SUNDAY "APERITIVO" (Appetizer): PATATAS BRAVAS(FRIED POTATOES WITH SPICY TOMATO SAUCE)

Today is Sunday, the "aperitivo" (appetizer) day for most Spaniards.

Ummmm!!!! I love going for the "aperitivo" on a sunny Sunday  in Madrid with my family and friends before lunch.

That´s why I´m cooking today  one of the most popular "tapas" in Madrid:
"PATATAS BRAVAS" (Fried potatoes with Spicy  Tomato Sauce).

There´s lots of different recipes for this "tapa". Each bar cooks the potatoes and the salsa brava in a different way. This is my easy and quick recipe for the salsa brava.

Ah! Don´t forget that the salsa  brava should be very spicy (if you like it): This is what "brava" means...

Enjoy it with a glass of cold beer!!!

INGREDIENTS (Serves 4):

-4 medium size potatoes peeled and cut into cubes
-Olive or sunflower oil to fry the potatoes
-Sea salt

Salsa ingredients:

-Half onion thinly sliced
-3 garlic cloves sliced
-Sieved tomatoes (tinned) 250 grs.
-Sugar (1 tabespoon)
-A bit of salt
-Tabasco (To your taste)

PREPARATION:

-Fry the potatoes in a deep frying pan over low-medium heat.
-For the "salsa brava" put in a frying pan 3 tablespoons of olive oil and fry the onion and garlic over low heat. Add the tomatoes, sugar, salt and cook it for about 2 minutes, stirring to mix all the ingredients. Then add the tabasco. Put the salsa into a blender and blend until you get a smooth sauce.

Place the potatoes on a plate, season with a bit of sea salt and spoon the "salsa brava" onto the potatoes.Yummy, yummy!!!

Vámonos de TAPAS! Let´s have some TAPAS!

Today is Saturday. It is cold and windy  so I´ve decided  I´ll cook something different: An easy  "TAPAS" dinner for my friends. We just need a few cupboard ingredients, a few bottles of wine and beer....And a good company to enjoy the evening!!!!

These are two very popular "tapas" in Madrid ( the lovely city where I come from). I hope you like them.



GAMBAS AL ABUELO)(Prawns in garlic and chilli sauce)

Ingredients (Serves 4)

-Olive oil (10  tablespoons)
-4 garlic cloves (thinly sliced)
-2 red chillies, thinly sliced (or 1 tablespoon of chilli flakes)
-Prawns  (500grs, frozen or fresh)
-Chopped flat leaves parsley (2 tablespoons)
-Sea salt to season
-Crusty bread




Preparation

Put the oil in a deep frying pan over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the garlic and chilli and cook for about 30 seconds over low heat. Add the prawns and cook them over medium-high heat for about 3 minutes (until the prawns are pink).
Sprinkle with a bit of sea salt and garnish with some chopped parsley.
Delicious with crusty bread to dip in the oil!!!!




BANDERILLAS

This tapa is usually served when you order a "caña" (small glass of beer). People from Madrid loves "ir de cañas" (going from bar to bar to drink beer and have tapas) with friends, especially on Sundays before lunch.


Ingredients (Serves 4)

-1 box of toothpicks
-1 jar of pickled gherkins (small ones)
-1 jar of cocktail onions
-Cheddar cheese (100grs, diced)
-1 tin of anchovies
-1 tin of olives
-Roasted red pepper (cut into small chunks)


Preparation

Choose 3 or 4 ingredients to slide onto a toothpick. Pick ingredients that you think will go well together. Lay each one on a plate until you have a nice, colourful presentation.

The good thing about this tapa is that it is very versatile. You can add the ingredients you prefer and as many as you like!!!!

 

 

MIGAS

Hi everybody!
This time I´m going to post a recipe that shepherds used to cook in the cold winters in inland areas of Spain such as Extremadura or Castilla La Mancha.
It is also popular when the "matanza" (the process of killing the pig and making the chorizos, hams...) takes place to try the first "chorizos".
It is very easy to cook and the ingredients used are easily found in supermarkets and shops.

I´m sure you´ll enjoy it with a glass of red Rioja wine or a hot white coffee!!!!




MIGAS (Breadcrumbs with chorizo, peppers and rashers)

 
INGREDIENTS(4 SERVINGS)

-Breadcrumbs (500grs)

-Chorizo  (250grs) cut into chunks

-Bacon rashers or  sliced pork belly cut in half (250 grs)

-Olive oil (150ml)

-Garlic (7 garlic cloves finely sliced)

-1 red pepper and 1 green pepper (cut into chunks)

-Paprika  (1 teaspoon) or if you can find "pimenton" (the Spanish paprika) would be perfect.

-Salt to your taste



PREPARATION

-Fry the peppers in a deep frying pan (half fille with oil) for about 5 minutes over low heat.

-Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in another deep frying pan over medium heat, low the heat and fry the chorizo and rashers for about 3 minutes. When they are done,take them out and put them aside.

-In the fat left fry over low heat the garlic for about 2 minutes.

-Add the paprika, stir it and then add the breadcrumbs. Over low heat stir it well till the breadcrumbs absorb all the fat. Taste and season.

Serve the "migas" with the peppers, chorizo and rashers.

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....