Tarta de Santiago -- Flavorful, flourless cake

The summer of 2012 was marked by love, adventure, farewells, running, travel and Tarta de Santiago!  The latter is the one I prefer to talk about in this blog post. I  first heard about this cake in college when preparing a presentation on Galicia, a region of northwest Spain right above Portugal, but I did not try it until I went to a low budget birthday party where this cheaper cake was bought instead of a better quality one.  I later ate it for breakfast along with coffee in some Spanish cafeterías a few times, but it was not until 2012 when I would experiment with this cake at home.  I started running during that summer and was always craving sweets, so I decided to learn to make it.  It turned out to be easy to make and I continued to make it often throughout the summer upon my flatmates' request.

To give you a bit of history about this cake, it is a cake that has its origins in 16th century Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain, according to the Spanish State Official Bulletin.  This cake, tarta in Spanish, was first served to a visiting inspector at the University of Santiago de Compostela in 1577.  Its original name was "torta real", royal cake, and later became known as "tarta de almendras" before finally taking its current name of Tarta de Santiago.  In 2006 this cake received the distinction of becoming a "Protected Geographic Origin", meaning that certain bakeries in Galicia can sell the cake with this title as long as they use the proper ingredients.

As the official document states, the weight of the cake is to be distributed in the following manner: at least 33% quality ground almonds, at least 33% refined sugar, and at least 25% eggs.  You can also add grated lemon peel, powdered sugar, sweet wine, brandy, or aguardiente.  The recipe I have always used does not feature alcohol, and is completely celiac friendly as it does not contain gluten.  

Almonds, or almendras in Spanish, are widely seen in Spanish deserts.  I have eaten almonds in many ways unimaginable before coming to Spain.  The Spanish Almond Board - Almendrave, the Spanish organization for exporters of almonds and hazelnuts, explains that Spain is the world's number 2 producer of almonds.  The group states that almonds are high in fiber, vitamin E, and fatty acids; and they are good for fighting cardiac illnesses and osteoporosis.  They are high in calories, but this means they give you energy!

My version of Tarta de Santiago is quite similar to the official version.  The only thing I do different is that I add a bit of cinnamon to the mix.  I have seen some interesting varieties floating around on the internet: chocolate, orange, walnut, hazelnut, and tons more.  I recommend you to adapt your recipe if you are up for experimenting.  I would sure like to try it in the future.  Below I give you the base recipe which you will find quite simple.  Have fun baking!

Equipment
Cake pan

Grater (or vegetable peeler and knife to chop)
Bowl
Whisk
Ingredients
5 eggs
250 grams (a bit more than a cup) sugar 
250 grams (about 9 ounces) ground almonds
1 lemon
1 tsp of cinnamon
Powdered sugar for dusting

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 175° Celsius (350° Fahrenheit).  Grate only the yellow part of the peel of the lemon and reserve.

2. In a bowl mix the ground almonds, sugar, cinnamon, and lemon peel.  In a separate bowl whisk the eggs.  After whisking add the eggs to the dry mixture.

  

3. Grease the cake mold with butter or oil and pour in the mixture.  Bake for 45 minutes.

4. While you are waiting for the cake to bake, draw or print out a Santiago cross (I don't have a printer so I drew it by hand).  You can see an example at this website.  When the cake finishes and cools, place the cross on top and powder it with sifted powdered sugar.

As you can see from the photo, my sugaring job was a failure.  I need to master my sifting skills.  I hope you all enjoy the cake!  ¡Disfruta! 

Pollo en Pepitoria -- Easy, economical gourmet chicken

A common topic in my English classes is "food".  Whether it be a prepared topic, or just something that comes up in a discussion, we are always talking about it.  One day when talking to a student about what I had cooked over the weekend, she recommended me an interesting recipe for chicken.  I have to admit that at the time the recipe did not sound so appealing, but I kept it in mind.  Then, about 2 months later,  I decided to look the recipe up. After reading a few versions on the internet, this not-so-interesting dish began to catch my eye.

The name of the dish is pollo en pepitoria, which means chicken in pepitoria sauce.  After consulting my friend the Royal Academy of the Spanish Language, I have discovered that the word pepitoria,  comes from the French words petite oie, "little goose", referring to a stew made from goose giblets.  The modern day meaning, however, is a poultry stew which has a sauce made with cooked egg yolks.   

As I mentioned earlier, I had doubts about this dish at first.  The thing that really put me off about this dish was the fact that it used hard-boiled eggs.  I could not imagine a hot dish made with hard-boiled eggs (even though I do sometimes use them as a garnish).  Later, when I finally made this recipe, I realized just how exquisite it was.  In my version I used free-range chicken and eggs, raw Marcona almonds, pine nuts, and a moderately priced sherry.  However, you could make this dish on a budget by leaving out many of the expensive ingredients such as the saffron, pine nuts, and free-range chicken.  

As chicken and eggs are key ingredients in this dish, I recommend buying them free-range .  I am a firm believer in putting healthy food into my body.  Therefore I like eating healthy chickens that have lived healthy lives, not chickens that have come from a factory farm.  Free-range chickens eat healthier food and have the opportunity to move around more and exercise their muscles.  This means that the quality and taste of the chicken and eggs are much better as well.  You can find more information about the health benefits from the National Geographic's  "Green Living" section.

However you decide to make this recipe, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.  It would be the perfect dish to make for a dinner party and it is sure to really impress your friends.  I also provide recipes for the chicken stock and sherry risotto.  Please enjoy, and write to me with any questions you may have!

Equipment
Mortar and pestle
Frying Pan
Large Pot
Wooden Spoon
Knife
Plates
Chopping board
Paper Towels

Ingredients (Chicken Stock)
2 liters of water
Chicken bones, fat, and skin (you could make it with just the bones and meat for a healthier stock)
1 medium onion
2 carrots
4 cloves of garlic
2 bay leaves
2 sprigs of thyme
pepper
salt

Ingredients (Sherry Risotto)
Chicken stock
Butter
1 clove of garlic (finely chopped)
200 grams (about 1 cup) of short-grain rice, preferably arborio
Half a glass of sherry

Ingredients (Pepitoria)
2 kgs of chicken (around 4 lbs.)
3 eggs
3 cloves of garlic
1 yellow onion
20 almonds, toasted
30 pine nuts
Olive oil
1 glass of sherry
Flour, just enough for frying chicken
Thyme
Salt
Pepper
Saffron


Instructions (Pepitoria)
1. First things first, we need to prepare the chicken for the stock.  If you do what I did and buy a whole chicken, you'll have a lot more work cut out for you.  I suggest cutting the breasts from the bones and using these bones and the skin for the stock.  (The ideal thing to do is to buy the chicken already cut.)

2. Add the chicken skin, bones, fat, onion, garlic, carrots, bay leaves, cloves, and thyme to a large pot.  Cover with water and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover, and let simmer on medium-low heat for about an hour and a half.  

3. Bring a small pot of water to a boil.  Add the eggs and boil them for 10 minutes.  You want to be careful not to overcook them.  

4. Put the almonds, pine nuts, and saffron in a mortar (or a small bowl), and smash them finely with the pestle.  

5. Finely slice the garlic.  In a small frying pan with a bit of olive oil, lightly toast the garlic.  

6.  When finished add the garlic to the mortar and mix it with the other ingredients.

7. Now the eggs should be cooled and ready to use.  Remove the yolks and add them to the mortar.  Smash all ingredients very finely.  

8. All right, once an hour and a half has passed you can drain the stock into a large bowl and reserve it for later. Batter the chicken in flour, salt, and pepper.  Then pan fry the chicken on both sides.  Do not overcook the chicken.  It is good enough if you just fry it to a golden color on each side.  When finished reserve the chicken on a platter lined with paper towels.

9. Cut the ends off of the onion, slice it in half, and finely chop it.  Add them to a pot with oil on medium heat and cook until transparent.

10. Add the glass of sherry and let it reduce for a few minutes.  

11. Then add the chicken, thyme, and stock to the onions and sherry.  Add enough stock to cover the chicken and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover, and let simmer for an hour to an hour and a half.  It's ready when the chicken is tender.

12. After the chicken has fully cooked you can add the pepitoria mixture that you smashed earlier.  Let cook for about 5 - 10 more minutes  to let the flavors mix.  


Instructions (Risotto)
1. Heat butter and a bit of olive oil.  Add the garlic and cook for about a minute.

2. Then add the rice and toast it a bit.  Add the sherry and cook for a about 5 minutes.  Then add the chicken stock little by little and keep stirring.  Do not let the rice burn at the bottom and always be sure that there is some liquid in the pot.  When the rice is tender it is finished (about 15 - 20 minutes).  

As any Spanish mother would say, "!A comer!"  (It's time to eat!).  I hope you and your guests enjoy this 5 star meal!