Conill amb Samfaina
Region: Spain, Catalonia
Category: Rabbit and Game
Season: Any
Difficulty: Medium Difficulty
Samfaina
is a Catalan word that refers to a fried vegetable sauce, but also to a kind of
offal stew. Colloquially, it means a
hotchpotch or jumble. It is also called
or spelled santaina, samfaïna, xamfaina, sanfaina, or chanfaina all referring to a (Catalonia) (3)LO.jpg)
kind of
mixed vegetable ratatouille of southern Catalonia,
that is often the basis to a sauce and typically used with chicken or
rabbit. It is also known in Castile by the
name pisto. Some argue that it is the progenitor of
ratatouille, traveling north in centuries past. This is a type of preparation
found throughout the Mediterranean littoral. The Catalan gastronome, Llorenç Torrado,
wrote that there are three criteria for a successful samfaïna. First, one must be
careful about the olive oil so that it doesn’t dilute the mixture. Second, one should not use too much
tomato. Finally, keep the heat very low
and the casserole covered so the juices of the vegetables mingle and do not
evaporate. After cooking it will look
like a marmalade or thick relish. The
cooking should be slow, so it’s best to cook in an earthenware casserole with a
cover. The finish samfaina should look like a thick marmalade. There should be no liquid left in the
casserole.
Catalonia’s great gastronome, Joseph Pla, said of samfaina that it improves food, bestowing a solid foundation for well-being. That it is a dish of fundamental optimism, reasonable and positive.
My first samfaina was with rabbit that I had at the Can Paset restaurant on the C. Fornet in Tossa del Mar, a little place with white stucco walls and dark wood trim. The rabbit, a real Catalonian meal, was very well cooked and falling off the bone, and smothered with sautéed red and green bell pepper and onions in a tomato sauce and lots of olive oil. I liked the dish, it was rich and the rabbit was not like the proverbial chicken, it was like rabbit. The dish should taste rich and the rabbit should be soft and tender with a delicate flavor.
This dish, which can also be made with chicken or fish, is traditionally accompanied by French fried potatoes. To save yourself some work you can use a food processor to chop the onion, zucchini and garlic.
[photo: Clifford A. Wright]
Yield: Makes 4 servings
Preparation Time: 3 hours
For the samfaina
3/4 pound eggplant, peeled and diced tiny
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons water
2 red bell peppers, peeled, seeded and sliced in thin strips lengthwise
1 green bell pepper, peeled, seeded and sliced in thin strips lengthwise
3 medium onions, very finely chopped
1 medium zucchini, peeled and very finely chopped
4 large garlic cloves, very finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
4 very ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
For the rabbit
One 2 ½- to 3-pound rabbit, cut-up
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1. Lay the eggplant pieces on some paper towels and sprinkle with salt. Leave them to drain of their bitter juices for 30 minutes, then pat dry with paper towels.
2. Place the olive oil, water, red and green bell peppers, onions, eggplant, zucchini, and garlic and salt and pepper in an enameled cast iron Dutch oven or an earthenware casserole. Turn the heat on low, cover, and cook, stirring gently and occasionally, until soft, 50 to 60 minutes. Add the tomatoes, cover again, and cook until a thick relish, about 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Add tablespoons of water if the juices have evaporated and the vegetables aren’t done.
3. Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
4. Brush or rub the rabbit pieces with olive oil, salt, and pepper and place in a baking pan. Bake until the rabbit is golden, about 1 ½ to 1 3/4 hours. Remove the rabbit and keep warm. Deglaze the baking pan with several tablespoons of water.
5. Place the rabbit in the sauce along with the deglazed pan juices from baking. Heat and then serve.
Variation:
Note:
Posted: 01/28/2010