Mango & Jicama Salad

It seems summer has come early this year to Seattle. We will have more rainy days for sure, but we can enjoy this fresh salad for now. Obviously this is not a Spanish recipe but it is always good a pinch of innovation.

Ingredients for 4 people:

-2 Mangoes not too ripe.

-1 Jícama.

-1/2 Red Onion.

-1 Bunch of Cilantro.

-1 Lime or Lemon.

-1 Teaspoon of Chile flakes.

-Spanish Olive Oil.

-A Couple of Pinches of Salt & Pepper.

Dice the red onion and soak it in water while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. Cut the mango and jicama in cubes or sticks, place them in a salad bowl. To prepare the dressing, mince the cilantro (approximately a cup), squeeze the lime/lemon and mix both things with the chile flakes and the Spanish olive oil, add the salt and pepper.

Rinse the onion and put it in the salad bowl along with the mango and jicama. Pour the dressing over the ingredients and serve.

Garlicky Shrimp (Gambas al Ajillo)

Garlicky Shrimp is a very traditional “tapa” and “racion” in Spain,  this popular dish belongs to the wide tavern culture so unique in the “Piel de Toro” .  Some bars offer it as its highlight “tapa”, like “La Casa del Abuelo” in Madrid.

Ingredients for 2 people:

-½ Kg. (1 Lb.) Fresh Shrimp.

-4 Garlic Cloves.

-Olive Oil.

-1 Cayenne Pepper.

-Salt.

-Ground Parsley

Peel the shrimp and remove the heads,  (you can keep them in the freeze to make a broth base for another recipe like paella) keep them aside. Slice finely the garlic cloves and add them along with the cayenne pepper to a ceramic pot (if you do not have one use a deep pan) with a 1/2 inch of EVOO, the heat has to be medium.

When the garlic is golden, add the peeled shrimp, turn off the heat, just with the remaining heat the shrimp will cook, use a plate as a lid and cover the ceramic pot with it to keep the heat inside, don’t let them cook too much. Serve in the same ceramic pot, season with a pinch of salt and decorate with ground parsley. And that’s all, SO EASY!!

                                                            

Portobello Mushrooms stuffed with Shrimp

Tapa, side, main dish, light, easy to do,  all these adjectives and much more we can assign to this recipe.

Ingredients for 4 people:

-8 big Portobello Mushrooms.  
-16 Shrimp.  
-1 Garlic Clove.  
-Ground Parsley. 
-Salt.
-Pepper.
-Alioli Sauce (Optional).

Peel the raw shrimp and keep the peels and heads.  Mince the garlic clove and place it in a bowl along with the ground parsley, a pinch of salt and pepper and a stream of olive oil. Put the shrimp into this mix and marinate while we prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Put the shrimp peels and heads in a frying pan and saute all, try to extract all the flavour from the heads by squeezing them with a wood tool. Pour a little bit of water and let it cook for a little while.  Strain it and add the broth to the shrimp bowl.

Now it is the mushrooms turn, clean and empty them, place on an oven tray. Stuff the mushrooms with the shrimp mix, bake them for 10 mn. at 355°F (180°).

We can serve it with alioli sauce and make it more filling, (and less light too).

Alioli Sauce (Garlic Mayo)

This sauce gets along pretty well with aperitifs, fish and many more.

Ingredients:

-½ Garlic Clove (depends on how strong you like it).

-1 Egg.

-Olive Oil.

-Vinegar.

-Salt.  

With a hand blender mix the chopped garlic clove, the egg, a pinch of salt, a stream of olive oil and a little stream of vinegar in a deep bowl. Start to blend it without moving the blender, keeping the blender stack to the bottom of the bowl. When the mix begins to get thicker, move the blender up and down lightly until the texture of the sauce becomes uniform.

                                              

Peas with Jamón Serrano

Another recipe using jamón, this dish is perfect as a starter and as a side accompanying  meat or fish.  We can use sweet peas from a can, frozen peas or raw, depending on the spare time we have or how fresh we want our dish; both options are delicious. We can choose too the quality of the Jamón we are gonna use in the recipe, always as more quality more flavour but more cost too.

Ingredients for 2 people:

-400 gr. (14 Oz.) of Peas.

-150 gr. (5 Oz.) of Jamón Serrano.

-½ Medium Onion.

-1 Cup of White Wine.

-1 Flat Tablespoon of Flour.

-½ Cup of Vegetable or Chicken Broth.

(you can use a Maggi or Knorr Cube)

-Egg (optional)

-Salt.

-Spanish Olive Oil.

Start chopping the onion and poach it in a pan with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and a pinch of salt to make it sweat.  Drain the liquid from the peas and put them aside. Dice the slices of Jamón Serrano (I used the meat of a Jamón bone that I used to make a broth). Add the Jamón to the pan and stir it up along with the tender onion.  Pour the flour, mix all together well and add the peas. Pour the white wine and increase the heat to evaporate the alcohol. After that add the broth and let everything boil to get thick for 3 minutes. You can add a fried or poached egg on top to make the dish heartier. READY TO EAT!!

                                                     

Pisto Manchego (Vegetable Stew)

Fall just showed up, sadly we have to give up the fresh and easy making recipes to start cooking filling dishes to face the chilly weather. I was not a fan of this dish when I was a child, but my grandma was, beside it is a typical recipe from her hometown,  so Pisto was a must on our table. Fortunately, I learned to appreciate when I grew up.

This is a healthy dish, made just using veggies, so it is a perfect deal for vegetarians and people on a diet. The egg is optional.

Ingredients for 4 people:

-1 Big Onion.

-1 Green Bell Pepper.

-1 Red Bell Pepper.

-1 Zucchini.

-2 Garlic Cloves.

-400 gr (14 Oz.) Tomato Puree.

-1 Splash of White Wine.

-1 Egg.

-Paprika.

-Spanish Olive Oil.

-Salt.

Dice all the veggies, starting with the onion. Meanwhile pour the olive oil in a deep pan with low heat to let the oil get warm. Dice the pepper removing the seeds, the garlic and the zucchini with its peel. First saute the onion on medium heat till it is soft and translucent. Add the peppers and the garlic, now on low heat till they are soft and finally the zucchini. When everything is tender, remove the excess water and oil and add the white wine and the tomato puree (this can be canned or homemade). Increase the heat to evaporate the alcohol, after a couple of minutes lower the heat and let it boil till the sauce gets reduced. Leave it more or less thick and salted to your liking. Add a fried or poached egg on top if you want. I highly recommend it. 

EAT YOUR VEGGIES!!

                                                      

Pasta Salad with Jamón Serrano

Another highlight of summer, now it is done, the pasta salad. There is a pasta salad for every person who cooks in the world, you can mix the pasta with almost everything and the result always is tasty. So, in this case I'm gonna give a Spanish touch to the Italian pasta.

Ingredients for 4 people:

-400 Gr. (14 Oz.) of pasta (penne or other shapes)

-200 Gr. (7 Oz.) of Jamón Serrano.

-Dried Basil.

-1 Bay Leaf.

-Spanish Extra Olive Oil.

-Salt.

Boil the pasta as is indicated on the box, with a sprinkle of olive oil, salt and the bay leaf. When the pasta is ready, let it cool. The jamón serrano has to be thick, so you can get it in slices and dice them. When the pasta is cool enough, add the jamón, the basil (to your liking), salt and a stream of olive oil and.. 

READY TO ENJOY IT!!

                                                 

Russian Salad

This salad is a picnic classic, perfect to go to the swimming pool, camping or any activity outdoors. But as much as all the Spanish recipes every one has its own formula. The basic ingredients are potatoes, boiled eggs, peas, tuna and mayonnaise, with this base you can add shrimp, imitation crab sticks, peppers, carrots, olives, sweet corn...countless ingredients, and all of them work. So, this is my way.

Ingredients:
-2 or 3 Potatoes (1 Lb).
-2 Eggs.
-1 Can of Tuna in Olive Oil.
-1 Can of Peas.
-1 Can of Stuffed Olives (Anchovies, Red Pepper..).
-4 Shrimp.
-Mayonnaise.
-Salt.

 Put the potatoes and the eggs in pot with water and boil them all. Poke the potatoes with a fork to know if they are ready (when the fork is clean after you poke the potato), the eggs need just about 10 minutes. A trick for the potatoes not get broken during the boiling is to add a stream of vinegar in the water. Take them out and let cool and boil the shrimp in the same water for 3 or 4 minutes. Let them cool too. Peel and dice the potatoes when you can handle them, same with the eggs. Place everything in a bowl or a platter. Then, add the rest of the ingredients, the amounts is to your liking. Drain the olive oil from the tuna can, the water from the can of peas and stuffed olives and add to the bowl. Pour the mayonnaise and mix everything well. Try and add salt if necessary. Peel the shrimp and use them to decorate the final result.

Inspire yourself and create your OWN RUSSIAN SALAD!!



                                                 

Zucchini and Carrot Salad

Continuing with the salad recipes, the summer just began, trying to get away from the monotonous salad recipes and doing something different like today's recipe. A colorful, refreshing, economic, healthy salad. This salad is good as a one dish meal or a side, and allows for multiple additions, like cilantro, sesame seeds, oranges, but I just added a fistful of pistachios.

Ingredients:

-1 Zucchini.

-2 Carrots not too big.

-Pistachios.

-Salt.

-Pepper.

-Spanish Extra Olive Oil.

-Lemon

Wash the zucchini and peel the carrots. Cut both of them in thin layers using the peeler (you can discard the center of the zucchini if you don't want the seeds). Place in a bowl or a plate and dress with the salt & pepper, the juice of the lemon and the olive oil. Scatter the pistachios and DONE!

                                          

Mango Salad

Well, as you can probably guess, Mango is not an easy ingredient to find in the Spanish gastronomy, although maybe in some kind of dish coming from the Canary Islands where these tropical fruits are produced. Anyway, mango is a delicious fruit to use in a salad and it is always a wise thing to be innovative and try new things.

-2 Ripe Mangoes.

-2 Medium Tomatoes.

-¼ Red Onion.

-Fresh Mint.

For the Seasoning:

-¼ Cup Mango Juice.

-Spanish Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

-Lemon Juice.

-Fresh Cilantro

-Powdered Cloves.

-Pepper.

-Salt.

Peel and dice the mangoes, chop the onion and dice the tomatoes. Place everything in a bowl and add two tablespoons of fresh minced mint and one of fresh minced cilantro.

For the seasoning, mix the mango juice, one tablespoon of lemon juice, four tablespoons of olive oil, a pinch of salt, a pinch of fresh ground pepper and a teaspoon of clove.

Dress the salad ingredients with the seasoning and imagine you are in an idyllic island with this TROPICAL SALAD!!!

                                                   

Eggplant Fritters with Honey

A popular tapa in Andalucia´s bars, very easy to make in your home. With just a few ingredients you can prepare an incredible dish.

Ingredients for 4-6 people:

-1 medium Eggplant.

-1 Cup of Flour.

-¾ Cup of Cold Water.

-Honey.

-Spanish Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

-Salt.

Cut the eggplant in matchsticks (or slices), sprinkle the matchsticks with salt and let them stand for 30 mn. (this is to take the eggplant bitterness away).

Put the flour in a bowl with a pinch of salt and pour the cold water little by little, beat together to make a fine batter.

Prepare a frying pan with ½ inch of olive oil and heat it.

Drain the eggplant matchsticks with paper towel and dip them into the batter (a few at a time), put the eggplant into the pan and fry them on each side until they are golden.

Remove the excess oil leaving the fried eggplant to drain on paper towel.

Serve them hot, drizzled with the honey. SWEET!!

                                           <  

Zucchini Omelette

Probably everybody who is familiar with the Spanish cuisine knows the Potato Omelette or Tortilla de Patata,  well, this week the recipe is an omelette but we are going to switch the potato for zucchini.  In this case we'll use zucchini but we can make the omelette with others veggies such as spinach or asparagus. Making the omelette with vegetables turns the omelette into a lighter dish than using the potato, good in every diet for instance, gluten free diet, vegetarians or celiacs .

Ingredients for 2 people:

-1 big Zucchini.

-1 medium Onion.

-4 Eggs.

-Spanish Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

-Salt.

Chop the onion in little pieces and place them all in a deep pan at medium heat with olive oil, add a couple of pinches of salt. As the onion is cooking, wash the zucchini and cut both ends. Slice the zucchini and add to the pan when the onion is getting soft. Whip the eggs in a bowl and add the veggies (watch to drain the poached veggies before adding them into the bowl).  Mix the onion and the zucchini with the eggs (but not as hard to make a purée).

When all the ingredients are mixed try it and add extra salt if it needs it, put them in a regular pan with two tablespoons of olive oil and spread it through the whole pan. Fry it for a minute (the time depends on how firm everyone wants the omelette) turn it over with the help of a plate and place again in the pan and fry one more minute on the other side

Take the omelette out of the pan with a plate and GO FOR IT!!

One of my favorites!

                                                

Mushrooms with Garlic and Cayenne Pepper in White Wine Sauce

A versatile dish, you always be success with these mushrooms recipe both as a tapa and a side.

Ingredients for 2 people:
*400 gr. (1/2 Lb) Mushrooms (could be any kind).
*1 Garlic Clove (two if they´re small).
*1/2 Glass of Wine Wine.
*1/2 Tablespoon of Flour.
*3 Tablespoons of Spanish Olive Oil.
*1 Cayenne Pepper.
*Ground Parsley.
*Salt.

First of all clean the mushrooms, for that, remove the end of the stems. Plunge the mushrooms in a bowl with water and move them a bit to let them lose the remaining dirt. Rinse them (with a paper towel or a dishcloth) and cut them in half (you can get them already cut at the store).
Peel and mince the garlic glove. Put the Olive Oil in a pan, and heat it (medium), add the minced garlic, when it starts to brown put into the pan the cayenne and mushrooms as well. Fry lightly, add the flour and mix everything up. Pour the white wine and 1/2 glass of water into the pan. Salt to taste and cook them all for 20 minutes on medium.
Turn off the stove, add the ground parsley (don´t add the parsley while the pan is still in the stove because parsley turns black) , mix it and serve.

Great Song!!

                                                  

Red Bell Peppers Salad

This is a recipe from my grandma (like many more I will publish in this blog). It´s one of the most

delicious and simplest salad that I know. It works as a side dish matching perfectly with a fresh fish

or a juicy piece of meat and as well as a tapa on top of a crunchy bread slice.

Ingredients for 2 people

*3 Big Red Bell Peppers.

*2 Garlic Cloves.

*4 Tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

*1 Teaspoon of Ground Cumin (or 1 Tablespoon of Whole Cumin)

*Sea Salt.

Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Wash and dry the peppers and remove the stalks and seeds (from the top

of the pepper without breaking the pepper), place them in a roasting pan with a sprinkle of sea salt

and the extra virgin olive oil. Roast in the oven for 30-40 minutes, turning the peppers until the skins

have blackened in places and you notice they are soft.

Take the pan out of the oven and let the pepper get cool until you can handle them without burning

your fingers and peel them. Tear the flesh in strips (we can easily do it with our fingers), and place

them in a salad bowl.

And VERY IMPORTANT!! don´t trow away all the juices we obtain from the roast.

Put the garlic cloves in a mortar adding the cumin and a sprinkle of sea salt, mash all the ingredients

and pour into the mortar part of the juices, until the mixture turns into a thick sauce (you can put the

amount that you want depends just on your taste).

We almost finish, just put the sauce into the bowl with the peppers, mix everything and

ENJOY!!

A little bit of Red Hot Chili...PEPPERS!