Source: Tapas (Julz Beresford, Clare Ferguson,
Linda Tubby)
Serves 4
Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
50g Serrano ham (optional), finely chopped
½ onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 courgette, shopped
2 tomatoes, skinned, de-seeded and chopped
½ red pepper, deseeded and chopped
1 tbs freshly chopped oregano
Pinch oak-smoked sweet Spanish paprika
Heat the olive oil in a
frying pan, add the ham (if using), and onion and cook for 5 minutes.
Add the remaining
ingredients and simmer for a medium heat for 15 minutes, Season to taste and
serve
Source: Around the World in 450 recipes
Serves 4
Ingredients
6 slices of Serrano ham (parma ham also works)
12 asparagus spears
1 tbsp olive oil
seasoning
Pre-heat the grill (I
used an oven to cook mine as I don’t have a grill). Halve each slice of ham
lengthways and warp one half around each asparagus spear.
Brush the ham and
asparagus with oil and sprinkle with seasoning
Grill cooking: Place of a
grill rack grill for 5-6 mins, turning frequently, until the asparagus is tender
but still firm.
Or ..Oven Cooking: Place
on a foil wrapped baking tray, pop in a medium oven for 8 – 10 mins, keeping an
eye on them. I have never turned them.
Regardless of the cooking
method, serve at once.
NB: We like ham wrapped around dates or prunes
and cooked in the oven – without
seasoning, lovely.
Source: Around the World in 450 recipes
Serves 4
Ingredients
2 courgettes
25g / 1oz seasoned flour
2 eggs, beaten
2 tbsp milk
Vegetable oil for frying
Course sea salt
Cut the courgettes on the
diagonal into slices about 5mm / ¼ inch thick. Toss the slices in the seasoned
flour in a strong plastic bag, Beat together the eggs and milk in a small bowl.
Heat the oil in a frying pan.
Shake off the excess
flour from the courgette slices. Dip them one at a time into the egg mixture,
until they are well coated.
Shallow fry the fritters
in the hot oil for 1 -2 minutes. Drain on kitchen paper and serve, lightly
sprinkled with coarse salt.
Source: Tapas (Julz Beresford, Clare Ferguson,
Linda Tubby)
Serves 4
Ingredients
50g raisins
2 tbsp fruity olive oil (I used olive oil)
25g pine nuts, toasted in a deep dry frying
pan
2 garlic cloves, sliced
3 tbsp dry sherry (i used 1 tbsp red wine
vinegar)
200g spinach
A pinch of oak-smoked sweet Spanish paprika
Seasoning
Soak the raisins in warm
water for 3 mins, then drain.
Heat the olive oil in a
frying pan add the pine nuts and garlic and cook for 1 minute, then add the
sherry and boil for 1 min.
Add the spinach and
paprika and toss well to coat with the juices. Cook over a low heat for 5
minutes.
Add the drained raisins
and season to taste. Serve.
Spicy potatoes (Patatas picanto) are among the
most popular in Spanish cooking, where they are described as wild potatoes
(patatas bravas). There are many variations of this classic, this is my
version...
Serves 2-4
Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
8 oz small new potatoes
1 tsp paprika
1tbsp chilli
½ tsp cumin
Sauce:
1 small onion, grated
3 garlic cloves, crushed
4 tomatoes (or 125g canned toms) (i used
fresh, but squishy tomatoes!)
1 tbsp olive oil
½ tsp chilli flakes
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp flat leaf chopped parsley
Preheat the oven to
200C/400F/GM6. Prick the potatoes with a fork and place ina bowl. Add the olive
oil, paprika, chilli and cumin and toss well.
Transfer to a baking tray
and bake for 40mins. Occasionally during
cooking turn them but you really want them well done, but not burnt.
Meanwhile make the sauce.
Heat the sauce oil in a small frying pan and cook the onion gently for 5 mins,
then add the remaining ingredients and cook for 10 minutes, adding a little
water to stop it going dry.
Once the potatoes are
cooked, then transfer them to a hot serving dish and pour over the sauce and
mix well. It works well if made in advance and re-heated.
Source: Tapas (Julz Beresford, Clare Ferguson,
Linda Tubby)
Serves 4
Ingredients
3 tbsp olive oil
1 red onion, sliced
2 garlic gloves, chopped
200g chorizo or other dense garlic flavoured
pork sausage, sliced
2 bay leaves, bruised
2 tbsp pine nuts, toasted in a dry frying pan
400g canned chick peas, drained with 2 tbsp of
their liquid
Coarsely ground black pepper
1 small tomato, finely chopped
Source: Tapas (Julz Beresford, Clare Ferguson,
Linda Tubby)
Serves 4
Ingredients
150 g minced pork
150g minced veal (I used beef)
1 tsp lemon juice
1 small onion chopped
4 garlic gloves, crushed
2 tbsp freshly chopped parsley
½ tsp grated nutmeg
½ ground cloves
30g dried breadcrumbs
1 egg
1 tbsp single cream (optional)
2 tbsl olive oil
125ml white wine
400g canned tomatoes
½ oak smoked sweet Spanish paprika (this is
quite strong, so you could use another one)
1 fresh bay leaf
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Plain flour for dusting
To make the meatballs,
put the pork and veal (beef) in a bowl, then add the lemon juice, half the
chopped onion and crushed garlic, followed by the parsley, nutmeg, cloves,
breadcrumbs, egg, cream (or milk), salt and pepper. Mix well (i use my hands)
and then roll into walnut size balls. Dust with flour.
Heat the olive oil in a
casserole dish until smoking, then add the meatballs, and fry until browned on
all sides.
Reduce the heat to low
and add the wine, tomatoes, remaining onion and garlic with the paprika, bay
leaf and 100ml water.
Bring to boil, then
reduce heat and simmer for about an hour. The mixture should be quite liquid,
so add more water if needed. Serve warm.
NB: Due to space on the stove, I cooked these
in the over for the hour and this helped retain the liquid. I made a big batch
and we had the bulk re-heated another day with some lovely bread.
Source: Tapas (Julz Beresford, Clare Ferguson,
Linda Tubby)
Serves 4
Ingredients
250ml olive oil
4 potatoes, about 500g cut into 1cm cubes
(other recipes said slices, which is what I did)
1 onion, thinly sliced
6 eggs
4 tbsp flat-leaf chopped parsley (optional)
Coarse sea salt and freshly ground black
pepper
A deep frying pan, 23cm diameter
Heat the olive oil in a
frying pan until hot, add the potatoes and onions, turn to coat with the oil,
then reduce the heat. Cook for 15 minutes or until soft, turning often without
letting them brown,
Remove the potatoes and
onions with a slotted spoon and drain them on kitchen paper. Pour the oil in a
small bowl.
Put the eggs, salt and
pepper into a bowl and beat with a fork. Add the potatoes and onions to the
bowl, stir gently, then stir in the parsley, if using. Set aside for 10
minutes.
Put 2 tbsp of the
reserved oil in the frying pan and heat until smoking. Pour in the pototo and
egg mixture, spreading the potatoes in the pan. Cook for 1 miinute, then reduce
the heat to medioum and shake the pan often to stop it sticking.
When the eggs are brown
underneath and top nearly firm, put a large plate over the top and flip the
omelette onto the plate (this is the scary bit!)
Add 4tbs of the remaining
oil to the pan and slaide the omelette back into the pan to brown the other
side.
Lower the heat and flip
the omelette 3 times more, cooking 1 minute each side to give it a good shape.
It should remain juicy inside.
We ate ours warm, but you should eat it when
it is cool, served in squares of wedges.
Source: Around the World in 450 recipes
Serves 4
Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 large potato, cubed
2 slices serrona ham. Shredded
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 garlic gloves, thinly sliced
1 red chilli, seeded and sliced
4oz skinless, boneless cod, cubed
4 fl oz vegetable stock
2oz manchego or cheddar cheese, grated
Salt and pepper
Heat the oil in a heavy
based pan. Add the mustard seeds, cook for a minute or two until the seeds
begin to pop and splutter, then add the potato, ham and onion.
Cook stirring regularly
for about 10 – 15 minutes, until the potatoes are brown and almost tender.
Add the garlic and chilli
and cook for 2 minutes more.
Stir in the cod cubes and
cook for 2-3 minutes until white, then add the stock and plenty of salt and
pepper. Cover the pan and cook for 5 minutes, until the fish is just cooked and
the potatoes are tender.
Transfer the mixture to a
flame-proof dish. Sprinkle over the grated cheese and place under a hot grill
for about 2-3 minutes until the cheese is golden and bubbling. NB: As I don’t
eat cheese, I didn’t do this bit and we still loved this dish!
Source: Around the World in 450 recipes
Serves 4
Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic gloves, finely chopped
1 carrot, chopped
4 fresh spicy sausages
¼ pint tomato juice (I used tin of toms)
1 tsp brandy
¼ tsp Tabasco sauce
1 tsp sugar
Salt and pepper
2 tbsp coriander, chopped to garnish.
Heat the oil in a large
saucepan. Cook the onion, garlic, carrot and sausage for 10 minutes, stirring
occasionally until evenly browned.
Stir in the tomato juice,
brandy, Tabasco sauce and sugar, with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and
simmer for 25 minutes until the sausages are cooked through and the sauce has
thickened. Serve at once, garnished with chopped coriander.
Source: tesco/foodandliving
Serve 4
4 tbsp olive oil
440g 14 ½ oz skinless chicken, breast or
thigh, shopped into small peices
900ml / 1 ½ pt chicken stock
Pinch saffron
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 x227g tin chopped tomatoes
1 x 31g flatleaf parsley, leaves roughly
chopped and half the stalks reserved
1 tsp paprika
250g (8oz) Spanish paella rice
1 x 285g jar roasted peppers, drained and
rinsed
1 lemon, cut into wedges
Heat half the oil in a
paella pan (or wide frying pan) over a medium-high heat. Add the chicken,
season, and cook under golden. Remove and set aside.
Bring the chicken stock
to the boil in a pan. Stir in the saffron, remove from the heat and set aside.
Fry the onion in the
remaining for 5 minutes, or until soft and golden. Add the garlic, tomatoes,
parsley stalks and paprika; fry for 2 minutes. Stir in the rice, then season
well.
Pour over the stock and
bring to the boil. Reduce to a simmer and leave the rice to cook uncovered,
without stirring, for 10 minutes.
Spread the chicken pieces
evenly over the rice; don’t stir, just press them under the stock. Scatter over
the pepper strips. Gently shake the pan, and simmer for 10 minutes, or until
the stock is absorbed and the chicken is cooked through.
Turn off the heat, cover
tightly with foil and allow the rest for 5 minutes. Serve with the chopped
parsley, a good squeeze of lemon and the remaining wedges.
As we are off on summer school hols, these are facts that our son found interesting about Spain!
Over 40 metric tons of tomatoes are hurled
around in the Spanish town of Buñol, which is where people gather to celebrate
the 'La Tomatina' festival. With around 40,000 to 50,000 people gathering to
take part in this fun event, it is the world's biggest food fight that takes
place on the last Wednesday of August every year.
Madrid, the capital, lies in the exact center of the country, so much
so, that a marker has been placed at Puerta del Sol to denote this. Spaniards have two surnames, one is the father's first surname, and the
second is the mother's first surname.
Spain is also known for its olives. It is the largest producer of olive
oil, and accounts for nearly 45% of the world's output. St. Georges Day is the national feast day
which is celebrated by presenting friends and family members with roses and
books. This prompted UNESCO to declare 23rd April as the international day of
books.
CUISINE
Paella is a traditional Valencian saffron rice,
mixed with various types of meat like chicken, pork, shellfish, fish, eel,
squid, and vegetables like beans, peas, artichokes, or peppers.
Tapas are traditional appetizers that come in a
variety of combinations that include meat, seafood and vegetables such as
tomatoes. Olives, cheese and wine are common ingredients around the area. This
dish is served in bars along with drinks, and people eat tapas standing,
chatting with one another.
Spain has 2.9 million acres of planted
vineyards, and is the third-largest producer of wine in the world. The
fortified sherry makes up for nearly 95% of the plantings, although the country
is famous for its red wines.
Every region has its
own distinct cuisine and specialties. Gazpacho, a cold tomato soup, comes from
Andalucía in southern Spain. Traditionally, a special bowl called a dornillo,
was used to pound the ingredients by hand, but modern Spanish cooks use a
blender. Andalusians also enjoy freidurías (fish, such as sole or anchovies,
fried in batter). Cataluña (Catalonia), in north
eastern Spain, is known for its inventive dishes combining seafood, meat,
poultry, and local fruits. In the northern Basque country (país Vasco), fish is
important to the diet, with cod, eel, and squid featured prominently. The
signature dish of Asturias, in north western Spain, is fabada, a bean stew. In
the interior regions, such as Castilla, meats play a starring role. Tortilla
española, a potato omelette, is served throughout the country. It can be
prepared quickly and makes a hearty but simple dinner. Spain's best-known
dessert is flan, a rich custard.
