Giving the can: 11 fantasy preserves for Christmas

That in El Comidista we are a bunch of lataliebers It is a clamor: we have paid tribute to canned tuna, those of vegetables, we have proposed 40 good recipes in which to integrate them, searched for the best canned tuna and learned to distinguish a good anchovy from a regulinchi, among many other things. Today we jump into the world of glitter, glitter and illusion with some preserves that are out of the ordinary. These cans can be a fantasy for two reasons: because what they contain is not usually found in this format or because the combination of ingredients that they include may seem surprising and even risky (but it is delicious).

When, in addition to the provider’s website, they are also found in specialized stores, we will indicate this; In case you want to get an assortment of different brands and products in the same purchase. Although they are all ready to eat as is or simply by heating them, we also give you ideas in case you want to integrate them into dishes instead of taking them out in a Christmas appetizer of those that do not give you any work -thank you, easy open- and bring a lot of shine.

Cockle pâté with chestnuts from O’Submariño

No matter how familiar you are with the concept of “sea and mountains”, you may not have seen this combination coming. The same thing happened to Estrella Justo, from the store Galician Ego, who knows about preserves for a while, but the combination of the fruit of the sea with another from the forest convinced her at the first bite. “The intense flavor of cockle is maintained, and with the chestnut we manage to provide creaminess and a sweet touch: if you are a lover of cockle, you cannot miss this combination”, Justo assures. In addition to the ingredients that give it its name, it only has a couple extra: wild aromatics and something called “fine sauce”. You can take it with toasted bread or in sailorsbut it can also be used to add body and flavor to seafood stews. Price: 6.50 euros on its website (in specialized stores, consult).

Candied cockscombs from Cascajares

Vanessa Duran is my friend, and the person who had the great idea to hydrate couscous with gazpacho to make tremendous summer salads, so her criteria is more than valid when it comes to things to eat. Her recommendation is the candied rooster crests from Cascajares, a product that her grandmother prepared with rice but in this format they can simply be heated, drained -candied in duck fat- and eaten as is, accompanied by scolding or in a muffin. “You can also add them to dishes, for example a warm caviar lentil salad, some pickles for contrast and a good vinaigrette,” says Duran with a good eye (on fried eggs with potatoes they are also a gelatinous delight). Don’t even think about throwing away the fat they come in: use it to sauté some boiled potatoes. Price: 10.15 euros for a 500 gram can.

Mackerel with curry and almonds from La Belle Iloise

Having good canned fish in the pantry gives me a lot of peace because I know that they can solve any problem for me: from preparing a unique dish with a couple more ingredients that I have on hand to signing up for a puturrú appetizer. I love the ones from La Belle Iloise, not only for the quality of their raw materials but also for their flavor combinations. Which They are eaten hot and have Baratte butter and lemon, they lose mebut this time I stay with the mackerel fillets with curry and almonds, which can be taken cold as is (unless you want to use them to make noodles or couscous, which is also possible). They have pieces of onion, mustard and a lot of aromatics that make it a real party: the brand’s creams and soups are also very tasty. Price: on his website, 15.60 euros the five cans of 112.5 gramsplus shipping (also in specialized stores from four euros per can).

Peppers stuffed with T-bone steak and foie in Rosara grape sauce

Paola Fornasaro enters into action, in charge of the store specializing in gourmet preserves between cans, and points out that “Rosara is a cannery located in the heart of Navarra: its cuisine is based on quality products, slow-cooked preparations and the absence of preservatives and flavorings”. He recommends trying the Piquillo peppers roasted over firewood from Haya and stuffed with authentic T-bone steak, soft béchamel and a block of duck foie and, to top it all off, a grape sauce with a light touch of Port wine. “They prepare them with a very laborious and really homemade process,” says Fornasaro. That’s why they only need you to give them a heat stroke, take bread and they’re ready for the appetizer. Price: 8.77 euros per 250 grams on the Rosara website (also on sale in specialized stores).

Tuna loin in Iberian lard from HERPAC

“If you combine almadraba tuna and Iberian pork in the same sentence, only magic, fantasy and fun can come out, like a Harry Potter movie”, says my fellow foodie Carlos Doncel to elegantly present the first of his suggestions. “In an area where pork loin in lard is one of the classic dishes, the Barbatean cannery HERPAC came up with the idea of ​​varying the recipe a bit and using tuna meat. You can imagine the result: the delicious pork fat accompanies the already tasty tuna loin: an unbeatable combination, as Pedro would say”. The best of cattle and the sea together, ready for you to spread on a toasted muffin and enjoy. Price: 7.70 euros for a 250 gram jar on its websitealso in online stores.

Duck gizzards in Malvasia confit

Although the parts of the duck that we usually find most easily canned are the foie gras and the legs confit in its own fat, delving a little deeper you can find different and very interesting by-products. For example, these Malvasía gizzards, experts in delicatessen prepared with this bird, which can be eaten sautéed with onion, garlic, a splash of wine or Jerez and cooked potatoes golden in their own fat, as well as in rice dishes, salads or legume stews. . You can also simply heat the can in a bain-marie, remove the gizzards one by one, add plenty of freshly ground pepper and eat them with good bread. Price: 9.50 euros for 320 grams, 39.70 euros for 1.4 kilos.

trout fillets with erva peixeira by Mar Portuguese

We are going on a trip to another paradise of canned fish, Portugal. The ticket is brought to us by David Remartínez, a great fan of laterío -he recommends his favorite store, cans store– which begins by ensuring that, in addition to being delicious, he buys Portuguese preserves for how beautiful they are (which is always an extra). In this trout with erva peixeira –Mentha cervina or Hart’s pennyroyal- the fish and the dressing go perfectly together, it’s tasty, delicate and ends too quickly every time you open one at home. Price: 4.80 euros for 120 grams in Mar Portuguez websitealso in specialized stores.

Pickled mussels with vermouth Picofino

On this occasion, Paola Fornasaro recommends the latest Picofino novelty, a project born in a small town on the Cantabrian coast. “To make this preserve, fresh large-calibre mussels are chosen, which go from the raft in the Galician estuaries to the can in 24 hours.” Cleaned by hand, fried in virgin olive oil, macerated with a homemade pickle recipe with Picofino vermouth reduction and placed manually one by one in the can. “In the end, like a good vermouth, accompanied by a slice of orange that gives them a very rich citrus touch: to enjoy all these flavors, the best thing is to eat them with a spoon; vermouth and mussels in one bite”. Too bad they are a limited edition. Price: 7.90 euros for 120 grams on the Picofino website (also in canning stores).

Monkfish liver with yuzu ponzu, from La Cala

“It looks like an avant-garde haiku that mixes languages, but no, it’s a preserve from La Cala that reproduces a dish that was served at El Bulli”, clarifies Carlos Doncel. From when he tasted it, some time ago, he remembers that the pieces of liver had a very soft texture and that the peculiar flavor of this viscera mixed with the sweetness and a not exaggerated citrus touch of the sauce. “Without a doubt, it’s the weirdest, most fanciful can I’ve ever eaten,” he says. Price: from 13.50 (in various online stores).

rillettes of select churro lamb from Castilla

The rillettes They are a kind of pâté typical of Tours and Le Mans, in which a meat -usually pork, duck, rabbit or chicken- is cooked in its own fat and seasonings such as wine, pepper and spices until it shreds and becomes tender and unctuous (a bit like the French cousin of the Andalusian zurrapa de lomo). In Selectos de Castilla they have followed the same process, but using a local product: the lamb churro. The result is tasty and at the same time delicate, and it is important to drink it at room temperature -pleasant atmosphere, if your kitchen is Siberia, place the can for a while on a radiator- to be able to enjoy it in all its splendor. Smeared on toasted loaf bread and accompanied with pickles it is terrific. Price: 11.85 euros for 200 grams (also for sale in other online stores).

Sea urchins with natural wakame seaweed from Porto Muiños

Estrella Justo’s second recommendation has more flavor of the sea than one of those romps you used to have on the beach as a chinorri, when a wave caught you by surprise. “The roe is extracted from the sea urchin manually, and then they are canned naturally together with the algae: they do not need to add anything else. The preserve has exactly 65% ​​seaweed, 20% roe, water and salt, and it can be taken both cold -with half a can you turn a cucumber salad into a delicacy- or on toast or hot, in soups, sauces or to finish off a vegetable cream or ramen. Price: 10.84 euros for the 85-gram can in its online store (also for sale in others).