Walnut and White Bean Hummus

That’s right, I’m taking massive, unwarranted liberties with the term “hummus” and ascribing it to this absurdly tasty mixture that includes not a single chickpea. This is because you use it exactly like you would hummus. Calling it a “purée,” “sauce,” “spread,” or “dip” just seems unnecessarily misleading – so hummus purists can, simply, suck it.

This one’s also lifted from minimalist chef Jules of Stone Soup, whose unassuming little dishes are furiously growing on me as I try them out. I honestly do believe in the value of slaving for hours over a hot stove – there’s a certain kind of magic in bringing a whole day’s worth of effort to the dinner table – but Jules has definitely made a minimalist kitchen believer out of me. This took five minutes, maybe. It might take six if you experience great difficulty in opening cans.

I initially paired this with a slew of roasted veggies – red bell peppers, zucchini, and portobello caps – to pretty durn tasty effect. However, the true joyous epiphany took until earlier this afternoon, when I insightfully combined it with crispy slices of a particularly wonderful gala apple. Good lord. It was born for apples. Incited by the sweetness, the touch of sherry just blooms, and the walnuts are full-bodied and buttery like nobody’s business.

White Bean & Walnut Hummus
from Stone Soup.

makes: plenty, perhaps 2 1/2 cups worth of hummus
time: 5 minutes

16 oz walnuts
1 (14 oz) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
2 cloves garlic, peeled
3 Tablespoons sherry
4 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
(plenty of) salt & pepper
4 Tablespoons water, or to taste

1. Process walnuts in a food processor until finely ground – OR – mince the hell out of them with a knife.

2. Add remaining ingredients, except water, and continue to process until you have a smooth paste. You will need to do more frenetic knifework here if you lack a food processor.

3. Gradually add water until the paste is the consistency you’re after. Garnish with cilantro and smoked paprika if you feel fancy.

Happy Monday Bouillabaisse

As I lie in bed this lazy Monday morning, I muse on the excellence of the early day off. Stray thoughts enter and exit my cerebrum without consequence, until one suddenly sticks. I must make bouillabaisse.

I learn the words for fennel (hinojo) and leek (puerro), which Mercadona shockingly keeps in constant stock. Hector mashes together a magnificently garlicky rouille, and the hake purchased from my local fishmonger (Ina Garten, eat your heart out!) is ever-so-gently simmered towards flaky tomato-broth perfection. Today I remove my first-ever mussel beards.

Marta comes home to a piso overflowing with soupe de poisson. We pour the remaining chilled white wine, and together we feast.

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Happy Monday Bouillabaisse
Halved and adapted from The Telegraph’s Soupe de poisson with rouille.

Make sure to ask your friendly Mercadona fishmonger for trimmings and heads from whatever white fish you buy (I used young hake, pescadilla in Spanish).

3 tbsp olive oil
1 big onion, diced
2 leeks, diced
1/2 fennel bulb, diced
1 celery stick, diced
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 can diced (troceados) tomatoes
broad strip of orange peel
1 T lemon juice
1/2 can tomato puree
2 T black peppercorns
1 kg white fish, together with trimmings and bones, including heads, washed
bottle of white wine (room temperature)
as many mussels as you have diners, beards removed
three times as many shrimp as you have diners, de-shelled

1. Heat the olive oil in a very large, heavy-bottomed saucepan and add the onion, leek, fennel and celery. Cook over a medium to low heat until the vegetables are soft but not coloured.

2. Add the garlic and tomatoes and cook for about 10 minutes, until the tomatoes are soft.

3. Now add the orange rind, lemon juice, tomato purée, peppercorns, mussels, shrimp shells, and fish trimmings/bones. Cover with liquid, about 2/3 white wine and 1/3 water. Bring to the boil then simmer for about 40 minutes, stirring every so often.

4. Pick out and discard the bones and shrimp shells. Bring the mixture up to simmering point and poach the fish and shrimp in it for about four minutes. Leave the soup to cool a little, then taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary. Serves four with crusty garlic bread.

Smashed Chocolate-Walnut Cookies

Adapted from smitten kitchen’s crispy chewy chocolate chip cookies.

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 bars 72% Negro con Pepitas de Cacao tostadas (100g each)
handful of walnuts

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F (165°C). Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper/aluminum foil.

2.  In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended.

3. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the the flour, baking soda and salt all at once until just blended.

4. Place chocolate bars in a ziploc; smash into bits of desired size with hammer. Do the same for the walnuts – I recommend absolutely pulverizing these little puppies.

5. Stir in the chocolate and walnuts by hand using a wooden spoon. Drop cookie dough a tablespoon at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about an inch apart.

6. Bake 10-ish minutes – check them and use good judgement. Like all baked goods, they will keep cooking even after removing them from the oven. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Helpful hint: if you don’t want a full batch available at once, try flash-freezing the suckers and stashing them away, ready and waiting whenever the inner cookie monster strikes.

Chilaquiles

Emily and I lunched on chilaquiles for the second day in a row, and it was glorious.

This barely counts as a recipe; this is that delicious quick thing you throw together when you feel mega low-effort. This is why you keep your fridge stocked with eggs, salsa verde, and corn tortillas at all times. This is the powerluncher’s dream.

This is the recipe.

Chilaquiles
Isana Kobayashi style.

makes: you choose. 2 tortillas + 3 eggs makes a light lunch for two.
time: 5 minutes if you’re slow.

corn tortillas – maybe two, how hungry are you? You can get these from Corte Inglés if you must, but I spied a “Comida Latina” store somewhere near the center last night…
salsa verde – Corte Inglés also has this, but. See above.
eggs – I like 1.5 eggs per tortilla.
salt
oil – neutral is best but I have been making do with “Sabor Intenso” olive oil, so…
queso fresco – totally optional, totally delicious, totally cheap in Spain

1. Cut tortillas into bite-size strips.

2. Heat up some oil til it’s pretty hot. Toss tortillas in oil to coat and sprinkle with salt to taste; allow to brown til beautiful.

3. Beat eggs in a bowl on the side. Pour into pan when tortillas look ready. Scoot them around with a spatula, flipping as needed, until softly scrambled.

4. Turn off heat. Pour in desired amount of salsa verde. Top with queso fresco if desired and munch.