RICHARD FRISBIE :: TIMBAL DE PATATA CONFITADA CON TRUFA FRESCA

Translation: Timbal of confit potato and fresh truffle

    Some meals take you by surprise. An unprepossessing restaurant, busy for lunch, could be just a place to eat, not one in which to enjoy a memorable meal. That's what I expected here - lunch - but I was so wrong! While previewing the 2008 International Expo in Zaragoza, Spain, we found a restaurant that specialized in local dishes, expertly prepared, true to their roots. Antiguo Tabernillas Restaurant - what a wonderful surprise!

    Upstairs at the Antiguo Tabernillas Restaurant we were seated in a large round corner banquette.

    Two wines from Del Vero, a Chardonnay Macabe 2007, and a red Crianza 2003 were set on the table before us in a serve-yourself manner. The Macabe is similar to an albarino, crisp, dry with a long bright finish. The tinto was a typical Crianza, strong and full-bodied, excellent with meats, especially the timbale I ordered.

    Of course, since I don't speak enough Spanish to understand the complex food descriptions, I had no idea what I really ordered, but they made it sound so good, look good, and then they made it taste good too! (chorizo and potatoes, lamb and potatoes, what could be bad?) The lamb course was uncomplicated and delicious. I don't have the Spainish name, but it translated to Poor Man's Lamb. It was a joint of roasted lamb served with potatoes covered in a thin broth. Really good! (I love lamb.) I remember thinking "I want to take that plate home!" There was also a salad of fresh greens. For dessert I asked for a simple fruit, so they kindly served me pineapple slices. But, I'll just focus here on the chorizo course.

Courtesy of the patient and long-suffering guide, the official description of the main dish follows:
TIMBAL DE PATATA CONFITADA CON TRUFA FRESCA, which translates to Timbal of confit potatoe and fresh truffle (Timbal refers to the mold in a cylindrical shape).<-I knew that! The truffle used is called Tuber melanosporum and it comes from Sarrión (a neighboring village in the province of Teruel, Aragon)

    The dish consists of two layers of mashed potato, and in the middle picadillo de Soria, which is minced chorizo meat without the skin, and truffles. On top of the timbal was confit garlic shoots (the young garlic that looks like scallions and I think was scallions). The sauce is called veloute de calabaza violina (veloute is a light sauce made with stock. Calabaza violina or calabaza de violin is kind of a butternut squash shaped like a - wait for it - violin!)

What my notes say:
    Chorizo and blood sausage in a package of potatoes topped with green onions sauteed in butter and oil. The mashed potatoes had a silken quality as if maybe potato flour was added. When I asked what was in the potatoes, I was assured that it was the quality of the locally grown potato and not additional potato flour that produced that effect. Finally, I swear I was told there was blood sausage in this. But, there was such a confusion of dish descriptions and choices that I may have written down the wrong ingredient. Or, rather, the correct ingredient but for the wrong dish! We were a big group in a crowded and noisy room with far to much going on to say I didn't make a mistake in my notes. And, of course, there was the wine . . .

What I cooked:
    Potato Timbale with chorizo and blood sausage, topped with a fresh scallions, in a light sauce. Chorizo and blood sausage were on sale at LaTienda.com after Christmas for 2 for the price of one! I bought a lot of blood sausage for this, so better use it before it goes out of date.
I had to make all this up, there was no info other than the description above. This is how I decided to do it (it worked perfectly!): 

Ingredients for two timbales:
2 -3 lbs of white potatoes
2 Tbs butter
¾ cup half and half
Salt & pepper to taste

Timbales Filling:
4 oz (1 sausage) Morcilla with Onion (Black or blood Sausage)
One 8 oz package Palacios Chorizo (mild) peeled
One small onion chopped small
8 oz mushrooms chopped (the better the mushrooms the better the flavor - I used organic local exotic varieties)
1 Tbs Olive oil

One bunch of chives, washed, roots removed, cut in long thin strips
1 Tbs butter
One cup chicken broth (if using canned - low salt and fat please)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
    Peel the potatoes and cut into 1 inch cubes. Boil 15-20 minutes until soft. Meanwhile heat half and half with butter in it to melt (not boil.) Strain potatoes, hand mash with warm half and half mix until size is reduced enough so you can use an electric mixer. Mix until creamy smooth adding salt and pepper to taste. (If you want a pure white look use white pepper) Put 1/3 potatoes into small oiled (I used white truffle oil in a pump bottle because I had some. Any oil will do.) stainless steel bowl and mold around edges to make a well in the middle. Repeat with second bowl. Reserve remainder of the potatoes for finishing the timbale. These can be done ahead, cooled and refrigerated over night. Allow to come to room temperature before filling.

    Peel Chorizo and chop it and the blood sausage well. The finer the better! Heat a large frying pan with 1 Tbs olive oil over moderate heat. Saute onions, mushrooms, Chorizo and sausage together and simmer for 5-10 minutes until done.

    Spoon as much as 1/2 meat mix into well of potato bowl, being careful not to get any on the edges. Carefully spread half the reserved mashed potatoes on top. Repeat, reserving any remaining meat and potatoes for later use. Spritz potato with truffle oil, set in a bath of hot water and place on the center rack of the oven. Bake for 30 minutes.

    Meanwhile, melt a Tbs of butter in med frying pan, toss in the chives. Stir to wilt and add the broth. Simmer. I added a tsp of reserved mashed potatoes to thicken it a bit. Alternately, using a slotted spoon, remove the chives to a warm bowl while reducing broth to desired consistency. Return chives to broth and keep warm.

    When the timbales are done, remove from hot water bath. Gently run a knife around the edge if it looks stuck, and, one at a time, place a warm plate face down on top of the bowl. Being careful of the hot bowls, quickly invert. Tap on the bowl and gently twist and remove. Cross your fingers. If all goes well it will lift right off leaving a sealed, hot steaming timbale on the plate. When that fails, carefully use a spatula to remove stuck potatoes and spread on what did come out, shaping it at the same time. (Now you know why it is topped with chives!) Top with chives, drizzle with the broth and serve. I originally had this as an appetizer - a very heavy appetizer! This time I'm serving one per person as a main course. (leftovers were lunch the next day) Each could also be cut in half to serve four.

VARIATIONS:
    I cook to relax after work each day so I don't mind these extra steps. Looking this over it is easy to see how it could be done more quickly. For instance, make the meat mix and chives while the potatoes boil. Build these Timbales using hot ingredients and serve immediately. No baking involved. In that case, the whole meal could be prepared in an hour!

    If you were to use custard cups or ramekins you could conceivably serve the timbales still in them. Or just make a well in the center of the mashed potatoes on a plate and spoon the picadillo de Soria on top. It tastes so good it doesn't matter how you serve it! Also, instead of individual Timbales, one large one could be served in a shallow serving dish, and wedges could be cut and served. It will look great whole on the table, but quickly disintegrate into a meat and potato mix on the plates (almost a Shepherds Pie <-great idea!) Serve the broth on the side as gravy.

    There - I hope you liked my recreation of a classic Zaragoza dish. Be sure to visit the restaurant and order it yourself when you visit the 2008 International Expo in Zaragoza, Spain, this Summer.

My other Zaragoza articles:

RICHARD FRISBIE :: Migas in Zaragoza

RICHARD FRISBIE :: Tapas Judge in Zaragoza

Belchite - A Forgotten Infamy

Antiguo Tabernillas Restaurant, Calle Ponzano, 10, Zaragoza. Tel +34 976 231 300
www.antiguotabernillas.com
www.zaragozaturismo.es for more information on Zaragoza and the Aragon region.

Richard Frisbie, FOOD Correspondent

RICHARD FRISBIE is published twice a month to Gather Essentials: Food
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