Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Caldo gallego


Great soup from Galicia, in northwestern Spain. Usually calls for a variety of meats, but I used what I had on hand. Ended up a little heavy on the meat and light on the beans. But this still remains one of my favorites soups. Oh, and the homemade crusty bread was pretty good too.

1/4 pound dried white beans, presoaked (next time increase to 1/2 pound)
10 cups chicken stock (low salt or no salt)
1 ham hock
1 small onion, sliced
1 pound, approx., smoked pork neck bones (next time use something else)
4 small potatoes, peeled and quartered
1 1/2 cups chopped Swiss chard
freshly ground pepper

Simmer beans, stock, onion and meats, covered, in a large pot for approximately 1 1/2 hours, until beans are done. Add potatoes, chard and pepper, cook for about 20 minutes longer. Remove meat from bones and add back to the pot.

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Pinchos morunos

1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound boneless pork loin, cut in 1-inch cubes

Combine all ingredients except the pork and pour into a plastic freezer bag. Add pork, seal bag and squish together so all pork pieces are coated with marinade. Refrigerate several hours or overnight.

Remove pork from marinade and thread onto skewers. Grill over hot charcoal fire or under a broiler, turning once, until meat is just cooked but still juicy, about 10 minutes.