Spanish Cooking 101

There is a family-owned restaurant in Rota which let's a group from the base invade their kitchen for a day!

I never have worked at a restaurant, so I found it fun just to be in the kitchen! It was a lot smaller than I thought it would have to be.

They taught us to make:

beef in a veggie-wine sauce

mushrooms cooked in wine

Arranque Roteña, which is the dip form of gazpacho and strictly a Rota dish

Spanish tortilla

and a fruit desert

We drank Tinto de Verano (my favorite), and helped with the preparations, a couple of us at a time. I took lots of notes and soon there is a trip to a Spanish grocery store (so we can learn what the unfamiliar stuff is used for) so I feel pretty confident I could make the dishes again.

After a couple hours of cooking, we all sat down to eat everything. It was delicious of course, and people were arguing over who had made the best tortilla. The arrangue is my favorite and full of garlic, so after a while, I didn't feel too comfortable talking anymore! I tasted garlic until the Next Day!

How to make the Arranque Roteña:

equal numbers (not parts) of chopped:

ripe, red, not-refrigerated tomato

big long curly green mild chili pepper (you know the one, not small)

garlic (may need more depending how small)

and

very good quality virgin olive oil (dark green)

2 day old white baguette bread, munched into VERY fine crumbs (regular bread crumbs may be too soft, but you could try it)

salt

Blend the 1st 3 ingredients very well in a blender (or with a balde on a stick thingie).

Add bread crumbs in stages to make it a thick, pastey cookie-dough texture.

Then add oil in stages to make it smooth. It will still be thick and pastey (NOT creamy).

Both of those ingredients are quite a bit!!!

When you think it has enough oil, add some more! Seriously.

Salt that baby up!

Chill for at least an hour to let marry.

Serve with small slices of baguette bread and long, thick, raw slices of that same chili for dipping. MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!

It should be really thick and garlicky. The chili should be just the occasional lil bite in the bite.

Tortilla

Beef in sauce and patatas (french fries)


Dessert

Memento Mussel Soup

I have been craving soup even during the last hot few days. And I have been looking for a reason to go to the fish market again (since we are still grill-less *heavy sigh*). Looking around, I found a food blog from an illustrator in Madrid!

See her Spanish Recipes HERE!

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This one just called out to me to be made!

I will let you know how it comes out.

Memento mussel soup

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2kgs mussels, cleaned and debearded

100 gr. or so of chistorra, or any other cooking chorizo

a bunch of spring onions, or three shallots

2 cloves of garlic, minced

4 smallish tomatoes, grated (or a 1/2 kg. tin, which will give you more liquid, and lucky you)

salt, pepper, dried oregano to taste

1 tablespoonful flour

300 ml or so of liquid (white wine, beer or both)

olive oil

Creme fraiche, or any thick cream

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Begin by sauteeing the chistorra in olive oil in a big pan that will hold all the mussels later, until it´s released its fat and it´s beginning to crisp up. Add the spring onions. After a couple of minutes, add the tomatoes and garlic. None of this has to cook down a lot, but give it a couple of minutes, too. Now add the flour and stir til it dissappears, and stir it around for a bit more so it won´t taste raw.

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Pour in the liquid and stir until it´s thickened and the alcohol has evaporated. Throw in the mussels, cover, and, taking the pan in your mittened hands that are also clamping down the lid, give it a good shake. Do this again a couple of times (males of the species are good for this job. recruit one).

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Check after three minutes. If there are a lot of unopened shells, leave it another minute. Now serve in big deep bowls, as many mussels as you can, plenty of the soup and a blob of sour cream (with chopped parsley or chives if you have them, for prettiness). Put a big salad bowl for the shells on the table, alongside some hot sauce. As people eat, their bowls will be ready for more, so top them up.

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Serves 4 as dinner, with fresh bread, or 8 more timid souls as a starter.

Tortilla

Think you know what a tortilla is?

In Spain it is not the flour or corn thing outside of a burrito. It is an egg and potato omlette that is a popular tapa (appatizer or bar food).

I have made them before, and this one is my favorite. It is made with carrot and zucchini, because I like the color, but you can replace those with red pepper and garlic or peas and asparagus or any combo you like.

Tortilla Espana

1 large russet potato, chopped

1 large carrot, chopped

1 small zucchini, chopped

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 medium onion, chopped

salt/pepper

5 eggs

1. Steam potato, carrot, zucchini until crisp.

2. Heat oil, saute onions until getting color. Stir in steamed veggies.

3. Beat eggs with salt and pepper thoroughly and pour in with potatoes, stir once, tilt pan to spread evenly. Turn heat to low. Cover, cook 10-15 minutes, until eggs start to set. Meanwhile, preheat broiler.

4. Finish 2-3 minutes in broiler. Allow to cool to room temperature. Cut into wedges. Serve with salsa to dip or spread over top.

4-8 servings

Halloween Cookies~

The annual cookies for Halloween Awareness and Celebration were another success.

Eventhough this year I had no coworkers to be victims to my crazy baking ritual. I made do with family, neighbors, and even sending them. (Still no word yet on if they made it to Bahrain.)

This time, the clear favorite was the apple butter recipe, so here goes:


Apple Butter Cookies with Penuche Frosting

1/2 c granulated sugar
1/2 c packed light brown sugar
1 c (2 sticks) softened butter
1 c apple butter (mmm...yummy)
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
2 c flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon ( I always put more)
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 c chopped walnuts (I grind them to almost powder, I hate biting into a dry nut in a moist cookie)
Penuche Frosting (recipe follows)


1. Preheat oven 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment.
2. Beat sugars, butter with electric mixer until creamy. Add apple butter, vanilla, and egg and beat until light and fluffy. Stop mixer. Add flour, baking powder and soda, cinn, and salt to same bowl. Beat again until well combined. Stir in Nuts.
3. Drop by rounded tsp fulls 2 inches apart onto parchmented cookie sheets, Bake 16 to 20 minutes or until light brown around edges.
4. Cool completely. Frost. Let frosting set before storing.


Penuche Frosting

3 tbs butter
1/2 c packed light brown sugar
1/4 c cream or half n half
1 1/2 to 2 c powdered sugar (I remember just adding it until looked right. I either added a lot more or less.)

1. Melt butter and brown sugar in med saucepan over med-high heat, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil, cook, stirring constantly, until slightly thickened. May thicken immediately.
2. Remove from heat, cool 10 min. Mixture will begin to harden.
3. Add cream and stir smooth. Add powdered sugar 1/4 c at a time, beating well after each addition until frosting reaches desired consistancy. (I like it thick)