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Traditional Tapas Dish

Filed under: Spanish Recipes — Tags: , , , , , , — John @ 11:11 am June 26, 2010

Recipe: Tortilla de Patatas

Summary: This fantastic Spanish omlette can be seen in almost every tapa bar in Spain. Can be served hot or cold. We often take tortilla as part of a tapas style picnic to enjoy on the beach or in the country side.

Ingredients

  • 600ml extra virgin olive oil
  • 500g white onions, thinly sliced
  • 700g  potatoes, thinly sliced
  • 6 Medium eggs

Instructions

  1. Put 50ml olive oil in a 26cm non-stick frying pan. Over a low heat, gently sweat the onions for 5 minutes until softened.
  2. Add the potato slices to the pan along with the remaining olive oil; it should just cover the contents of the pan. Season very generously, cover and cook gently over a low heat for 30–35 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  3. Lightly whisk the eggs with a pinch of salt. Drain and discard the excess oil from the cooked potato and onion mixture, then add the vegetables to the eggs and stir to combine.
  4. Return the ingredients to the pan and cook on a medium–low heat for 15–20 minutes. Once the top surface of the omelette top appears firm enough, free the sides using a palette knife, place a plate over the top of the omelette and invert the pan to release the omelette onto the plate. Slide the omelette back into the pan and cook on the other side for another 5 minutes until cooked.
  5. Slide the omelette onto a serving plate and leave to cool.

Cooking time (duration): 75

Number of servings (yield): 8

Meal type: hors d’oerves

Culinary tradition: Spanish

My rating:4 stars: ★★★★☆


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My Favourite Spanish Starter

Filed under: Spanish Recipes — Tags: , , , , , , — John @ 11:45 am June 20, 2010

Recipe: Gambas (Prawn) Pil Pil

Summary: Probably one of the most popular starter and tapas dishes on the coasts of Spain!

Ingredients

  • 20 peeled gambas (if you cannot get fresh prawns you can use pre-cooked prawns but adjust the cooking time so as to warm through thoroughly as opposed to cooking them)
  • 5 tblsps of olive
  • 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
  • 1 tblsp garlic, crushed
  • 2 chilli peppers or 2 teaspoons chilli powder
  • pinch of cayenne or red pepper
  • 1 tblsp flat leaf parsley, chopped
  • salt and fresh ground pepper

Instructions

  1. Put olive oil, garlic cloves, chili peppers, and cayenne pepper in an earthenware ramekin.Heat the ramekin at medium heat or until the oil begins to sizzle.
  2. Meanwhile peel and wash the prawns. Dry them off with a paper towel and add them to the ramekin. Cook the prawns for about six minutes, 3 minutes on either side, or until they begin to turn pink and curl slightly.
  3. Sprinkle with the parsley and serve at once.
  4. Serve with crusty bread.

Cooking time (duration): 20

Number of servings (yield): 2

Meal type: snack

Culinary tradition: Spanish

My rating:5 stars: ★★★★★


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Andalucian Asparagus

Filed under: Spanish Recipes — Tags: , , — John @ 5:54 pm May 31, 2010

Recipe: Esparragos a la Andalucia

Summary: A typical Andalucian dish which can be served as a lunch or in smaller portions as a starter.

Ingredients

  • 500g asparagus
  • 2 cloves minced garlic
  • 1 slice bread, crusts removed
  • pinch paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 taespoon vinegar
  • 150ml water
  • 2 eggs

Instructions

  1. Trim the asparagus and chop into small lengths.
  2. Blanch for 2 minutes and drain.
  3. Heat the oil in a pan and fry the garlic and bread until golden.
  4. Remove to a blender and mix with the cumin, paprika,vinegar and a little water to make a paste.
  5. Add the asparagus to the hot oil and fry for 5 minutes, then add the paste and a little more water. Cover and simmer until the vegetables are tender.
  6. This dish can be served as it is or you can add 2 beaten eggs and a little more water then leave on a low heat until the eggs are set.
  7. Serve with slices of fried bread.

Meal type: lunch

Culinary tradition: Spanish

My rating:3 stars: ★★★☆☆

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Manchego Cheese

Filed under: Spanish Recipes — Tags: , , , , , , — John @ 1:58 pm

Here is a fantastic, quick recipe from a friend and fellow blogger who actually lives over in Lanzarote. Mike has a passion for food and has been kind enough to send us this great suggestion for some delicious cheese!….Thanks Mike

This is a guest post from Mike Cliffe-Jones

Manchego Cheese is a staple of most tapas offerings, but there’s a secret to how it should be served, that will really bring the flavour out!

You’ll find Manchego in most good delicatessens. It’s a hard, dry cheese and comes from the La Mancha region. It’s made from whole sheep’s milk, and is aged for between three and six months in caves. It has a much stronger flavour than most sheep’s milk cheeses, and is tangy and slightly salty.

As with all Spanish cheeses it can be bought Fresco (fresh) but is very bland at that stage, Curado (3 to 6 months) which is perfect, or Viejo (1 year) which I find too dry.

Here’s how to serve it:

Slice the cheese into triangles about 3MM thick, and place them on a plate.

Dredge the slices in best quality olive oil and leave to soak in the oil while you do the rest

Finely chop half an onion, a clove of garlic, a deseeded chilli (optional) and two tomatoes. You should skin the tomatoes, but I never bother! Mix those ingredients thoroughly, with a squeeze of lemon juice and you’ve produced an instant salsa!

Now get a clean plate and pile the salsa in the middle, arranging the cheese slices over it. Slew some more oil over the top, a little crunchy sea salt, and some finely chopped coriander. Finally add a few olives.

Serve with a glass of chilled dry white and enjoy!

Mike Cliffe-Jones is a writer based in The Canary Islands. You can find him at www.mikecliffejones.com He’s the author of the books Living in Lanzarote and Beyond Blogging.

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Spanish Meat Balls

Filed under: Spanish Recipes — Tags: , , — John @ 4:22 pm May 28, 2010

Recipe: Albóndigas

Summary: Meatballs are often served in tapas bars as a snack or an appetizer. Spanish meatballs are made as a main dish at home. This dish is so versatile it can even be served as a starter. The options are only restricted by your imagination.


Ingredients

  • 2 medium onions
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 2 whole cloves
  • 1 small glass of white wine
  • A little flour
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 Carrot
  • 1 bayleaf
  • Tomato puré or tomate frito
  • Half a stock cube
  • 400g minced chicken or turkey
  • 100g minced bacon
  • 1 desertspoon pinenuts (optional)
  • 1 tsp. chopped fresh parsley
  • 3 desertspoons soya sauce
  • 2 desertspoons bread crumbs
  • 1 tsp. of oregano
  • Olive oil
  • 2 small, ripe tomatoes
  • A small cup of peas

Instructions

  1. Mix the minced chicken or turkey with the minced bacon. Grate one onion and chop or crush one clove of garlic. Add the grated onion, chopped garlic, soya sauce, oregano, pinenuts and breadcrumbs to the meat, and mix all ingredients together very very well.
  2. Make small balls with the mixture – about the size of a large marble. Coat them lightly in the flour (get a bowl, put some flour in and roll each ball around) and put all the balls on a large plate until you are ready to fry them.
  3. To make the sauce. Cut up the other onion and chop the other garlic, and put both of them in a non-stick pan with a little olive oil, the fresh parsley and some salt and pepper. Fry gently until they are soft, and then chop the 2 tomatoes and add them. Finally grate the carrot and add that too. Add the white wine and the cloves, half a stock cube dissolved in half a cup of water, the peas, a bayleaf and a bit of tomate frito. Stir well and put on a low heat.
  4. Put some olive oil in a non-stick frying pan, enough to cover the bottom of the pan, and fry the meatballs until they are brown all over. You don’t have to use lots of oil – turn them over so that they cook on all sides, and make sure the heat isn’t too strong, otherwise they might burn. You will probably need to fry them in several batches, depending on the size of your frying pan. As each batch is ready, put the meatballs straight into the pan with the sauce and when they are all done, leave them to simmer in the sauce for about half an hour.

Cooking time (duration): 60 mins

Meal type: snack

Culinary tradition: Spanish

My rating:3 stars: ★★★☆☆


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All Time Great Spanish Sauce

Filed under: Spanish Recipes — Tags: , , , — John @ 12:28 pm May 22, 2010

Recipe: Aïoli Sauce

Summary: A great sauce served with many different Spanish meals. Fantastic with small roast potatoes.


Ingredients

  • 2 free-range egg yolks
  • 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • pinch salt
  • 250g olive oil
  • ¼ lemon, juice
  • pinch cayenne pepper

Instructions

  1. In a bowl, mix together the egg yolks, garlic and salt until well combined
  2. add the olive oil in a steady stream until all of the oil is incorporated into the mixture and the mixture has thickened. If the sauce is too stiff, add a few drops of warm water to loosen it
  3. whisk in the lemon juice and cayenne pepper, to taste.

Culinary tradition: Spanish

My rating:4 stars: ★★★★☆


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