Tapas

Buenos dias!


Once again, I'm behind the times in food trends. But, as time goes on, some of them seem to stay in place so I don't feel completely uncool blogging about them. In this case, I'm talking about Tapas. I'm not sure when they came into vogue in the U.S. or Canada, but they've come onto my radar in the last 10-15 years or so (as usual, the Internet is woefully inadequate in the realm of culinary history), Tapas are Spanish small plates, made for sharing, usually served as bar food or appetizers. Some can be very outlandish and luxurious, others quite simple. Of course, nothing says you can't make a mess of Tapas for dinner or lunch, they're certainly satisfying enough.

I can't say exactly what inspired me to throw together a Tapas feast for the family, I'll pin it on getting a box of fancy Spanish meats from the Carnivore Club that included Serrano and Iberico ham (more on Iberico Ham here), as well as chorizo. I can't remember if it was in a book or on the Internet, but the first thing that jumped out at me was asparagus wrapped in serrano ham.

That sounded delicious!!!!! As I salivated over that idea, I contemplated what I could do with chorizo, and on the ideas went. Luckily, I also had a Tapas cookbook I got as a gift many moons ago and looked through it for inspiration.


A trip to the local shops later and we were ready to move ahead with Tapasian wonderment. Admittedly, I didn't know much about what might constitute an 'authentic' Tapas plate, so I relied on my cookbook to give me some ideas. Some of them were mostly direct adaptations, others were creative riffs. In the interest of concision (and actually getting this post out less than six months after I made the food), I'll be presenting two dishes in this post and three more in a subsequent post.


Serrano-Wrapped Asparagus


Serrano ham is basically Spanish prosciutto: salty and rich and a little crispy when cooked. The combination with asparagus might not seem super-evident, but it's a tapas standard, especially when served with an aioli-style dipping sauce (basically, a fancy term for mayo, sort of).

Ingredients

- 12-24 asparagus stalks, washed and trimmed of woody ends
- 12-24 slices serrano ham (or prosciutto), about 1-2 inches (3-6 cm) wide by 4-5 inches long (12-15 cm)
- 1-2 tbsp cheaper olive oil, divided in two
- fresh ground pepper (optional)

Aioli

- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tsp cheaper olive oil
- 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp high quality olive oil
- juice from 1/4 lemon

Directions

- Preheat oven to 400 F.
- Coat bottom of cookie sheet or roasting pan with olive oil.

- Wrap ham around asparagus stalks tightly, fasten with soaked toothpicks if necessary (it shouldn't be).

- Place asparagus in pan and drizzle rest of olive oil over top and top with pepper if desired.
- Bake in oven for 10-12 minutes until asparagus in slightly tender and ham is crispy.
- While baking, quickly pan fry garlic in cheaper olive oil until golden, and whisk together with mayo, high quality oil and lemon juice until smooth.

- Serve piping hot with aioli on side for dipping.

It's pretty obvious that this is a really tasty, salty, fatty, sensuous dish, just bursting with umami from the ham and mayo, but nicely cut with the herbal bitterness of the asparagus. Very decadent and very easy, which probably sums up the existential state of Tapas nicely.

I had bought a simple bottle of cheap but highly rated blended Spanish red wine to pair with the whole shebang and it worked well, but I think if you're going to eat this dish on its own, go with a buttery Chardonnay or a crisp Sauvignon blanc, depending on your taste in wine. Bonus, this pairing would also go really well with the next Tapas dish.


Chorizo, Edamame and Artichoke Salad w. Clementine-Saffron Dressing


This one was purely my brainchild, basically an extension of the "Frazzed Mama Salad" concept I'd introduced in my 'spin-off' (and idle) "Dad, Cook!" blog, but with more Spanish-themed ingredients like marinated artichokes, smoked paprika, red pepper and chorizo. Oh, and I wanted to feature one of the most cherished of ingredients in Spanish cuisine: saffron. Saffron is interesting stuff in that it is super-rare and correspondingly expensive, but one little package can last a long time since it only takes a tiny amount to impart a lot of flavour to a dish. I figured it would add a great touch to the dressing, especially mixed with the sweetness of the juice of a clementine.  

Dressing

- 1 clove garlic, minced

- pinch smoked paprika

- salt and pepper to taste

- 3 threads saffron, crumbled

- juice of 1 clementine orange

- 2 tsp red wine vinegar

- 2 tbsp olive oil (high quality)

Salad

- 2 marinated artichoke hearts, sliced thin

- 2 inch piece dried/cured chorizo, minced

- 1 red pepper, finely diced

- 5-6 cherry or grape tomatoes, sliced (get your knife good and sharp for this!)

- 1/2 cup frozen edamame, shelled and thawed (make sure they're cool before using in salad) 

- 2 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley

End result: Salad amazing-super-deliciousness. You might notice a distinct lack of leafy greens in this salad and that was totally on purpose. I recently read an article ripping into the health value (mis)placed on salad, specifically on lettuce. I kind of agree and am not a big lettuce user and much prefer to make salads without it (not counting Caesar Salad, of course). Want some green in your salad? Use peas or edamame and fresh herbs!


There was a lot of brightness and acidity from the clementine in the dressing, red pepper, tomatoes and artichokes which blended well with the smokiness from the paprika and chorizo, and was rounded out with the herbal bitterness from the saffron. One of my best salad offerings to date.


So, that's Tapas, round 1. We'll get to round 2 at some point, but really, just these two dishes would make a great summer meal on their own.


Salud!

Too hot to cook

Hey dudes and dudettes, It's about 35 degrees (42 with the humidex) in Ottawa today, the kind of day where the only cooking you're doing is in your clothes. Where the person with the pool wins.

On such a day the last thing you want to do is cook, even on the grill. It's a day of salad and cold food.

Now, you've got a lady/gentleman friend coming over to... I don't know... hang out in your freezer? Well, you need to serve something tasty, right?

Well, with that in mind, here are a few ideas for days like today. All these meals should be served with a fresh baguette, loaf of sourdough or ciabatta buns. Or whatever bread looks tastiest at the bakery... If you need to top the bread with anything, I suggest Boursin cheese - Garlic & Fine Herbs.

1) Greek Salad

Dead easy to make and tasty. There are a number of variations, but traditionally it's a combo of cucumbers, red onion, tomatoes, olives, green peppers and feta cheese.

In this version, I'm replacing the green peppers with red, because of you're anything like me, raw green peppers are the LAST thing you want to eat on a date! Also, omit the red onion if you wish.

Raw onion isn't exactly what your breath needs when trying to seduce, and I also find it can overpower the other flavours.

Here's how you put it together for two people:

Salad

- 1/2 cucumber, diced into 1 cm wide pieces
- 1/2 red onion, sliced or diced (optional)
- 1 small red pepper, diced (OR use roasted red pepper from a jar if you prefer)
- 12 kalamata olives, pitted and sliced in half
- 2 tomatoes, cut into 8 pieces each
- 100 grams crumbled feta cheese

- Assemble all veggies in 2 bowls (try to make it pretty!), top with feta

Dressing

- 2 tbsp olive oil (highest quality is best for dressings, see my second post - I suggest buying a large bottle of so-so quality stuff for frying/sautéing, a smaller bottle of higher end for dressings)
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice (about 2 wedges worth)
- pinch dried basil
- pinch dried oregano
- pinch sea salt
- black pepper to taste
- a few drops balsamic vinegar (optional)

- Whisk all ingredients together with a fork

- Top salad with dressing, toss and serve

NOTE: I've also added cut up pieces of Genoa salami to the salad for extra flavour (don't do this if your date is a vegetarian!).

2) Saffron Gazpacho I'm cheating a bit with this one, it's actually a recipe a lady friend made and she got it from the following site: http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=10479.msg73108#msg73108. I'm reprinting it anyway.

Now, gazpacho is cold soup, a concept which often hurts the brain of less adventurous diners. But it's delicious and amazingly refreshing on really hot days. You can find saffron at most gourmet grocers or produce stores. It's not cheap but a little goes a long way and it adds an earthy flavour to most foods that's quite interesting.

Saffron Gazpacho

Ingredients:

- 1/4 teaspoon saffron threads
- 1 teaspoon instant vegetable broth powder (this is a handy ingredient to have in many soup recipes, which we'll touch on in a few months when the weather's right for it)
- 1/3 cup finely minced red onion
- 1 small garlic clove, finely minced, or 1 large roasted garlic clove
- 1 cup boiling water
- 2 lbs. ripe plum tomatoes, trimmed, halved, and seeded
- 1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded, and cut into chunks
- 1 cup coarsely chopped roasted red bell pepper
- 2-3 tablespoon sherry or red wine vinegar
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste - chopped chives for garnish

Directions:

- Rub the saffron threads between your palms into a small bowl. Add the broth powder, onion, and raw garlic (if using). Pour the boiling water on top and stir. Cover and let steep for 5 minutes.
- In a food processor or blender, puree the saffron mixture, plum tomatoes, roasted garlic (if using), cucumber, and roasted pepper. Transfer to a glass storage container and stir in vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste. (The gazpacho should have a slightly acidic edge.) Cover and chill before serving. Garnish with chives.

3) Antipasto plate

From Wikipedia: Antipasto (plural antipasti), means "before the meal" and is the traditional first course of a formal Italian meal.

An antipasto-style plate makes for a great light dinner or lunch and is quite good for sharing. the best part? You make NOTHING; it's all buy-and-assemble. Well, mostly. Listed are some of the items you'll find on a traditional antipasto plate. All can be found at Italian grocers and usually the supermarket.

- artichoke or palm hearts
- pickled eggplant
- pickled, marinated or fresh mushrooms
- cheese, namely Provolone, Mozzarella, Pecorino and Bocconcini
- sliced Genoa salami (or whatever other salami floats your boat)
- sliced Cappicollo ham
- sliced Prosciutto
- roasted red pepper
- green olives
- cured black olives
- fresh basil

...and what ever else you feel like! As long as it's Mediterranean.

Basically take all ingredients, drain excess liquid from the marinated/pickled items, pit the olives if necessary and arrange it all nicely on a plate. You might want to roll up sliced meats for ease of handling. Serve with chilled wine or some other cool drink! Enjoy!