A hot day calls for a cold drink
Try a clara to kick off your Labor Day weekend
People, people, PEOPLE, here we are already, just before Labor Day weekend! It’s hard to believe that the summer is almost over, but here we are…and there are so many exciting things left in the year. But while we’re all (hopefully) still enjoying a little bit of summer weather (I hear it’s upper 90s in Washington today!), I have a perfect and refreshing drink for you…in some places it’s called a shandy, in others it’s a radler, but in Spain, we call it a clara—a low-alcohol beer and lemonade cocktail.
In many places in Spain, it can get pretty hot in the summer, especially in the South, where I’ve been spending time, and in the bigger cities like Madrid and Barcelona. We usually stay cool with a little siesta during the hottest hours of the day, and then come back out at night when the sun sets, but of course a clara will help cool you off as well! It always reminds me of being at a chiringuito—a small restaurant on the beach—under an umbrella, or sitting on a terraza enjoying tapas before dinner.
And while we’re talking about beer in Spain, there are many different ways you can order it! The most popular order is a caña (which comes from the word “cane,” which describes the long, thin glass used to serve it), or “little beer”—they’re small so they stay cold, which is very helpful this time of year. Depending on where you are, they might be called zurito (Basque country), corto (León), or penalti (Aragón). A “tubo” is a little bigger than a caña, around the same amount of beer as in a bottle. In Madrid, if you order a “doble,” which is about twice the size of a caña.
But maybe the most fun way to drink beer (or wine, or cider) is from a porrón…a traditional glass pitcher that you can pass from person to person without using glasses! The porrón has been around Spain for hundreds of years, and became popular among winemakers in Catalunya (though originally the ancient Greeks and Romans both had similar ways of drinking wine). Today, you can see it all over Spain, as part of private family celebrations and also big holidays and festivals. And you might say “hey, José, do I have to go all the way to Spain to drink from a porrón?” Of course I would say yes, you should always go to Spain, but you can also get one here…and then you can have your very own porrón party at home (don’t forget, monthly and annual subscribers have 15% off a purchase at Mercado Little Spain’s online shop … if you forget the code, look below!)
Talking about all of this beer is making me thirsty, and it’s also making me hungry! What do we eat with beer? Tapas, of course! So with the recipe for clara I also want to share with you my recipe for Ensaladilla Ucrainiana—one of Spain’s most classic tapas, which I renamed a few summers ago to honor the people of Ukraine…you can read about it here. The refreshing and slightly sweet clara pairs perfectly with the rich mayo of the potato salad and the smoky piquillo pepper confit…it’s a perfect way to kick off your Labor Day weekend.
And friends, we will be taking the day off this coming Monday and we will be back next Wednesday. Wherever you are and wherever you go, I hope you have an amazing and hopefully long weekend, full of eating, drinking, and laughing with your loved ones.
Clara
Serves 2-4
24 ounces lager
12 ounces lemon soda or lemonade (like Kas Lemón)
Combine the lager and the lemon soda and serve cold in glasses…or a porrón!
Ensaladilla Ucrainiana
Serves 4
3 large russet potatoes, peeled
1 large carrot, trimmed and peeled
1 cup fresh peas
7 large eggs
16 ounces good-quality oil-packed tuna, preferably oil-packed bonito, separated into flakes
1 cup Spanish extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup vegetable oil
Piquillo Pepper Confit (see recipe below)
Fresh chervil, for garnish
Combine potatoes and carrot in a pot, cover with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until the carrot is tender, about 10 minutes. Remove the carrot with a slotted spoon and set on a plate to cool. Continue to simmer the potatoes for about 20 more minutes until tender. Leaving the water simmering, remove the potatoes with a slotted spoon and set aside to cool. Add the peas to the simmering water and cook for about 60-90 seconds until tender. Drain the peas and immediately transfer them to a bowl of ice to cool.
Meanwhile, place 5 eggs in a saucepan with cold water and bring to a boil. Boil the eggs for 10 minutes then transfer them to a bowl of ice water. Once cool enough to handle, peel the eggs and cut them into bite-size pieces. Put the chopped eggs into a large mixing bowl and add the tuna.
To make the mayonnaise, break the remaining 2 eggs into a small mixing bowl and add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, the lemon juice and 1 teaspoon of salt. Begin mixing with a hand-held mixer, such as an immersion blender, then continue blending while you slowly add the remaining olive oil, followed by the vegetable oil, until the sauce is emulsified. You should have about 2 1/2 cups of mayo.
Cut the cooled potatoes and carrot into 1-inch cubes. Add the potatoes, carrots and peas to the mixing bowl with the eggs and tuna. Spoon 1 cup (or more if you really like mayo!) of the mayonnaise over the salad and gently fold together until well combined—the rest can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for a few days, perfect for some sandwiches. Cover and allow the salad to rest for an hour in the refrigerator. To serve, transfer the salad to a serving dish and allow it to come to room temperature. Place two piquillo peppers on top of the salad, garnish with fresh chervil and drizzle with olive oil.
Piquillo Pepper Confit
20 piquillo peppers (Spanish wood-roasted sweet peppers), or one 13-ounce can
1 teaspoon sugar
2 cloves garlic, peeled
Kosher salt
1 cup Spanish extra-virgin olive oil
Preheat the oven to 300°. Put 8 of the peppers in a food processor, add the sugar and 2 tablespoons of water and puree the peppers.
In a small cazuela (terra-cotta casserole) or cast-iron skillet, lay half of the remaining peppers in a single layer, taking care not to overlap the peppers. Spoon half of the pepper puree on top of the peppers and smooth it out with the back of the spoon. Split open the garlic cloves by placing them on a cutting board and pressing down with the flat side of a chef’s knife. Scatter the garlic over the puree and season to taste with salt.
Make another layer of peppers, cover with the remaining puree and season again with salt. Cover the peppers with the olive oil, then cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil.
Bake in the oven for 1 1/2 hours, until the peppers are completely tender. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
You can keep leftover piquillo pepper confit in the refrigerator for up to 10 days.