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Tapas - Gambas al ajio and Gajos de Patatas

Gambas al ajio (Prawns in garlic sauce) - for 4

20 prawns

1 chilli peppers

100 mls. olive oil

1 T. bread crumbs

2 cloves of garlic

half a lemon

salt

Clean the prawns. Remove the heads, carefully peel away the shell, leaving the tails intact. De-vein, dry and set aside.  (The Spanish usually do not devein.)

Heat the oil to smoking. Lower the heat slightly and place one halved garlic clove and the chili pepper in the oil. Sauté until the garlic is golden. Mince the rest of the garlic and set aside. Remove and discard the garlic along with the chilli pepper. Drop in the prawns and the bread crumbs and toss with a spoon for a minute or two.  Add the minced garlic, squeeze over the lemon, stir well, lid and remove from heat. Allow to set for a minute or two before serving. Prawns should be just tender, slightly crunchy. If cooked too long, they will be tough and difficult to digest.  Spoon into warmed tapas dishes and serve immediately.

(adapted from my cookbook)

Gajos de patata con hierbas y parmesan

(Potato wedges with herbs and parmesan cheese)

4 medium firm cooking potatoes such as russets

1 crushed garlic clove

+ - 1 T.  butter

+- 2 T. olive oil

1 T. each of oregano and rosemary

cayenne powder

4 T. grated mature manchego or parmesan cheese

Without peeling the scrubbed potatoes, cut into 6 to 8 wedges. Melt the butter with the oil in a pan and add the garlic and herbs, a little pepper, salt and cayenne to taste.

Add the potatoes and mix well with the seasoned oil.  Place in a roasting pan in one layer and bake for 30 minutes.  Turn each wedge once, sprinkle with the grated cheese and bake a further 10 to 15 minutes.

Serve immediately.

Gazpacho (a cold summer soup)

Besides paella, tapas and the tortilla, a cool gazpacho soup is the summer memory for many a tourist’s vacation to Spain.  Indeed a good gazpacho is memorable not only for its refreshing and colourful qualities but it is delicious and healthy as well.  Its name derives from the Latin caspa which means as much as little pieces or fragments and refers to the bread used in the soup.  It is poor man’s fare that was once snubbed by the ancient aristocracy, but has been elevated to elegancy by its mere presence in fine restaurants to standard summer fare in kitchens rich or poor throughout Spain.  Modern times have brought to light the high vitamin content of this liquid salad and tourism has spread it beyond the Spanish borders to far reaching corners such as Finland, the Americas and lo! Even the French accept this little soup as tantalising exotic fare.

In truth this rustic and honest little soup is pure health.  It provides fibre, liquid to the body in the midst of seething summer, vitamins, is low in calories and provides an excellent excuse to sit in an outdoor, sun-umbrellaed café to have a rest and refresh.   It is never strained, except by perhaps a chic foreign restaurant catering to upper class standards (of bleached flours, strained soups and sauces and the resulting common health problems of the day) or by the packaged commercial shelf products, both rather insipid in taste.  Another reason that some restaurants strain their gazpacho even in Spain is to heighten the effect of the garnish – little bowls of chopped onion, cucumber, green pepper and crouton.  A very pretty effect indeed.  However, to not spoil the fun for my guests, I serve my unstrained gazpacho also with the little bowls of ingredients and so offer the possibility of a little more of this or that per individual taste.

In the many little tapas bars and cafés, it is commonly served as it is at home; unstrained and either straight from the blender pitcher or from the typical terracotta pitcher and poured into small bowls without the extra garnish except slices of bread and the wine ordered.

The Spanish cook has her own variation of this classic Andalusian soup which accounts for the slight differences from kitchen to kitchen.  The following is list of the classic basic ingredients in all variations:

tomatoes, ripe              

green peppers                      

cucumber

onion                       

bread, dried 

water 

vinegar 

olive oil  

garlic     

cumin 

salt  

wine (optional)

The Classic Formula:

The following will serve four to six.  To increase, a good rule to remember is 1 tomato more per person and a little more of everything else, proportionately.  Roughly, it is to the amount of tomatoes, one third of that is the cucumber and half again of the cucumber is the onion used as well as one long green pepper per two tomatoes.  The bread serves to thicken. 

4 large and ripe tomatoes, peeled (about 1 kilo)

2 long green peppers (or 1 bell pepper)

2 small cucumbers (hand length)

½  medium onion

2 cloves of garlic

+ - 100 grams of bread crumbs made without the crust or

*4-6 slices of baguette bread cut about one finger thick

 or 2 slices of sandwich style bread

seasoning:

4 -5 T. olive oil

+ - 2 t. salt

½ t. ground cumin

4 -5 T. vinegar (or lemon juice or blend of both)

¼ l. or more of cold water

*If using fresh bread remove crusts and soak in water.  Remove peel from tomatoes.  Cut coarsely and place in blender along with the rest of the likewise coarsely chopped vegetables.  Squeeze the water from the bread and add as well (if using crumbs, add unsoaked).  Process until almost a fine mass.  

Add the cumin, salt and vinegar and enough water to make it thin enough to pour, however, it is neither a watery soup nor a thick puree but something in between!  

Add the oil and blend for a second or two.  It is important that the gazpacho is not so highly blended that it becomes a pink, foamy mass.  You should still see small bits of vegetable.  Allow to chill one hour before serving, and that is the secret to a good gazpacho.  The flavours must marry a little first.

The Villa Variation

Following a tip from a neighbour of mine, Paco, I add a few tablespoons of wine - either a dry white or rosé – not red according to Paco who believes a red has too much dominating character.  I do not always remove the skin of the tomato, but this depends on the tomato.  We have a huge variety here and a few seem to have tougher skins than others and those are the ones that I plunge first into boiling water before removing the skins.  I always use the long green pepper, which is milder than the large bell peppers and I prefer a vinegar from Jeréz (sherry vinegar) or red wine vinegar and then there are times I will pick a lemon from one of my trees and use that.  If I mix the lemon with the vinegar then only if I am out of the sherry vinegar and am using wine vinegar.   I prefer the small cucumbers to the very long sort as I find the flavour better.  I increase the cumin to one teaspoon and I may add a little clove of garlic more!  Aproveche!  (Bon appetit!)

Sangria

It doesn't take much to make a delicious summer cooler - the famous Sangria.  All you need is a rather basic red wine, almost any fruit on hand, lemon juice, a little sugar and ice.  Purists would never add a brandy or liqueur and only use orange and apple pieces.  But every family seems to have their favourite recipe, and many households just use whatever fruit is on hand that day.  Sangria is best made in the morning and enjoyed in the afternoon or evening, however, it is never drunk with a meal as it is considered too sweet.

Here is a basic formula with variations that follow:

750 ml. inexpensive red wine, not too dry and chilled

150 ml. lemon juice

80 ml. orange juice

50-60 g. sugar

1 sm. apple cut in 

pieces

1 orange with peel cut into pieces

variations:

marinate the fruit in a brandy or appropriate liqueur such as orange liqueur before adding to the sangria

or:

add a little Quarenta y Tres (a vanilla liqueur) and/or Cointreu - try a few liqueur glasses first and adjust or

Melacotón (peach liqueur) is also very good.

fruit suggestions:  apple, orange, lemon wedges, strawberries, banana, peach,  melon (especially cantaloupe or honeydew)

This summer, I discovered another variation that a  favourite restaurant serves with wedges of melon and a little peach liqueur.  Wonderful!

One can also make the Sangria with up to 1/4 litre of brandy or liqueur (or blend thereof).  Before serving, add 1/2 litre of carbonated water.  This will soften the blow!  (Cocktail type Sangrias are often served in the evening.

It is quite acceptable to dilute your Sangria with water (carbonated or not).  Some Spaniards order a small bottle of water with a pitcher of Sangria.

Zurra  (White 'Sangria' from Manchego)

1 litre chilled, dry white wine

200 ml. 

30-50 g. sugar

1 stalk celery, cut into pieces

1 cinnamon stick (+- 4 fingers long)

1 orange, sliced

1 lemon, sliced

1 peach, sliced

3-5 sprigs of mint

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