- Spanish Pantry Essentials
- Cooking Tips and Sauces
- Embracing Simplicity in Cuisine
Pantry Staples for Spanish Flavours
An inventory of crucial items found in the Spanish pantry immediately triggers a sense of hunger. Extra-virgin olive oil, salt, and sherry vinegar stand as the cornerstones of Spanish cuisine, as described by Andalusian master chef Dani García of Bibo in London. These three ingredients form the basis of an exceptional gazpacho dressing. When incorporating aromatics, including garlic, pimentón (smoked paprika), white onion for added flavour, and sparingly used saffron, you create a harmonious Spanish culinary experience.
Monika Linton, the proprietor of the Spanish delicatessen and tapas bar Brindisa, maintains a well-stocked assortment of dried goods. Her collection includes cans of anchovies for both cooking and tapas, tuna for leaf or bean salads, and shellfish. While she typically prepares pulses from scratch, she also keeps emergency jars of cooked legumes. Additionally, she recommends keeping an abundance of walnuts, hazelnuts, pine nuts, and Marcona almonds on hand (sourced from the Mediterranean) to sprinkle on salads, rice dishes, vegetables, puddings, and more.
Cooking Tips and Sauce Secrets
In the meantime, Peter Sanchez-Iglesias, chef/owner of Paco Tapas and Casamia in Bristol and executive chef at Decimo in London, offers two valuable tips. To create an authentic pan con tomate, simply preheat the bread, rub it with garlic, and generously drizzle the tomatoes, rather than dicing them. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt. Furthermore, for effortless roasted red peppers, char them directly over a flame, then wrap and allow them to steam for ten minutes; the skins will peel off easily, eliminating the need for laborious peeling.
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Sofritos, on the other hand, form the foundation of a multitude of Spanish dishes. Linton, in her book “The True Food of Spain,” emphasizes that this is not a quick solution and discourages using out-of-season tomatoes. Instead, make a large quantity using surplus summer produce and store it in sterilized containers. To create it, melt 50ml of olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pan and sauté a finely diced, sweet white onion for at least 30 minutes, or until tender but not browned, yielding 600g. Add 1 kilogram of freshly grated tomatoes and simmer on very low heat (use a diffuser if available), stirring frequently for thirty to forty minutes, up to three hours, until a thick, crimson sauce forms.
Season with salt and sugar to taste, then bottle and strain, freeze, or refrigerate for use within a few days.
Paco Martin Romano, the chef at Tapa in Edinburgh, describes Salsa española as another key foundation. Sauté minced garlic, mushrooms, and onions in good olive oil, add a splash of Spanish brandy, and incorporate a small amount of flour to create a roux. Simmer, then blend to a smooth consistency with red wine and meat stock (or white wine and omit mushrooms for seafood dishes); a vegetarian version is also acceptable. Use it in roasted meat preparations, paella, and a variety of other rice-based dishes.
Romano further introduces salmorreta, a third foundational sauce perfect for rice-based dishes. It comprises garlic, parsley, and tomatoes blended with rehydrated ora peppers to add an extra kick. For paella, Romano recommends sautéing vegetables (multicoloured bell peppers and onions, cooked to remove excess moisture) before adding rice, toasting while continuously stirring. Finally, incorporate the salmorreta. He suggests adding two cups of stock per cup of rice, with an additional cup when adding pimentón, to prevent the food from sticking or burning.
Picada completes what sofrito starts; similar to pesto, it thickens sauces, stews, and elevates aromas. Typical components include a starch (crushed roasted unsalted almonds, bread, or biscuits), an aromatic element (saffron, herbs, peppercorns, chilli, ora peppers, tomatoes, fresh peppers, garlic, or even chocolate), and a liquid (olive oil, stock, wine).
Simplicity in Spanish Cooking
Former head chef and food writer Marianna Leivaditaki of Moro and Morito in London suggests keeping a bottle of manzanilla and frozen ibérico pork in the freezer and pantry, respectively. These ingredients lend tremendous depth to seafood and chorizo dishes. She underscores the importance of simplicity in Spanish cuisine, emphasizing that rarely more than high-quality fish or meat, oil, and a robust vinegar are required.
