Nabos

[Art]

¿Cómo se cocinan nabos en Asturies?

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How do you cook turnips in Asturias?

[Terechu]

Pote de Nabos de Sotrondio / Turnip and Pork Stew Sotrondio Style

Ingredients

4 kg of turnips*
2 Morcillas (Asturian blood sausage)
2 Chorizos (Asturian paprika sausage)
Sweet paprika and hot paprika
2 pig’s feet
Pig’s ears and snout (optional)
Slab of fresh bacon (if you prefer salt pork, soak it in milk for a couple of hours prior to cooking)

(*Since this dish has a long cooking time, it’s worthwhile making a large pot-full and invite your friends and family.)

- Peel turnips and cut length-wise. Place one layer of turnips on bottom of large pot, then a layer of sausages and pork meat on top of it, then again a layer of turnips and a final layer of remaining ingredients.
- Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of paprika powder (3 parts sweet and 1 part hot paprika) over the top. Salt to taste.
- Cover with water and cook over low heat for about 2 hours.
- Let it set over night.
- Finish cooking the next morning by adding chicken stock as needed, until tender.

Before serving take out the pork meat and and snip it into bits with kitchen scissors. Discard the inedible parts of the pig’s feet.

[Art]

Thanks, Terechu. That definitely looks authentic!

It's really hard to find morcillas here. I think Bob has to get them mail order.

I"m going to try it. What do you serve with this?

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Gracias, Terechu. ¡Parece muy auténtico!

Es difícil encontrar morcillas aquí. Creo que Bob tiene que pedirlos por correo.

Voy a probarlo. ¿Qué se sirve con los nabos?

[Bob]

Here in New England, turnips (nabos) means two different root vegetables. One is white with a purple top and is usually called just turnips, and one is yellow with a purple top. The latter is sometimes also called rutabaga or swedes. The flavors are similar but not identical. Which type of turnip is used in Asturias?

La Tienda is my source for morcillas (order through our website link and make a contribution toward maintaining the website at no extra cost). I always order the type with onions, not the type with rice. They are not identical to what my grandparents made, but they come pretty close. I can still remember going to the Polish Market (mercado polaco) in Buffalo, about a 20-25 mile drive from Niagara Falls, with my grandmother to get blood to make morcillas. It was always thick, as if it had partially clotted, and a deep purple-red color. I can't remember if it was pork or beef blood, but it made wonderful morcillas. The Polish people also used duck blood to make chornina (czarnina), a Polish duck blood soup.

[Terechu]

Art, this is a one-course meal, believe me!
You can get vacuum packed morcillas and many other Asturian ingredients (like the "compangu" for fabada) from these folks:

http://www.productosdeasturias.com/tien ... c92eceea98

I believe they also have the wonderful "longaniza de Avilés", which is made by "Embutidos Vallina" - the very best in their trade.

Bob, the turnips we have are white with a slightly purple top. They have a very smooth texture when cooked.

[Terechu]

Hey, I just found this video presentation on how to make turnip stew "Pote de nabos"!!
Just scroll down and click on video. The recipe is slightly different, they cook the whole thing for 3 hours straight and then let it set.

I also forgot to mention, that when the water starts to boil, there will be lots of froth that will have to be skimmed, before turning down the heat.

http://www.smra.org/gastronomia.htm

[Bob]

That's one thing that I learned from my grandmother, always skim the froth from whatever you are making.

[Bob]

For those of you brave enough to collect your own blood for morcillas or whatever, adding a little vinegar or other acid should inhibit the clotting reaction. As for myself, I will continue to buy my morcillas unless I find a really good recipe.

[Art]

Bob, I was researching compangu and saw this phrase that you wrote: "collect your own blood for morcillas". You weren't suggesting that we can use our own blood to make morcilla, were you?

[Bob]

No, I would buy the pork blood if I wanted to make morcillas. Using human blood is too weird to even consider.

[Art]

True enough! You could probably be hospitalized as suicidal or mentally ill if anyone found out you were doing that!

[Maestro Tomberi]

With this is meant that in order to make our own morcilla, traditionally we use the blood of our very own pigs when we slaughter them in the San Martin.

In the same way the granny is the one who stabs the pig below the chin to make it bleed and pick up the blood with a well sized vessel sink, to use it afterwards for the morcilla mix dough. Also she always has had added thick grained salt to avoid the clotting.

About radish dishes ( I understand as turnips the "nabizos"), I should make a research the fashions they're made in Morcín, since theirs enjoy of quite a fame in all the region.