• SHREDDED CHICKEN SOPES WITH TOMATILLO AVOCADO SAUCE
• FRITO MISTO DI MARE (FRIED MIXED SEAFOOD AND VEGGIES)
• SALAD NICOISE (Salad with Seared Tuna)
• PROVENCAL RABBIT WITH OLIVES AND CAPERS
• BRAISED PORK CHOPS WITH LIME AND OLIVES

Now, I know it’s been two weeks plus since Christmas, but I wanted to share our final two recipes with you. I know you all think I was slightly crazy to attempt all this food, and you are all right, I am! BUT, with that said, every single thing we made you can make too. Although we made homemade pasta (thanks to our amazing Kitchen Aid pasta attachment!), you can totally substitute dried and it will be equally delish. The secret is in the spicy sauce – we like it really spicy and extra garlic-y. You can adjust our recipe, but remember, it’s not fra’diavolo without the spice! I always use Lidia Bastianich’s recipe for pasta. It’s absolutely bang-on every time. Also, this recipe will work well with any type of seafood – calamari, scallops, shrimp-only, crab-only, lobster, clams or all of the above – use your imagination!

FETTUCCINE FRA’DIAVOLO WITH CRAB AND SHRIMP (Fettuccine w/Spicy Tomato Sauce) – serves 4 to 6

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 to 2 lbs. of fresh or dried long pasta
• 3 1/2 cups of Amy’s Tomato Sauce
• 1/2 to 1 tablespoon peperoncino (hot pepper flakes)
• 1 8oz. package of fresh crab meat (NOT IMITATION – REAL ONLY)
• 2-3 fresh crabs (we used Blue-Claw) – cleaned and split in half
• 1 lb. medium to large shrimp – shells removed
• 1/2 cup white wine
• minced parsley for garnish

What to do:

1. Before you make the sauce, give your crabs some color if they have not been cooked yet by heating up your olive oil and adding the crabs for a few moments till they turn a bit red. This may be completely unnecessary, but I did it anyway.
2. Remove the crabs and reserve on the side. Begin to make your tomato sauce. When you get to the third step of the recipe (at the same time you add your crushed tomatoes), add the wine as well as the crabs back to the pot. Allow this to simmer together for an hour. It will reduce a bit and the flavors will get much stronger.
3. About 15 minutes before you are ready to serve, add the loose, fresh crabmeat to the sauce and stir.
4. 5 minutes before you serve, add the shrimp to the sauce.
5. Toss some of your sauce with your cooked pasta and plate adding some extra shrimp on top if necessary. Top with a half of crab, some parsley and a bit of extra virgin olive oil.

CHECK OUT SOME OTHER POSTS YOU MAY ENJOY:

• PASTA (PERCIATELLI/BUCATINI OR SPAGHETTI) AL’AMATRICIANA (ROMAN CLASSIC PASTA DISH)
• PASTA WITH LEEKS, ASPARAGUS, MUSHROOMS AND GRUYERE, TOPPED WITH A FRIED EGG
• PASTA (BUCATINI) WITH PISTACHIO SAUCE
• PASTA WITH TUNA (Pasta Con Tonno)
• Striking Over Pasta?
• In Defence of Sandwiches (White House Subs, Atlantic City)
• Pigs Must Dream of Ending Up Here

This rich and hearty meal would brighten up any seafood lover’s cold, dark day. Although it’s not winter, I hope to make this again on a cold night. It was so satisfying without weighing me down. When researching I found that, according to tradition, this soup should contain at least 5 different types of fish – as many as the number of “C’s” in it’s name (love those Italians!). Also, a Livornese Fish Stew utilizes whatever the fish monger has to offer and is in season. Any shellfish (mussles, clams, shrimp etc.), white fish (monkfish, dogfish, halibut, bass, catfish, sole, etc.) plus some squid and octopus. Don’t forget the spice – this stew should have a spicy bite to it. Pair it with a crunchy piece of bread and you’ve got a meal in a bowl. Again, traditionally, you are supposed to toast white bread, rub it with garlic and then lay it in the bottom of your soup/stew bowl. Instead, I added a few pieces of white bread to thicken the stew (sort of like we did when we recreated the Pappa al Pomodoro a few weeks ago).

Once you’ve bought all the fish, the actual prep work is easy and quick. The only thing I would try and prep early is the octopus. Freezing the octopus actually helps tenderize it, so if you buy it fresh and thawed, ask if it has been frozen previously and, if not, freeze it then thaw it again. Once this happens, you want to boil the octopus for an hour and 15 minutes in water with a dash of white vinegar in it. This will further tenderize it. Also, we bought canned whole clams for this and they tasted wonderful (although fresh is always better!). Give it a shot, it’s so worth it!

LIVORNESE FISH STEW (IL CACCIUCCO ALLA LIVORNESE) – Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 whole, cooked octopus, head removed, tentacles cut into 1 1/2 to 2 inch pieces
• 1/2 pound large shrimp
• 1/2 pound squid – body cut into rings and tentacles cut into 1 1/2 to 2 inch pieces
• 1 pound white fish (halibut, mullet, monkfish, dogfish, etc.), cut into 2 inch pieces
• 1 pound fresh clams or one can of whole clams
• 1 pound mussles (OPTIONAL)
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 2 cloves garlic, finely dice
• 1 clove garlic, smashed
• 1 carrot, finely diced
• 1 celery stalk, finely diced
• 2 red chiles, chopped w/ seeds and ribs
• 2 cups fish broth
• 1 cup white wine
• 1 1/2 cans of crushed tomatoes (28 oz.)
• 5 thin slices of stale white bread (OPTIONAL)
• olive oil
• chopped parsley

What to do

1. Heat the olive oil and saute the carrot, onion and celery until golden and soft. Add the finely chopped garlic and the red pepper and saute for a minute or two.
2. Add your wine and reduce till almost completely absorbed.
3. Add your squid and octopus pieces and saute for one to two minutes.
4. Add the tomatoes, season with salt and pepper and stir.
5. Add the hot fish broth, stir and let your stew simmer for 20 minutes.
6. Lower the heat and add in your stale bread. Push the bread down below the surface of the sauce. Let absorb in the stew for a minute then stir.
7. Increase heat to medium again and add your shrimp, white fish and clams (plus whatever other fish you want to include).
8. After shrimp looks cooked you are done! Test for seasoning and plate up!
9. Sprinkle some chopped parsley and a little bit of extra virgin olive oil on top. Grill a thick piece of bread for the side… Enjoy!

CHECK OUT SOME OTHER POSTS YOU MAY ENJOY:

• SWEET ANISE-FLAVORED SALMON IN A POUCH (SALMON EN PAPILLOTE)
• FETTUCCINE FRA’DIAVOLO WITH CRAB AND SHRIMP
• FRITO MISTO DI MARE (FRIED MIXED SEAFOOD AND VEGGIES)
• Gimme What the Guy On the Floor’s Having
• In Vino Veritas (The Wine in Italy)
• CREAMY LEMON PASTA
• PASTA (PERCIATELLI/BUCATINI OR SPAGHETTI) AL’AMATRICIANA (ROMAN CLASSIC PASTA DISH)
• PASTA WITH LEEKS, ASPARAGUS, MUSHROOMS AND GRUYERE, TOPPED WITH A FRIED EGG
• Among the Bean Eaters (The Diet in Tuscany, Italy)
• Pigs Must Dream of Ending Up Here
• European Roast…? (Why Coffee Taste Better There)

Last week we discovered that the 5-day forecast was calling for a week’s worth of blue skies and summer-like weather. Not bad considering this past Sunday marked the beginning of Fall. Now, don’t get me wrong, I do love fall. But, like many, there’s something about summer that just excites me like no other season. Maybe it’s that whole “school mentality” thing where we are all just programmed to believe that there’s an end to work once Memorial Day comes? I changed careers 3 years ago from a corporate Marketing job to a School Counseling job in the NYC Public School System so now I’m back to feeling like I did when I was 10 year old. No more pencils, no more books! No more teacher’s dirty looks!! Even as an professional, paid adult, there still are some teacher’s I can’t stand! Maybe I know that when summer begins, I can go “down the shore”. Anyone from Philly or NJ will know what I mean… we don’t say we’re “going to the beach” we always say we’re going “down the shore”. I am lucky to have family that owns a house down the shore, only about 4 houses from the beach. Summer to me means going to the shore.

When we discovered the weather forecast, we decided that maybe our “summer ends after Labor Day” rule would be pushed aside. We loaded the car and headed “down the shore” with some of our cooking gear and ingredients. My mom and dad’s house isn’t very well-equipped with any type of cooking stuff. Our shore house is kind of a shack – a place where you don’t need to worry about washing the sand off your feet before you enter. A place where the oven broke 3 years ago and has never been fixed because you can always use the grill on the deck as your oven. The kind of place you may walk in and say, “eh, what’s all the hype about?” but then spend some time in and relax immediately. So with spices, a whole fish and our chef’s knife in tow, we headed south.

Saturday night we decided to have a seafood fest with tapas recipes in mind. It was just the two of us eating, so it ended up being a bit more than the normal tapas portions. We started with a calamari and potato with lemon and wine tapas, moved on to a Portuguese-inspired littleneck clams with white wine and chorizo (using pan con tomate – grilled bread topped w/ garlic and tomato – to ‘shoop’ up the sauce) and finished with a whole fried snapper topped with a spicy parsley and garlic sauce.

CLAMS WITH WHITE WINE AND CHIORIZO

Ingredients (for 2)

• 2 pounds of clams (cleaned)
• 2 chorizo links – chopped into small, diced pieces
• 1 small spicy hot red pepper (optional)
• 1/2 of large spanish onion, thinly sliced
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced or sliced
• 1 diced ripe tomato
• 2 cups of hot clam stock (or chicken stock)
• 3/4 cup of dry white wine
• olive oil
• S&P
• minced parsley

What to do:

1. Saute your diced chorizo in your pot until they release some fat and take on a darker color. With a slotted spoon, remove chorizo and keep on the side for later.
2. Using the rendered chorizo fat (you may need to add a bit more olive oil if necessary), saute your sliced onions until the absorb the color of the chorizo fat and are slightly translucent. Add minced garlic and saute for another minute.
3. Add your white wine and simmer for 30 seconds.
4. Add your stock and S&P (don’t add any more salt if the stock is salted already). Let simmer for about 5 minutes.
5. Add the clams and put the lid on your pot. The clams should start to open after about 4 minutes.
6. Remove lid and add back the chorizo bits. Sprinkle with your diced tomato and chopped parsley.

SQUID WITH GOLDEN POTATOES (Serves about 4 tapas-style)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. new potatoes
• 1 small onion, sliced thinly
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 lb. cleaned squid, bodies thinly sliced in rings
• 3 to 4 tablespoons dry white wine
• parsley, chopped
• lemon juice (fresh, of course!)
• olive oil
• S&P

What to do:

1. Boil your new potatoes in salted water until soft – about 15 minutes.
2. Heat up a good amount of olive oil (about 4 tablespoons) in a pan. When potatoes are tender, remove from water and put into the oil. Cook until they turn brown and crispy. NOTE: We wanted to use new pototoes, but instead used Yukon Gold. These potatoes were delish but the consistency of the dish changed…the yukon gold (due to it’s high starch content) created almost a bit of a chunky sauce.
3. As the potatoes are browing, add your sliced onions and cook for about 7 minutes.
4. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
5. Add your squid slices and cook for 2 minutes.
6. Add your wine and cook for another minute.
7. Mix everything together if you have not done so yet. Add your parsley, S&P and some lemon juice.

WHOLE FRIED RED SNAPPER WITH A PERSILLADE (AKA Garlic and Parsley Sauce)

Ingredients:

• 1-2 lb. whole snapper (any other mild fish would work well), cleaned, gutted and scaled with head and tail
• vegetable oil (enough to deep fry the fish) – I used a whole bottle
• 1 1/2 cup of white flour
• 1 cup of water (stream in slowly, you may need a bit more or a bit less – you want your batter to be THICK, not thin)
• pinch of salt and pepper
• 2 cups chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 6 cloves of garlic, very finely chopped
• 1 mortar and pestle (could be optional, but it helps make a better sauce)
• 1/2 of lemon

What to do:

1. Put your oil in your pot and start heating it (on high).
2. Pat your fish dry and season lightly with salt and pepper on and inside the body
3. With a sharp knife, make three diagonal slits (about 1/2 inch or so apart) on each side of the fish, deep enough to hit the bone (about 1 inch). This will help when eating the fish.
4. Meanwhile, take your chopped parsley and your finely chopped garlic and mash it all together in your mortar and pestle (just mash it up a bit to release more of the flavors of the herb and garlic – do not make it into a paste).
5. In a bowl, mix together your flour (add a pinch of salt and pepper) and water to make a batter. Feel free to add the water gradually and stir into the flour, adding more as needed. You don’t want a thin batter. Dip your whole fish into the batter and make sure the excess batter drips off.
6. When the oil is hot enough, add the whole, batter fish and allow to fry until golden brown. Turn fish if not completely immersed in the oil. Probably takes between 6 to 9 minutes. When finished, take out and drain on paper towels.
7. Take your parsely/garlic mixture and put in a small sautee pan with enough olive oil to make a sauce and gently heat through on low. This will allow the flavors to lightly infuse with the olive oil. Heat through for about 4 – 5 minutes.
8. Plate your fish, squeeze some lemon juice on top of the fried fish then spoon on your warmed sauce. Enjoy!

CHECK OUT SOME OTHER POSTS YOU MAY ENJOY:

• Tame Tapas We Ate in Madrid/Tortilla Espanola Recipe
• Unusual Tapas We Ate in Madrid
• Jamon (Serrano/Iberico) – Delicious and Loved by Spaniards
• Cabrales Cheese – It’s a Bit of an Animal!
• WHOLE FISH BAKED IN SALT
  
• SWEET ANISE-FLAVORED SALMON IN A POUCH (SALMON EN PAPILLOTE)
• FETTUCCINE FRA’DIAVOLO WITH CRAB AND SHRIMP