Chef Isabel
Ajopollo Almeriense
Almería's ajopollo turns fried garlic, almonds, bread and saffron into a golden mortar paste that gives modest fish and potato guisos their body, richness and unmistakable southern depth.
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Chef Isabel
Romesco de Tarragona
Romesco belongs to Tarragona: ñora peppers, roasted tomato and garlic, almonds and hazelnuts pounded into a coarse, deep-red sauce whose body comes from nuts, not from blending it smooth.
Chef Isabel
Sofrito Catalán (Sofregit de Ceba i Tomàquet)
Catalan sofregit turns onion, garlic and tomato into the dark, jammy floor beneath rice, beans and stews. Keep the heat low, give the onion its time, and every spoonful does its work.
Chef Isabel
Olivada Catalana
Catalonia's black olive spread is three ingredients and ten minutes: briny fruit, good oil and a whisper of garlic, crushed coarse enough that the olive still tastes like itself.
Chef Isabel
Salmorreta Alicantina
Salmorreta is Alicante's dark, concentrated base for coastal rice: ñora, garlic, ripe tomato and parsley fried patiently until sweet, brick-red and strong enough to season the whole pan.
Chef Isabel
Allioli Tradicional
Allioli belongs to Catalonia and Valencia: garlic, salt, and olive oil worked patiently in a mortar until thick and glossy. No egg, no trick, just slow first drops that make the emulsion hold.
Chef Isabel
Allioli de Codony
Allioli de codony belongs to the Catalan Pyrenees: boiled quince, raw garlic, salt, and olive oil worked into a thick, fragrant sauce for grilled meat, sausages, bread, and the autumn table.
Chef Isabel
Sofregit Català
Catalonia's sofregit is onion and tomato cooked patiently in olive oil until dark, sweet, and nearly dry, the quiet foundation beneath arrossos, fideus, legumes, suquets, and slow guisats.
Chef Isabel
Majado Castellano-Andaluz
Majado is Castile and Andalucía's mortar finish: garlic, bread and almonds fried separately with saffron, pounded warm, then loosened with broth to give an everyday stew body, fragrance and a deep golden sauce.
Chef Isabel
Salvitxada Catalana
Catalonia's sauce for a calçotada, with roasted tomato and garlic, sweet ñora, toasted almonds and hazelnuts, then enough olive oil to make it loose, rough-textured and ready for dunking.
Chef Isabel
Salsa Mahonesa de Menorca
Mahonesa belongs to Menorca: egg yolk and mild olive oil worked into a pale, glossy sauce, with the first oil added drop by drop so the emulsion holds.
Chef Isabel
Tomate Frito Casero
The plain Castilian version of tomate frito cooks ripe tomatoes slowly with olive oil and garlic until their water leaves and the deep red sauce begins to fry.
Chef Isabel
Picada Catalana
Picada is Catalonia's last word in a stew: almonds, fried bread, garlic and parsley pounded coarse, loosened with cooking liquid, then stirred in to give body and fragrance.
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