Inspiration Strikes From Afar, Baba Ghanoush Results

Someone once asked a lunch table of techies what they thought the internet, then in its infancy—think dial-up connections, tel-net, CU-SeeMe, listserv mailing lists—would become, and everyone present started talking about commerce and capitalism and corporations.

When it was my turn (I was a guest and just there for the food; dim sum, as I recall), I said that, for me, it wasn't the commercial possibilities that intrigued me, but the interpersonal potential that seemed revolutionary. That is, the ability it gave people on opposite sides of the world to connect over issues of common interest and to share information quickly and easily.

That luncheon conversation came rushing back when my friend John, who works for Marqués de Valdueza olive oil with his lovely wife Ana, was inspired by my neighbor Jim Dixon's post on Good Stuff NW about grilling eggplant. He e-mailed from his home in Madrid, "I tweaked your aubergine salad recipe and made baba ghanoush Marqués de Valdueza! I'll serve it tonight with pita and a dust of Pimentón de la Vera. Thank you very much for the inspiration, it turned out delicious!"

See what I mean about that internet thing? Whether it's bonding over food or politics or other concerns of our daily lives, there's always someone out there willing to engage. Gotta love that.

Baba Ghanoush Marqués de Valdueza

Roast one eggplant over a grill, turning a quarter turn every 15 minutes, for a total of 1 hour. Spoon out the roasted eggplant into a blender. Add one small sweet onion, two small very ripe tomatoes, half a salad cucumber (thin skin), fresh parsley, fleur de sel (to taste), a couple of tablespoons of Merula extra virgin olive oil* and a splash of Marqués de Valdueza red wine vinegar*. Blend it all, leaving small chunks for texture. Serve dusted with Gualtaminos picante Pimentón de la Vera*, crackers and pita bread. And a spoon to not leave any behind!

* Regular good quality extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar and pimentón (Spanish smoked paprika) can be substituted.

In Season NW: Calçots From Viridian Farms

A specialty of the Spanish region of Catalonia, calçots (pron. cahl-SOH) are a variety of giant scallion known as Blanca Grande Tardana. In Spain they are harvested from November through April, and festivals known as calçotadas are held in towns all over the region.

They are grilled over a hot fire, with the green tops laying outside the grill until the outer layer of the bulb is blackened. Then the calçot is lifted by the (cooler) greens, the charred outer layer is stripped off and the white is dipped into a bowl of a romesco-like sauce known as salbitxada (pron. sahl-beet-CHADA). The whole onion is then lifted into the air and the creamy inner parts are dropped into your mouth.

Here in Portland, you can find these traditional tapas treats under the Viridian Farms tent  at the Portland Farmers' Market at PSU on Saturdays. If they sell out, or if you somehow miss the season, you can use larger green onions cooked over your backyard grill, dipped into the traditional sauce below. To get in the mood for hosting your own calçotada, watch this temptingly luscious video.

Sabitxada Sauce for Calçots

4 Tbsp. blanched almonds
4 fresh bitxo peppers (or other mildly hot pepper)
8 cloves garlic
4 ripe tomatoes
2 Tbsp. chopped parsley
2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 c. olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Makes 2 1/2 cups or 4-6 servings.

Heat oven to 350°. Place almonds in hot oven to toast for 5-7 minutes. Place in a food processor or mortar and pestle and coarsely grind. Peel and dice tomatoes and set aside. Coarsely chop the peppers, removing the seeds and membranes. Peel and chop the garlic. Mash ground almonds, peppers and garlic into a paste using a mortar and pestle or food processor. Mix in tomatoes, parsley and vinegar. Pulsing the food processor, drizzle in the olive oil until sauce becomes thick. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with grilled “calcots” (green onions) or any other grilled vegetable. During summer months, consider serving this fresh sauce with grilled steaks.

A Friend Returns to Share

You may recall that just about a year ago in the early days of GoodStuffNW, I had a foodie moment extraordinaire when I met John Cancilla and his lovely wife, Ana, when they dropped in at Foster & Dobbs on their way to the airport just as I was walking by with Rosey. The sweetest people you could ever hope to meet, they're sales reps for the Marqués de Valdueza olive oil estate in Spain and had been here as part of a sales trip to introduce their new Merula brand of estate-bottled extra virgin olive oil.

Since that afternoon John has been my Spanish pen-pal, an avid reader of the blog and a valuable source of feedback for my attempts at making paella. And now you can meet him in person and talk about his favorite subject (aside from, but related to, food and his family) when he and Ana come into town to do a tasting of their olive oils at Foster & Dobbs. They'll explain and share the elixir of the Arbequina, Picual, Hojiblanca and Morisca olives, and pair them with Jamon Serrano, Spanish cheese and dark chocolate. If you ask, he'll even recite the full name of the Marqués himself, no small feat. At the least, you'll come away with new ideas for using olive oil and, just maybe, a new friend.

Details: Tasting of Marqués de Valdueza olive oils at Foster & Dobbs with John Cancilla. Noon-3 pm; free. Foster & Dobbs Authentic Foods, 2518 NE 15th Ave. Phone 503-284-1157.

News from España

Our friends from the Marqués de Valdueza olive oil estate in Spain let us know that that their estate olive oil has just been named a finalist in the "Mario Solinas" Quality Award competition, organized by the International Olive Oil Council, in which the best olive oil producers from around the world participate. The oil is pressed from four olive types grown on the estate: hojiblanca, arbequina, the rare morisca and the picual. Congratulations, guys, and big ups from GoodStuff!

John Cancilla, who along with his wife, Ana, was the subject of a previous entry, sent along a photo from a lunch they attended (John is in the center) with Penelope Casas, a cookbook author renowned for her books on Spanish cuisine, and her husband (on the right). On the left is Juan, the capataz who runs the Perales estate, and next to him is the Marqués de Valdueza himself, Alonso Álvarez de Toledo y Urquijo. John suggests googling his name if you want to see what lineage is all about.

And John says that if you're planning on attending the Fancy Food Show in San Francisco from Jan. 21-23, look them up at booth 452 and taste their new harvest!

My Foodie Moment

You know how some days you feel like you've wandered onto the set of a TV show and you're the surprise guest? That happened to me the other day when I was taking the lovely Miss Rose for her afternoon stroll and thought I'd stop by and pick up a little cheesy goodness from Luan at Foster and Dobbs. She was talking to a young Spanish couple, so we started chatting and sampling some of the wonderful Oregon cheeses from the case. I suggested the Rogue Creamery Oregonzola, then the Rogue River Reserve which is wrapped in grape leaves and soaked in brandy. Luan then sliced samples of Fra'Mani and Salumi meats and we sat down to chat.

It turns out that they work for Marques de Valdueza, a Spanish estate that produces olive oil, and stopped off on their way to the airport. John, the husband, an American who speaks flawless Spanish, Italian and French, moved to Spain, met his wife, Ana, and started working for the Marquis' estate. So then, you guessed it, they started hauling out their olive oils and inviting us to sample them. The coolest part was when Ana poured a small amount of oil into a little blue cup with the Marques crest on it. Then she covered it with a convex glass and warmed it in her hands for a couple of minutes. She lifted the glass slightly and had us inhale the warm, moist aroma of the oil, a wonderfully green and rich smell. Foster & Dobbs carries their olive oils and John and Ana may be coming back next year to do a class there. Stay tuned!

Details: Foster & Dobbs, 2518 NE 15th Ave.; Phone 503-284-1157; E-mail info@fosteranddobbs.com