Berenjenas Fritas, deep-fried Andalusian aubergines - a quick and easy tapas treat (vegan, gluten-free, kosher)

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Berenjenas Fritas, deep-fried aubergines, are a quick and easy treat that will instantly bring Andalusian tapas bars to your own kitchen!

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As the weather in Finland has varied between rain and hale to sleet and sunshine. And it's June. 

Weather this unpredictable transports my thought back to Andalusia, where, without a doubt, a several airplanes will transport many of you, too. And why wouldn't they?

Just imagine it. 

Continuous sunshine, leisurely strolls along the beach side promenades thick with scent of the salty sea and retiring for long lunches in the sheltered alleyways, with their endless tapas bars.

The smell of meat and shellfish being barbecued filling the air, waiters skipping through the packed terraces and plates and plates of delicious treats being flown into your tiny tables. 

One more gesture pointing at your empty glasses and once more it's beig topped u with chilled wine. 

The warmth of the sun keeps your skin glowing well into the night and it's as if some of that glow makes your insides radiate, too. 

That's just what the dark, Northern soul needs!

You'd think that in a heat like that dee-fryng would be the last thing on anyone's mind, but you'd be wrong. So wrong.

Deep-frying is something Andalusians, especially in the Malaga region, are absolutely loco about. 

One of the most peculiar tapas classics in the area are Berenjenas Fritas, deep-fried aubergine fritters. You cut them in discs or, as in this recipe of mine, into chip-like batons. 

Aubergines, by the way, are one of the many delicacies that we have the Arab conquerors to thanks for - they were the ones wh introduced Iberian peninsula to this glorious veggie. 

Rice flour lends the aubergines extra crispness (and helps keep them gluten-free!), but you could just as well use regular flour.

Serves four as tapas

Berenjenas Fritas - deep-fried Andalusian aubergine fritters

1 large aubergine (400 g)

salt

Better:

2 ¾ dl rice flour

2 ½ dl cold water

For deep-frying:

oil

To serve:

miel de caña -cane sugar honey, dark honey or syrup

Cut the aubergine legntwise into 1 cm-strips and them to similar sized batons, reminiscent of French fries. Scatter with salt, place in a colander and leave to weep for about half an hour. 

Pat them dry. The easiest way to do this is by placing them on a tea towel, covering them with another tea towel and pressing gently.

Combine the ingredients for a thck batter and heat oil in a heavy-based pot until 180ºc. 

Dunk the aubergines in the batter, make sure they're coated all over shake off the excess batter and drop them into the hot oil.

Fry in batches until crunchy and golden. Mix the batter thoroughly before dipping a new batch of aubergines into it. 

Drain the aubergine fritters briefly on kitchen towel, drizzle with honey or syrup and serve. 

Any of you familiar with Berenjas Fritas - deep-fried Andalusian aubergine fritters? Have you guys tried making them at home, too?

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Ajo Blanco- white gazpacho (gluten-free, vegan, kosher)

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White gazpacho is actually the original one. Wonderfully refreshing - perfect for hot summer's days!

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In addition to gazpacho and salmorejo there's yet another chilled soup in Spain: the Malagan regional specialty ajo blanco, also known as the white gazpacho. 

The chilled soups are so wonderfully refreshing and perfect for the late summer as Andalusia is swept over by the hot wind we get from Africa that make the temperature soar to over 40 c. 

Air is so dry and hot and the wind blows with such intensity even at night it's like walking in a hairdryer. 

Having your own pool is therefore not a luxury - it is a human rights issue!

The ingredients for ajo blanco are rather simple: bread, water, garlic and almonds. 

Some recipes, such as mine, also use grapes which make the soup even more refreshing and give it more flavour and acidity than cucumber, which is another often used ingredient. 

Green apple would really give this extra something, but owing to its consistency, you'd then have to add more liquid. 

Traditionally this too is made with that local sherry vinegar, but I prefer white wine vinegar. Cider vinegar would be another good one. 

This white version is actually the original gazpacho - the better known red one didn't see the daylight until the Conquistadors brought tomato in Spain. 

According to some theories this is  the stuff of "already the ancient Romans..." - legends, going back to the Roman way of dunking bread in oil. 

Some theories state this has its roots in the Moorish times and in the bread-based soups  Arab kitchen. 

Who can tell - but one thing I can tell is that I actually prefer this over its red cousin. 

serves 4

Ajo Blanco -white gazpacho

200 g almonds, soaked overnight (don't discard the water!)

3 cloves of garlic

100 g white bread, crust removed (gluten-free if needed)

1 dl olive oil

1/2 dl white wine vinegar (or apple cider vinegarn or sherry vinegar)

225 g green, seedless grapes

5 dl water from aoaking the almonds

1/2 tsp salt

To serve: olive oil, toasted almond flakes, grape slices, chopped chives

Drain the almonds. Reserve the liquid and use it to dilute the soup.

Measure the ingredients in a blender and whizz until smooth. 

For a velvety smooth consistency, pass the soup through a sieve. 

Check the taste and add more salt and/or vinegar if needed. Chill for a couple of hours and serve.

PS. If you like this, you might want to check out blog's other gazpacho recipes:

- gazpacho

- watermelon gazpacho

- cucumber gazpacho

Are you already familiar with ajo blanco; white gazpacho? Or do you have another favourite?

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Lyutenitsa - Bulgarian pepper, eggplant and tomato relish (gluten-free, vegan, kosher)

Lyutenitsa is Bulgaria's favourite treat. Not only is this pepper, eggplant and tomato relish versatile, it's also gluten-free, kosher and vegan!

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In addition to local specialties such as patatnik, Bulgaria is home to traditional dishes equally lovedall over the country, such as Bob Chorba, Bulgarian bean soup. The ultimate, hands down,all round-winner of this race would, however, have to be luytenitsa, a bulgarian spread/ relish made of roasted peppers, tomatos and eggplant.  You'll find it served as a starter, spooned over a splice of bread for a snack and accompanying meat or chicken. 

Towards the end of each summer Bulgarian homes still witness massive operations during which endless and endless jars of this are being prepared to see people through the winter.

While not technically demanding, it does take a bit of time, which is why people tend to make luytenitsa in bigger batches. I swear I kid you not when I tell you I've seen recipes that start with 15 kilos of peppers. Kid you not. True story.

In my tiny kitchen that would have turned out to be the end of not just all the storage space, also yours truly's psychological well-being, so here's a smaller recipe that yields about 6 dl of lyutenitsa. 

Lyut means spicy in Bulgarian,but that it really isn't. There are, of course, as many variations as there are cooks. Traditionally lyutenitsa contains (roasted) bell peppers, eggplant, tomato, onion and garlic, but the Macedonian version even has some carrots in it.

As the industrial manufacturing of lyutenitsa started in the 1950's, it was only allowed to contain pepper and tomato paste, onion, salt, sugar and oil. But, let's face it- that recipe is hardly the only thing that Bulgaria of the time got wrong. Eggplant for one lends the relish such sweet richness you'd be fool to forgo that. 

Luytenitsa has relatives all over the Balkans: you too might have heard of ajvar? Readers of this blog are, of course,  also familiar with some of its more distant cousins: Syrian muhammara and Spanish romesco. 

Lyutenitsa - Bulgarian pepper, eggplant and tomato relish:

1 large eggplant(450 gr)
4 large peppers (I used 2 red ones and 2 yellow ones), total weight 1 kg
1/2 kg tomatos
2 cloves ofgarlic, finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
1/2 - 1 large red chilli, finely chopped
1/2 dl oil
3/4 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper

Prick the eggplant with a tooth pick. Place on a tray lined with tin foil and roast under the broiler for half an hour or so. Then add halved peppers and continue roasting for another 20 minutes or so, until the peppers' skins start to blacken and bubble. Remove from the oven, cover and leave to cool until cool enough to handle. 

Pull the peppers' skin off. Half the eggplant and spoon the insides into a food processor with the peppers. Blizz into a puré (doesn't have to be entirely smooth).

Blanch the tomatos by cutting a cross-like incision into the hard stem and then dropping them into a pot of boiling water for a couple of minutes. Lift out of the water using a slotted spoon and leave to cool. Pull the skin off, halve, remove the hard bit and chope finely (with seeds and all).

Measure pepper and eggplant pure, chilli, onion, garlic and chopped-up tomatos into a pot and let simmer over medium heat, until liquid has almost entirely evaporated and the mixture has thickened (40-50 minutes).

Add oil, cumin, salt and pepper. Continue cooking for another 5 minutes. Check the taste and season as needed (by adding either more salt, pepper and/ or sugar).

Let cool and place in jars. Lyutenitsa keeps in the fridge for 2-3 days. It can also be frozen. 

If you're making bigger batch, you could also preserve it by sterilizing the jars. This way it keeps for upto a year.

Sterilizing the lyutenitsa:

Spoon the lyutenitsa into small jars all the way to the top (oxygen is the enemy of any storing processs, remember!) and screw on the tops. Place the jars into a big pot and cover with water so it covers them by about 5 cms. 

Boil the jars (start counting from the moment water reaches boiling point) for 25 minutes. Carefully remove the jars from the water and make sure the centre of the top has snapped down on each one of the jars.

You ever heard of lyutenitsa? Of have you managed to try some of the other local delicacies such as patatnik or Bob Chorba?

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Bob Chorba - Bulgarian monastery-style bean soup (gluten-free, vegan, kosher)

Bob Chorba, Bulgarian bean soup is one of the national dishes of the country. The most popular version is the vegetarian one so this comforting soup is suitable for all special diets!

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Ok, I admit: Bob Chorba does sound like a very awkwardly re-named former US president hiding somewhere in the Balkans under the disguise of witness protection program. But that it is not. In Bulgarian (like so many other languages in the region) chorba means soup and bob, well, beans. 

Bob Chorba, Bulgarian bean soup is one of the most beloved dishes in the country and something you're bound to run into where ever you go. Like patatnik, Bulgarian potato and mint omelette I've already introduced you to, it is simple and homely but oh, so comforting (and only gets better as it's re-heated!)

There are several versions of this, but the most popular one only has beans and veggies in it. It is also known as the monastery soup, which apparently refers to monastery communities' habit of abstaining from meat.

And monasteries are something Bulgaria has a lot of. Of approximatelly hundred monasteries still in business the oldest ones have operated continuously for more than a thousand years. They often make intriguing destinations because of their amazing architecture alone. 

A particularly interesting is the monastery of Rila, located some 100 kilometres from the capital Sofia. It is also one of the nine Bulgarian UNESCO World Heritage sites.

Serves 6

Bob Chorba - Bulgarian bean soup:

2 largeish onions
3 medium size carrots
2 largeish garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tbsp sweet paprika
1 tsp chilli flakes
1/2 dl tomato concentrate
1/2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
3 cans (á 400 g/ 240 g) large white bean, drained and rinsed
1 1/4 l vegetable or chicken stock
4 tbsp fresh spearmint (or 2 tbsp dried), roughly chopped

For frying: 1/2 dl oil

To serve: flat leaf parsley chopped

Dice the carrots and onions to small cubes. Sauté them in oil in bit pot together with garlic until onion is translucent. 

Add paprika, chilli flakes, tomato concentrate and sugar. Season with salt and pepper. Keep stirring the ingredients for another 5 minutes. Then add beans and stock.

Let simmer, covered, over medium heat for an hour.

Remove about a ladlefull of the beans and a ladlefull of the stock. Measure them into a food processor and whizz them until smooth (this helps to thicken the soup and make it even more comforting!)

Return the bean mixture into the pot. Add mint and keep coooking for another 5 minutes.

Check the taste and add more salt, pepper and/or paprika if needed. 

Divide into bowls, sprinkle with parsley and serve. 

Hey - how have you liked Bulgaria so far? Any of you familiar with the country or planning on exploring in the future?

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Patatnik - Bulgarian potato and mint omelette

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Patatnik, Bulgarian potato omelette gets its interesting flavour from... mint!

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If the scenery of the Bulgarian Rhodope mountains surprised with their Swiss look, so, too, does the most classic dish of the region: patatnik. This potato omelette is very much like its Swiss cousin rösti, though it's even closer to one of the most beloved Spanish tapas: tortilla Española!

Each mehana, a local beer house serving traditional food, has their own recipe for this staple. Some might contain other veggies, too (especially peppers), many include Bulgarian feta cheese - their pride and joy -  in theirs. One thing that they all have in common, though, is the use of mint; a peculiar herb that is surprisingly widely used over here.

Potato was only brought to Europe in the 16th century by the Spanish concquistadors and it didn't find its way to Rhodope region until mid 19th century. In many European countries the new arrival was met with suspicion and for a long time it wasn't even deemed fit for human consumption. Rhodopeans didn't exactly welcome potato with open arms, either: the village elders condemned it as "the Devil's apple". 

Slowly this humble veggie managed to prove its resilience in the harsh conditions and won over even this stubborn nation. And then everybody lived happily ever after!

Patatnik - Bulgarian potato and mint omelette:

10 largeish potatos (total weight about 1,4 g)

2 largeish onions (or 3 small ones)
4 eggs

4 tbsp fresh mint (or 2 tbsp dried)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

for frying: butter

also: butter, bread crumbs (optional, gluten-free if needed)

Pre-heat oven to 220°c (in fan oven 200°c will do).

Peel and grate the potatos over a tea towel. Bring the corners together to form a bundle and squeeze out the excess liquid from the potatos. 

Peel and finely slice the onion. Sauté them in a pan in a knob of butter over medium heat until soft and translucent (this is optional though - if you want a short cut, you can add the onions to the potatos raw as well).

Beat the eggs lightly and season with salt and pepper.  Fold potatos and onions into the mix along wth finely chopped mint. 

Grease the pan you're using with a little butter and dust with bread crumbs or line the dish with a baking sheet. Pour in the omelette mixture and press until even and smooth. 

Top with a couple of knobs of butter and, should you want the top extra crunchy, a little bread crumbs.

Bake for 45 minutes. In case the patatnik starts to get too much colour, cover it with a piece of foil or a lid.

Cut into pieces and serve.

Serve it as is or for instance with another favourite discovery I made in Bulgaria: Elena ham! This dry-cured leg of local pork comes from the Northern part of the country and is very much like Jamón Serrano.

Any of you been to Bulgaria? Which dishes made an impression on you?

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Watermelon gazpacho

Refreshing gazpacho offers a cooling breeze - this summer's hottest version is made with watermelon!

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I'm the first to admit it: I'm pathetically crap at eating fruit and veg. Unless they're deep-fried, that is. Or wrapped in bacon. Which, especially with fruit just doesn't happen often enough.

The hotel breakfasts at our travels serve a regular reminder of this. As the Cat Blogger is busy filling her plate with everything that's fresh and green I stand in the queue for my third top-up of bacon. But let's face it: all that green stuff just fails to evoke the sort of passions and uncontrollable cravings that, say, pizza does. Or the aforementioned bacon. 

No-one is ready to chew their own arm off to get carrots. No person walks home from the bar at 4am with cauliflower in their hand. No shop on Saturday mornings is inundated with people desperate for tomatos. Am I right or are you wrong?

There is one exception to this, though. Watermelon. I just can't get enough of that one and in the summer it's something I legitimately do crave. To a point it hasn't even occurred to me to out bacon in it. Yes, I just said that. 

During the last weeks Finland has bathed in such sunshine it's been difficult to remember this is Finland. Which is great, seeing how I'll be far too busy to do any travelling. And heat like this cries out for something cooling, such as gazpacho.

Previously I've shared with you recipe for the traditional, tomato-based one, cucumber version, its Andalusian cousin salmorejo and the white version called ajo blanco. This summer's hottest ticket though is this: watermelon gazpacho. Quite possibly the best of the lot. 

Oh, and if you want to go the extra mile, roastng/ grilling the ingredients adds a new dimension to this (and other gazpachos)!

Serves 4, as a shot-sized portion 12

Watermelon gazpacho:

1 kg watermelon cubes (approximately 1 mini watermelon)

2 tomatos

1/2 red pepper

1/2 small red onion

1/2 cucumber

1 jalapeño

3/4 dl oil

2 tbsp red wine vinegar (or sherry vinegar)

1,5 tsp salt

large bunch of coriander (reserve a little for serving)

to serve: oil, coriander leaves, remaining veggies finely chopped

Dice the veggies and finely chop the remaining veggies for serving. Place all the ingredients in a blender and whizz until smooth. Let cool in the fridge for a couple of hours or even until the following day. 

Check the taste before serving and adjust adding more salt and/ or vinegar. Drizzle oil on top and serve with the chopped up veg and coriander.

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