File this one under “utter fabrications told to you by older sibling and believed for too long”. I must have been very young when my sister (15 months my senior) informed me that I should be wary of eating my grandmother’s suet dumplings because suet was the gooey material supporting bovine eye-balls. Quite where she got this idea from, I’m not sure, but she seemed to believe it and, as a credulous juvenile, so did I. And so convinced was I, that until some brief research yesterday proved her to have been telling porkies, I had held it up as truth for the intervening 25 years or so. Why I found her a credible source about this I have no idea – she’s been a vegetarian since the age of 12, and an extremely picky eater before that.

Suet is, in fact, raw beef fat that is typically from around the animals’ kidney or loin area, and while that may not be a much less appetizing prospect than eye-socket, it certainly helps explain why it should be used in the preparation of a traditional British dumpling. It’s basically a firm kind of lard that melts perfectly at the relatively low temperatures found on top of a stew, which is where a British dumpling is typically found.

American readers will be forgiven for commonly associating dumplings only with Chinese restaurants, or at the outside, with Russian or Polish cuisine, but in the northern reaches of Britain, suet dumplings are, or, at least, were a frequent sight floating on top of a thick stew during the winter. And indeed, suet dumplings do look and taste a bit like their Chinese counterparts – slightly chewy and definitely filling, except that they’re much less uniform in shape and are not wrapped in pasta, the filling is the dumpling, basically. Suet as an ingredient though, is not confined to the creation of floaters, it’s also used in the recipe for other traditional British favorites as spotted dick, pastry, Christmas pudding and mincemeat, demonstrating remarkable flexibility as a fat and flavoring.

Suet is also commonly used throughout the Caribbean in the preparation of patties, particularly in Jamaica, and I think that this is the reason for it appearing on the shelves of our local supermarket, as not far from us resides a large and vibrant Caribbean community.

We’ll definitely be exploring some patty recipes with suet in the near future (a $2 package goes a long way), but for the time being, please consider searching out some suet and making yourself a good old British dinner this weekend. It’s on oft-repeated maxim among survival experts that icy temperatures can best be braved when you’re core is fired with plenty of firm beef fat. I’m not kidding.

Chicken & Root Vegetable Stew with Herbed Suet Dumplings (serves 4-6)

Ingredients

• 4 bone-in chicken breasts, or (preferably) 6-8 bone-in chicken thighs
• 1 large yellow onion, roughly sliced
• 1 large leek, cut into 1 inch chunks
• 3 large carrots, cut into 1 inch chunks
• 2 parsnips, cut into 1 inch chunks
• 4 medium potatoes, cut into eighths, or 2 inch chunks
• 4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• 1 bouquet garni (store bought, or wrap parsley, bay and thyme in the green part of a leek and secure with string)
• pinch of hot pepper flakes
• 2oz (50 grams) dry white wine
• 3 tsp olive oil
• 2-3 pints (1-1. liters) chicken stock (depending on size of pot you’re using)
• 2oz (50 grams) plain flour
• salt and black pepper

For the dumplings:

• 4.5oz (125 grams) plus a bit more, plain flour
• 2oz (50 grams) grated or very finely diced fresh suet
• 2-3oz (50-75 grams) water
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tbsp chopped parsley

Recipe

• Heat oil in large heavy casserole or dutch oven to medium.
• Dust chicken pieces with flour and sprinkle with salt and pepper and place in pot. Allow to brown well on all sides – about ten minutes.
• Remove chicken and add onions, carrots, potatoes, parsnips and leeks. Sweat until lightly browned, about 6 minutes.
• Add garlic and hot pepper, and cook for a further 2 minutes, or until garlic softens and perfumes room.
• Deglaze pot with white wine or 2oz of the stock. Make sure all the caramelized chicken juices come up before adding remaining stock (or enough to cover contents) and bouquet garni.
• Cover and allow to simmer for around 40 minutes.
• In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, chopped suet and parsley. Mix well.
• Add half of your water and stir. If dumpling mixture is too dry add more, but you’re looking for a dough that’s nicely sticky and elastic, not too damp.
• Then using two tablespoons, make quennelles with dough and removing the pot lid, gently plop them into simmering stew. Alternatively, flour your hands well and make squash-ball size dumplings and drop them in.
• Then, re-cover stew and allow to simmer for another 10-15 minutes.
• Serve in a bowl and allow to stick to your ribs. Repeat with second helpings.

Another meat-free meal (with exception of our bacon crumbles garnish) once we returned from our pig-fest in Madrid. This one was a winner! The fried leeks added a bit of crunch (if you want to take the extra time to do this). We added a bit of sour cream for a bit of extra creaminess, but a half cup of heavy cream would be luxurious. In fact, the potatoes are so starchy that you don’t need to add any cream at all.

POTATO AND LEEK SOUP

• 4 potatoes
• 2 leeks, cut in half and sliced in half-moons (reserve 1/4 of a leek, for garnish – cut into 1/8 inch strips)
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 6 cups of chicken or vegetable stock
• 2 tablespoons of sour cream (optional – depends on how thick you like your soup – the potatoes alone make it pretty thick as is)
• Salt and pepper
• 2 rashes of bacon (for optional garnish – leave out if you want a veggie meal)

1. (OPTIONAL) Slice your bacon into 1 inch pieces and cook over medium heat until crispy. Remove bacon and reserve on side. When cooled, crush to crumbles. Leave the bacon fat in the pan – this will give your soup a deeper level of flavor
2. Peel potatoes and cut into small pieces.
3. Saute leeks and garlic in the rendered bacon fat, if you use bacon, or some olive oil until soft.
4. Add potatoes to the sauteed leeks and pour in the chicken or veggie stock.
5. Bring to a boil and then lower heat and simmer for 20 minutes, or until potatoes are falling apart.
6. Add your two tablespoons of sour cream if you prefer a thicker, creamier soup (you could choose to blend first and see what the soup looks like and then add the sour cream and blend again). Add some salt, if necessary, and pepper.
7. Using a stick blender or a blender, puree the soup. I prefer a bit of chunks in my soup so I often take a bit of the chunky potatoes out while I blend the rest. I then add the chunkier bits back and crush with a fork.
8. (OPTIONAL) In another pan, saute your leek ‘strips’ in some olive oil until crispy for an optional garnish.
9. Dish up and top with some crumbled bacon and fried leeks.

CHECK OUT SOME OF THESE OTHER POSTS:

• TORTILLA SOUP
• LA RIBOLLITA (Tuscan Vegetable and Cannelini Bean Soup)
• AVGOLEMONO SOUP (Greek Lemon-Egg Chicken Soup w/ Orzo)
• LIVORNESE FISH STEW
• PAPPA AL POMODORO (Tuscan Tomato and Bread Soup)

But today’s post is not about the bizarre foods we ate in Madrid – it’s about the tame ones. Even some of the ‘weird’ ones we ate became tame in my mind after we ate them. Everything in Madrid is just so damn delicious. I’ll start with the crowning jewel of Spanish tapas – the Tortilla Espanola. This is the quintessential tapas and you will find it all over the country (unlike some of the regional tapas you only find in specific areas). According to Penelope Casas (author of the excellent The Food and Wines of Spain), the tortilla is “a way of life in Spain and loved by all”. She also explains the meaning of the word, which many confuse with the Mexican “tortilla”. The only thing these two things have in common is it’s shape which comes from the Latin torte, meaning a round cake. Tortilla Espanola is one of those meals that you think should be easy to prepare – it’s a freaking omelet, right? WRONG. The key to this delicious and simple treat is how it’s cooked. It takes time, folks. It has simple ingredients, but is not as simple to prepare as you may have though. This should not scare you off! But do what we did – make a big one on a Saturday morning and eat small slices for the next day or two (make sure you cover it!). It makes for not only a great snack, but pair it with some bread and a simple salad and you’ve got a meal. See end of post for our recipe for Tortilla Espanola.

Moving on, some of the other safe, but fabulous tapas we ate in Madrid was Patatas Bravas. Yes, fry anything and top with a nice sauce (see my cowballs comment above) and I’ve got a smile on my face! Patatas Bravas are simply fried potato wedges (or squares) topped with a spicy pimenton (pimento) sauce. They are eaten with toothpics and are the perfect tapa, or snack, to eat with a refreshing Mahou beer. We almost ate at the supposed birthplace of the patatas bravas, but was turned off when we walked by, saw it and also realized it was a chain-restaurant. There are many tapas places to eat in NYC (none I’ve found to be anything like the ones I’ve eaten at in Barcelona, Basque Spain or Madrid) and most of them will serve the bravas.

Next up, albondigas. Another famous, in-every-single-tapas-bar-in-NYC-tapa. BUT, the one we ate in Madrid beat every albondigas I have eaten anywhere else. The sauce that came with these tiny meatballs tasted like a sweet tomato/pimenton sauce. I’ve had it with a brown sauce, with an onion gravy and with a chunky tomato sauce. This did not taste just like tomatoes. Regardless, it was heavenly and I ‘shwooped’ up all the sauce with the bread provided to us.

Now, another shining star of the tapas world – chorizo. OHHHH BABY. I shiver with happiness when I think of eating this – especially the way we ate it in Madrid in the above picture, Chorizo al Vino Tinto (chorizo in red wine). The chorizo we often buy in the store in America is the Goya-brand chorizo. It is hard and cured. Although it’s got all the right ingredients (pork, chunks of pork fat, pimenton), it is just completely different in look, texture and flavor from the soft, fresh chorizo sausage we ate in Spain. This tapas came out sizzling in it’s own juices and fat with a hint of red wine. Believe me, we used that bread for some serious dipping. I felt like I was dripping in fat when it was done, and, damn it, was it worth it.

Finally, another famous tapa/raciones eaten in Madrid is any seafood a la plancha, translating to grilled on a metal plate or cast iron skillet. It’s all about the dry heat cooking the food. You will see gambas a la plancha, camarones a la plancha or filetes a la plancha as well as numerous other dishes cooked a la plancha in Spain. But the sepia (cuttlefish) a la plancha we ate our first day in Spain stole our hearts. It was grilled to perfection and meaty with just the taste of the sea, fresh Spanish olive oil and some lemon juice accenting it’s flavor. Of course I didn’t mind the aioli dipping sauce on the side. Sepia tastes a bit like calamari, but I think it’s much more robust and thicker/meatier. It was heavenly. I wish it was more widely available to make in my ‘hood.

Now, I hope you will consider making your own Tortilla Espanola for breakfast, lunch or even dinner… possibly a snack, too? We added some leeks to ours, but traditionally it should only include some onions and potatoes. For brunch, we had a slice with some chorizo, bread and a fried tomato. I hope you enjoy!

TORTILLA ESPANOLA (adaption of Penelope Casas’ recipe)

Ingredients:

• 4 potatoes, thinly sliced (use a mandolin to get the perfect thinness)
• 5 eggs
• 1 spanish onion, thinly sliced (again, use a mandolin if you have one)
• 1 leek, sliced lengthwise (optional)
• salt
• olive oil

What to do:

1. Make sure your potatoes and onions are thinly sliced – I’m talking about 1/8 of an inch.
2. In a hot, round skillet or pan, heat olive oil and add a layer of sliced potatoes to cover the bottom of the pan. Lower the heat to medium or medium low (depending on your stove) because you want to cook the potatoes slightly but you do not want to brown them. This is key. They will only cook for about 3-4 minutes on each side.
3. Flip over all your potatoes to get the other side cooked. Remove all these potatoes and allow to drain on some paper towels. Sprinkle with some salt. Repeat this method with the rest of the slices of potato.
4. After the potatoes are completed, saute the thin onions and leeks. This should not take very long since they are so thinly cut – maybe about 3-4 minutes.
5. While onions/leeks are cooking, whisk your eggs. Do not add anything else but some kosher salt. Throw the cooked potatoes into the whisked eggs and allow to settle in until you’re ready to cook the tortilla.
6. Remove onions and leeks and throw those into the egg mixture as well. Heat your skillet/pan to high heat to make sure it’s very hot. Add a good amount of olive oil and turn your pan so that it covers the sides as well.
7. Add your egg/potato/onion/leeks mixture to the hot pan and quickly spread out the potatoes and onions so they cover the circumference of the pan. Turn heat down to medium-low and allow your tortilla to cook. Shake the pan after a minute to aid in the cooking process. I used a fork to “poke” it a few times and ran it around the sides a bit to allow some of the egg to disperse. Do not worry about the tortilla like I did. As long as the pan is hot enough, it will cook evenly.
8. After about 4 to 5 minutes, you will notice that most of the egg on the top will be cooked – some will not – it will still look like raw, whisked egg. Still, you will take a plate, cover the pan (it must fully and tightly cover it!), and with your hand on the top of the plate, flip the pan to the tortilla ends up on the plate.
9. Add a little bit more olive oil to the pan and then slide the other, uncooked side of the tortilla back into the pan to finish cooking. My tip is to hold back the cooked part until all the uncooked egg is in the pan first. Then quickly add the thicker, cooked part.
10. Allow this to cook for 3-5 minutes shaking the pan again. Traditionally, you should flip it again 2 or 3 times to ‘shape’ it perfectly, but I was too hungry to do so!! ENJOY!

Check out another post with a few other tapas recipes:

• CLAMS WITH WHITE WINE AND CHORIZO
• SQUID WITH GOLDEN POTATOES

Check out other posts about Spain:

• The REAL Cocido of Spain
• Jamon, Jamon
• Pictures of Madrid
• Unusual Tapas We Ate in Madrid
• Cabrales Cheese: It’s a Bit of an Animal
• Vermut (Vermouth): Rediscovering an Old Classic
• CHORIZO, CHICKPEA AND POTATO SOUP

Wow… that title is a bit long, but it’s the best description I could come up with. This meal is absolutely delicious, quick and cheap. It is adapted from our favorite master chef – Jacques Pepin. On his PBS show Fast Food My Way (WATCH IT!!!), Jacques creates seemingly difficult and creative dishes in no time. He never attempts to wow you with his personality (charming, sweet, truly charismatic), made-up stories to keep you interested (unless you count recollections of his mother’s cooking in France growing up which you really know are true and actually want to hear) or his K-RAZY catch phrases (only at the beginning with a “Happy Cooking!” in his lovely French accent). Jacques is a true master in the food world and every time I watch him I not only immediately relax, but I always learn something new. I am in awe of him and I not-so-secretly wish he was my grandfather (no offense to my real grandfathers whom I love/loved very much).

Jacques original dish is called Bowtie Pasta with Fried Egg and Cheese. His recipe is very, very nice, but I tweaked it a bit. We love garlic and had to add it. Jacques uses gruyere cheese, but we’ve also done this dish with shredded mozzarella and fontina cheese. Both melt extremely well and give the dish an excellent flavor. Topping the pasta with a runny, fried egg brings this dish to another level. Make SURE you don’t overcook the egg! You’ll want that yolk to run all throughout the pasta, mixing with the other ingredients, almost creating a sauce. I’m salivating thinking about it now.

I’ve also entered this recipe in Real Epicurean’s “In The Bag” May event.  Check out this blog for some delicious recipe!

PASTA WITH LEEKS, ASPARAGUS, MUSHROOMS, GRUYERE AND A FRIED EGG

• 1/2 – 3/4 of a box of short pasta, whole wheat if you so choose (gemelli, penne, rigatoni, cavatelli, etc.)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 shallot, minced (optional)
• 1 leek, cleaned and thinly sliced
• 6 asparagus spears (make sure to cut off the woody bottom), grilled and then sliced into 2 inch pieces (you can also boil them or saute them if you don’t have a grill pan)
• 5 white button mushrooms, thickly sliced (1/4 inch slices)
• 1/4 pound shredded Gruyere cheese (or mozzarella, fontina)
• a palmful of shredded Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
• 2 tablespoons butter
• olive oil
• salt and pepper
• peperoncino (optional)

What to do:

1. Heat up your grill pan (if you have one, if not, skip to #2)
2. In a medium-high heated pan, suate your mushrooms in some olive oil. Sprinkle with a bit of salt. As soon as they take on bit of color (about 2 minutes), add your leeks and saute until soft. Mushrooms should not be mushy, but have a bit of give. If you over-saute them, no biggie. I just like the taste of a bit of firmness along with the asparagus… you may not care. Reserve in a bowl on the side.
3. Grill your asapargus spears on your indoor or outdoor grill. Allow to cool and then cut into 2 inch pieces. (NOTE: If you do not have a grill pan, cut your raw asapargus into 2 inch pieces and saute in a bit of olive oil until cooked through – 3-4 minutes or so).
4. Boil your water for the pasta and cook for alloted time until al dente.
5. While pasta is cooking, in a tablespoon of butter and a tablespoon of olive oil, gently saute your shallots and garlic on medium-low (if you have the time, do it on low), so that they not only cook, but the flavor infuses into the butter/olive oil (5-8 minutes).
6. In a separate pan, fry an egg in some olive oil. Make sure to only fry it on the other side for a second in order to keep the yolk runny! That makes the dish! Keep warm until ready.
7. Drain your pasta, reserving about 1/2 a cup of the cooking liquid. Add your pasta to the pan with the shallots/garlic/butter/olive oil mixture (pan should be on low/medium-low heat. Add one more pat of butter (about a tablespoon) and toss. Next, add a dash of pasta water (about 1/4 cup at most), add back the other veggies and toss. Add a pinch of salt to your liking (always taste!). If you would like a stronger garlic flavor, add a pinch of garlic powder (NOT garlic salt if you’ve already added salt). Toss again.
8. Add your gruyere first and then the parmagiano cheese. Continue to toss pasta until cheese is completely integrated into the dish and melted.
9. Serve immediately, top each dish with a fried egg and some optional peperoncino if you want to add a kick to it.

CHECK OUT SOME OF THESE OTHER POSTS YOU MAY ENJOY:

• WATERCRESS & RICOTTA RAVIOLI WITH A RADICCHIO BUTTER SAUCE
• GNOCCHI DI PATATE WITH A BROWN BUTTER, SAGE, BREADCRUMB SAUCE
• PERFECT BROCCOLI DI RAPE WITH SWEET SAUSAGE
• LA RIBOLLITA (Tuscan Vegetable and Cannelini Bean Soup)
• AVGOLEMONO SOUP (Greek Lemon-Egg Chicken Soup w/ Orzo)
• SWEET ANISE-FLAVORED SALMON IN A POUCH (SALMON EN PAPILLOTE)