I got this cookbook for Christmas from Nancy. First I read through it on a trip to the South Texas Coast, then I put it aside for a while. This weekend I got serious and made two wonderful dinners from it.
The first was Catalan fish. I used frozen albacore, a staple from Trader Joe's around here.
Season 1 pound mild fish fillets with lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
Saute in 2 tablespoons olive oil:
1 medium onion, sliced
1 green pepper, sliced
1 red pepper, sliced
Stir about five minutes, then add 1 cup white wine and boil gently for 5 minutes. Add the fish, cover, and simmer 8 minutes or until just done.
Remove fish and set aside. Cool the sauce for a few minutes, then puree in blender until smooth. Return to pan and bring to simmer, then add 1 tablespoon capers and 12 Spanish olives. Put fish back in sauce and reheat gently.
The recipe calls for cornmeal dumplings, but I made cornbread instead.
Then tonight I made a chicken stew served with a quinoa pilaf. The stew had chiles, onions, garlic, tomatoes, and bell peppers, and parsley. The sauce was enriched at the end with frozen peas and bread crumbs! I also made a cilantro condiment similar to chimichurri sauce, and very much the same as we get at Indian restaurants.
What I liked so much about these meals was the relative absence of the ubiquitous dairy products, wheat, and citrus. It felt like pre-Mexican cooking, very separate from the European tradition.
We had an inexpensive wine from Chile with the chicken tonight.
