Gazpacho

Serves 4

2 lbs ripe tomatoes (about 10 plum tomatoes)
1/2 lb cucumber (about 1 cuke)
3 oz green pepper (about 1/2 pepper)
1 clove garlic
2 TBS sherry vinegar
1/2 c water
3/4 c Spanish olive oil
2 tsp salt

Place into blender:
Quartered  tomatoes (discard the core and top of tomatoes)
Peeled and cut cucumber & green pepper chunks
Add the garlic, vinegar, water and blend to a thick liquid.

Add the olive oil and salt and reblend.
Pour the soup through a strainer into a pitcher and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

While it's cooling, prepare the crouton and other garnishes.
In 1 TBS of olive oil, fry a piece of crusty bread on both sides until crisp. Cut into small bits.
Finely dice peeled cucumber and green pepper as well as bits of tomato from the tops.

Place some of each garnish into a bowl and pour the chilled gazpacho over. drizzle with more olive oil.

This recipe comes from my favorite restaurant in DC, Jaleo's.  It belongs to the Andalucian wife of Chef Jose Andres.

Afternoon of Spanish Tapas

 

Spanish cheeses, charcuterie, olives, Marcona almonds, dates, bread

Iberico, Tipsy Goat – Source: Harris Teeter;  Salchihon, Jamon Serrano, & Chorizo Cantimpalo – Source: Trader Joe’s

Apple and Manchego Salad

Granny Smith apples and Manchego- Source: Harris Teeter

Moorish Chickpea and Spinach Stew

Chickpeas with spinach, garlic and spices- Source: Harris Teeter

Sweet Potato Galettes

Sliced sweet potatoes with Goat cheese, chile pepper, sour cream, parsley, and pumpkin seeds on puff pastry- Source: Harris Teeter

Roasted Vidalia Onions with Blue Cheese

Sliced Sweet onions roasted and topped with pine nuts, Valdeon cheese, and dressing-Source Valdeon: Southern Season; Other- Harris Teeter

Roasted Shrimp with Toasted Garlic & Red Chile Oil

Peeled and deveined fresh shrimp oven-roasted in garlic and olive oil, topped with toasted garlic slices and chile oil- Source Shrimp: Fresh Market

 

Wine: Olmedal Verdejo, Rueda Spain

Bright and crisp with notes of apple blossom, passion fruit and white peach and a kick of acidity that dances across the palate. - Source: Southern Season

Roasted Shrimp with Toasted Garlic & Red Chile Oil

Ingredients:
24 large shrimp, shelled and deveined
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
Red Chile Oil, recipe follows
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
Toasted Garlic Chips, recipe follows

Begin by making the garlic chips and reusing the olive oil for the Red Chile Sauce.  These can be made earlier in the day so they are ready for the final touch.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees F.

Place the shrimp in a cazuela or an ovenproof casserole and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Drizzle olive oil over shrimp, add crushed garlic, and toss to coat. Roast in the oven until pink and cooked through, about 4 to 5 minutes. Drizzle generously with Red Chile Oil and sprinkle with thyme and Toasted Garlic Chips. Serve with crusty bread.

Red Chile Oil:

1 cup olive oil

6 dried chiles de arbol, lightly toasted and crushed

6 cloves garlic, finely chopped

Pinch salt

3 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves removed

Blend all ingredients including the thyme leaves in a blender until smooth.. Strain through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl.

Toasted Garlic Chips:

1 cup olive oil

8 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

Salt

Heat the oil in a small skillet until it begins to shimmer. Add the garlic and cook until the slices begin to brown and curl. Remove with a slotted spoon to a plate lined with paper towels and season with salt.

Recipe from Food Network and Bobby Flay

Apple and Manchego Salad

2 Granny Smith apples
1/4 lb manchego cheese
extra-virgin olive oil
Lemon juice

Peel and core the apples.  Slice into matchstick-like pieces and toss with a bit of lemon juice.

Slice the manchego to look like the apple slices.

Mix together with some olive oil.  Can add some chopped fresh mint or parsley. Serves 4.

Moorish Chickpea and Spinach Stew

2  cans (15-oz) garbanzos or chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/4 c Spanish extra-virgin olive oil
6 cloves garlic, peeled
1-2 slices white bread, crusts removed (2 oz)
2 TBS Spanish sweet paprika
1 pinch saffron threads
2 TBS Spanish sherry vinegar
1 tsp ground cumin
5-8 oz washed spinach
Salt and pepper to taste
1 TBS lemon juice

About an hour before serving, pour chickpeas into a heavy pot and cover with water.  Bring to a low boil slowly then simmer for about an hour.  Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a small sauté pan over a medium-low flame.  Add the garlic and cook until brown, about 3 minutes. Remove garlic from pan and set aside.  Add the bread to the pan and brown on both sides, about 1 min each side. Remove the bread and set aside.

Remove the pan from the heart and allow it to cool for a few minutes. Add the paprika and saffron to the pan, then immediately add the sherry vinegar to prevent the paprika from burning.  Add the cumin and leave the pan off the heat.

In a mortar, smash the reserved garlic and toasted bread to make a very thick paste.

Close to serving, bring up the heat on the chickpeas and add spinach to the heated chickpeas. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the paprika mixture and the garlic paste.  You should have a thick stew-like sauce.  Simmer for another 5 minutes.  Season with salt, pepper, and lemon juice to taste.  Serve immediately.

This basic recipe comes from Tapas, a Taste of Spain in America by Jose Andres, 2005.

Sweet Potato Galettes

1 large sweet potato

1 sheet frozen puff pastry
1 egg, slightly beaten
6 TBS sour cream
3 TBS goat cheese crumbles
2 TBS raw pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
1 medium-hot chile, finely chopped
1TBS EV olive oil
1 clove crushed garlic
2 tsp chopped flat-leaf parsley or basil
Coarse salt and fresh-ground pepper

1.       Microwave sweet potato on high for 5 minutes (not cooked through). Let cool to touch and peel.

2.       Thaw puff pastry for about 8 minutes until soft to roll out.

3.       Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper. And preheat oven at 400 degrees F.

4.       Roll out puff pastry on a lightly floured surface to 1/16 inch (very thin).

5.       Cut out about 9-12 rectangles and place on parchment.  Prick all over with fork tines. Leave to rest in refrigerator for about 30 minutes.

6.       Meanwhile, when the sweet potato is cool, use a mandolin and slice very thinly. Move the slices around so they are not all bunched on top of each other.

7.       Remove the puff pastry and brush lightly with beaten egg.

8.       Spread a small dollop of sour cream on each piece leaving a small border.

9.       Top the galettes with the thin slices of sweet potatoes (overlapping a little).

10.   Sprinkle the pepitas, goat cheese, chopped chile, and salt and pepper over the sweet potato.

11.   Bake for 20-25 minutes until pastry is cooked through.

12.   While galettes are cooking stir together the olive oil, garlic, parsley or basil and a pinch of salt.

13.   When pastries are removed from oven, dab them with this mixture.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

 

The basic recipe comes from Ottolenghi, The Cookbook, 2013

Roasted Vidalia Onions with Blue Cheese

2 Vidalia onions, unpeeled, each cut into four 1/2-inch thick slices
1 1/2 TBS extra-virgin olive oil
2 ounces blue cheese (e.g., Roquefort, Cabrales)
1 TBS lightly-toasted pine nuts
1 tsp chopped chives

Vinaigrette:
2 TBS extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp cider vinegar
1 large egg yolk
pinch salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Make the vinaigrette and set aside.

In a small roasting dish, rub olive oil all over the onion slices.
Roast for 30 minutes.  Onions should be soft and a little brown.
Remove pan from oven and allow the onions to cool, remove the outer skin.

Place onions on a serving plate.
Crumble the cheese over the onions and sprinkle with pine nuts and chives.
Drizzle with a little dressing and serve.  Serves 4.

Note:  You can have a bed of dressed lettuce underneath the onions if desired.

From one of my favorite restaurants- Jaleo by Chef Jose Andres

Roasted Mushrooms with Garlic Oil

Toss large, fresh mushrooms caps (shiitake preferred but I've used all kinds) with a generous amout of garlic oil, sea salt , and fresh ground pepper.  Put them in one layer on a sturdy sheet pan or caste-iron skillet and roast at 450 F in oven for 10 minutes, or golden all over, slightly crispy on the edges, but still juicy inside.

Instant Spinach

1 pound spinach leaves (e.g., Savoy, tough stems removed)
2 TBS olive oil
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper

Pile the spinach in a large bowl that will fit in the microwave oven. Cook it on HIGH for 25 seconds, until it is warm but not wilted.  Toss the spinach with the oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste.  Cook for 30-60 seconds until the spinach is wilted and its volume reduced less than half.  It should be hot, but not so cooked that it starts to throw off liquid.

Salted Cucumbers or Onions

Put thinly sliced or minced cucumbers or onions in a bowl, season generously with kosher salt, and let sit at room temperature for 20 minutes and up to an hour.  Drain the accumulated liquid before using.  Serve as a salad alone or with a fresh herb like dill or cilantro. A dollop of Greek yogurt is always a nice touch.