125 ml/½ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 small orange, quartered and sliced
8 garlic cloves, peeled
3 rosemary sprigs
few pinches of sea salt flakes
2 x 200-g/7-oz. wedges
young Manchego cheese, cut into shards, 2 cm/¾ inch at its widest end
about 40 pimiento-stuffed Manzanilla olives
20 cocktail sticks/toothpicks
Makes about 20
Stir the oil, orange and garlic in a saucepan over low–medium heat for 10–12 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the rosemary. Season with the salt, cool, then pour into a bowl. Add the cheese and toss to coat. Cover and chill in the fridge for 8 hours. To assemble, drain the cheese on paper towels. Thread two olives and a Manchego shard onto a cocktail stick/toothpick and serve.
300 g/10½ oz. waxy potatoes, peeled
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 shallot, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 dried chilli/chile
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
1 x 400-g/14-oz. can plum tomatoes
1 teaspoon hot smoked paprika/pimentón
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to season
chopped parsley, to garnish
Serves 4
Boil the potatoes in salted boiling water until just tender; drain, cool and dice.
Meanwhile, prepare the spicy tomato sauce. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a small, heavy-bottomed frying pan/skillet. Add the shallot and garlic and crumble in the dried chilli/chile. Fry, stirring, for 1–2 minutes until fragrant. Add the sherry vinegar and continue to cook for 1 minute until syrupy. Add the canned tomatoes and mix well. Season with salt and pepper and add the smoked paprika/pimentón. Turn up the heat and bring to a boil. Cook the sauce uncovered, stirring often to break down the tomatoes, for 10–15 minutes until reduced and slightly thickened.
In a separate large frying pan/skillet, heat the remaining olive oil. Add the cooled, diced potatoes and fry until golden brown on all sides, stirring often and seasoning with salt. Pour the cooked tomato sauce over the potatoes, garnish with chopped parsley and serve hot or at room temperature.
250 ml/1 cup milk
½ small onion, sliced
1 bay leaf
2 black peppercorns
thyme sprig of fresh
30 g/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons plain/all-purpose flour
a pinch of oak-smoked sweet Spanish paprika
a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
oil, for frying and deep-frying
150 g/5½ oz. Serrano ham, finely chopped
100 g/3½ oz. cooked chicken breast, finely chopped
300 g/2¾ cups dried breadcrumbs
2 eggs, lightly beaten
Serves 4
Put the milk in a saucepan, add the onion, bay leaf, pepper and thyme and heat until just below boiling point. Remove from the heat, let cool, then strain into a bowl.
Melt the butter in a saucepan, stir in the flour and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Slowly add the milk, stirring to deter lumps. Continue to cook, adding the paprika and nutmeg.
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a frying pan/skillet, add the ham and sauté until the fat starts to run. Add the ham and chicken to the white sauce and cook until the sauce thickens, about 2 minutes.
Remove from the heat to cool. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. Shape the cooled mixture into 6 x 2-cm/2½ x 1-inch croquettes. Roll in the breadcrumbs, dip into the beaten eggs and roll in the breadcrumbs again. Cover and chill for 1 hour or overnight.
Fill a large saucepan or deep-fat fryer one-third full of oil or to the manufacturer’s recommended level and heat to 190°C (375°F) or until a cube of bread browns in 30 seconds. Add the in small batches croquettes and fry for 3 minutes or until golden brown. Remove and drain on paper towels.
25 ml/¾ fl. oz. Spanish brandy
1 x 750-ml bottle fruity red wine
45 ml/1½ fl. oz. sugar syrup
45 ml/1½ fl. oz. any orange-flavoured liqueur, such as curaçao, triple sec, Cointreau or Grand Marnier
freshly squeezed juice of ½ orange
freshly squeezed juice of ½ lemon
ice chips or crushed ice, to serve
TO GARNISH
small orange and lemon half-moons
mint sprigs (optional)
12 small tumblers
Makes 12
Mix all of the ingredients together in a jug/pitcher. Strain into ice-chip- or crushed-ice-filled serving glasses. Garnish each one with an orange and lemon slice and a mint sprig (if you like) and serve.
250 ml/1 cup olive oil
300 g/10½ oz. waxy potatoes, peeled, quartered and thinly sliced
1 onion, halved and thinly sliced
6 UK large/US extra-large eggs
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to season
a 16-cm/6¼-inch heavy-bottomed frying pan/skillet
Serves 4–6 as part of a tapas spread, or 2 for a meal
Pour the olive oil into the frying pan/skillet. Add in the sliced potatoes and onion, cover the pan and cook gently over low heat until softened but not coloured, stirring now and then. In effect, you’re stewing the vegetables in the oil.
While the potatoes are cooking, beat together the eggs in a bowl and season with salt and pepper.
Strain the potato mixture into a colander, reserving the olive oil for future use. Season the potato mixture lightly with salt and pour the hot vegetables into the beaten eggs, gently mixing together.
Heat 1 tablespoon of the reserved oil in the same frying pan/skillet. Add in the egg mixture and fry gently for 10–15 minutes until it has set and there is just a small pool of liquid egg on the surface.
Cover the frying pan/skillet with a plate that is larger than the pan and tip over the frying pan/skillet so as to invert the tortilla onto the plate. Gently slide the tortilla back into the frying pan/skillet and cook for an additional 2 minutes to set the other side. Remove from the pan and serve warm or at room temperature.
1 tablespoon olive oil
300 g/10½ oz. small, spicy cooking chorizo sausages, cut into 1-cm/½-inch slices
100 ml/⅓ cup red wine
crusty bread, to serve
Serves 4
Put the oil in a heavy-bottomed frying pan/skillet and heat until smoking. Add the chorizo and cook for 1 minute. Reduce the heat, add the wine and cook for 5 minutes. Transfer to a serving dish and set aside to develop the flavours. Serve warm with crusty bread.
Sometimes referred to as Spanish doughnuts, churros are traditionally scarfed in Spain for breakfast (sure beats a bowl of muesli) or as a mid-morning snack. Hot chocolate is the dipping ‘sauce’ and sometimes they’re sprinkled with sugar. Mmm! Unless you’re planning on your dinner party becoming a sleepover, serve your churros as a delectable dessert (this sauce is waaaay thicker than a hot chocolate) that your friends can share. One taste and all etiquette relating to double-dipping will go out the window as everyone dips and devours with abandon.
½ teaspoon salt
200 g/1½ cups strong white/bread flour
¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda/baking soda
260 ml/generous 1 cup water at around 70°C (160°F)
400 ml/1¾ cups sunflower/corn oil, for frying
DIPPING SAUCE
100 g/3½ oz. dark/bittersweet (70%) chocolate, chopped
120 ml/½ cup double/heavy cream
a thermometer
a piping/pastry bag fitted with a star nozzle/tip (optional)
Makes about 30
Beat together the salt, flour and bicarbonate of soda/baking soda in a bowl. Add the water and beat quite vigorously so that there are no lumps. Let sit in the bowl while you prepare the oil.
Heat the oil in a small saucepan and bring to 180°C (350°F).
Spoon the dough into a piping/pastry bag (fit it with a star nozzle/tip if you want ridges). Twist the piping/pastry bag and hold with one hand. Gently squeeze out the dough to a 5-cm/2-inch piece and snip with scissors into the oil, frying in small batches.
Fry for a couple of minutes and then turn over with tongs and cook until golden brown. Drain on paper towels and keep the fried churros warm in a low oven.
There is no strict shape for churros. Snipping them into the hot oil in lines is the easiest way to get started. Once you get the hang of it, you can try piping them into other shapes, such as the horseshoes shown.
For the dipping sauce, place the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Bring the double/heavy cream to a simmer in a saucepan, then pour over the chocolate. Let it sit for 1 minute, then stir to combine. Serve the churros immediately, accompanied by the dipping sauce.
