TORRIJAS (SPANISH BREAD PUDDING)

Now that summer is gone,   I feel like cooking something sweet for a cuppa.

 

The other day my daughter asked me to cook "Torrijas", a very popular dessert in Spain for Easter. There´s different recipes in each part of the country. For example, some people use  red wine instead of milk to dip the bread in. 
With only a few storecupboard ingredients you can have a lovely dessert or even a different breakfast.  The bread gets very soft and children love it.
This is my version:I hope you enjoy it. !!!



INGREDIENTS (SERVES 4)

-4-6 thick slices of bread (preferably stale)
-1 cup of milk
-3 tablespoons of sugar
-1 cinnamon stick
-1 egg beaten
-Sunflower oil (enough to cover half of the pan)
-Honey to drizzle
-Cinnamon powder to sprinkle


PREPARATION

Put the milk, cinnamon stick and sugar in a pan.Heat over medium-high heat for about 3 minutes.When the milk is starting to boil,put it aside to let it cool down for about 10 minutes. Transfe the milk (without the cinnamon stick) to a bowl.
Beat the eggs in a separate dish.
Heat the oil in a deep frying pan over medium-high heat for about 3 minutes. Turn the heat down. Dip the slices of bread in the milk and then in the eggs (the bread should be soggy but still firm enough to handle). Fry the slices in batches.
Turn the slices over when the undersides are golden brown (2-3 minutes). Flip the slices with a spatula and cook the other side until golden brown (2 minutes).
Remove each piece from the pan and transfer to a plate. Drizzle honey generously over the top of them and sprinkle with some cinnamon powder. Serve warm or cold.

PISTO CON HUEVOS (SPANISH RATATOUILLE WITH EGGS)

After coming back from Paris I promised myself I will cook something inspired by the lovely vegetables I found in the gourgeous markets. So, here we go: Pisto con huevos.
This dish originally comes from Castilla La Mancha ( Don Quijote´s region)and uses seasonal vegetables.

The secret of this dish is simple: the fresher are the vegetables the tastier will be the pisto.


Ingredients (Serves 4):

-1 medium size onion (sliced)
-3 cloves of garlic (sliced)
-2 green peppers (cut into small cubes)
-1 red pepper (cut into small cubes)
-1 courgette (cut into small cubes)
-3 ripe tomatoes (peeled and cut into small cubes)
-6 tablespoons of olive oil
-2 teaspoons of sugar
-Salt and pepper
-4 eggs
-Crusty bread




Preparation:

Dip the tomatoes in boiling water to loosen the skin, peel, and cut them into small pieces.
Put the olive oil in a frying pan and gently fry the garlic and onion over low heat for about 2 minutes.

Add the peppers, courgettes and tomatoes. Add the sugar and season. Turn up the heat a little, stir and cook for 5 minutes.

Cover the frying pan and leave to simmer over low heat for about 25 minutes until the vegetables are soft.

Make four wells in the mixture and break and egg into each well. Sprinkle the eggs with salt and pepper and cook until the egg has set (to your taste).

Enjoy it with crusty bread and a glass of red wine!!!

And don´t worry about the leftovers. Pisto flavours will be enhanced the longer it is allowed to sit. It´s perfect used as pasta sauce or for sandwiches fillings.


Wine note: A Rioja Crianza from Tempranillo grapes would be  perfect with this dish: This wine won´t mix up the combination of the different flavours of the dish.

TASTY PARIS!!!

Umm!!! I still remember the smell of fresh baguettes, the tasty summer fruit (peaches,watermelons, plums...)

And the colour of vegetables: tomatoes, courgettes, peppers...

Gorgeous markets....!!!!
















I loved the colour and smell of the spices...








And the sweet shops....like if they just came out from a story book...

COOKING TAPAS AT SARAH BAKER´S COOKERY SCHOOL (November 2011)

Pan tumaca, chorizo a la sidra, gambas al ajillo.... All of them yummy yummy, and matched with excellent wines....

TUNA WITH TOMATO AND RED PEPPERS

TUNA WITH TOMATO AND RED PEPPERS ( Bonito con tomate y pimientos)

This is an easy "tapa" for lazy summer days (even if it rains!!!). You can prepare it beforehand and keep it in the fridge ready to be served.

Ingredients:  (Serves 4)

-1 can of tuna in sunflower oil (225 grs)
-4 tablespoons of tomato sauce
-1 teaspoon of perrins sauce
-1 teaspoon of tabasco sauce
-1 red roasted pepper (thinly sliced) (keep some slices to garnish)
-1 small onion (thinly sliced)
-4 slices of toasted bread

Place in a bowl the tuna, tomato sauce, perrins sauce, tabasco and roasted pepper and onion. Mix all the ingredients well. Toast the bread. Spread the mixture on the toasted bread and garnish with the red pepper.

So easy, so simple... and lovely!!!

"FERIA DE ABRIL" IN IRELAND

Last week we celebrated  at home (here, in Ireland) our "Feria de Abril" (A famous Spanish festival that takes place in Seville every year between April and May) . This is a colourful and full of flavours festival  for the senses where you can taste any kind of tapas, from "iberico ham", "gambas" (boiled or grilled prawns) to olives, "adobo" (deep fried marinated fish).... 

 And to drink? Beer, fino (sherry) and of course  the popular "rebujito" (a mixed of fino and 7up).

This is my "adobo" recipe:

(4 servings)

-500 grs. of fish (hake or whitting cut in chunks)
-2 tablespoons of cummin
-2 tablespoons of paprika
-2 tablespoons of vinegar
-1 tablespoon of olive oil
-1 teaspoon of salt and pepper
-2 cloves of garlic crushed
-Sunflower oil to fry the fish (the frying pan should be half filled)
-Flour to coat the fish

Place in a big bowl the fish together with the rest of ingredients. Mix them up well (using your hands is the best way) and leave to marinate the fish overnight covered the bowl with cling film.

The day after place the sunflower oil in a deep frying pan. Heat the oil (high heat) for about 4 minutes, until the oil is very hot. Meanwhile, coat the fish in the flour. When the oil is ready , turn the heat  down a bit and fry the fish in batches for about 3 minutes each side until golden and crispy. Place the fish on a plate with kitchen paper to absorb the excess of oil and ready to eat!!! Perfect with a sherry!!!

CHORIZO A LA SIDRA (Spanish chorizo in cider sauce)

Ingredients (Serves 4)

-2 tablespoons of olive oil
-500 grs of Spanish chorizo (cut into 1 inch pieces)
-1 small onion (thinly sliced)
-2 cloves of garlic (thinly sliced)
-1/4 teaspoon of salt
-1 teaspoon of fresh thyme
-3 cups of cider
-Crusty bread for dipping

Put the oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Brown the chorizo one side for about 2 minutes. Turn to the other side to cook for about other 2 minutes. Add the garlic, onion, salt and thyme. Cook for 1 minute stirring occassionally. Add the cider and bring to boil. Reduce the heat and continue to cook until sauce has reduced in volume by about half (between 15-20 minutes), turning the chorizo occassionally to ensure even cooking.

Serve the chorizo with some crusty bread for dipping.
This is a tipycal dish from the nort of Spain (Asturias) where the chorizo and cider (sidra) are excellent. I tried this recipe here in Ireland with chorizo from the supermarket  and Irish cider: Brilliant!!!

PAN TUMACA CON JAMON (BREAD, TOMATO AND SERRANO HAM)

PAN TUMACA CON JAMON (Bread, tomato, serrano ham)

Ingredients (Serves 4)

-4slices of bread (for example ciabatta bread)
-2 cloves of garlic (peeled)
-2 ripe tomatoes
-200 gr. of serrano ham at room temperature
-Olive oil


Toast the bread. While the bread is still hot, rub the garlic over the toasted bread to give it lots of flavour. Now rub the tomatoes all over the bread making sure it´s completely covered. Add a slice of serrano ham on top and drizzle with olive oil.

This is the usual breakfast in the south of Spain that can be tasted in any "cafeteria" (coffee shop). It is normally used Iberico ham (the pigs are fed with acorns which make the ham absolutely delicious).

Serrano ham is available in most supermakerts in Ireland.