Spanish cuisine as opposed to other national cuisines in Europe, is heavily influenced by regional cuisines and the particular historical processes that shaped culture and society in those territories. Geography and climate, had great influence on cooking methods and available ingredients, and these particularities are still present in the gastronomy of the various regions that make up the country. Spanish cuisine derives from a complex history, where invasions of the country and conquests of new territories modified traditions and made new ingredients available |
CREMA CATALANAPREPARATION TIME: 1 hour
COOK TIME: 15 minutes TOTAL TIME:1 hour 15 mins RECIPE TYPE: Dessert SERVES: 8 INGREDIENTS - 6 egg yolks - 120 gms – ⅔ cup sugar - 1 lt. – 4 cups milk - 40 gms – ⅓ cup corn starch - Zest of 1 lemon - 1 cinnamon bark INSTRUCTIONS 1- Put the milk, lemon zest and cinnamon bark in a pot. Bring to a boil, then put the fire off and let the lemon zest and cinnamon infuse the milk for 30 to 60 minutes. Then sieve the mixture. 2- In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar and corn starch until white and fluffy . 3- Put the egg yolk mixture on the fire and slowly add the milk, while whisking constantly. 4- Cook on a medium flame until it boils and the cream thickens. It will be quite frothy at the beginning, but the foam will disappear once it starts to boil (at this point, the crema catalana will be ready). 5- Divide the cream between 8 ramekins and let it cool down. When at room temperature, put it in the fridge until you are ready to serve it. 6- Just before serving, sprinkle ½ tablespoon of sugar on each crema catalana and brûlée it using a torch. 7- Serve immediately. CHRISTMAS ROAST MEAT
2 kg chicken, chopped into 6 pieces 10 sundried tomatoes that were packed in olive oil, or 2 big tomatoes, rough chopped 1 big onion, rough chopped 6-7 pickled garlic cloves, homemade, or fresh is fine 1 generous tomato paste, homemade 1/3 cup of brandy (white wine or cognac would work too) 1/2 bag of dried prunes very generous handful of pine nuts 2 TBL bacon fat, or coconut oil or olive oil In a heavy bottom pot, on medium-high, heat up bacon fat or whatever fat oil using. Add in the sundried tomatoes, along with any oil it was packed in. (the original recipe called for 1/2 cup of olive oil, i did not use that much oil). Mix in the garlic and onions and sautee, for at least 5 minutes. Spoon everything out into a bowl, leaving behind the oil/fat. In the left behind oil/fat, brown the chicken pieces. Do this in batches, do not crowd the pot, you’ll just end up steaming the meat. You’re aiming for a golden hue on either side. When all the meat has been browned, lay them all in the pot as close together as possible. Put the sauteed onion/tomato/garlic mixture back into the pot, fill in the nooks & crannies, smothering the meat on top. Lower heat to low-medium. Add in the tomato paste and brandy (or wine or cognac), and water (or stock) until the entire thing is submerged. Allow to simmer until half the liquid has evaporated (about 45 minutes – 1 hour) at that point, add in the prunes and pine nuts. Raise temp to medium and allow to simmer until most of the liquid is gone, about another 20 minutes. Serve with rice or crusty bread. Excellent the next day. |
GAZPACHO Ingredients:
800g tomato 150-200g white bread 100 ml olive oil 1 cucumber 1 green pepper 2-4 garlic cloves Salt Balsamic vinegar Preparation About 50g of bread and half a tomato dice to be set aside. The remaining small white bread has a dash of oil added. Take the peeled garlic and press it. Mix the those ingredients and leave for about 30 minutes. Skin the tomatoes (put them in boiling wáter for a while). Remove the seeds. Then cut roughly. Peel the cucumber and crush, wash the bell peppers and crush them as well. Mash the vegetables with the bread with a blender or mixer. Pass the resulting mass through a fine sieve. Taste with a little salt and a little vinegar. Cool in the refrigerator. Serve the gazpacho with bread and tomato cubes. PANALLETS
What are these super cute little balls? panellets it’s a classic catalan dessert that we make in fall for the Castanyada, same day as Halloween. I bake them all the years with my mum, so here you have this incredible recipe that can’t be wrong. They are so energetic because of the sweet potatoes, pine nuts and almonds. Also an addiction for everyone, you eat one and you’re automatically lost forever in the sweet sweet catalan world of panellets. Let’s bake! Ingredients 200g sweet potatoes 500g ground almonds 500g caster sugar 2 free range eggs 200g pine nuts 300g grated almonds Step by step -fill a pot with some water and boil the sweet potatoes. -with a wooden spoon mix the boiled sweet potatoes with the sugar. -add bit by bit the almond ground and knead the batter. -cover with a cling film and leave it in the fridge for 24hrs. -make little balls (2cm diameter aprox.). -whisk just a bit the egg whites and with a cooking brush cover all the balls. -wrap them with grated almonds or pine nuts. -whisk the egg yolk and with a cooking brush pour a bit on the top of them. -in a baking tray, prepared with baking paper, bake them into the oven a 180 ºC for about 8 to 12 min. until they are golden and a bit brown on the top. Tips you can cover them with grated coconut, or cocoa powder, or ground coffee or dip them in different chocolates!!! Enjoy! |
Mixed paellaIngredients
Add stock, paprika and saffron to a pot and heat, covered. STEP 2 In a separate 15" paella pan, add 2 tbsp olive oil and brown the chicken pieces and chorizo, about 5 minutes. Remove. Add the remaining olive oil and cook the onions over medium heat until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the bell peppers and cook for a few minutes. Add the tomatoes and garlic and simmer for another 5 minutes, until they have a sauce-like appearance. Salt and pepper to taste. STEP 3 Pour in the rice and stir until the rice is covered with the tomato mixture (known as 'sofrito'). Add chicken and chorizo pieces. Slowly add all of the broth to the paella. Stir the rice mixture around until it is evenly distributed throughout the pan. Important - do not stir after this point. STEP 4 Simmer for about 10 minutes, then place the shrimp and shellfish into the mixture one-by-one, evenly distributing throughout. Simmer for another 15 minutes, or until all of the broth has been absorbed, adding extra liquid if necessary. STEP 5 Remove from heat, gently cover with foil and let sit for another 10 minutes. Garnish with piquillo pepper slices and lemon wedges. Turrón
Ingredients 650 gram unpeeled almonds 400 gram of sugar 100 gram of liquid honey 3 proteins (stiffly beaten) Preparation Give the almonds about 2-3 minutes in boiling water and take out. Remove the skin and place the almonds to dry on kitchen paper. Put the almonds in the oven about 200 degrees, roast the almond golden. Put the most beautiful 20-30 almonds aside. Now grind the roasted almonds. Traditionally, these are crushed with a mortar. Putt eh honey in warm water bath so that it is liquid. Mix the sugar, honey and whole almonds to bring out the ground almonds and stir well. Stir the three proteins into the mass.Put the mass in a boiled paper or between tho plates. Leave to dry in a cool place (not a refrigerator) for about 10 days. |