Fish, seafood & shellfish | Meat & poultry | Traditional Spanish Recipes

Mar i Muntanya – Sea and Mountain – Shrimps and Chicken

I’m so fortunate to live by the sea, so happy to be surrounded by mountains… What a phrase! This looks a bit like a John Denver’s song :D

I will try again. Yin and Yan, positive and negative, good and bad, pollo y gamba… Again another horrible start.

Maybe today I shouldn’t write a post and take a beer and some pinchos de tortilla de patatas and enjoy the sun in my face while drinking and eating in my terrace :D… and this takes me back to… night and day, light and dark… enough of this!
Mar i Muntanya is a typical Catalan dish where sea and land flavours combine to perfection. Just pick the best ingredients, and prepare a rich and thick sauce… there you have it! Don’t forget the bread!
This dish will be wonderful some hours after its preparation. Enjoy!!!

 

I’m sending it over to Psychgrad and her Tried, Tested and True… Wedding edition… for the husband and the wife, in health and illness, for good and bad… for a wonderful wedding and a fantastic life ahead!!!!

This dish might look a bit complicated… but it’s not; I just wanted to send you a typical Catalan dish for your wedding :D.
Next post will be about chicken again but in a pickle and this is probably more suitable since you can cook it days ahead and prepare the chicken salad in the last moment… I think I’ll send it to you too :D. Meanwhile, enjoy your last single days ;D.

Some other dishes you can prepare in advance and enjoy later with the rest of your guests:
Veal’s tongue in vinaigrette sauce… Mmmm soooo good!
Potatoes Rioja-style… the best comfort food ever!
Carrots puree with Iberian acorn ham… have it cold or warm.

Recipe

Ingredients for 6 servings: 1 1/2 chickens, 30 fresh shrimps, olive oil, flour, 2 big onions, 5 garlic cloves, 6 ripe tomatoes, 2 table spoons of apple spirits, 2 dl of chicken stock, 20 grs of toasted almonds, 20 grs of toasted hazelnuts, herbs: bay leave, oregano and thyme; salt and black ground pepper.

  • Clean, wash and cut the chicken in 12 pieces (aprox). Keep the liver aside. Sprinkle with salt and black pepper and coat in flour. Shake to leave excess flour in the plate.
  • In a big sauce pan with a generous amount of olive oil, fry the chicken pieces and when golden reserve in a big casserole.
  • Prepare the shrimps: cut the long whiskers and wash a bit. Dry them and salt and pepper. Coat in flour and fry in the same oil used for the chicken. If there's too many flour in the oil, strain and use the clean one for the shrimps. Fry them for only 30 seconds per side. Reserve.
  • Take some of the oil used in frying the chicken and shrimps and cook the chopped onion and when transparent, add 2 chopped garlics, stir with a wooden spoon and when fragrant add the tomatoes (peeled and grated). Reserve the rest of the oil.
  • When the sofrito is done: the tomatoe has loosed all its water, add 1 teaspoon of flour, the herbs, and the chicken stock. Cook at medium heat for 5 minutes. Pour it inside the casserole where the chicken is waiting.
  • Cook for 30 minutes or until the chicken is tender at low heat and with the lead half covering the casserole.
  • When it's done, pick the chicken pieces and reserve in a plate. Pour the sauce in a food processor and blend. Take the chicken and the sauce back to the casserole.
  • Prepare a "picada" (that's a Catalan late dressing) with the almonds, hazelnuts, apple spirits, 3 garlic cloves and the chopped chicken liver. Picada means smashed; so take your mortar and smash all the ingredients. Pour inside the casserole and let it simmer all together for 10 minutes. Stir.
  • Just 5 minutes before the dish is done, add the shrimps and stir a bit more.

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Comments

02/13/2009 · 16:34 h by Karen Brown Letarte

Hi, Nuria–

What a delicious recipe and wonderful photos! I was fascinated by the photos of the chicken. I especially liked the photo at the top, of the chicken’s feet. In the U.S. chicken is sold much more, er, processed.

Chicken and shrimp is always a great combination and the Catalan dressing is a wonderful touch. I have always wanted to learn more about Catalan cuisine so your blog is a goldmine!

Abrazos de North Carolina!
Karen :)

02/13/2009 · 17:31 h by Joan Nova

oh, Nuria, the first photo makes me want to shut my computer! I was not so happy with the 4th one either but I opened my eyes long enough to read the recipe and admire the finished results. It looks muy sabroso.

02/13/2009 · 18:22 h by giz

You always have the most interesting dishes Nuria. What a gorgeous presentation and thank you so much for helping us with the buffet table.

02/13/2009 · 20:13 h by Grace

i have to say, i’ve never seen a chicken packaged up like that. it’s a little jarring at first, but hey–we’re carnivores and it’s what we do. :)

02/14/2009 · 2:20 h by Psychgrad

Is that chicken feet in your first picture?

Thank you for the lovely recipe. I’m sure my guests would be very impressed with this dish. They would think I’m so worldly with Catalan dishes.

02/14/2009 · 3:32 h by _ts of [eatingclub] vancouver

Oh cool! Your chicken is WHOLE-whole! The head even has the comb!

02/14/2009 · 8:59 h by Peter G

so many word games nuria! A great combination of meat and seafood…we say “surf and turf”!…LOL

02/14/2009 · 9:21 h by Núria

Abrazos from Barcelona, Karen! Thanks for your comments :D. It’s fun to see all your reactions with the whole chicken’s picture… We also buy it processed here, but there’s some of them raised in freedom (not inside the chicken farm installations) and they arrive this way to the consumer. This special chicken has a D.O. Denominación de Origen which makes it very special and unique :D

La cresta y las patas are supposed to be a delicatessen… however, I never tried them!

Ha, ha! Sorry Joan, I see how impressed you are! But this is what it is, isn’t it? I don’t mind taking the guts outside myself nor cutting it into pieces… believe me, it’s worth! This chicken was superb!

Hola Giz and Psychgrad! I know you would love the final result of this dish but maybe I have been a bit too weird with the pictures… for us is not that rare. So next post will also go to TT3.
Happy Wedding darling♥

Hi Grace! You are right, that’s what carnivorous do :D. Was it Machiavelli who said?: The end justifies the means. ;D

Hola Vancouver! Si! This is the look of organic and raised in freedom chickens :D… not to talk about its taste!

Hola Peter! Surf and Turf sounds so funny :D.

02/14/2009 · 11:24 h by Olga

Hola Nuria,
Felicitats pel teu blog.
Aquesta recepta és la favorita del meu xicot. La provarem ben aviat!
Una abraçada.

02/14/2009 · 14:24 h by Jen of A2eatwrite

That looks absolutely delicious, Nuria – why a bad start?

I’m all for tortillas de patatas and wine and sun, though!

02/14/2009 · 18:05 h by Peter M

Is this blue chicken the same species as the famous French one?

I adore how the Spanish combine land & sea in dishes and as a bonus, the chicken feet can be used to scratch my back! ;)

02/16/2009 · 0:26 h by Cynthia

Nuria, I am LOVING this combo and the dish looks fantastic.

02/16/2009 · 21:04 h by we are never full

what gorgeous pictures! i love that you push the envelope w/ some of these pics. chicken feet crack me up. i’ve said it once (or twice) and i’ll say it again – no one does seafood and meat together like the spanish. this really looks delicious.

02/17/2009 · 4:20 h by Ivy

Mar i Muntanya is a combination which is not usual in Greece but I have to try it as the dish sounds amazing.

02/20/2009 · 22:17 h by glamah16

What a great recipe with so many flavors. A beautiful disg for the newlyweds to start their new life.

02/22/2009 · 20:35 h by Bellini Valli

Another wonderful dish Nuria. How did I miss so many of your deliciuous dishes. I don’t think you are coming into my Reader. Never mind I am here now and I am salivating:D

05/06/2009 · 20:24 h by marisabel

Pero… tu estas a Barcelona?
M’he trobat de cop aqui i veig receptes de la nostre terra i a mes estupendas.
Un petó desde Barcelona

05/07/2009 · 7:30 h by Núria

Hola Marisabel! Sí, jo estic aquí ;D. Visc molt a la vora de Barcelona.
Moltes gràcies per les floretes :D, ara mateix vaig a visitar el teu blog!

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