After a month of couchsurfing through Spain I now have a set of keys. And a library card. The selection of cookbooks in Murcia's municipal library doesn't actually include any focused on Murcian recipes, but I did flip through several with titles like "Nueva-Clasica Cocina" and at least one featuring a microwave prominently on the cover.
A lot of the photos reminded me of the Frugal Gourmet cookbooks I read growing up-everything stylized and very neat-kind of like the salads you get at Bar Mitzvahs with a single olive placed in the northeast corner of the plate and a trio of cucumber slices, fanned out and laid down on the left. I really like rustic food photos too, but sometimes it does look like the stylist stopped their shoot to add more of a rumple to the requisite accent napkin, spread just a few more crumbs on the distressed wooden table and make sure the mason jar in the background doesn't look quite so new.
So, this is my ode to those Spanish cookbook authors and the Frugal Gourmet:
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| Made this.. |
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| With that |
Ingredients:
1/2 of a cooked potato
1/2 of a roasted red pepper
The reserved liquid from roasting the pepper
1/4 of a little onion
1 hard boiled egg
White wine vinegar
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Reader's Digest version:
-Slice the bell pepper into thin strips, put them in a bowl and mix with a little olive oil and salt
-Slice the onion really thinly and cook it for just a minute in a medium hot pan
-Pour the reserved liquid from roasting the pepper over the onions
(this isn't what I did, but it's what I'll do next time)
-Slice the potato into discs and heat in the pan, just enough to warm them through
-Mix a little olive oil, vinegar and salt together and spoon over the potatoes so they soak up some flavor
-Slice the hard boiled egg into four pieces and sprinkle with a little salt
-Arrange the potatoes, strips of bell pepper, onions and egg in a dish, just so
-Before eating, place in front of an overly abundant cornucopia of shiny fruits and vegetables or, if possible, a thoughtfully arranged display of various shellfish and fresh herbs
-Enjoy in true Jeff Smith style
Extended version:
Reviewing my leftovers, I figured I'd use up the rest of my potato and pepper and add in an egg to make it a meal. I recently read a recipe that used the reserved liquid from roasting peppers and couldn't believe I'd been making the rookie mistake of tossing said liquid along with the seeds and stem for so long. I set it aside this time and had a dressing in mind with all the complexity and sweetness of the peppers. Just after patting myself on the back for adding a touch of brightness to the roasting liquid with a hit of white wine vinegar I tasted it and realized I'd actually just erased the flavor and replaced it with..white wine vinegar.
I tried to come up with some other flavorful liquid I had on hand to whisk in and rescue the sauce. Something that would add some color and body and was ready to use. Incidentally I had forgotten about the tin of mussels in my fridge which were packed in a deep red escabeche just waiting to be repurposed, so vinegar it was. I decided I'd season the potatoes and use up some more of my onion too, taking the bite off with just a minute in the pan and then a quick rest in the vinegar mixture. As I laid the last egg quarter into my bowl, my roommate walked in, glanced over and said "ah, Ensalada Murciana!" Upon further review we realized that the only thing my salad and the local dish had in common were egg and onion, but at least it's a start.
-Slice the bell pepper into thin strips, put them in a bowl and mix with a little olive oil and salt
-Slice the onion really thinly and cook it for just a minute in a medium hot pan
-Pour the reserved liquid from roasting the pepper over the onions
(this isn't what I did, but it's what I'll do next time)
-Slice the potato into discs and heat in the pan, just enough to warm them through
-Mix a little olive oil, vinegar and salt together and spoon over the potatoes so they soak up some flavor
-Slice the hard boiled egg into four pieces and sprinkle with a little salt
-Arrange the potatoes, strips of bell pepper, onions and egg in a dish, just so
-Before eating, place in front of an overly abundant cornucopia of shiny fruits and vegetables or, if possible, a thoughtfully arranged display of various shellfish and fresh herbs
-Enjoy in true Jeff Smith style
Extended version:
Reviewing my leftovers, I figured I'd use up the rest of my potato and pepper and add in an egg to make it a meal. I recently read a recipe that used the reserved liquid from roasting peppers and couldn't believe I'd been making the rookie mistake of tossing said liquid along with the seeds and stem for so long. I set it aside this time and had a dressing in mind with all the complexity and sweetness of the peppers. Just after patting myself on the back for adding a touch of brightness to the roasting liquid with a hit of white wine vinegar I tasted it and realized I'd actually just erased the flavor and replaced it with..white wine vinegar.
I tried to come up with some other flavorful liquid I had on hand to whisk in and rescue the sauce. Something that would add some color and body and was ready to use. Incidentally I had forgotten about the tin of mussels in my fridge which were packed in a deep red escabeche just waiting to be repurposed, so vinegar it was. I decided I'd season the potatoes and use up some more of my onion too, taking the bite off with just a minute in the pan and then a quick rest in the vinegar mixture. As I laid the last egg quarter into my bowl, my roommate walked in, glanced over and said "ah, Ensalada Murciana!" Upon further review we realized that the only thing my salad and the local dish had in common were egg and onion, but at least it's a start.
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