Potatoes in calderete

Ingredients: 1.5 kilos of potatoes, 6 cloves of garlic, soaked bread crumb (one slice), paprika and saffron.

Preparation: Cut the potatoes into thin round slices, season them with salt and fry them. Once fried, place them in a saucepan. In a little olive oil, fry three cloves of garlic and the slice of bread. Remove and grind together with the remaining three raw cloves of garlic, a little water, and the paprika or saffron. Add this mixture to the potatoes and simmer gently for fifteen minutes.

Spinach with chickpeas

Ingredients: 1 kilo of spinach, 250 grams of chickpeas (previously soaked overnight), 3 cloves of garlic, 1 slice of bread, salt, and paprika.

Preparation: Boil the chickpeas and season them with salt; do the same with the spinach (without salt). Fry the three cloves of garlic and the slice of bread. Sauté the spinach in the olive oil where the garlic was fried for about 10 minutes. Then add the chickpeas and stir for a few minutes. Blend the garlic with the slice of bread, the paprika, and a glass of water, and add it to the previous mixture. Let it simmer over low heat until a creamy texture is obtained. Before serving, adjust the salt and add a splash of vinegar.

Cod Baena style

Ingredients: One kilo of cod, one and a half kilos of tomatoes, three firm-flesh peppers, four large onions, and a quarter of a liter of olive oil.

Preparation: The cod should include both thick and thin pieces, as the thin part is the most flavorful. It must be soaked in water the night before, changing the water early in the morning. Chop the onions, cut the peppers into strips, and chop and mix the tomatoes. In the oil, first fry the peppers, covered and set aside; remove them and then cook the onions until soft and tender in the same oil. Add the tomatoes and peppers, and let them simmer slowly. When the tomato water starts to evaporate, add the cod and two or three ladles of water, letting it simmer gently until the liquid evaporates and everything remains in the oil. Then add one or two more ladles of water to create a thick, rich sauce. The secret of this dish is that everything should be soft and well stewed in the oil.

Cod stew

Ingredients: tomato, onion, garlic, bay leaf, olive oil, pepper, cod, water, salt, and paprika.

Preparation: Boil all the ingredients together in a pot for 30 minutes. Once boiled, remove the tomato, onion, garlic, and pepper, blend them, and add the mixture back to the pot. Then make a sauté with tomato, onion, and garlic, blend it, and add it to the pot.

Mojete potatoes (4 servings)

Ingredients: Tomato, onion, pepper, garlic, potatoes, olive oil, and bread crumb.

Preparation: Fry the bread crumb and then grind it, adding a little olive oil. Next, prepare a sauté with garlic, onion, tomato, and pepper. Blend all these ingredients. Fry the potatoes separately. In a pan with a little oil, add the sauté and the bread crumb mixture, along with a bit of paprika. Then add the fried potatoes and sprinkle with a little salt before serving.

Lenten soup

Ingredients: Four tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, one clove of garlic, one large onion, one liter of fish stock, two grams of pepper and one clove, two eggs, and four slices of bread.

Preparation: Prepare a fish stock using the head and bones of a hake or monkfish. Peel the garlic and onion (the onion sliced very thinly) and gently fry them in the olive oil. Once softened, add the fish stock and season with ground pepper and clove. Let it boil for about ten minutes, then remove from the heat. Beat the eggs and pour them slowly into the pot in thin threads so they set in the broth. Separately, toast the bread slices and place them in the soup tureen. Finally, pour the contents of the pot over the bread and serve very hot.

“Holy Week” roast

This recipe borrows its name from the brotherhoods of Baena’s Holy Week, known as “red peppers” and “eggplants” or “spring onions,” due to the resemblance between the colors of their robes and those of these vegetables.

Ingredients: Three red peppers, one eggplant, two onions, two tomatoes, salt, wine vinegar, and a small cup of extra virgin olive oil.

Preparation: Preheat the oven to 200ºC for ten minutes. Peel the onions; wash and dry the other vegetables. Grease the peppers and eggplants with olive oil and roast them together with the onions and tomatoes as indicated in the previous recipe. Once roasted, peel the peppers, tomatoes, and eggplants; cut the peppers into strips and the rest into pieces. Season everything with salt, vinegar, and extra virgin olive oil. Serve accompanied by hard-boiled egg, fried fish, or canned tuna.

Chickpea and cod stew

Ingredients: 400 grams of chickpeas, one liter of water, four tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, one onion, one pepper, two tomatoes, one bay leaf, one ñora (dried red pepper), one potato, a piece of cod with skin, and half a head of garlic.

Preparation: The night before, soak the chickpeas in cold water — enough to cover them — and in another container, desalinate the pieces of cod. Heat some olive oil in a pan and make a sauté with garlic, onion, pepper, and tomato, all chopped. Put water in a pot, and when it begins to boil, add the drained chickpeas. Pass the sauté through a food mill and add it to the pot along with the ñora, bay leaf, and the piece of cod. Let it simmer over low heat for two and a half hours. Halfway through cooking, roast half a head of garlic in the oven and add it to the stew. In a pressure cooker, you can reduce the time according to the model’s instructions, using half the amount of water. After that time, uncover and let it boil again over low heat for ten to fifteen more minutes, moving the pot gently to thicken the sauce. When the chickpeas are tender, peel one potato, cut it into chunks, and add it to the pot. Let everything boil together until the potatoes are done. When serving, remove the cod carefully to ensure no bones remain.

Lenten cod meatballs

Ingredients: Half a kilo of shredded cod, one clove of garlic, parsley, two eggs, two thick slices of bread, half a glass of milk, one lemon, half a glass of extra virgin olive oil for frying, flour, and mint.

Preparation: Soak the shredded cod in water the night before. Drain and dry the cod. Flake it well, removing any remaining bones or skin. Place the cod flakes in a bowl and add finely chopped garlic and parsley. In a mortar, grind a few strands of saffron and add them to the mixture. Soak the bread crumb in milk. Beat one egg and mix it with the well-drained bread crumb. Mash with a fork until you get a smooth paste and add it to the cod. The mixture should be fairly thick so that you can shape the meatballs by hand; if it’s too soft, add a little breadcrumbs. Take small portions with a spoon and form the meatballs with your hands. To make this easier, keep half a lemon nearby and rub a little of its pulp on your palms before shaping each meatball. Dredge the meatballs in flour and fry them in plenty of hot oil. Drain and set aside. Leave a little of the frying oil in the pan and prepare a sauce with finely chopped spring onion. When it turns transparent, stir in a teaspoon of flour. Add wine and a sprig of mint, and let it boil for a few minutes until thickened. Serve the fried meatballs with the hot sauce.

Pestiños (Andalusian honey fritters)

Ingredients: 600 grams of pastry flour, half a teaspoon of salt, 225 milliliters of Montilla-Moriles wine, one glass of extra virgin olive oil, two tablespoons of sesame seeds, sugar and ground cinnamon for coating, and half a liter of extra virgin olive oil for frying.

Preparation: Heat the olive oil in a pan and, before it starts smoking, fry the sesame seeds until toasted. Remove from heat and let it cool slightly. In a large bowl, pour the wine with the salt and whisk until dissolved. When the oil with sesame is warm, pour it into the same bowl and whisk together. Gradually add the flour while stirring continuously until the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl. Place the dough on a flat surface and knead with your hands, adding the remaining flour. Let it rest for half an hour. The pestiño dough is now ready. Take small portions, form a ball, and roll it out on a marble surface with a rolling pin. The dough should be thin, but not so much that it sticks to the surface. Using a pastry cutter or wheel, cut the dough into small rectangles and fry them in a pan with plenty of hot olive oil. The oil should be hot but not smoking: the pestiños should be well browned—if the oil is too hot, they will burn on the outside and remain raw inside. Once fried, place them on a slanted plate to drain the oil well, and when they are warm or cool, coat them with a mixture of sugar and ground cinnamon.

Madeleines

Ingredients: For about two and a half dozen madeleines: four medium eggs, two glasses of flour, one glass of sugar, one glass of milk, one glass of extra virgin olive oil, two double sachets of baking soda powder (or one sachet of baking powder), grated lemon zest, half a teaspoon of salt, and a pinch of cinnamon.

Preparation: Separate the egg whites from the yolks, add a pinch of salt, and whisk the whites until stiff peaks form. In the bowl where you’ll prepare the batter, mix the yolks with the sugar and the oil. Beat for a few minutes and add the milk. Gradually incorporate the flour in several additions — you can use a large sieve to make it easier. Add the grated lemon zest, the pinch of cinnamon, and the whipped egg whites, mixing gently with wide circular movements. Finally, add the baking powder and mix well. Let the batter rest for at least one hour in a cool place. Preheat the oven for ten minutes at 220ºC. Meanwhile, fill the paper molds without reaching the edge, leaving about half a centimeter free. To help them rise more, you can place the paper molds inside metallic or aluminum ones, like those used for flans. Sprinkle each madeleine with half a teaspoon of sugar and place them on the oven tray. Bake in the middle-lower rack, lowering the temperature to 180ºC. They usually take about twenty minutes (depending on the oven), and it’s important not to open the door during baking. Once golden, remove and cool on a wire rack.

Fried dough rings (Roscos fritos)

Ingredients: Six medium eggs, three small cups of extra virgin olive oil, one small cup of good aguardiente (anisette or liquor), one lemon (only the peel will be used), 500 grams of flour, 250 grams of sugar, one glass of extra virgin olive oil for frying, and sugar for coating.

Preparation: Heat the olive oil and fry the lemon peel, then let it cool. Beat the eggs thoroughly and make a dough by adding the flour, sugar, aguardiente, and the oil (after removing the lemon peel). Mix everything with a whisk until a smooth batter forms. Pour plenty of oil into a frying pan and heat it well, but not to the point of smoking. When the oil is hot, dip the rosco mold (or ring mold) into the oil to grease it, then immediately fill it halfway with the batter. You can make this easier by pouring the batter into the mold using a jug, sauceboat, or ladle—this keeps the batter compact and helps the rings come out more uniform. Submerge the mold with the batter completely in the hot oil; the dough will detach and form a ring. Continue the process with the next one. Fry until golden brown, turning them at least once, and remove them, draining the excess oil well. As they cool, coat them generously with sugar.

Flower fritters

Ingredients: 4 eggs, 12 eggshells of water, 4 eggshells of oil, and as much flour as needed.

Preparation: Beat the eggs. Mix all the ingredients and gradually add the flour until the batter reaches the right consistency. Heat plenty of oil. Place the flower-shaped mold in the hot oil to heat it, then dip it into the batter—without submerging it completely—so that the flower can release properly. The mold must always remain hot. Once fried, coat the flowers in a mixture of sifted sugar and cinnamon.