Spanish

(Amanida amb Epàrrec i Pernil) A Catalan composed salad, or amanida, may be made of almost anything, though ham, sausage, or anchovies are often included. Traditionally, the ingredients are added to the final presentation individually rather than mixed together. Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 15 min

Fideuà is the Catalan name for a favorite baked noodle dish.

A sophisticated, Spanish-style salad.

Churrasco is Spanish for grilled steak. This is Douglas Rodriguez's Argentine interpretation made with pork. He takes slices of tenderloin and pounds them to approximate the thickness of a skirt steak. Marinate the tenderloin strips for two to six hours before grilling.

This Basque dish is essentially a fish pâté or pudding, called budíns in Spain.

Porrusalda, or leek soup in Basque, is a very traditional dish. It includes pumpkins, an interesting component in a soup composed of both Old World (carrots, leeks) and New World (potatoes, pumpkin) ingredients.

This Majorcan specialty is usually topped with homemade almond ice cream or ice milk, but purchased almond ice cream can also be used.

This low-fat rendition of the classic dish comes from Gil Martínez Soto of Restaurante Virrey de Palafox in El Burgo de Osma, Spain.

This traditional, regional vegetable side dish is utterly simple and absolutely delicious. The addition of raisins and pine nuts is distinctively Catalan.

At the restaurant Marichu, we offer this sweet, liquid custard as a dessert in itself, served in small custard cups. But natillas is also used in countless Basque recipes as a sauce. Although we in the Basque Country claim this sauce as our own, the French make a similar sauce and call it crème anglaise — thereby crediting the English as its inventors. [This is an ingredient in the recipe for Almond Tart.]

José Ramón Andrés Buey con Cabrales Como le Gusta a Mi Madre My mother and I were born in Mieres, Asturias, the most beautiful region you'll ever see in Europe and the home of Cabrales, a great blue cheese made in the Asturian mountains. When I was young, we moved to Barcelona. Whenever my mother was homesick for Asturias, she'd eat a little piece of Cabrales to bring her closer to Mieres. To this day, every time I want to feel like I'm in Asturias, I eat some Cabrales, by itself or in this beef recipe.

Garbure Don't be misled by the plain-looking appearance of this classic Basque soup; it is thoroughly satisfying and delicious. Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 10 1/2 hr (includes soaking beans)

Papas con Fideos This recipe is from Delia Marcus, who was taught how to feed her Gypsy husband properly by her mother-in-law. Marcus founded flamencarte.com, a referral service for flamenco-oriented visits to Seville.

This is a kind of picadillo, a typical Spanish stew. It's also a great way to use up the (usually) less popular dark meat from the turkey. Readily available pumpkin pie spice introduces a touch of sweetness — and makes a nice addition to the spice shelf. Accompany this dish with steamed rice, a basket of warm tortillas, and an arugula and red onion salad. For a Latin-style dessert, drizzle warm caramel sauce over caramel ice cream and top with some sliced bananas.

Majorca, Spain When this dessert is made on Majorca, rum-soaked raisins are baked on top. Here the filling is flavored with rum; then the cake is served with a strawberry compote.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less but requires additional sitting time.