Chef Isabel
Ensaladilla Rusa Andaluza
Ensaladilla rusa, in its Andalusian bar-counter form, is potato, carrot, peas, tuna, egg, and mayonnaise served cold, creamy but not mashed. Boil the potatoes whole. That is the step that saves it.
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Chef Isabel
Papas Aliñás Gaditanas
Papas aliñás are Cádiz on a plate: warm boiled potatoes drinking in olive oil, sherry vinegar, sweet onion, and parsley until a poor man's salad tastes like the thing you came for.
Chef Isabel
Zorongollo Extremeño
Zorongollo Extremeño is Extremadura's roasted pepper salad: red peppers and tomatoes charred whole, peeled warm, cut into strips, and left to settle with garlic, oil, vinegar, onion, and hard egg.
Chef Isabel
Ensalada Murciana (Moje Murciano)
Ensalada Murciana is Murcia's cold tomato salad, made with preserved tomato, tuna, hard egg, sweet onion, and cuquillo olives. Use tinned tomato on purpose, not as a fallback.
Chef Isabel
Escalivada Catalana
Escalivada is Catalan: peppers, aubergine, onion, and sometimes tomato roasted whole until the skins blacken, then peeled warm and torn into strips. The smoke and soft flesh are the dish.
Chef Isabel
Xató Catalan
Xató is Catalan, from the Garraf and Penedès table: bitter escarole, salt cod, tuna, anchovy, olives, and the sauce that decides everything, pounded thick with ñoras, almonds, garlic, bread, vinegar, and oil.
Chef Isabel
Salpicón de Marisco Gallego
Salpicón de marisco is Galician coastal cooking: cooked seafood, crisp diced vegetables, and a sharp vinaigrette, all chilled long enough for the oil and vinegar to season every bite.
Chef Isabel
Ensalada Campera Andaluza
Ensalada campera is Andalucía's summer potato salad, loose and bright with tomato, pepper, onion, egg, tuna, olive oil, and vinegar. It is not bound in mayonnaise, and that matters.
Chef Isabel
Ensalada Valenciana
Ensalada Valenciana is the Levante's plain summer table salad: lettuce, ripe tomato, tuna, hard-boiled egg, olives, oil and vinegar, with the tomato leading and nothing dressed too early.
Chef Isabel
Trempó Mallorquín
Trempó Mallorquín is Mallorca in high summer: ramallet tomato, green pepper, and sweet onion cut small, salted, and dressed with good oil until the vegetables make their own bright dressing.
Chef Isabel
Esqueixada Catalana de Bacallà
Esqueixada is Catalan summer cooking at its plainest: desalted bacallà torn by hand, never cooked, then dressed with ripe tomato, onion, pepper, black olives, and enough good oil to carry it.
Chef Isabel
Ensalada Malagueña
Ensalada Malagueña is Andalucía by way of Málaga: boiled potato, sweet winter orange, desalted salt cod, egg, green olives, and good olive oil, a cold salad where the balance does the cooking.
Chef Isabel
Asadillo Manchego
Asadillo Manchego is La Mancha's roasted pepper salad: red peppers, tomato, olive oil, garlic, and cumin, pounded plainly and served with egg, warm or cold.
Chef Isabel
Ensalada Catalana con Embutits
Ensalada Catalana is Catalonia's green salad made a meal: crisp lettuce, ripe tomato, onion, olives, and sliced embutits, dressed plainly with olive oil, vinegar, and salt.
Chef Isabel
Ensalada Ilustrada Aragonesa
Ensalada Ilustrada is Aragón's dressed-up green salad: crisp leaves covered with tuna, egg, white asparagus, roasted pepper, and black olives, then dressed simply so every good conserva tastes like itself.
Chef Isabel
Pipirrana de Jaén
Pipirrana de Jaén is Andalucía's chopped summer salad: ripe tomato, cucumber, green pepper, onion, garlic and good olive oil, cut fine and chilled until the juices turn into lunch.
Chef Isabel
Ensalada de San Isidro Madrileña
Ensalada de San Isidro is Madrid's fair-day salad: crisp romaine, tuna, hard egg, olives, and a sharp aliño that uses the yolk to coat every leaf.
Chef Isabel
Empedrat Català
Empedrat is Catalan: white beans and shredded salt cod dressed with tomato, pepper, onion, black olives, and good oil, then left to rest until the salad tastes joined instead of mixed.
Chef Isabel
Esgarraet Valenciano
Esgarraet is Valencian: roasted red peppers and desalted salt cod torn into strips, dressed with raw garlic and olive oil, then left to rest until the oil tastes of everything.
Chef Isabel
Remojón Granadino
Remojón Granadino is Granada's winter salad: sweet oranges, desalted bacalao, black olives, onion, and good olive oil. The cod must be soaked right, or the whole dish shouts.
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