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Spanish Lentil Hotpot / Lentejas al Estilo Alto Aragon

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Spanish Lentil Hotpot / Lentejas al Estilo Alto Aragon

Postby Alexandria » Sat Feb 03, 2018 3:14 pm

Life in the Alto Aragon, in the Pyrenée Valleys is still somewhat austere, but this does not stop its inhabitants from expressing their love for good sustainable authentic traditional cooking in the form of hearty dishes such as lentils with leeks and ham .. The renowned Aragonese cold cured sausages are the secret to this magnificant wintery warming soup stew ..

Recipe:

375 grams of Green or Brown Lentils (If possible use: Lenteja de La Armuña - Gomecello, Salamanca sold in linen bags )
1 ham hock or bone
90 Ml. Spanish Evoo
2 large leeks chopped finely
1 large onion ( 155 grams)
1 large red tomato Peeled and chopped and de - seeded
100 Grams of Morcilla de Burgos ( Black Blood Pudding )
1 Standard shot glass of Anise Liquor or aged Jerez de La Frontera Brandy
90 Ml. White semi sweet Moscatel Wine
155 grams of sustainable mushrooms ( Boletus Eduli or Portabello ) chopped in quarters
A small bunch of freshly minced parsley, fresh thyme and a sprig of Rosemary ..

1) High simmer your lentils with the ham bone .. ( I soak mine for a couple of hours )
2) Heat some Evoo in a skillet, and sauté the onion and the leek ..
3) When the mixture starts to Golden, add the tomato and simmer over a médium heat for 10 minutes.
4) Then, add the Blood Pudding and then the mushrooms and simmer on low slow flame for another 10 minutes.
5) When the lentils are almost ready ( 40 minutes approx. ), add the vegetable and sausage mixture ( drained of the Evoo & hock removed ) with a couple of pinches of salt & the minced herbs to tatse and simmer on low slow flame 30 to 35 minutes longer ..
6) Taste check whether the lentils are tender and done, and before removing from the flame, drizzle a few drops of Anise Liquor and then add the Moscatel White wine .. Adjust salt and herbs and add a bit of freshly ground black pepper corns ..
7) Serve immediately with hot crusty bread and a glass of wine ( Moscatel from Aragon or Navarre ) ..

Enjoy .. A delightingly delicious traditional dish ..
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Re: Spanish Lentil Hotpot / Lentejas al Estilo Alto Aragon

Postby Renée » Sat Feb 03, 2018 5:32 pm

Alexandria, I really like that recipe. Is 40 minutes cooking time sufficient for the ham hock? I usually cook for longer and would add the lentils at a later stage. Maybe it depends on the size of the ham hock? I do have a small amount of Sambuca, which will be perfect for the recipe.

I hope to make this very soon.

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Re: Spanish Lentil Hotpot / Lentejas al Estilo Alto Aragon

Postby Alexandria » Sun Feb 04, 2018 1:29 am

Dear Renée,

1) I soak my lentils for 2 hours prior to cooking them ..

2) The Ham Hock, one can boil separately as it can get overly salty .. So, be careful with salt amount ..

3) If you soak the lentils, the brand I use ( sustainble ) cook real quickly and so does the ham bone if small ..

( 40 Minutes to 1 hour at most .. ) The meat was very tender .. falling off bone .. But it depends on how big your bone is ! :thumbsup

4) Then of course, I strain the water ..

5) I add the ham at the end as it has already been cooked ..


It was delicious .. We have some left overs for Sunday lunch too ..

:thumbsup

Have a lovely weekend ..
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Re: Spanish Lentil Hotpot / Lentejas al Estilo Alto Aragon

Postby Renée » Sun Feb 04, 2018 10:47 am

Alexandria, thank you so much for your help. I will print all the information out so that I have it to hand whilst making the lentil hotpot.

I hope that you are enjoying your weekend. It's a lovely day here, but frosty.

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Re: Spanish Lentil Hotpot / Lentejas al Estilo Alto Aragon

Postby Alexandria » Sun Feb 04, 2018 2:17 pm

Sunday 4th ..

It is snowing huge snow flakes in Madrid, and raining in Barcelona ( 11 degees centigrade ) so we are relaxing at home and shall left over lentils al estilo Alto Aragon at 14.00 - 14.30 ..

Thank you Dear and have a lovely Sunday ..

:wino :thumbsup
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Re: Spanish Lentil Hotpot / Lentejas al Estilo Alto Aragon

Postby WhitefieldFoodie » Mon Feb 12, 2018 1:34 pm

Alexandria, I do not have any anise liquor.

Can I add some fennel seeds, or tarragon maybe?

This looks delicious and Is something I can do in my new fandangle 12-in-1 pressure cooker thing.

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Re: Spanish Lentil Hotpot / Lentejas al Estilo Alto Aragon

Postby Alexandria » Tue Feb 13, 2018 9:51 am

Whitefield Foodie,

I believe you could add some fresh fennel bulb ( a tiny one with fronds ) minced and sauté it with the tomato & leek etcetra until tender or a pinch of fennel seeds ..

I have never tried it as we always have Anise Liquor in the house, however, perhaps a tiny star anise could work too ..

Tarragon Herb: I really am uncertain as I have never used it in this classic mountain rural recipe I obtained from my maternal Grandmother ..

Good luck and let us know how it goes ..

Have a lovely day .. :thumbsup :thumbsup
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Re: Spanish Lentil Hotpot / Lentejas al Estilo Alto Aragon

Postby Renée » Tue Feb 13, 2018 10:15 pm

Whitefield Foodie, what about anise powder? I think that I used to get it from Wing Yip. The fennel should work well and tarragon has a slight aniseed flavour.

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Re: Spanish Lentil Hotpot / Lentejas al Estilo Alto Aragon

Postby Renée » Tue Feb 13, 2018 10:15 pm

Deleted.

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Re: Spanish Lentil Hotpot / Lentejas al Estilo Alto Aragon

Postby Alexandria » Tue Feb 13, 2018 11:46 pm

Renée,

:clap :clap :thumbsup :thumbsup


To keep the dish rural high mountain Aragonese, a tiny fresh bulb of fennel with fronds would be perfect and would add a subtle Mediterranean influence to the lentils and the leek, onion and tomato ..

Have a lovely evening ..
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Re: Spanish Lentil Hotpot / Lentejas al Estilo Alto Aragon

Postby Renée » Wed Feb 14, 2018 12:34 am

Well, I am almost ready to make the dish, Alexandria, but supermarkets don't seem to sell ham shanks. I do know where to get them. There is a bacon and ham specialist shop on Preston indoor market, so I will get one very soon.

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Re: Spanish Lentil Hotpot / Lentejas al Estilo Alto Aragon

Postby WhitefieldFoodie » Wed Feb 14, 2018 12:26 pm

Made this last night Alexandria. Delicious.

I did cheat slightly as i brought 2 small precooked ham hocks, and shredded the meat prior and just dropped the bones into my pressure cooker. Cooked for 30 minutes in the pressure cooker after being soaked all day whilst out at work. Meat added for 5 minutes and left simmering with lid off to reduce slightly.

In terms of the "anise" i added some fennel seeds at the start when softening the leeks and onion. I also used 2 tablespoons of Napolina tinned toms instead of fresh as my house is not fresh food friendly at the minute.
Last edited by WhitefieldFoodie on Wed Feb 14, 2018 12:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Spanish Lentil Hotpot / Lentejas al Estilo Alto Aragon

Postby Alexandria » Wed Feb 14, 2018 12:29 pm

@Whitefield Foodie,

Thank you for the lovely message.

I am pleased to hear, that my grandmom´s recipe was a big hit !

It is a truly authentic rural recipe that is just not in cookbooks !

Have a lovely lovely day .. :clap :clap :thumbsup :thumbsup :wino :wino
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Re: Spanish Lentil Hotpot / Lentejas al Estilo Alto Aragon

Postby Renée » Sat Feb 17, 2018 10:20 pm

Alexandria, I am very happy to say that I made your grandmom's lovely recipe today and it is wonderful! I left out the blood pudding but all the other ingredients were correct. The double smoked ham shank worked really well. The dried green lentils that I bought were very small and dark green. I have such a lot left over, so will freeze some down.


Image


Thank you so much for the recipe! :newhuggy :newhuggy

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Re: Spanish Lentil Hotpot / Lentejas al Estilo Alto Aragon

Postby Alexandria » Sun Feb 18, 2018 11:34 pm

@ Renée,

WOW ! Definitely looks amazingly wonderful ..

Thank you so much for posting the gorgeous photograph too ..

Yes, it truly looks fantastic !

Have a lovely evening ..

:clap :clap :clap :clap :clap :clap :clap
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Re: Spanish Lentil Hotpot / Lentejas al Estilo Alto Aragon

Postby Stokey Sue » Mon Feb 19, 2018 3:37 pm

Interesting how similar and how different that is to the Puy Lentils with Toulouse sausages(and variations on a theme) that I make quite often

Never tried adding any anise, might give it a try

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Re: Spanish Lentil Hotpot / Lentejas al Estilo Alto Aragon

Postby Alexandria » Sun Mar 04, 2018 10:00 pm

Stokey Sue,

A shot glass of Anise liquor pairs wonderfully with this version of Lentils ..

Have a lovely evening and Thank you for your feedback .. :thumbsup
Barcelona, soulful & spirited, filled with fine art, amazing architecture, profoundly steeped in culture & history, and it engages all your senses, and food fancies.

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Re: Spanish Lentil Hotpot / Lentejas al Estilo Alto Aragon

Postby Alexandria » Sun Mar 04, 2018 10:04 pm

Whitefield Foodie,

Sounds like it came out wonderful with a sprinkle of fennel seeds ..

Glad to see that you have enjoyed this traditional rural lentil dish ..

Have a lovely evening .. :thumbsup
Barcelona, soulful & spirited, filled with fine art, amazing architecture, profoundly steeped in culture & history, and it engages all your senses, and food fancies.

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