The Murcia region of Spain is a SpoCOOL Favorite, be it for their cheeses -- Drunken Goat is still available at Main Market -- or their salads. We enjoy moje, more commonly known as ensalada murciana, or just Murcian salad for the rest of us, a tomato and olive oil heavy salad that is easy to make at home.
Based on the traditional way of serving it we put together a simple recipe for moje. Prep time is about ten minutes. (We pretty much add everything to taste, so don't take the measurements as gospel.)
The ingredients
- 12 tomatoes
- A good handful of scallions
- A handful of black olives
- A can of tuna
- 1 cup of olive oil
- Salt
- 3-4 boiled eggs
You probably want to get you tomatoes canned and whole when they're out of season -- they need to be juicy. The tuna should preferably be canned in olive oil, but we weren't able to find that during our short search. (Odds are an Italian market would carry it.)
Preparation
Cut the tomatoes into small chunks, and put them (juices and all) in a bowl alongside the finely chopped scallions. The olives can be added whole (as long as they're pitted, obviously) or more finely chopped. We prefer to chop the eggs up a bit and add them here, but they can also be used as a topping (usually in halves or quarters).
Throw in the drained tuna, then pour in the olive oil, and stir the contents of the bowl. Make sure everything gets mixed well together, the oil should coat everything. Add salt to taste -- a good pinch will do.
Let the salad sit in the fridge overnight for the flavors to really meld. There's a lot of liquid here, so serve with a straining spoon -- there should be enough for about four people
We'd recommend serving the moje with a good crusty bread and a lighter beer, like Oskar Blues's Mama's Little Yella Pils.