A Rumble On The Ramblas: Botifarra, Chard With Saffron Allioli

1. 1

   Being a lazy sod I use a blender or food processor for this job.

2. 2

   Begin by chopping the garlic and then mash it into a paste along with the salt in a mortar. Add that to the bottom of your blender along with the egg yolks.

3. 3

   Add the saffron.

4. 4

   With the motor running SLOWLY drizzle in the arbequina oil until it becomes a mayonnaise you would recognize.

5. 5

   *Note to cook, arbequinas are olives native to Catalonia and it's fairly easy to find imported oil but I must add that the arbequina oils are being produced in California now and I really like the intensity of flavor you get from them.

6. 6

   Soak the raisins in the sherry for at least 30 minutes. Strain and set aside.

7. 7

   Wash the chard and trim out the stems (which can be saved). Roll leaves into big cigar shapes and the slice across into broad ribbons.

8. 8

   In a dry skillet toast the pine nuts and set aside.

9. 9

   Cook the sausage according to your preference; in a skillet or on a grill or in the oven. Keep warm.

10. 10

    In a wide pan heat up some olive oil and lightly color the garlic. Add the chard with whatever rinse water still clings to the leaves. Cook as you would spinach until it softens. Add the pine nuts and raisins to the chard. Stir a few times and plate up with cooked botifarra on top.

11. 11

    Serve with allioli on the side.

12. 12

    **Because relatively few Spanish pork products can legally be sold in the United States it's important to have a back up. La Espanola has been filling this vacuum for more than two decades with the regional sausages that they manufacture in their own plant. http://www.laespanolameats.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=main

* Per serving · 4 servings · Values may vary.