martes, 25 de noviembre de 2014

STEAK WITH FRENCH FRIES AND FRIED GREEN PEPPERS



Another extremely easy recipe, but just seeing the picture it makes my mouth water!

Ingredients per person: one 8oz beef steak (I have used for this recipe rum steak, but it can be rib eye, sirloin, etc), one large potato or two smaller ones, one or two peppers, olive oil and salt.

Peel the potatoes  and cut them with the typical french fries shape and we salt them. In a big frying pan put a couple of fingers depth of olive oil, enough to cover the potatoes. If needed we can do a couple of batches.

As I have explained in previous posts, the secret for the perfect french fries is to add the potatoes when the oil is still cold.



Once the potatoes are fried, we use the same oil to fry the peppers. We will need to cut them in slices or at least to pierce the peppers so they won’t explode. The peppers will be ready when you see they are soft, but be careful as they can turn brown and therefore overcooked quite quickly. We will add the salt after we fry them.



While the peppers are being fried we will grill the stakes in a different pan. I like my one very very rare. Once the steaks are ready salt them, if possible with coarse salt.


Bon appétit!

martes, 18 de noviembre de 2014

COCIDO



First thing that I need to say is that I can’t translate the name of this dish. With Cocido it happens like with Chorizo, there is no word in the English language equivalent to it.

Literally Cocido means boiled, but something boiled it is definitely not a Cocido.

Second, once I tell you that this dish takes about 4 h to be ready you are going to think that I have lost it completely and that there is no way you are going to spend that amount of time in the kitchen. Don’t you worry, actually it doesn’t work like that.



This is another recipe from my mother, and she passed to me as the traditional way that this dish is cooked in Madrid, where we are from. However I have adapted it, bearing in mind that I currently live in the UK and it is very difficult to come across certain ingredients.

Ingredientes: chickpeas, beef, bone (special for Cocido), fat bacon, chicken, chorizo, black pudding, carrots, onions, potatoes, tomatoes and salt. But you can add whatever you fancy for example garlic, peppers, cabbage, green beans … And you can as well take out whatever you don’t like or you can’t find.

Regarding the amount of each ingredient, I always play by ear, as it depends how big the potatoes, tomatoes, carrots, etc are. For example, we are 5 in my home, so I use 500 gr of chickpeas, 1 or 2 potatoes per person, 3-4 carrots, 3-4 tomatoes, 1 onion, as much chorizo as you would like, 750 gr of gamon ...

Here in the UK I only use chorizo and gamon as meat, and black pudding if I can find it.
If you live in Spain in big supermarkets such as Mercadona you can normally find already prepare packages with the required meat and the required veggies in the relevant sections of the market. Which will make your life a lot easier.



If you are using dry chickpeas you need to put them in water the day before. But you can as well use can or bottled already cooked chickpeas.

Chickpeas the day before

Chickpeas after the night submerged in water


In a big pot we add the chickpeas and all the meat that we are going to use, except the chorizo and the black pudding. Then we cover it with water and we leave it to boil. You don’t really have to worry about it for an hour or so I would say.

When meat is boiled it normally releases some kind of white foam that needs to be removed before we add any other ingredient.





When the chickpeas and the meat start to be tender  we add everything else: veggies, chorizo and black pudding. If needed remove some of the water and save it for later.



And then we leave it again to cook for about 3 more hours. The stove needs to be at minimum heat. The water will evaporate continuously, therefore we will have to add water all the time, starting for the water that we saved earlier when we added all the ingredients.

Any water that you add must always be HOT, because if you add cold water can make the chickpeas hard.

If you use can/bottled chickpeas it might be easier as you will be sure that chickpeas are soft. In this case you can cooked the meat as explained, but you will add the chickpeas with the rest of the veggies.

Regarding salt, be careful. If you use gamon you don’t really need to add any, as gamon it a very salty meat. If you are adding salt is best to do it each time that you add an ingredient or some water, but always try it first so you don’t over salt the dish.

Once the dish is ready we separate the stock from the meat and veggies, so will have soup as starter and the rest as main. However you can eat altogether if you like.






I hope you enjoy this recipe, as there are few dishes more traditional and typical Spanish than this one.

domingo, 16 de noviembre de 2014

QUICK LENTILS


Sometimes you cant just be bothered to wait for over an hour to have your food ready, you want now and there!

Well, there is an easy way to cook you lentils in a fraction of the time that will be take to cook them from scratch, and the taste it’s pretty similar.

Ingredients: couple of cans of already cooked lentils, 2 potatoes, 2 carrots, some chorizo, a handful of rice and some salt.

We open the cans of lentils and put them in a pot. Add a couple of glasses of water and on to the stove.

We peel the potatoes and the carrots, cut them in chunks and we add them to the pot. We add as well some slices of chorizo, together with the salt and the handful of rice.

The lentils will be ready as soon as the potatoes are ready, about 15-20 minutes.


Then you can enjoy this very warm and cosy winter meal.

martes, 11 de noviembre de 2014

GRANDMA'S POTATOES WITH CHORIZO AND FRIED EGGS


This recipe was considered poor's people food in the past, as it is really cheap. However, today it is quite the delicatessen, mainly for those of us who live far away from Spain.

And it is an incredible simple recipe.

Ingredients: potatoes, (two or three per person, depending on how big they are), one or two onions, chorizo (the more the merrier), olive oil and salt.

Peel the potatoes an cut them in chunks, and chop the onions in small dices. We put a base of olive oil in a large pan, about a finger or finger an a half. Add the potatoes and onions when the oil is still cold. We salt the potatoes to your taste. If you have one of those glass lids use it as the potatoes will cook quickly. You will need to moved the potatoes quite often so they would cook evenly


Cut the chorizo in slices about half a finger thick.


When the potates are half cooked add the chorizo and finish fying everything up.


In the meantime we fry the eggs.

We put altogether in the plate and voilá! Yummy, yummy, yummy

lunes, 3 de noviembre de 2014

CUBAN RICE


This dish is INCREDIBLY easy! And  tasty and yummy and ideal for kids and adults both.

Ingredients: rice, eggs, bananas, fried tomato and olive oil.

First you need to cook the rice as previously explained in another recipe.

Secondly we need to fry the eggs. In a small plan put a generous quantity of olive oil and let get really hot. Then you can fry the eggs, as many per person as you wish.



We cut the bananas in slices about a finger thick. In another pan we put just a base of olive oil, or in the same one but taken out the majority of the oil. It is important you don’t fry the bananas in too much oil or the dish will end up being too greasy.



With regards to the fried tomato, you can cook it yourself, and I will put the recipe in due course. If you are not filling adventurous you can just heat up some fried tomato from the supermarket, such as passata (if you live in UK) or Orlando (if you live in Spain).

And that’s about it.


If you don’t fancy fried bananas that much you can use Frankfurt sausages instead.

viernes, 24 de octubre de 2014

SPANISH OMELET - TORTILLA DE PATATAS




Spanish Omelet –Tortilla de patatas -  is probably one of our most famous dishes. It is pretty easy to cook, however it is true that it takes a while to prepare.

The ingredients are very simple: potatoes, eggs, onion, olive oil and salt. However adding onions or not it is up to you.

First of all you need to peel the potatoes. How many? Well, that is a very good question. I normally play by ear and if I have peeled too many then I will just cook more tortillas. But you can take as reference about two potatoes per person.



We need to cut the potatoes in small pieces. If it is easier for you it can small dices or just little chunks.
Cut one or two onions (depending on the amount of potatoes) as well in very small pieces.
Salt the potatoes before you cook them.

In a deep frying pan put enough olive oil to cover the potatoes. It is very important than you don’t preheat the oil, as if you do the potatoes will be overcooked in the outside but raw inside. Therefore we will start the stove once we put the potatoes inside the pan covered in oil.

At the same time that you put the potatoes you can add the onions, however I normally add it just a bit later as the potatoes take a lot longer to cook than the onions. But don’t wait too long or the onion won’t be cooked totally either.

We carefull and keep moving the potatoes and the onion while they fry so they don’t get stick into the pan or between them.



Once the potatoes are fried they will acquire a golden colour. There is no need to put them first on the oven or microwave, they will cook just fine in the pan.

In order to avoid the tortilla to be too oily I always remove the potatoes from the pan once they are finished.

In a separate bowl whisk some eggs. I normally make my tortillas of 4 eggs each, however my sister in law makes 8 eggs tortillas, it is really up to you.

Regarding if you should salt the eggs or not, try the potatoes, and if they are salty enough you don’t really need to add more salt.

Once the eggs are whisked you need to add the potatoes with the onions to the eggs. The quantity will depend, put enough potatoes so they are covered by the eggs, no more or the tortilla will be overstuffed and dry nor less or you will cook something but won’t be tortilla.



Don’t leave the potatoes inside the eggs for too long before cooking as they will be hot and the eggs will start to cook, and we don’t want that.
Choose a pan that it is enough to hold your tortilla, and one that you are sure can be covered by a plate so you can turn the tortilla over later on.

Put  a very small amount of olive oil in the pan, and make sure that all the pan has some oil in it. Switch on the stove and once the oil is hot please get rid of the extra oil.

Put your mixture of eggs, potatoes and onions in the hot pan. As explained in a previous post, make sure that the eggs don’t get stuck in the pan by moving the tortilla, but not with a wooden spoon or anything like that, just move the pan. And with a fork you can make sure the edges of the pan are not stick to the egg.



You will see that the colour of the eggs starts to change, that means that you need to turn the tortilla over.

Take the plate, cover the pan with it and hold the plate with one hand and the handle with the other. Place yourself on top of the sink, just in case. Firmly and quickly turn over the pan, so now the plate is underneath.



Put the pan back in the stove, if needed you can add a bit olive oil so the tortilla doesn’t get stuck to the pan.




Place the tortilla back in the pan, the part already cooked facing up.



You can turn the tortilla over as many times as you need, with your first attempts you might need to do it a couple of times. After a while you get used to the feel of the tortilla and the colour that should have once is cooked, so you won’t need it.


Once the tortilla is cooked just place it in a clean plate and it will be ready to enjoy!

martes, 21 de octubre de 2014

CHICKEN "MINI BOOKS"



Quite possible you have never heard of this dish in your life, but it is very common in our kitchens, mainly as dinner for kids.

Sooooo easy to prepare you wouldn’t believe it.

We just need chicken breast cut in small fillets and some ham. We normally use Serrano ham, but you can use Italian ham or just normal plain ham. They are called mini books because you can open them from one side like a book.

Take one of the chicken breast fillets, fill it with one or two slices of ham and place another small chicken fillet on top. Close it on the sides with a couple of toothpicks.

Then you have a choice, you can just fried them in a pan with a little bit of olive oil (just a bit is enough), or you can bread them.



We bread a lot of things in Spain, we call it “empanar” which basically means dip them in eggs and then in bread crumbs.

If you bread the mini books you will need a bit more of olive oil to fry them, therefore the dish is a lot more fulfilling.

If you fancy breading the fillets you can put cheese as well as ham inside of the mini books. If you don’t bread them and put cheese inside it might be a bit messy to cook.

And as side order you can have some peas, chips, tomato … whatever you prefer.


Kids just love it, and it is ready in about 5-10 minutes.

lunes, 20 de octubre de 2014

USEFUL TIPS

HOW TO TURN OVER AN OMELET




Before I give away the Spanish Omelet recipe, I think it is best if I explained how to turn over an omelet.

I have cooked a couple of time Spanish omelets for work, and I have always been asked if I finished cooking the top of the omelet in the oven.

Easy answer: NO. If you do so that would be a Fritata (Italian version of Spanish omelet) or maybe a French quiche, but it won't be an omelet.

It is not easy to turn over an omelet in a first attempt, mainly the Spanish omelet, which is made with potatoes and it can be quite heave, so I recommend to start with some smaller ones, such as cheese and ham, or tuna.

Once you have the ingredients in the pan you need to let is cooked just a bit. Make sure that the edges of the omelet are not stick to the pan, so can do so by passing a fork all around the pan. Then make sure that the omelet can move freely in the pan if you shake it a bit. But do not try to remove the contents with the fork or wooden spoon!








Then grab a plate than can cover all the pan surface, place yourself on top on the sink (just in case) and put one hand on top of the plate while the other is taking care of the pan handle.



Quickly but firmly turn around the omelet, so now the plate is underneath and the pan on top. Remove the pan and you will have half cooked omelet in the pan. Place now the omelet back into the pan, making sure that you put the cooked part looking up and the uncooked bit touching the bottom of the pan.



Take the pan back to the burner until the omelet is cooked, you will note that it can move freely in the pan again.

If needed you can repeat the process as many times as you want. However, eggs are ready quite quickly, so one egg omelet should be ready in about 3-4 minutes, including the turn over.


Hopefully what I have written is understandable. However I'll try to take pictures for reference.

domingo, 19 de octubre de 2014

FISH IN HONEY AND BLUE CHEESE SAUCE


It always feels that cooking fish takes a really long time, a lot more than meat, and that it is somehow more complicated. But it doesn't need to be.
II normally buy frozen fish, such as hake, haddock, cod etc., because the price is really good and it comes in pieces already clean and ready for cooking.
For this recipe we need, in addition to fish (obviously), onion, salt, honey and blue cheese (stilton, french or danish cheese). But you can use too the kind that you spread, such as Philadelpia (I usually buy store brand, which is cheaper).
We leave the fish to thaw a few hours before cooking. Chop the onion into tiny pieces and put it to cook in a pan with a base of olive oil. Salt the fish, add it to the pan and cover it. Meanwhile mix in a bowl the cheese with the honey, the amount depends on how much sauce would you like.

We add the mixture to the pan and leave it on medium heat for about 5 minutes. If you see that the sauce is reducing too much you can add a little water.


In this picture I have accompanied the fish with peas too. I used the leftovers from Christmas, everything is recycled, nothing is thrown away.

CHORIZOS IN WINE SAUCE



The perfect tapa.

This recipe is from my motherin law, and we used to serve at my hotel. It is very simple to prepare, but extra-tasty, with sauce for dipping bread, just thinking about it and it makes my mouth water. 

If possible it is better to buy small size chorizos, but if not possible you can use a normal chorizo string and cut dices about 5 or 6 cm in size 

Cut a few cloves of garlic in half, and you don't even need to peel them. In a pan you put a base of olive oil fry the garlic. When it gets a golden colour, add the chorizo dices to fry. 



When they are nearly cooked add a mug or mug and a half of wine (red or white as you prefer) and let it finish cooking for about 10-15 minutes, until the alcohol in the wine is all gone.



Delicious !!!!


RICE



Basic for anyone who has to survive is to know how cook rice, mostly because it is, along with pasta, part of the basic mediterranean diet. 

Each household cooks rice in a different way. There are no exact rules and everyone has their own spin. Here I will explain how to cook rice they way I like.



Cut some garlic in tiny dices and add them to a pan with a couple of soup spoons of olive oil. When the garlic shows a golden colour add the rice. As a measure we use a tea mug, and we will add 1 mug for every 2 people. 



Leave it cook for a bit while removing the rice. Now you  some parsley and salt or a dice of stock. 
We have to add hot water, always double than the rice you have used: for example 1 mug of rice means 2 mugs of water. As the water start to boil lower the heat to medium/low heat and leave it cook for twenty minutes. 





You don't need to remove the rice or to add more water. If you see that it is getting a little dry put the heat down or if you have an old electric stove you can even turn off and let it finish cooking with the heat given off by the appliance itself. This is good way of saving: energy and in the electricity bill.



When we see that the rice is cooked, take it completely away from the burner. Then you can let it sit a bit by covering with a clean cloth, although this is not strictly necessary.


BACON AND ONION SALAD



Salads are always very healthy ... however I always feel lazy when I think about eating them ... So the trick is to make them appealing to your eyer as well as your taste.

This one in particular I love it, it's pretty similar to the one they serve in the mayority of the italian restaurants and it is really easy to do.

The basic ingredients are spinach, tomatoes (best if they can be dehydrated), cheese (your choice: parmesan, camembert, goat ...), nuts, diced bacon and onion. 

Chop the onion into very small pieces and put then into the pan, heated with a bit of olive oil and just a tad of salt. When the onion is golden we add the diced bacon and leave them to fry for a while.



We put in a bowl the spinach, chopped tomato and cheese. We add the onion and bacon, we dress it to our preference and it is ready to eat. I recommend not to add too much oil, since it already has some from the cooked onion and bacon.