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March 7, 2009
My Kitchen, My World: Spain
Last night, for the My Kitchen, My World challenge (which was on a brief hiatus, but thankfully is back in action!), we had a feast of tapas. I've been fascinated by tapas since visiting a local tapa bar, and watching Rick Steves visit Spain doesn't help.
So, here's our feast! And, of course, we had it with sherry. Cheap Californian sherry, not true Andalucian sherry, but still, quite lovely. On Monday, I'll add recipes, as we're going out of town this weekend.
Here we have: olives, bits of two cheeses, a spicy aioli-ish sauce I made to try to match what we had at the tapa bar, Gambas al Ajillo (shrimp in garlic sauce), potatoes with chorizo sausage, and a small loaf of bread.
Gambas al Ajillo (for 2-4 depending on how many other dishes you have)
On medium-high heat in a small saucepan, I fried 4 cloves of garlic in a few tablespoons of olive oil, with 1/2 tsp. smoked paprika and 1/4 tsp. chipotle powder. After a minute, I added 1/2 lb. peeled medium shrimp, 2 tbsp. lemon juice, 2 tbsp. sherry, and sea salt and hot sauce to taste. It only took 2-3 minutes until the shrimp were pink, then I added a few sprigs of chopped parsley.
Serve sizzling from the pan.
Potatoes with chorizo (serves 4-6)
I looked at a couple of recipes for this, one for patatas bravas, and another for a potato and chorizo stew, and then combined them.
Combine 3-4 tbsp. olive oil with 4-6 minced garlic cloves, 2 tsp. paprika, 1/2 tsp. each of smoked paprika and chipotle powder, cracked sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.
Chop 1 lb. red potatoes into bite size chunks, toss with the olive oil. Spread out on a baking pan (I lined it with foil for less mess).
Bake at 450-500 degrees (I did it at 500) for 20-25 minutes, turning once or twice, until lightly browned and crispy.
Meanwhile, spray a griddle with baking spray, heat at medium-high, cut 12 oz. of chorizo into small discs (I accidentally got a kind that was uncooked sausage, instead of the nice dry sausage that I've seen, so look at the package carefully), cook until browned on each side.
Mix potatoes & sausage together, sprinkle with a couple tbsp. of chopped parsley, and serve with sauce.
Bravas sauce (serves 4-6)
I don't know how authentic this is, but I tried to imitate what I had tasted in a local restaurant. I started with about 1 cup mayonaisse, and stirred in 3-4 tbsp. of lemon juice, 2-3 minced garlic cloves, 1-2 tsp. paprika, and 1/2 tsp. each smoked paprika and chipotle powder.
Serve with the potatoes and chorizo.
My Kitchen, My World , cooking stuff | By Tim and Jo | 8:02 AM
Comments
this looks yummy- the spicy sauce is called bravas sauce and is great with potatoes!
Posted by: Lauren at March 7, 2009 4:08 PM
Your tapas feast looks wonderful! Have a nice weekend away, looking forward to the recipes, the potatoes look especially delicious :)
Posted by: Andrea at March 7, 2009 5:42 PM
the louisiana dish "gumbo" gets its name from shrimp. ;-)
Posted by: Jeannette at March 8, 2009 11:54 PM
Oh wow, Jeannette, I had no idea--I didn't even think about the similarity of the words as I was typing "gambas" (*light bulb flashes on in head*). But is there a spanish influence on creole cooking?
I think if I weren't a musicologist, I'd be a food historian. Actually, being an English major would probably be in the middle there, but still, being a food historian would be soooo cool.
Posted by: Jo at March 9, 2009 12:23 PM
This is Andrea again, just wanted to let you know that the MKMW round-up is now posted, thanks for cooking along with the group this month :)
Posted by: Andrea at March 9, 2009 3:57 PM
I love what you did with potatoes and chorizo!
Posted by: Rosa at March 10, 2009 11:14 PM
