Spanish Wines and Tapas Recipes
Ingredients
2 ounces smoked salmon
12 small endive leaves
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Salt
Freshly ground pepper, preferably white
Directions
Place a piece of salmon in each of the endive leaves. In a small bowl
whisk the oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper and pour over the filled endive
leaves. Serve immediately or keep chilled for a short while until ready to
serve.
Pastry
1/4 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
2 cups unbleached flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cider vinegar
6 to 8 tablespoons very cold water
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Filling
6 ounces fresh lobster or langostino meat, cooked, shelled and roughly chopped
(or saltwater or fresh water crayfish)
1/2 cup alioli or homemade mayonnaise
1 tablespoon tomato purée
1 tablespoon cognac
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/3 cup finely chopped scallions, including green part
1 teaspoon coarse kosher or sea salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
2 to 3 hard-boiled eggs, cut lengthwise into 8 pieces
16 to 20 pimiento-stuffed green olives
1 large egg, beaten
2 tablespoons water
Directions
Pastry Directions
Using a fork, combine the butter and cream cheese. Sift the flour over the
mixture. Add baking powder, cumin, vinegar, and water and combine with a fork.
Flour hands generously and work the dough until it becomes a smooth, elastic
ball, 3 to 4 minutes. Flour both the work surface and rolling pin. Roll out the
dough to about 1/8 inch thick and cut it into 6-inch circles for main
course-sized empanadas. For appetizer-sized empanaditas, cut the dough into
3-inch circles. Cover the pastries with a lightly floured towel until you are
ready to fill them.
Filling Directions
Combine the lobster, mayonnaise, tomato purée, cognac, mustard, scallions, salt,
and pepper and mix thoroughly. Set the filling aside and keep it cool until you
are ready to fill the empanadas.
Assembly Directions
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Oil a large cookie sheet or line it with Silpat.
Spoon the filling in the center of the pastry circles — about 2 tablespoons of
filling for each main course empanada or 1 heaping teaspoon for empanaditas.
Stuff an egg slice and 1 or 2 olives in the filling and fold the dough over the
filling forming a half-moon. Beat the egg with the water to make a glaze.
Moisten the open edges with the glaze and crimp the edges with a fork or your
fingers to seal.
Place the empanadas on the cookie sheet and brush the top of each with the
glaze. Bake them for 20 minutes, turn the heat down to 350°F and continue baking
for about 5 minutes more or until the empanadas are golden. When the empanadas
are done, remove them from the oven and cool them on racks for several minutes.
Serve warm or at room temperature.
To freeze and reheat, place frozen cooked empanadas in a preheated 350°F oven
for approximately 20 minutes.
• You don't need to boil an entire lobster to get the meat you need. Instead,
get a Brazilian or Maine lobster tail (generally frozen) at your local fish
market; one tail is usually enough to get six ounces of lobster meat. To prep,
simply defrost the tail in a bowl of room-temperature water, boil for
approximately six minutes (the tail will float), and let cool before shelling
and chopping
Makes 8 to 10 main course empanadas or 20 to 25 hors d'oeuvre-sized empanaditas.
Ingredients
(for four tapas)
Olive oil for frying
1/4 lb chorizo or other spicy cured sausage, thinly sliced
2 medium potatoes, cooked peeled and sliced
1/2 small onion, finely chopped and sautéed until soft
3 eggs beaten
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons aioli
Directions
Make the aioli by crushing the garlic with a little sea salt. Stir in the
egg yolk and beat thoroughly. Add the olive oil a drop at a time,
continuing to beat, increasing the stream of oil as more becomes incorporated.
You should end up with a thick creamy mixture. When you've added all the
oil, add the lemon juice, then salt and pepper to taste. Cover and
refrigerate immediately.
To make the tortilla, heat one tablespoon of olive oil in a small frying pan and
sate the chorizo quickly, until just browned. Add the potatoes and onion
and stir.
In a bowl, mix the chorizo, potatoes, and onion with the eggs. Put two
tablespoons of oil into the pan and pour the mixture back into it. Cook
over a low heat for three minutes. When the omelet is firm but not dry,
cover the skillet with a flat plate and flip it over to turn the omelet out onto
the plate. Slide the omelet back into the pan and cook for three minutes
to brown the other side. Cool for five minutes, then serve with a layer of
aioli.
Ingredients
Spice Mix for chicken, recipe follows
1 (3-pound) frying chicken, cut into 10 pieces
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 Spanish chorizo sausages, thickly sliced
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 Spanish onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, crushed
Bunch flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped, reserve some for garnish
1 (15-ounce) can whole tomatoes, drained and hand-crushed
4 cups short grain Spanish rice
6 cups water, warm
Generous pinch saffron threads
1 dozen littleneck clams, scrubbed
1 pound jumbo shrimp, peeled and de-veined
2 lobster tails
1/2 cup sweet peas, frozen and thawed
Lemon wedges, for serving
Special equipment:
Large paella pan or wide shallow skillet
Directions
Rub the spice mix all over the chicken and marinate chicken for 1 hour in the
refrigerator.
Heat oil in a paella pan over medium-high heat. Sauté the chorizo until browned,
remove and reserve. Add chicken skin-side down and brown on all sides, turning
with tongs. Add salt and freshly ground pepper. Remove from pan and reserve.
In the same pan, make a sofrito by sautéing the onions, garlic, and parsley.
Cook for 2 or 3 minutes on a medium heat. Then, add tomatoes and cook until the
mixture caramelizes a bit and the flavors meld. Fold in the rice and stir-fry to
coat the grains. Pour in water and simmer for 10 minutes, gently moving the pan
around so the rice cooks evenly and absorbs the liquid. Add chicken, chorizo,
and saffron. Add the clams and shrimp, tucking them into the rice. The shrimp
will take about 8 minutes to cook. Give the paella a good shake and let it
simmer, without stirring, until the rice is al dente, for about 15 minutes.
During the last 5 minutes of cooking, when the rice is filling the pan, add the
lobster tails. When the paella is cooked and the rice looks fluffy and moist,
turn the heat up for 40 seconds until you can smell the rice toast at the
bottom, then it's perfect
Note: The ideal paella has a toasted rice bottom called socarrat.
Remove from heat and rest for 5 minutes. Garnish with peas, parsley and lemon
wedges.
Spice Mix for chicken:
1 tablespoon sweet paprika
2 teaspoons dried oregano
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
Combine ingredients in a small bowl. Rub the spice mixture all over the chicken;
marinate for 1 hour, covered
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