BEATING THE BIRDS TO THE LOQUATS

 

Loquats are not quite ripe.

The fruits on the loquat tree have turned from green to yellow. They’re not quite ripe, though. They need to be as orange as an apricot to be really sweet. Besides the color of their skins, I’ll know they’re ripe because the birds will beat me to them! 

Loquats (Eriobotry japonica) are called nísperos in Spanish. The egg-shaped fruit ripens in the spring, much earlier than apricots. The trees grow in subtropical climes along the south and east coastlines of Spain. Loquats grown in Alicante province have a protected quality denomination, Nísperos de Callosa d’en Sarrià.

Loquats are easy to peel—just cut off the stem end and strip back the skin. In the center are dark, knobby seeds (from one to five, but averaging three). Once ripe, the fruit is sweet, somewhat like a spicy pear in taste. The flesh is firm but juicy.

The loquats I picked early are juicy but more sour than sweet. They are just right in a sprightly spring salad. The combination of fruit with smoked ham (or smoked turkey) plus cheese will work just as well once the fruit is fully ripe. Use more or less lemon juice/honey in the vinaigrette to balance the flavors.

Sliced loquats, diced ham, and cheese make a sprightly spring salad.

Spring Salad with Loquats and Spinach

Ensalada de Primavera con Nísperos y Espinacas

Peel loquats, remove seeds. 

2-3 servings.

2-3 loquats (5 ounces)

4 tablespoons lemon juice

½ teaspoon Dijon mustard

½ -1 teaspoon honey

½ teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons chopped fresh tarragon or basil

1 cup (3 ½ ounces) diced smoked ham

½ cup (2 ounces) diced mozzarella or fresh goat cheese

¼ cup slivered red bell pepper

1 ½ cups baby spinach leaves

Chopped pistachios

Chopped green onion

Peel the loquats. Cut them in half and remove the black seeds. Slice them into a bowl. Sprinkle them with 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice.

In a small bowl combine the mustard, honey, salt, and 3 tablespoons of lemon juice. Whisk in the oil and the chopped herbs. 

Add the ham, cheese, and red pepper to the sliced loquats. Add half of the dressing and mix well. (The salad can be prepared up to this point and left to macerate 1 or 2 hours.)

When ready to serve the salad, place the spinach in another bowl and toss with remaining dressing. 

Divide the spinach between two or three salad plates. Spoon the loquat-ham-cheese onto the spinach. Scatter with pistachios and chopped onion.

More loquat lore: Loquat Mousse.

CAUSE FOR CELEBRATION

 What’s the occasion? I received a gorgeous gift this week—a 3 ½-pound chuletón, rib steak, of Retinto beef. No occasion, except to celebrate fine food.

Thick-cut, bone-in rib steak of Retinto beef. Cause for celebration.

Retinto cattle are an autochthonous breed native to southwestern Spain, ranging from Extremadura in the north to the beaches of Cádiz in the south. Literally the beach. The cows are sometimes seen meandering on the sands at the edge of the Roman ruins of Baelo Claudia at Bolonia (near Tarifa, Cádiz). 

My son Ben, who surfs along this coast, remembered that I had long been wanting to try this esteemed beef and brought me the steak. He also fired up the grill and cooked the meat to perfection—lightly charred on the outside, rare in the center.

No recipe needed! Sear the meat on both sides. Flip again and grill a few minutes longer. Douse the flare-ups. Serve the fine meat rare.

Carve the meat off the bone, then slice it thickly perpendicular to the bone.

Sprinkle with coarse salt. No sauce needed. Well, maybe a dab of this piquant Gilda sauce.

Although meat of this quality requires neither sauce nor sides, I produced a “Gilda” steak sauce (recipe below), mushroom sauté, and patatas fritas, olive oil fries, to accompany the meat. 

Chopped piparra peppers, olives, and anchovies.

For the sauce, I started with the ingredients of the Basque tapa, the Gilda, and turned them into a piquant sauce. The Gilda, invented in San Sebastian, consists of olives, anchovies and pickled green chilies (guindillas or piparras) speared on toothpicks. The tapa was supposedly invented in the early 1950s to immortalize Rita Hayworth in the film of the same name—Hayworth being “hot,” “salty,” “smooth.” 

Piparra green chilies from the Basque country are mildly-hot, not crazy-hot, similar to Italian peperoncini. The addition of Sherry to the sauce is a nod to the region where Retinto cattle are raised, near where Sherry is produced.

Good with steak, the sauce would also go nicely with a burger or grilled lamb chops. 

Gilda Sauce with Green Chilies

Salsa La Gilda 

¼ cup (packed) coarsely chopped parsley

2 cloves garlic

½ cup drained piparra peppers (3 ounces)

½ cup drained pitted Manzanilla olives (3 ounces)

1 ounce canned anchovies in olive oil (about 6)

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 teaspoon dry Sherry

Pinch of oregano

Freshly ground black pepper

Place the parsley and peeled garlics in a mini-processor and chop finely. Remove stems from the peppers and cut them in half. Place in the processor with the olives and anchovies. Process until chopped. Add the oil, mayonnaise, Sherry, oregano, and pepper. Process until finely chopped. 

Scrape the sauce into a bowl to serve. If preparing in advance, refrigerate the sauce, covered. Bring to room temperature before serving.

For a cookbook (in Spanish): Recipes with Retinto Beef

All about steak and a recipe for chimichurri.

Steak Salad.

Steak Sandwich and Mushroom Ketchup.

SOME LIKE IT HOT

 

Hot almond soup, quick to make with almond milk.

Last summer when I was sweltering I got the cool idea to make ajo blanco—white gazpacho with garlic and almonds—using store-bought almond milk. Never mind shelling a pile of almonds. The mood passed and I never tried it. Today I see that the expiry date on that carton of almond milk is a week away. I certainly don’t want it to go bad.

Transitioning into spring, I still want hot soup for lunch. Why not hot ajo blanco? Sounds weird, but it’s delicious! 

Almond milk is a product that has been around since medieval times. In Europe it cannot be labelled as “milk” (leche). It is labelled bebida de almendras, or "almond drink". The supermarket brand of almond milk that I purchased contains 4.5 percent almonds. The rest is water. It is fortified with vitamins. Almond milk needs to be refrigerated once opened and used within three days.  Almond milk is available both sweetened and unsweetened. For this recipe use unsweetened, unflavored almond milk. 

Chilled ajo blanco, a Málaga specialty, is usually served garnished with sweet muscatel grapes. I've used D.O. Málaga raisins  instead of grapes for the hot version. Málaga raisins need to be seeded. 

The soup is vegan, but can be embellished with chopped serrano ham or diced cooked chicken if desired. Fried sliced almonds and garlic chips make a crunchy garnish. Serve croutons of fried bread to accompany. The soup makes a lovely starter for a dinner party.

You can make the soup in advance, but you will need to blend it again before reheating as it becomes lumpy in cooling. Thin it with water if needed.

To make croutons of fried bread to accompany the soup: Cut 1 or 2 slices of bread into 3/8-inch dice. In a small skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and fry the diced bread, turning, until golden on all sides. Skim out and reserve the croutons.

I may yet try making chilled White Gazpacho using almond milk. Summer is right around the corner.

Garnishes make the soup: slivered almonds, garlic chips and sweet Málaga raisins.  A drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Serve croutons of fried bread to accompany the soup.

The soup is vegan, but you can garnish with chopped ham if you like.

Hot and Savory Almond Soup

Ajo Blanco Caliente

Swap almond milk for almonds.

Serves 4.

4 ounces bread (6 baguette slices) + more if making croutons of fried bread

6 cups unsweetened almond milk

¼ cup Málaga muscatel raisins

3-4 cloves garlic

1/3 cup olive oil + additional to finish

¼ cup sliced almonds

2 teaspoons salt

1 tablespoon Sherry vinegar

Croutons of fried bread

Break or slice the bread into chunks. Place them in a bowl or pan and add 3 cups of the almond milk. Let the bread soak until softened, 15 minutes.

Remove stems and seeds from the raisins and set them aside. (If using raisins that are very dry, soak them in hot water to cover for 5 minutes.)

Coarsely chop 1 or 2 cloves of the garlic and add to the bread. Slice remaining 1 or 2 cloves of garlic crosswise. Heat the oil on medium heat in a small skillet. Add the almonds and sliced garlic. Fry them until golden. Remove the skillet from the heat and skim out the almonds and garlic onto a paper towel. Reserve them to garnish the soup. Let the oil cool.

Use an immersion blender to blend the bread, almond milk, and garlic until very smooth. Blend in 2 cups of the remaining almond milk, salt, and vinegar. With the blender running, slowly add the oil. 

Place the pan on medium-high heat, stirring frequently. When the soup begins to simmer, lower heat to medium-low and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. The soup will thicken as it cooks. Add remaining almond milk (or water) to thin it to desired consistency.

Ladle the hot soup into bowls. Garnish with raisins, fried almonds and garlic. Drizzle a little oil on top. Serve accompanied by croutons.

More recipes for ajo blanco and other versions of almond soup:

Chilled ajo blanco with grapes.

The real deal, White Gazpacho with Grapes. Chilled almond-garlic soup garnished traditionally, with grapes.

Ajo Blanco Sauce with Grilled Chicken and Figs.

Cold Almond Cream (Mazamorra).

White Gazpacho with Pine Nuts.

Black and White Garlic Gazpacho.

Savory Almond Soup.

Sweet Almond Soup.

Almond-Gazpacho Sorbet.