Empanadillas
3 Tbs Olive Oil
1lb Spinach leaves
3 cloves finely chopped garlic
6 canned anchovy fillets in oil drained and minced
1/4 cup of pine nuts
2 Tbs raisins soaked in warm water for 15 min.
All purpose flour for dusting
Salt and Pepper
1 egg beaten
1 pound of thawed puff pastry
Preheat the oven to 350 /180 and line baking sheets with parchment paper
Trim stems on the fresh spinach leaves and finely chop the leaves.
Heat the olive oil in a large pan. Add the spinach, cover and cook over low heat, shaking the pan occasionally, for 4 minutes. Stir in the garlic and anchovies and cook, uncovered for another 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat. Drain the soaked raisins and chop. Stir raisins into the spinach mixture and add salt, pepper and pine nuts. Let the mixture stand to cool.
Meanwhile roll out the defrosted puff pastry onto a slightly dusted with flour surface. Stamp out circles using a biscuit cutter. They should be about 3 inches in diameter.
Place a spoonful of the spinach mixture into the middle of each cut out pastry circle. Brush the edges with water and fold over into half moon shapes. Press together well and seal. Brush the tops of the empandillas with the beaten egg to give them a nice shine. Bake them inthe preheated oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown. These may also be fried in olive oil if one chooses to do so. Again just until golden brown.
(The filling for these empanadillas may be changed according to taste, with favorites like, roasted red peppers, tomatoes,and tuna etc)
Serve warm
Tortilla de Patata (Spanish Potato and Onion Omelette)
A staple in Spanish cuisine, so simple yet so delicious
5 white potatoes washed and peeled and sliced in ½ moon shape.
6 large eggs beaten
1 small onion (optional) diced
Salt
Olive oil
Heat 1 inch depth Olive Oil in a nonstick frying pan. When hot add the potatoes and onion together, cooking until fork tender. Be careful not to fry the potatoes on too high a heat or they will become crunchy and hard. Meanwhile beat the 6 eggs adding a pinch of salt to them. Once the potatoes have reached their fork tender moment strain the potatoes & onion and add to the eggs stirring immediately and returning to the frying pan. Let the potato and egg mixture cook on medium low heat until you see the outside rim of the tortilla bubbling. Carefully place a plate over the mixture as you take it off the heat and flip the tortilla on the plate, sliding it back into the frying pan. (This can be tricky and take practice but is worth the effort) Return the frying pan to the heat in order to cook the other side of the tortilla. Once that has cooked through you may slide the tortilla onto a dish and salt according your liking.
Tortilla de patata may be eaten warm or cold, as an appetizer or sliced inside a delicious baguette as a sandwich.
Pan con tomate –Bread with Tomatoes
Talk about quick and refreshing!
Tomato
Olive Oil
Sliced rustic bread…ciabatta is nice
Toast your bread, slice your tomatoes about a ¼1/4 of an inch thick and layer them on the bread. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Another version of this is to just slice the tomatoes in half and spread the tomato on the toast leaving you with just the skin in your hand. Once again the olive oil and salt are then added. Depending on the region in Spain you may find this dish prepared one way or the other.
Enjoy this dish as an appetizer or to accompany fresh cold cuts, a gazpacho or a salad.
Garlic Shrimp and Lemon
30 Jumbo Shrimp
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
6 cloves of Garlic
4 dried hot red chilies
4 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
Country bread to serve
Peel and devein the shrimp removing the heads but leaving the tails on. Rinse and pat dry the shrimp. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the garlic then the chilies and stir constantly until they sizzle, being careful not to burn. Add the shrimp and let them sautee until they begin to curl and turn pink. Remove the shrimp from the pan and place into a warm clay dish, drizzle with lemon juice and serve with bread to soak up the oil and all its flavors.
Chorizo with Chickpeas
2 large links Chorizo Sausage
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 cans chickpeas (drained)
2 cloves of garlic crushed
1 small onion finely chopped
4 pimientos del piquillo drained and sliced finely
2 tbsp sherry vinegar
salt and pepper
country bread to serve
After dicing the chorizo heat the olive oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat, then add the onion and garlic. Cook, while stirring occasionally, unitl the onion is soft. Add the chorizo and cook until heated through. Pour the mixture into a large bowl and to this add the chickpeas, peppers, and vinegar. Salt and pepper to taste. This delicious salad may be served warm or at room temperature with crusty country bread.
Christmas Potage
This dish is a typical one served around the Christmas Holiday.
3 cans of drained garbanzo beans
extra virgen olive oil
4 cloves of garlic peeled
1 small Spanish onion diced
2 Tbs. of sweet Spanish Paprika
1 lb baby spinach
2 lbs bonless salt cod whcih has been soaked in water for over a two day period changing the water 2 times a day.
Water
Put the garbanzo beans into a heavy pot, cover them with water and let them simmer. Heat a 1/4 of olive oil in a large skillet and sauté the onion. Then add the garlic until it turns slightly golden. Add the pimenton and stir. When this begins to bubble remove it from the heat and add this to the garbanzos. You don't want the pimenton (Paprika) to burn so keep a watchful eye. Add the spinach to the pot and let it wilt in with the garbanzo beans. Drain the cod fish and add to the soup along with 2 -3 cups more of water to cover. Let boil and cook for about 10 - 15 minutes. Add salt to taste.
Delicious served with large pieces of toasted crusty bread.
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