Solomillo de cerdo ibérico con salsa de naranja al Pedro Ximénez (Ibérico pork sirloin in orange sauce)

For ➍
2 (Iberico) pork sirloins
2 tbs oil
10 cl Pedro Ximénez*
marinade:
2 tbs oil
juice of 2 oranges
zest of 1 (untreated) orange
2 tbs soy sauce
2 ts vinegar
salt & cayenne pepper
caramelized onion:
2 onions
2 tbs sugar
2 tbs oil

Mix the ingredients of the marinade together. Season the meat. Marinate the meat for 12 h in the mixture in the refrigerator.

Remove the sirloins from the marinade. Drain. Put aside until they have reached room temperature.

Slice the onion into rings.

Heat the oil and brown the meat on both sides.

Remove from pan, cover on a plate.

Add marinade to cooking juices. Reduce for 10 m over a hot flame. Add the Pedro Ximénez and bring to a boil, mixing in all the pan juices.

Meanwhile, gently fry the sliced onions with the oil and sugar, until caramelized.

Cut the pork into slices and serve with the sauce and caramelized onion.

*Or sweet sherry or Malaga wine.

The cerdo Ibérico is the famous 'black pig' living in the hills of Andalusia and Extremadura, and fed with acorns. It is also used to produce pata negra, taking full advantage of the fat streaks.
The grape variety Pedro Ximenez grows mainly in the Montilla Moriles region, around Cordoba. It is also the name of an almost black, sweet noir des blancs wine. In the past, it has been the base for sherry varieties (a-montilla-do...) and Malaga wines, but is now gaining a place for itself, replacing Banyuls with dark chocolate or blue cheese.

Andalusian chicken

For ➍
4 chicken thighs
4 chicken breasts
1 lemon
3 oranges
4 cloves
75 g Serrano ham (including the fat), or pancetta
thyme sprigs*
4 tbs olive oil
450 g pickling onions or small shallots, peeled
1 glass dry fino sherry
salt & freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil in a casserole dish. Fry the breasts and thighs until brown all over. Remove it from the casserole dish. Scrub the lemon and oranges and chop into chunks. Poke some cloves into the peel of the oranges.**
Fry the onions, cloves and fruit for five minutes until the onions are brown. Roll the ham into bundles and secure with thyme stalks.**
Remove half the onions and fruit and reserve. Put the chicken back into the dish.
Add the wine and a glass of water to the casserole dish. Let it bubble up, adding salt and pepper then add the bundles of ham on top of the chicken pieces. Turn down the heat and cover for 20-30 m.
Remove the chicken pieces and keep them warm along with the reserved fruit and onions. Boil up the fruit and onions and mash until the sauce is thick.***
Serve each piece with its own sauce on (or with) a thick toasted slice of country bread rubbed with a little garlic.*** Enjoy a glass of amontillado sherry at room temperature.

*Alternatively, spread some crumbled thyme leaves, fresh or dried, over the meat and roll the slices firmly. Gently pose them in the dish, with last fold down.
**Alternatively, or when using treated citrus, discard the peel and white skin. Cut into slices. Add cloves separately.
***Add half a spoon of honey to soften the bitter taste.
****Alternatively, rub some garlic over a few slices of bread, with a little bit of olive oil. Bake in the 200°C oven for 5 m. Put in the bottom of a dish and spread the chicken and sauce over or beside it. Or crumble over the chicken.

Read the cooking chicken tip.

Almejas Al Jerez (Spanish clams in sherry)

For ➍
1 kg small clams or mussels, cleaned* & rinsed
½ medium yellow or white onion
2-3 cloves garlic
2-3 tbs olive oil
12-17 cl dry sherry
4-6 tbs fresh flat leaf parsley
1 medium lemon (optional)

Peel and chop the onion and finely chop the parsley. Peel and slice the garlic. Pour olive oil into a large (20-25 cm) frying pan and heat on medium. When oil is hot, sauté the onion and garlic until it just turns brown. Add the sherry and half of the chopped parsley, cooking for 2-3 m.
Add the clams to the frying pan, and stir. Cover and simmer on low for about 4 m. Clams should open as cooking. Discard any clams that do not open.
Divide the clams and sauce between 4 plates. Sprinkle with remaining chopped parsley. Squeeze lemon juice over top of each plate (optional).
Serve hot as a tapa with warm crusty bread to soak up the sherry sauce and chopped onions.

*Put in a plastic bag with salted water to remove sand.

Read the related mussels with sherry recipe.

Salmorejo (Cordoba cold soup)

For ➍
500 g ripe tomatoes, skinned & chopped*
1-2 clove(s) garlic, chopped
50 g (4 slices) of dry white bread without crusts
4-6 tbs olive oil
2 tbs (sherry) vinegar
salt*
2 hard boiled eggs, shelled and chopped

Crumble the bread in some water. When soft, squeeze until the water is gone. Put the tomatoes and the garlic in a blender. Liquidize until smooth by turning on and off the blender at low speed. Add a dash of vinegar and a pinch of salt. Add some bread and oil and mix again. Continue until all the bread is used. Chill for a few hours.
Serve with the chopped egg. (Add some chopped Serrano ham if wanted.)

*Use 0.5 l tomato juice instead. Omit the salt, if the juice is salted.

Salmorejo is the Cordoba variation of a classic Spanish cold soup, gazpacho.
Read more gazpacho recipes: gazpacho, white gazpacho , ajo blanco.
Read more cold soup recipes.

Cordero Moruno (Spanish Moorish lamb)

For ➍
1 kg lamb shoulder or leg, boneless, or 2.5 kg with bone
1 ts cinnamon
1 ts ground cumin
½ ts salt
¼ ts pepper
3-4 tbs extra virgin olive oil
2 yellow onions
2 cloves garlic
75-125 cl chicken stock
45 g (4 tbs) raisins
8 cl (5 tbs) sherry
2 tbs almonds

Pat lamb dry. Combine cinnamon, cumin, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Rub spice mixture on all sides of lamb. Set aside.

Peel and chop onions and garlic. Pour olive oil into a large heavy-bottomed frying pan and heat on medium. When oil is hot, sauté the onions and garlic until onions are translucent.

Place lamb in pan and brown on both sides. Once meat is browned, add 50-75 cl of stock to cover meat. Cover pan and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook slowly for 1 to 1.5 h. Check every 15 m, adding more liquid as necessary. When done, meat should be cooked through and tender.

While lamb is cooking, pour sherry into a small bowl and soak the raisins. Coarsely grind the almonds.

About 15 m before cooking is complete, add the sherry, raisins and almonds to the pan.

When lamb is ready, slice. Serve with sauce and white rice or couscous.

Ajo blanco (Malaga cold soup)

For ➍
200 g almonds
75 cl iced water
4-5 slices stale white bread with crusts removed, soaked in water
4 garlic cloves
1 ts salt
3 tbs extra virgin olive oil
3 tbs sherry vinegar
ground white pepper
grapes

Drop the almonds in cooking water, leave for a few m. Dry them and rub off their skin.

In a food processor, grind almonds as finely as possible. Add 10 cl of the water, then squeeze the bread and add to the almonds with the garlic.

With the machine running, add more water, the olive oil and the vinegar.

Chill for 5 h, and serve with halved, seedless white grapes.

A favourite of Malaga, this dish seems to date back to the Moorish times in Spain. It is related to gazpacho and the modern, less garlicky, versions of white gazpacho.

Gazpacho (Spanish cold soup)

For ➏
soup:
1 kg ripe tomatoes, skinned & chopped*
1 medium green bell pepper, seeded & chopped
1 small cucumber, peeled & chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 tbs olive oil
½ tbs vinegar
salt* & pepper
garnish:
1 small tomato
1½ cucumber, peeled
½ red or green bell pepper
½ small onion
1 hard boiled egg, shelled & chopped**

Liquidize all the soup vegetables, one after another, in the blender until smooth by turning on and off the blender at low speed. Add oil, a dash of vinegar and a pinch of salt and whizz quickly. If very thick, add some cold water, then chill well before serving. (A day's rest in the fridge will make it taste better.)

Chop all the remaining ingredients.

Serve in individual bowls with the gazpacho.

*Use 1 l of tomato juice instead. Omit the salt, if the juice is salted.
**Optional.

Read more gazpacho recipes: white gazpacho, Cordoba salmorejo, Malaga ajo blanco.
Read more cold soup recipes: hit label.

White gazpacho (Spanish cold soup)

For ➍
2 medium cucumbers, peeled, seeded & roughly chopped
1 clove of garlic, crushed
300 cl chicken or vegetable stock
200 cl sour cream*
1 ts coarse salt
50 cl freshly squeezed lemon juice **
50 g almonds, slivered walnuts
2 chopped hard-boiled eggs***
1 tbs of fresh parsley, chopped

Put cucumber, garlic and 125 cl of stock in a blender until smooth. (Do it in 2 servings). Transfer to a large bowl.
Whisk in the remaining stock and the sour cream, salt, and lemon juice(**).
Cover, and chill in refrigerator for at least 1 hour and up to 4 hours.
Put some of the eggs and the almonds*** in a deep plate and pour over the gazpacho. Decorate with fresh parsley.
Serve with lukewarm olive oil sprinkled bread.****

*Replace with (half or completely) with yogurt for a lighter, less savoury dish.
**Replace 1 tbs with 1 tbs dry sherry.
***Optionally chop 2 tomatoes, skinned and peeled, for garnish.
****Or crumble some bread in the plate before piling on the ingredients.

This recipe was developed from a Malaga Arabian recipe, the ajo blanco.
Read more gazpacho recipes: Cordoba salmorejo, traditional gazpacho.