Navarra Beef Stew style.
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3 onions (chopped) and 5 Garlic cloves (chopped)
3 carrots (diced). 2 hot red peppers (chopped)
2 bay leaves – 2 cloves - 1tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp. flour – 2 tbsp. chopped parsley
200 ml olive oil – 250 ml red wine - 3 tbsp. red wine vinegar.
800 ml organic beef stock.
1. If your butcher hasn’t done already cut the meat in bite-size chunks
2. Heat the olive in a large heavy pan and fry the meat in a medium high flame. Brown all sides.
3. Lower the heat to medium-low and add the onions and garlic and fry for 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and add the 2 tbsp. of flour. Stir everything.
4. Now put in the carrots and vinegar; add the bay leaves, cloves and peppers, plus the wine. Simmer for 2 minutes and add the stock.
5. Bring to boil, cover and simmer in a low heat for 2 hours. Stirring time to time.
6. Before serve sprinkle with cinnamon and fresh chopped parsley.
Pan fry Navarra Trout Style.
1 fresh trout per serve (cleaned and gutted)
4 slices of Serrano ham (per 2)
140g smoked bacon (diced)
2 garlic cloves (sliced)
Flour for coating.
Some wooden picks.
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1. Season the trout with salt and pepper and rest for 10 minutes.
2. Put a slice of ham inside of each trout and pierce all together with wooden picks and then wrap with an extra (or 2) slice of Serrano ham.
3. Coat the trout’s in flour and then shake for remove any excess.
4. Heat 3 tbsp. of olive oil in a large pan and fry the bacon until the fat start to run, add the garlic until begins to soft. Remove from the pan and set aside.
5. Now fry the trout for about 4 minutes each side, when the trout in golden brown in both sides and the bacon and garlic for another minute.
6. Serve the trout on a plate and scatter over the bacon.
Top 5 delicatessen items to buy in Navarra
Wooden Fire of Pimientos del Piquillo (Jar or canned)
Jar or canned white asparagus.
Smocked duck ham.
Roncal cheese from the mountain valleys of Navarra (is sharp taste)
Navarra Rosé wine made from the process named “tear the wine” (Rosado de Lágrima).
Italian stuffed onions.
Another piedmontese recipe that I have just discovered and already love it¬- if you like it the savoy cabbage parcels you really need to try this one, you can use the same stuffing of the cabbage parcels or try this one with more spices. The dish is very versatile you can use like a main serving 2 onions per serving as a starter serving one onion and you can serve hot or cold so no worries with the leftovers.
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Ingredients x 4 or starter for 8.
Oven at 180ºC
4 large white onions
200g plain sausage
1 tbsp. breadcrumbs - 2 amaretti biscuits (crumbled)
1 egg (beaten) - 1 tbsp. raisins
2 tbsp. parmesan cheese (grated)
Pinch of nutmeg and cinnamon. Salt, pepper and olive oil.
1. Peel the onions cook them for 10 minutes in salted boiling water. Then drain.
2. Remove the sausage meat from the skin and then put in a frying pan with 1 tbsp. heated olive oil and fry until the meat is brown. Leave to cool.
3. Now mix the breadcrumbs, biscuits, raisins, pine nuts and beaten egg with the meat. When you mix them very well add the cheese, cinnamon and nutmeg; mix again and season.
4. Slice off the bottom of each onion so you can stabilize the onion in the baking tray. Also cut off the top and remove the centre with a spoon. Now fill the onion with your stuffing.
5. Bake for 30 -35 minutes making sure that the sausage meat is well cooked. Like I said serve hot or cold.
Red onions with Spanish ham and blue cheese.
This is a recipe from the former winner Masterchef Tommie Miers, she said is a Spanish recipe, to be honest I have never eaten or seen it, but I think what she makes is an adaptation from a Spanish quiche that uses the same mix of red onions, blue cheese and ham. Whatever is the history the dish just tastes great!
Ingredients x 4
Oven at 200ºC
8 medium red onions
3 garlic cloves (peeled and finely sliced)
100ml dry sherry - 1 tbsp. sherry vinegar
4 sprigs fresh thyme, (leaving 1 for garnish)
200g blue cheese, Roquefort style, (it works with Stilton as well)
2-3 slices Serrano ham, cut into small pieces
1 tbsp. pine nuts. Salt, pepper and olive oil.
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1. Peel the onion and slice of thethe bottom of each onion so you can stabilize the onion in the baking tray. Also cut off the top but now make a deep cross almost half way through.
2. Push the garlic inside the cuts; be careful not to open too much the onion.
3. Put the onion in a baking tray and pour over with the sherry and vinegar and finally with a little olive oil (1 tbsp.). Scatter with thyme leaves and season.
4. Cover tightly with an aluminium foil and bake until the onion is just soft (about 30 minutes)
5. Now remove the foil, baste the onion with the juices and back to the oven for 10-15 minutes, until soft and brown.
6. In a frying pan toast for 1 minute the pine nuts and add the ham for another 2 minutes.
7. Remove the onions from the oven and scatter over the ham with pine nuts, pieces of crumbled blue cheese and a few fresh thyme leaves. Serve!
Tarta de Santiago
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| Doing the Saint James Cross |
Pastry
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Filling
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200g
plain flour
100g
butter (cubed)
1
large egg
75g
sugar
25ml
milk
Oven
at 180ºc – 20cm flat tart tin.
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250g
ground almonds
4 eggs
Pinch
ground cinnamon
1
grated lemon zest.
Icing
sugar to decorate
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1. To make the pastry mix into a bowl
the flour (sieve is better), sugar, butter and egg adding the milk gradually
meanwhile you are mixing all together with a wooden spoon. Now with your hands
form a ball with the dough and put and cover in a plate and refrigerate
for 30 minutes.
2. To make the filling in a big bowl
beat together the eggs and sugar until are very creamy and then add the lemon
zest, almonds and cinnamon and mix very well.
3. Now is time to remove the pastry
from the fridge and put the dough in a floured surface and roll out until you
get about 5mm thick. Put the pastry in the tin pressing it well into the edges
and cut any excess. Some people make some pricks with a fork all over the
pastry.
4. Pour the filling into the pastry and
spread it. Bake the tart for about 30 minutes until the pastry and the filling
are golden brown.
5. More or less you have the famous
classic Santiago de Compostela Tart, but for be a real one you need to decorate
the tart with the Saint James Cross. For that print a template and put over the
tart and then dust with icing sugar. Remove the template and ready to enjoy!
Gazpacho recipes.
Classic Gazpacho.
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| Bowl of Gazpacho |
500g ripe tomatoes or british red choice tomatoes.
1 cucumber (peeled – seeded – diced)
1 green pepper (seeded – halved)
3-4 cloves of garlic (peeled)
125 ml olive oil
2 tbsp sherry vinegar.
1. Put the bread in a bowl and pour a glass of water, soak by 30 min.
2. In a blender put the rest of ingredients (reserve the vinegar) and blend for 1 minute.
3. Remove the bread and drain any water excess.
4. Add the bread to the blender and blend until you get a nice consistency, if is too heavy just add more water. For me must be creamy but some people like more drinkable. So this point is up to you. You can sieve the cold soup if required.
5. Now season with salt and the 2 tbsp. of sherry vinegar.
6. Refrigerate for at least one hour and serve in very cold individual soup bowls.
Real Salad Gazpacho.
30 g stale white bread (torn)
300g ripe tomatoes or british red choice tomatoes.
1 ltr chilled tomato juice
3 eggs (hard boil). Then separate the white from the yolk
½ cucumber (peeled – seeded – diced)
1 red pepper (seeded – halved)
4 salad onions (thinly sliced)
1 red chilli (thinly sliced and deseeded)
2 garlic cloves (crushed)
1 tsp chopped oregano leaves
4 tbsp olive oil
4 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tsp Dijon mustard
Little ices cubes.
1. In a big bowl mix mustard, olive oil, vinegar, bread, garlic, and hard boil egg yolk, and paste with a fork
2. Add the vegetables and tomato juice. Mix everything very well.
3. Season with salt and pepper. And chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour and serve in very cold individual bowl soups.
4. Pour over each bowl the white eggs chopped with a few oregano leaves and some ice cubes. And then sprinkle over a little olive oil.
Ham and quail egg Gazpacho.
250g white bread
500g ripe tomatoes or british red choice tomatoes.
¾ cucumber (peeled – seeded – diced)
1 green pepper (deseeded – halved)
2 cloves of garlic (peeled)
125 ml olive oil
2 tbsp sherry vinegar.
250g Serrano ham shredded
2 quails eggs (hard boiled)
Follow the step above. When you are ready to serve sprinkle over every bowl the Serrano ham and add on the top half quail egg.
This recipe is interesting because you add some protein to the dish.
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| Adding water you can Gazpacho like a drink |
500g ripe tomatoes or british red choice tomatoes roughly chopped.
3 black peppercorns
250 ml tomato juice
4 basil sprigs (leaves only)
1 red pepper (seeded -cut in strips)
½ small yellow pepper (seeded - cut in strips)
1 garlic clove (peeled – chopped)
1 thyme sprig (leaves only). 1 bay leaf
2 tsp balsamic vinegar. Some olive oil.
2 slices of white bread
1. Mix in a bowl the chopped tomatoes, peppercorns, tomato juice and half of the basil leaves, and cover with a clean film. Put in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
2. In a medium heat pan with a few olive oil sauté for around 8 minutes the stripped peppers, with the garlic, bay leaf and thyme and the rest of the basil. Season with salt.
3. When the peppers are soft (avoid any browning) remove from the heat and tip onto the bowl of tomatoes.
4. Cover the bowl again and put back to the fridge for another 24 hours.
5. After 24 hours or marinating, blend the mix until smooth.
6. Pass the mix through a sieve. Season with salt, pepper and balsamic vinegar.
7. Check the consistency, if is too thick just add a few extra tomato juice.
8. Cover again the bowl and put back to the fridge for at least 1 hour
9. Preheat oven at 150ºC
10. Now cut the bread in 5mm slices and gave them a nice drizzle of olive oil and a good pinch of salt.
11. Scatter on a baking tray an toast in the oven for about 4 minutes.
12. Serve the tomato soup in very cold individual soup bowls and top with the white bread croutons.
White artisanal Gazpacho.
75 grs. Almonds (blanched and peeled)
2 garlic cloves
150 grs. White bread
8 tbsp. Olive oil.
3 tbsp sherry vinegar
1 litre of very chilled water
Bunch of white grapes or apple slices to serve.
1. Soak the white bread for 5 min, and drain.
2. Put the almonds, garlic and a pinch of salt in a mortar and pestle and crush them until you get a thin paste.
3. Then add the drained bread and mix very well and start to add the olive oil meanwhile you still crush the mix.
4. Now move the mix to a bowl and add the vinegar. And then pour the chilled water very slowly and mixing everything very well.
5. Season and pass the mix through a sieve.
6. Pour into cold dish soup bowl and serve with grapes or apple slices.
Gazpacho tips:
* The secret of the good gazpacho is finding the equilibrium between the ingredients. Dont overpower the flavour of your soup, If you like more cucumber or peppery, serve them like a garnish.
* If you are not in a sunny region, perhaps you need to add a pinch of sugar before to chill the soup for extra sweetness.
To avoid the cucumber repeating on you, you must peel, deseeded and macerate in salt for 20 minutes.
*If you have digestion problem with the garlic, you should put the garlic in a pan with cold water and bring to boil. When is boiling retire the garlic and repeat the same process another 2 times.
* Only the gazpacho cook at home conserves all the nutritional properties
Cheese chicory canapés.
50g blue cheese. 200g cream cheese. 100g brie cheese.
1 tbsp of diced salad onion (very finely)
10 green olives5 black olives (diced very finely)
4 white chicory (leaves separated)
50g walnut.
1 tbsp vinegar
1. In a big bowl with half of cold water add the vinegar and chicory leaves. Left them rest for 5 minutes.
2. Rinse the leaves in rinse water and drain in a colander.
3. In another bowl mix all the cheeses very well, using a whisker or a fork
4. Add the diced black olives and salad onion to the cheese mix and season with pepper
5. In a serving dish arrange the chicory leaves and fill with the cheese mix and top ones with the green olives and another with a piece of walnuts.
6. Before serving refridgerate them for at least half an hour.
Awaken Chicory Juice
For make 200 ml.
1 big carrot (170g aprox)
125g celery trim in 5 cm long
1 chicory head.
2-4 ice cubes
1. Clean the carrot and juice them with the celery and chicory
2. Transfer to a blender and add the ice, pulse a couple of times.
3. Serve and drink straight away. Ready for going to run!
Chicken breast with oranges.
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| Endives by coses de pac's |
1 tbsp of diced salad onion (very finely)
10 green olives5 black olives (diced very finely)
4 white chicory (leaves separated)
50g walnut.
1 tbsp vinegar
1. In a big bowl with half of cold water add the vinegar and chicory leaves. Left them rest for 5 minutes.
2. Rinse the leaves in rinse water and drain in a colander.
3. In another bowl mix all the cheeses very well, using a whisker or a fork
4. Add the diced black olives and salad onion to the cheese mix and season with pepper
5. In a serving dish arrange the chicory leaves and fill with the cheese mix and top ones with the green olives and another with a piece of walnuts.
6. Before serving refridgerate them for at least half an hour.
Awaken Chicory Juice
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| Carrots and chicory juice |
1 big carrot (170g aprox)
125g celery trim in 5 cm long
1 chicory head.
2-4 ice cubes
1. Clean the carrot and juice them with the celery and chicory
2. Transfer to a blender and add the ice, pulse a couple of times.
3. Serve and drink straight away. Ready for going to run!
Chicken breast with oranges.
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| Chicken and orange garnish |
4 tbsp olive oil.
2 carrots (diced)
1 onion (diced)
1 tsp sugar
3 oranges (Juice), 1 extra orange in slices for garnish
1 lime (juice)
125 ml white wine. Salt and pepper.
1. Season the chicken fillets with salt and pepper.
2. In a deep frying pan heat the olive in medium heat.
3. Fry the chicken breast on both sides until get a golden brown colour. Remove
4. Now add the carrots and onions to the pan with the chicken juices, add the oranges and lime juices and finely the wine.
5. Mix and boil for 2 minutes until reduce a bit.
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| Reducing orange sauce |
6. Now with a blender purée the sauce and season.
7. Place the chicken breast in the sauce, cover and simmer until the chicken is cook (about 12 minutes)
8. When ready remove the chicken breast, and make four cuts on the top of the breast and introduce in them the oranges slices.
9. Serve the chicken fillets surrounding the sauce.
Garlic prawns.
600g prawns or shrimp tales (shelled)
250 ml olive oil for fry
6 garlic cloves (finely sliced)
2 dried chilli peppers. Salt
1 Earthenware casserole or you can use a simple skillet
600g prawns or shrimp tales (shelled)
250 ml olive oil for fry
6 garlic cloves (finely sliced)
2 dried chilli peppers. Salt
1 Earthenware casserole or you can use a simple skillet
1. Heat the olive oil in the Earthenware casserole or skillet and add the garlic and chilli peppers.
2. As soon the garlic has start coloured add the prawns and sprinkle with salt.
3. They will be cooked through after 3-4 minutes.
4. Serve in individual dishes along with the oil and garlic.
2. As soon the garlic has start coloured add the prawns and sprinkle with salt.
3. They will be cooked through after 3-4 minutes.
4. Serve in individual dishes along with the oil and garlic.
Prawns with paprika.
600g prawns (shell on) Separate in 3 batches)
250 ml olive oil for fry (or another vegetable oil)
Salt. Spanish paprika
250 ml olive oil for fry (or another vegetable oil)
Salt. Spanish paprika
1. Heat the olive oil in a medium dip fry pan. Wait until the oil start to smoke.
2. Add the first batch of prawns. Remove them after 3-4 minutes and let them rest in a kitchen paper to drain a few the oil. Continue with the rest.
3. After you move them to a serving dish sprinkle with sea salt and pinch of paprika
Hot griddle prawns.
2. Add the first batch of prawns. Remove them after 3-4 minutes and let them rest in a kitchen paper to drain a few the oil. Continue with the rest.
3. After you move them to a serving dish sprinkle with sea salt and pinch of paprika
Hot griddle prawns.
Quantity of fresh prawn at your wish.
1 tsp of olive oil. Salt.
1. Rub the olive oil over the griddle.
2. Turn on the heat and wait until the griddle is very hot.
3. Add the prawns, cook each side about 2 minutes and sprinkle with a nice pinch of sea salt.
4. Serve straight away. They don’t need more for a great taste!!
Don´t forget check out the Bill Granger salt and pepper prawn recipe.
Little Susan Cookies / Free butter Carrot Cookies
Little Susan cookies are great because are very tasty and
light, they have not any saturates fat and either eggs so they don’t have
cholesterol. And your body going to get benefit of the Vitamin A of the
carrots, good for your sight and skin
100g caster sugar.
220g plain flour. Plus flour for the worktop.
100ml sunflower oil.
3 tsp. baking powder
1 grated lemon zest
1 cup of finely grated carrots (about 2 medium carrots).
You can grate most of the carrots with the finest grated side and the remaining
with a larger fine side to give more tasteful bites.
1 grease baking tray or cover with baking paper.
A rolling pin dusted in flour and a pastry cutter
Method.
1. In
a bowl mix very well sugar, flour and baking powder. Make a hole in the centre
of the mix.
2. Mix
the carrots with the lemon zest. Put in the hole.
3. Now
put in the sunflower oil in the hole and start keep turning the mixture gently
with a spoon to combine (or use your hands), bring everything together to form
a nice dough. Try to not overwork because the sunflower can start to over-oil
the dough.
4.
Sprinkle most of the remaining flour onto a clean work
surface. Tip the soft dough out onto the work surface and sprinkle the rest of
the flour on top. The mixture will be wet and sticky.
5.
Use your hands to fold the dough in half, then turn the
dough 90 degrees and repeat. By folding and turning the mixture in this way
(called 'chaffing'), you incorporate the last of the flour and add air. Do this
a few times until you’ve formed smooth dough. If the mixture becomes too sticky
use some extra flour to coat the mixture or your hands to make it more
manageable. Be careful not to overwork your dough.
6.
Sprinkle flour onto the work surface and the top of the
dough, then use a rolling pin to roll up from the middle and then down from the
middle until you get flat dough of approx. 1.5cm thick. Let the dough relax for a couple of minutes
7.
Using a pastry cutter, stamp out rounds from the pastry
and place them onto the baking tray. Dip pastry cutter in flour to make it
easier to cut the sticky dough.
8.
Place the scones
on the baking tray and leave them to rest for a few minutes to let the baking
powder work.
Note. If you not have a rolling pin you can use a bottle
of wine for example and if you not have a pastry cutter like me you can use a
recycled ramekin from popular desserts pots.
Mussels with
Chorizo
1kg mussels (washed and cleaned)
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 little onion (chopped)
100g chorizo (finelly diced)
2 garlic cloves (sliced)
150g cherry tomatoes (halved).
50 ml sherry.
Bunch of parsley.
A nice bread for deep in the sauce
1. In
a large and deep frying pan heat the olive oil and add the onion with the
chorizo until the onion start to soften using a medium low heat (bout 3-5 min)
2. Add
the garlic and tomatoes and stir for 2 minutes.
3. Now
put in the mussels and sherry. Cover the pan with a lid and cook for 3 to 5 min
in a high heat
4. Turn
of the heat and scatter the parsley.
5. Serve
and eat with nice rustic bread.
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| Mussels with chorizo |
Madrid´s Sea
Bream x2
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| Besugo al horno |
I can finish my first month
blog without a recipe from my adopted home land: Madrid. The Spanish capital
means for me everything but isn´t mean that I like bull fighting or his meat,
smoking in the bar or the fake tourist market of San Miguel. If you like live a
different experience check the different fresh market of Madrid.
I will start with a typical
Madrid fish recipes, is not because the Manzanares river that cross the city is
a fish paradise, even with the local government improvement for clean the river
at the moment is more easy catch a coke bottle than a fish. I choose fish
because is sea-port inland, with that I mean that the majority of the catch
from the north port travel hundreds of kilometres for arrive very early in the
morning to the market of Madrid. Most of the people use to say that the
fish of Madrid is more fresh even than Galicia.
Ingredients.
1 Sea Bream or Besugo in Spain.
Gutted and Washed and
4 slices of lemon
3 garlic cloves, thin slice
4 medium oven potatoes cut
into slices
100ml olive oil.
4 tbsp breadcrumbs.
½ tbsp chopped parsley
125ml white wine
Oven pre-heated at 180ºC
Method.
1. Put
the fish in a baking dish and make four incision on top with a sharp knife.
Place the lemon slices in the cuts.
2. Arrange
the garlic on the top of the fish as well.
3. Mix
the parsley and breadcrumbs and sprinkle over the fish..
4. Pour
on the wine and arrange the potatoes around the fish.
5. Now
pour the olive oil over potatoes and fish.
6. Cook
for about 25 min (check if is cooked before to serve)
7. Enjoy!
Asturian Wild
Salmon Style
I start with a salmon
recipe for our Spanish section because like the wild Scottish salmon and Alaskan
they are big part of the human history nutrition. At the moment these species
are in recovery after years of decline thank you to the improving of the river
water qualities and the salmon fishing quotas in the high seas. Another good reason for choose those
delicacies is that the salmon farming methods are having great problem controlling
the quantities of mercury in the fish, the waste generate by the farming and
the antibiotic abuse.
Salmon from Canada and
Norway are well trust and more easy to get in the supermarket.
The big reason for
consume this fish is because tastes great! and it's a high-Omega-3, and more low-mercury fish than the farm one.
Ingredients x 4
4 salmon fillets
(around 220 g each)
2 tbs olive oil
2 tbsp butter
100g Serrano ham (cut
in very fine strips if get sticky sprinkle a pinch of flour for make the cut easier)
125 ml fish stock
125 apple cider
(natural )
Flour for coating the
fillets.
Turn on the oven at
40ºC to keep warm fish, ham and plates.
Method
1.
Wash your
hands and rinse quickly the fillet. Dry them with a kitchen towel and season
with salt and pepper. Rest them for 10 min.
Turn them in the flour and shake off any excess.
2.
Heat the
olive oil and butter in the pan. Fry the salmon for about 5 min by side in a
moderate heat. Rest aside by try to keep them warm.
3.
Add the
strips of ham to the pan and fry for about 3 min, until get crispy. Set most of
the ham and keep warm.
4.
Pour the
cider and the stock on the pan and deglaze. Reduce until you have a sauce.
5.
Serving.
Place each fillet in the warm plates. Drizzle the ham over the salmon and then
the sauce. Serve with boiled
potatoes-green beans or just a salad.
Mussels
with olives x 4 Serves
Good examples for good
sea farming are the mussels. Holding in a cage or thick rope in a huge wooden
platforms in the sea bay they rise without damage the sea floor and at the same
time the mussels are filter feeder so they are not fed and no chemicals are
introduced to bay. The scrappy cost of Scotland (80% UK consumption) or Galicia
(95% Spain) create the perfect habitat for a rich water in oxygen an mineral.
Cleaning your mussels.
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| Cleaning mussels |
1.
Discard
any mussel that is open or broken.
2.
Rinse in
cold running water.
3.
With the
opposite cutting edge of a knife remove
the beard (byssus threads).
4.
Clean
again under running water .
Ingredients.
2kg mussels
1 onion just
peeled.
2 shallots, diced
2 garlic cloves
4 ripe tomatoes,
diced
200g pitted black
olives. Diced
3 anchovy fillets,
diced
250ml dry white
wine
1 bay leaf
Method
1.
In a good
size deep pan pour 1lt water, 1tsp salt the onion and the bay leaf and bring to
boil.
2.
Add the
clean mussel, cover the pan and simmer about 5 min.
3.
Remove
the mussels, discard any unopened.
Remove the mussels from the shells. Reserve
4.
Sauté the
shallots and garlic in the olive oil, until translucent. Add the tomatoes,
olives and anchovy. Pour the wine and boil until create a sauce.
5.
Return the
mussels to the pan and heat them again for no longer of 2 min
6.
Serve.
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