Andalusia cookbook: Recipes from tuna tartar to beetroot, blood orange and pomegranate salad

The latest book in Jose Pizarro's Spain destination series focuses on the southern area of the country, and is all about simple recipes where the best ingredients do all the talking

(Emma Lee)

Beetroot, blood orange, pomegranate and goat’s cheese salad with membrillo dressing

In the main square of Aracena there is a great cheese shop, Monte Robledo, and the owner Maria Jesús is always very helpful when it comes to choosing cheese for this salad. In addition to running the shop, they also have a farm and make most of the cheese they sell – so if anyone knows the product well, it’s them! If you go here, do make sure to visit the mushroom shop next door, too.

Serves 6–8

6–8 baby beetroot (beets), unpeeled
sprig of rosemary, leaves picked
4 blood oranges or 2 large oranges seeds from ½ large pomegranate
a mix of sharp, peppery and bitter salad leaves, such as frisee, sorrel, radicchio and rocket (arugula)
50g (2 oz) goat’s cheese, such as Payoyo

For the dressing

5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
115g (4 oz) membrillo (quince paste), chopped
sea salt and freshly ground
black pepper

Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F/Gas 5). Wrap the beetroot individually in foil with the rosemary leaves, then roast for 35–40 minutes, until tender. When cool enough to handle, peel and cut into wedges.

Meanwhile, segment the oranges. Using a serrated knife, cut the peel away without digging too much into the flesh of the orange.

Once peeled, run the knife in and out around the orange segments, leaving the membrane behind. Do this over a bowl to catch any juice, then place the cut segments in another bowl. Squeeze the leftover membrane into the bowl with the juice then discard.

Crack the seeds and juice from the pomegranate into the bowl with the orange juice, discarding the membrane.

To make the dressing, whisk the olive oil in a small bowl with the sherry vinegar. Add the orange juice and pomegranate, then mix in the chopped membrillo. Add more vinegar to sharpen if it seems too sweet and season to taste.

Arrange the beetroot and blood oranges on a serving plate with the salad leaves. Generously spoon the dressing over and finally shave over the cheese.

Tuna tartar

The tuna caught off the Cadiz coast is some of the best in the world, and the fishing technique used is called almadraba. An age-old Phoenician method, it creates a maze of nets that the tuna swim into, taking advantage of their migration from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean for mating season.

If you are in Andalusia, the best restaurant to eat tuna tartar in is called La Carbona in Jerez. It’s also a good place to try a wine called Parajete, apparently a favourite of Shakespeare’s.

Serves 4

½ small red onion, very finely chopped
400g (14 oz) sushi grade albacore or yellow fin tuna, cut into 1 cm (½ in) dice
1 serrano or jalepeno chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
1 tablespoon capers, rinsed and chopped
1 avocado, peeled, stone removed and cut into 1 cm (½ in) dice
juice of 1–2 limes
sea salt and freshly ground
black pepper
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
handful of coriander (cilantro) leaves, chopped

Place the red onion in a small bowl and cover with cold water. Soak for 5 minutes to remove some of the harsh flavour. Drain well.

In a medium bowl, mix the tuna with the onion, chilli, capers, avocado and lime juice to taste. Season well, drizzle over the extra-virgin olive oil and toss with the coriander.

Serve immediately.

Roast chicken with orange, cumin and apricot rice

This is a classic one pot dish that I often make at home. Every part of the meal is comforting and delicious, but the truly heavenly bit is the crispy anchovy-flavoured chicken skin.

Serves 6

2 large garlic cloves, peeled
2 tablespoons extra-virgin
olive oil, plus extra for frying
6 salted anchovies in extra virgin olive oil
1 large free-range chicken (1.8 kg/3 lb 15 oz)
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 banana shallots (eschalions),finely sliced
½ tablespoon cumin seeds
½ tablespoon sweet smoked pimenton de la Vera
1 tablespoon hot smoked pimenton de la Vera
500g (1 lb 2 oz) Calasparra rice or another short-grain rice, soaked for 10 minutes in cold water and drained
zest and juice of ½ orange
100g (3 ½ oz) dried apricots, chopped
1 bay leaf
1 sprig of rosemary
1 litre (34 fl oz/4 cups) chicken stock
small bunch of flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped

Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F/Gas 6). In small food processor or heavy pestle and mortar, blend the garlic cloves with the olive oil and half of the anchovies to a rough paste.

Carefully loosen the skin from the breasts of the chicken and rub the garlic and anchovy mixture underneath the skin.

Season well with salt. Place the chicken in a deep, lidded casserole dish and roast, uncovered, for 35 minutes, until the skin is golden.

Meanwhile, add a little oil to a saucepan and fry the shallots with the rest of the anchovies and a pinch of salt over a medium heat for 5 minutes, or until softened. Add the cumin seeds and both types of pimenton and fry for 1–2 minutes, until fragrant.

Mix in the rice, orange zest and juice and dried apricots. Add the bay leaf, rosemary and the chicken stock, bring to a boil, then remove from the heat and set aside.

Remove the casserole dish from the oven, carefully lift out the chicken and place on a chopping board. Add the rice and stock mixture to the dish and place the chicken back on top.

Reduce the oven to 180°C (350°F/Gas 4) and roast, covered, for 1 hour. At this point, check to see if the rice is cooked. If needed, add a little more stock and cook for a further 10 minutes.

Remove the casserole dish from the oven and lift the chicken back onto the chopping board, tipping it over the dish first so that any juices run back into the rice.

Leave the chicken to rest for 5–10 minutes, loosely covered with foil. Taste the rice, season and stir through the parsley. Place the lid back on the dish to keep warm as you carve the chicken. Dish up onto warm plates with the rice.

'ANDALUSIA: Recipes from Seville and beyond' by Jose Pizarro is out now. (Hardie Grant, £26) Photography: Emma Lee