First in what will be a series of recipes where I hope to inspire you and also - frankly - keep you coming back for more! Sometimes the simplest things are the best and what could be simpler than Mojo Verde? It literally translates as 'green sauce' which is nothing if not descriptive! Mojo's are common all over the Spanish speaking world and Mojo Verde and Rojo (red) are both thought to have originated from the Canary Islands. My take on it is a mash up - or perhaps more literally a whizz up - of single herb versions from the canaries. It shares basic elements of a lot of similar sauces - pesto and it French equivalent pistou - garlic, olive oil and herbs. After that they go their own ways really. Mojo that I make in Spain uses a long sweet green pepper - now if you can get hold of one then also chuck that in the mix. Here in France I rarely see them so just omit pepper altogether. Don't be tempted to use an ordinary green bell pepper - they are horribly sour and bitter and will completely spoil your sauce! Take it from me.... What I like best about the simplicity of Mojo is that it makes it really versatile. When I make a batch, it gets used as a marinade, accompanying sauce to white fish, chicken or pork, salad dressing and more. It keeps well in the fridge and is just waiting there to jazz up all sorts of things, with it's fresh zesty taste. Mashed potatoes with olive oil and mojo verde - yes please! All you need is a bunch of basil, one of flat leaf parsley, one of coriander (omit and double up on the others if you don't like it), couple of fat peeled garlic cloves, lemon juice and olive oil (and deseeded and chopped sweet pepper, if you are using). Don't use tougher herbs like rosemary or thyme - they won't blend and are too strong in any case. You can add in chives or chervil - leafy herbs are OK - but the base I find is best with basil and flat parsley. So chuck everything but the oil & lemon juice into a processor. You can put all but the toughest herb stalks in too - it's all flavour. Whizz until everything is chopped finely (finer than in the foto!) scraping down the sides of the bowl a couple of times. Add in the juice of half a lemon, then whizz and dribble in the olive oil until you get a consistency thinner than pesto. I prefer to use mainly a light tasting olive pomace oil and a bit of extra virgin Arbequino to finish it off. Using all extra virgin will likely overpower everything else and give a bitter aftertaste. It make look quite oily or wet but that's fine.. Season with salt and pepper, I prefer to over-salt a little. So this is the finished product! I am using it here to marinade a pork loin, which has been trimmed and is ready to go. As the mojo has salt in it you won't want to marinade the pork for longer than a coupe of hours. This is because the salt will draw out the moisture and in a super-lean cut like this, you need to keep that moisture in. So I smooshed a good blob of the mojo over the loin, making sure it was all covered, then cling filmed it and popped into the fridge until I was ready to cook. Here it is looking splendid! I served the pork with two side dishes that I will be giving you the recipes for over the next week. One is a new invention using a very old spice mix and the other is a traditional method for preserving. So stay tuned for how to make Moorish spiced sweet potato mash and peppers escabeche. Ideally you would want to barbecue the pork or cook it over a wood fire. I sealed it on a char grill pan on all sides and finished cooking it in a medium hot oven. This piece fed two big lads and I guess was about 400grams maybe a big bigger. That took 12 mins in the oven but you need to adjust as it entirely depends on the thickness and size of the loin. If I was doing this with Iberico pork I would cook it pink but otherwise you need to roast it until it is just done, you don't want it to go dry. Also it will continue to cook as it rests. When the meat hits the hot the pan, such a wonderful aroma comes up from the herbs and garlic - yum! Rest for 10mins out of the pan but under foil to keep it hot. I sliced across the grain into 6 nice little steaks, and served with the peppers, sweet potato puree and extra mojo verde. Also popped a bit of the delicious marinading juice from the peppers on there too - why not! Here is the final result and I have to say it really was delicious. The pork juicy, tender and flavoursome with that slightly charred mojo on the outside. The sweet potato was literally Moorish and moreish, and the pepper brought a slight vinegar bite to take down their sweetness. Buen provecho. I hope you have a try of at least the mojo and don't forget the other side dish recipes coming soon.....
If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter please could you retweet or share and help spread the word about Spain On A Plate? Thank you! You can comment below about this recipe, or ask me anything or even request a recipe. Alex
1 Comment
Another wine tasting though this time not a wine from Granada.
Emilio Moro is a bogeda with a fine reputation in Ribero del Duero and it’s eponymous is one of their most affordable wines. 2017’s season was a difficult one with an unusual Spring frost, but they still produced a very good wine at the price point. It’s 100% Tinto Fino variety and although not marked as one it is a Crianza, having 12 months ageing in the barrel. This wine was bottled in 2019 and has a good 14.5% alcohol content. Vibrant dark red in the glass, the fresh nose jumps out immediately. Most reminiscent to me of raspberry vinegar there’s an acetone whiff coming through too. Giving a few more swirls brings out an interesting saffron note as well, which is unusual. It is really well-balanced out of the glass, those tannins light but still present and doing a great job. Well bodied with juicy fruit and a hint of bitter cocoa rather than chocolate. Extremely drinkable in fact with our without food. I found that the light oak and woodiness come out more when you have downed it, rather than in the mouth. But that could just be me. I has a fairly dry finish but that was pleasing rather than unpleasant! We drank it with a 'burger' of pressed confit duck and morcilla black pudding, a puree of Moorish spiced aubergine along with patatas a lo pobre. It turned out to be a great pairing, complimenting the sweet meat and warm spices really well. I would recommend any wine from the bodega, it’s a top-quality young wine at a great price from a fantastic winery. I look forward to tasting their other wines and especially El Zarzal, their new white wine aged on the lees. It is 100% Godello variety which is more commonly grown around Galicia and has fresh and mineral characteristics. 'This is a deliciously fresh Thai inspired salad. Perfect for summer, crispy and crunchy. It;s really adaptable too, you miss out things you don't like and add in things you do. Everything tastes great with the dressing on it. There are actually three variations here. You can use Chinese leaf, rice or noodles to vary the texture and heaviness of the dish. Using rice or noodles will obviously fill you up more. You can use sweet mango, or a green under ripe one. If you can find them! Using the latter will give you more of a Thai taste experience. The same applies to papaya. Do take time cutting the veg up nicely it will make it much more appetising! Serves 4 INGREDIENTS FOR THE BASIC SALAD I large mango or 2 small ones thinly sliced 1 small papaya thinly sliced 1 small Chinese leaf, thinly sliced 1 red pepper, deseeded and thinly sliced Small bag of fresh beansprouts 2 spring onions, thinly sliced 1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped Some chopped fresh coriander Some chopped fresh mint Some chopped fresh Thai basil In total you need around 60g of fresh herbs. Add more if you want a punchier salad Grated zest of 1 lemon and the juice, or a lime 1 tbsp Mirin (If you don’t have it, let a tbsp liquid honey down in a little water) 60g roasted salted peanuts, roughly chopped 50g flaked coconut (desiccated is too fine) 2 tbsp crispy onions or shallots METHOD Put all the fruit, vegetables and herbs in a large bowl and mix gently. Grate the zest of the lemon over the salad and squeeze over the juice. Drizzle over the Mirin, or diluted honey and mix everything again. Toast the flaked coconut in a dry pan until lightly browned. Scatter over the salad with the chopped peanuts. Serve and enjoy! If anybody has an allergy to peanuts, serve them on the side in a small bowl, or ramekin. You could do the same with the crispy onions or shallots. They contain gluten as they’re dredge with flour before frying. The 60g figure is just a guide. You can put out more if you want. We also serve peeled hard boiled eggs on the side to add a protein element to the meal. VARIATIONS Soak 250g of rice noodles in cold water until soft. Or follow the directions to soften them. Make sure they’re cold, then drain very well and add to the salad before mixing. Omit the Chinese leaf. RICE SALAD Put 100g of basmati, or jasmine rice in a pan with 1 tsp butter or oil and a couple of stems of Thai basil. Put 150g Camargue red rice in another pan and cook separately. If you cook both rice together, you won’t get separate coloured grains. You could use a wild rice mix, which already has various grains incorporated ready to cook together. Spread the rice on a tray to cool. Mix everything together once the rice has cooled. Omit the Chinese leaf. |
AuthorAlex Gonnord-Luty, chef, aspiring good blog writer, Hispanophile, lives currently in France & Spain. Archives
September 2020
Categories |