Simple Spanish Cooking at Home

After the spectacular New Year's food at our friends Cindy and Brian, we had to repay the favor. So, we had them over and I decided to make some more Spanish inspired food, though the wife told me I had to make pasta since that's what I usually do best. Any who, we had a great time and the food came out pretty damn good. Thanks to Porthos and our buddy D'Artagnan as they helped me with food timings; an issue I generally have with more than 4 courses...the key is cook everything but the proteins first and re-warm in a 200 degree oven at the end f0r 5-10 minutes. Saves you time and ensures everyone gets warm food at the end.

Smoked Salmon, Yogurt, and Truffle Honey
I've made this before, but I've tweaked it and I have it pretty on right now. Keys here are to use the best fatty smoked salmon you can buy, use full fat yogurt and letting it sit at room temp (cold yogurt does not taste great here), season with salt and pepper which pumps up the yogurt and salmon flavor, and don't be afraid to add loads of truffle honey. Sweet, creamy, smoky, earthy and fatty...

Ingredients
Smoked Salmon (1 package for 16 montaditos)
Sliced Baguette
Room Temp Full Fat Greek Yogurt
White Truffle Honey (maybe you could get away with regular honey and truffle oil?)
Sherry Vinegar
Salt and Pepper

1) Add yogurt to the bread, salt and pepper, and a dash of vinegar - maybe 1/2 tsp or less
2) Drape piece of salmon and drizzle with truffle honey


Salad with Dried Fruits
This definitely isn't Spanish, but it's really really fun to eat. Big flavors and textures - crunchy, bitter from the arugula, sweet with the fruits, and bright vinegary dressing.

Ingredients
6 handfuls of wild arugula / mixed greens
1/4 cup each of dried dates, dried apricots, dried pineapple, dried papaya diced
1/4 cup alfalfa sprouts
1/4 cup crushed almonds
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp dijon mustard
Salt and Pepper

1) Combine vinegar, olive oil, mustard, salt and pepper
2) Dump the fruits in to let sit. Right before serving dump the rest of the ingredients and combine well.


Patatas Bravas
I love this dish and it's done so poorly in most NYC Spanish restaurants. I've tweaked this recipe as well and I think I got it nailed down now. Keys: use yukon gold potatoes - much more flavor than yellow potatoes; bake them first, then crisp them in the pan; make your own bravas and alioli sauce. Spicy, crunchy, creamy, and garlicky...pretty f;n awesome.

Ingredients
6 Yukon gold potatoes - salt, pepper, oiled
Bravas sauce:
5 cups crushed jersey fresh tomatoes
2 tbsp Chipotle powder
2 tbsp Sherry Vinegar
Honey
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Alioli:
1 garlic
1 egg
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp Sherry Vinegar

1) Use a fork to poke holes all over the potatoes and place in a 400F oven. Cook for 45 minutes and remove.
2) Make bravas sauce. Cook 3 tbsp olive oil over medium heat and add chipotle pepper. After 15-30 seconds (you'll smell the chipotle perfume the air), add the crushed tomatos.
3) Make alioli. Add garlic to food processor, pinch salt/pepper, and 3 tbsp olive oil. Puree until all the garlic is minced. Add the rest of the olive oil slowly and continue blending. Eventually it'll become a thick yellow mayonnaise. Add vinegar, taste and adjust if necessary.
4) Cut up the potatoes in chunks and crisp up the potatoes in a pan, then drizzle with the bravas and alioli making sure each potato get some of each sauce.

Clams in Cava
Made a similar dish before and it's still delicious. Make sure to get extra bread to sop up the sauce.







Spaghetti with Mussels and Chorizo
bonus dish steamed Snapper
I wanted to rock chorizo and mussels figuring it would go great with spaghetti. It was pretty delicious, but this is probably the last time I use Barilla pasta. I don't get the same texture I like with De Cecco or Colavita even.

Ingredients
1 pound washed and cleaned mussels
5 cloves garlic minced
1 sweet onion diced
2 chorizo links sliced 1/4 inch thick
2 2.4 pound red snapper cleaned, scaled
Cup Cava - Spanish sparkling wine
Bunch Parsley sliced
1/4 cup clam juice
1 tbsp butter
1 pound spaghetti
5 cups crushed jersey fresh tomatoes
Extra virgin olive oil

1) Boil some water and salt it heavily
2) Cook chorizo in olive oil over medium heat for 5 minutes and remove chorizo and leave the chorizo oil behind in a wok.
3) Cut the fish three times across the side. Salt and pepper inside and outside of the fish. Add parsley inside.
4) In another sautee pan, sautee garlic and onions in olive oil until softened - 5 minutes.
5) Add mussels and add cava - enough to steam them open. After 3-5 minutes, remove the clams (make sure to remove as soon as they open more than 50%) and add the juice and solids to the wok.
6) Add fish in the wok, clam juice (bottled), and tomatoes and set over high heat. After liquids start boiling set over medium heat, cover, and cook for 10-15 minutes. Check frequently to make sure fish is cooked nicely. When finished remove the fish, add sauce on top of the fish, and cover.
7) As the fish is cooking, drop the pasta in the water. Cook for 7-8 minutes - 1 minute under from the package instructions.
8) Timing should be to remove the fish first; then the pasta should finish right there after. Add butter and the pasta to the wok. Add mussels and chorizo and cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Serve immediately and drizzle with olive oil. Add fresh parsley to the top and add cracked pepper
9) Serve the fish and drizzle with olive oil. Buen Provecho!