Perfect jamón slice

The prefect slice will have the width of the piece of Jamón and will not be longer than 5 cm. 

It will be very thin, almost transparent, so that it melts in the mouth. Once cut to place the slices on a plate but in a single layer, slightly overlapping.

Cocido Madrileño (Traditional Madrid Stew)

500 gr. chickpeas
1/2 kg. baby carrots
6 medium size potatoes
1/2 kg. of cow meat
1/4 of Hen
2 cow bones legs
1 chorizo
1 morcilla (black sausage)
1 piece of serrano ham bone
150 gr. bacon
2 handfuls of very thin noodles
2 litters of water
salt


Leave the chickpeas to soak the day before, in warm water with a tablespoon of salt and a pinch of bicarbonate. Will be important to change the water at least twice. 

After 15 - 20 hours drain the chickpeas and set aside. Place in a large pot with cold water: the meat, bones, bacon, ham and chicken with a pinch salt. High heat and when it starts to boil, take out the foam from top and add the drained chickpeas. When a boiling low heat to cook slowly. Season to taste.

The stew should be cooked about 3 hours, taking out the foam occasionally. An hour before the end of cooking, add the chorizo, carrots cutted in half lengthwise & peeled potatoes.

Potaje rociero

1 kg. / 2 cups chickpeas
2 tomatoes
2 red peppers
1 onion
1 head of garlic
2 bay leaves
3 carrots
1 tsp sweet paprika
2 chorizos
2 black sausages (morcillas)
250g pork meat
200 gr of bacon
2 - 3 slices of hard bread
Salt, olive oil & pepper 
cumin and nutmeg to taste



Leave the chickpeas to soak 24 hours in warm water with a pinch of salt. Change the water twice in that time. 

After 24 hours set the chickpeas in a pot with the peeled and chopped tomatoes. Then add the half of the head of garlic, unpeeled cloves of garlic. Following bay leaves, the sliced carrots, chorizo ​​and morcilla cutted in medium slices. Then we add the pork meat and the diced bacon, olive oil and sweet paprika. Pour water until covering all the ingredients and let it cook for about 60 minutes over low - medium heat. Add salt to taste.  

In a frying pan add the red peppers and onions diced. Lightly fry with olive oil, along with the other half of the head of garlic (peeled this time) Add diced hard bread after 5 minutes. 

Add cumin to taste and blend in a mixer with half a glass of water. Add to soup and let it cook. Once it is cooked add a a pinch of salt if need it, pepper and nutmeg to taste. Let it cool for 10 minutes and serve. 

Chanfaina de Salamanca (Cheap Stew from Salamanca)

1 onion 
200 ml of olive oil 

1 kg lamb (tripe, trotters and cooked blood) 

2 liters of water

A bay leaf 
2 cups rice 

2 cloves of garlic 

1 tsp cumin unmilled 
1 tsp cayenne pepper 
Ground black pepper 
salt 
2 boiled eggs



Wash and chop the lamb tripe and trotters. Boil in water with a bay leaf until they are tender. (30 min - 1 hour) Keep the water (broth) in the pot. 

Meanwhile, toast the cumin in a separate pan and crush in a mortar. 

Finely chop the onion. Sauté in a frying pan over medium to low heat. When the onion is ready, add the boiled tripe and the trotters, also the chopped garlic and cook over medium heat all together. 

After 5 minutes pour two cups of rice. Cut the blood into small cubes and add it to the frying pan along with the roasted cumin, black pepper and cayenne pepper. Saute for 3 minutes, until the rice is transparent and the paprika looks toasted. 

Add 4 cups of broth and season to taste. Let it cook over medium heat. 

When ready, serve in a dish and add cutted boiled eggs on top. 

Spicy Romesco sauce with potatoes (Salsa Romesco con patatas.

5 large chillies
10 roasted almonds
6 roasted hazelnuts 
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 thick slice of country bread
3 tomatoes 
1 clove garlic
parsley
1/2 lemon juice
1 tablespoon of white wine
salt



Remove the seeds and stems from the chillies. Soak in warm water, and after 10 minutes dry them with paper towels. 

In a frypan heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and fry the slice of bread on both sides until golden brown. Let it cool and cut it in cubes and set aside.

High heat the pan with 2 tablespoon olive oil and the chiles. Cook for a minute and add the tomatoes chopped. Season and stir constantly until the tomato juices have evaporated.

In a grinder place the almonds, hazelnuts and fried bread. After 1 minute add the peeled garlic clove, grind for 1 minute and add also the tomato mixture from the pan, parsley, lemon juice and white wine. Grind meanwhile adding 1 cup of olive oil until getting an homogeneous mixture.  Season to taste. 

Stuffed roasted red pepper with spinach bechamel (Pimientos asado rellenos con bechamel de espinacas)

3 tablespoons of boiled white beans
8 roasted and peeled red peppers
50 g of spinach
1 red onion
1 clove of garlic
2 table spoons of pine nuts
1 - 2 tablespoon flour
200 ml milk
olive oil
nutmeg  

For the sauce
4 roasted and peeled red peppers
1 spring onion
350 ml cream
olive oil


Chop the onion and garlic, lightly fry in a pan with a little olive oil. Seasons. Wash spinach well, chop them and add them to the pan. Also add the pine nuts and white beens. 

Meanwhile, in a different frying pan add some olive oil. Add flour, some nutmeg and keep mixing. Mix well and slowly add the milk, stirring until the bechamel is made. Pour the spinach, onion, garlic, etc from the other pan and mix until getting a homogeneous bechamel. Place in a glass bowl and let cool. After about 30 - 50 min, fill up the roasted and peeled red peppers with the spinach bechamel. 

Three Wise Men cake with pastry cream (Roscón de Reyes con crema pastelera)

Three Wise Men cake recipe

PASTRY CREAM
1 liter of milk
Peel of 1 lemon
2 sticks of cinnamon
200 grams of sugar
10 tablespoon of cornflour
6 egg yolks





Boil the milk the night before with the lemon peel and cinnamon sticks. Leave to infuse overnight to intensify their flavor. Then, in a saucepan place the sugar with 1 glass of milk (strained), add egg yolks and cornflour. Stir until all ingredients are dissolved.

Place the saucepan and add the remaining milk gradually. Let it boil the milk until the mixture thickens, always stirring to avoid sticking. Let cool thoroughly before using, cover the pan with plastic wrap.

Jijona´s turrón (Turrón de Jijona)

300 grams of ground roasted almonds
100 grams of sugar
200 grams of honey
1 egg whites
powdered cinnamon
lemon zest





Grind the roasted almonds until getting a paste, or buy them already grounded and toasted. 

Whisk the egg white. 

In a frying pan place the honey and the sugar. Will be required medium heat and stir frecuently with a wooden spoon until getting an homogeneous and thick mixture. 

Remove the pan from the heat, add the egg white and stir. You will always have lumps, stir until the lumps have disappeared. The mixture will be ready when turned into a lighter color (About 10 minutes)

Add the lemon zest and cinnamon. Stir and add the ground almonds. Stir well until the ingredients are well mixed. 

Christmas wine donuts (Roscos de vino de Navidad)

500 grams of flour
125 grams of sugar
200 ml olive oil
125 ml sweet wine ( muscat )
grated lemon peel
1 teaspoon cinnamon
icing sugar
2 tablespoon toasted sesame (optional)









Fry the olive oil in a pan over low heat for 5 minutes and set aside. In a bowl place the sifted flour and add the remaining ingredients, sugar, fried olive oil, sweet wine, sesame, lemon zest and cinnamon. 

Mediterranean stuffed grape leaves

Parboil 1 cup grains or leave quicker-cooking grains raw. Combine with 1 cup fillings (any combination you like) and seasonings to taste. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and let the fillings marinate while you prepare the leaves.

Buy jarred grape leaves, or trim the thick stems and veins from fresh grape leaves, fig leaves, cabbage, collards or kale; you want about 35 leaves altogether. Blanch the leaves in boiling water until pliable, then blot them dry with paper towels. Line the bottom of a pot with a few leaves.

Stuff each remaining leaf with about 1 tablespoon filling, roll and stack them in the pot. Add water or stock to barely cover the rolls, and add a drizzle of olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice. Bring almost to a boil, then cover and simmer until the filling is tender, 15 to 20 minutes for couscous and bulgur, 25 minutes for quinoa, 30 minutes for parboiled farro and brown rice, 45 minutes for white rice. Let cool, then remove and serve. 

Yield: About 30 rolls (6 to 8 appetizer servings).

While not difficult, rolling up all these tiny packages is certainly a project. But they keep fairly well in the fridge — just store them in their cooking liquid, fishing them out as needed. I typically make the biggest batch that I can stand and aim for leftovers throughout the week.

Chuletas de cerdo con manzana y salsa de sidra (Pork chops with apple and cider sauce)

4 pork chops
3 medium sweet apples
40 gr. butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon dried garlic
3 tablespoons of sugar
1 cup cider
salt & black pepper
olive oil
2 - 3 big potatoes
1 bay leaf



Mix the flour, paprika and garlic. Dip the pork chops into the mixture. Fry them in olive oil until brown on both sides. Place aside in a plate. 

Boil the potatoes in water and a bit of salt and a bay leaf. You can peel them if you like. 

Wash and peel the apples if the skin is tough, cut into large wedges and brown them in a pan with butter until soft. Add sugar and cook about 5 minutes. Then add the cup of cider and wait until the liquid is evaporated by half and the apples completely cooked.

Place 1 - 2 pork chops in a plate, serve with boil potatoes, apple slices and cider sauce on top.

Bizcocho de limón y romero (Rosemary and lemon sponge cake)

4 medium eggs
350g caster sugar
325g butter (out from fridge)
1 tbsp cooking cream
grated zest of 1 large lemon
350g plain flour
230ml milk
1.5 tsp fresh rosemary
salt

For the icing
500g icing sugar
Juice of 3-4 lemons







Preheat the oven to 180˚C and grease a 9”/23cm mold. Set aside until required.

Break the eggs into a bowl, with the sugar and beat for 5 mins (until creamy). Add the butter in 4 times,  keeping the beat (medium speed) until butter is well incorporated and soft dough. Then add the lemon zest and the cooking cream, when ready add the flour, milk and a pinch of salt. Beat the dough for a few extra minutes (scrape down the sides of the bowl occasionally with a spatula) 

Finally add the finely chopped rosemary and mix.

Guiso de pollo y chorizo (Chicken and chorizo stew)

6 large chicken thighs
200 g chorizo
1 onion
2 medium leeks
1 tespoon paprika
a pinch of saffron strands
2 whole heads of garlic
4 sprigs of thyme
200 ml sweet white wine
250 ml chicken stock
800 g boiled white beans
1 bay leaf
olive oil & salt



Heat some the olive oil in a large pot and fry the chicken thighs on both sides until they are crisp and golden, set aside in a plate. Cut the chorizo into 1-2cm chunks and add to the pot. Fry for a minute on each side and remove from the pot, leaving the oil behind. 

Add the onion cut into thin wedges and the leeks chopped into 2-3cm pieces (fry in the chorizo oil.) Reduce the heat, cover and soften the vegetables for 3 – 4 minutes. Check that they don’t catch on the bottom of the pot. 

Boquerón en Vinagre con ajo y perejil (Vinegar Whitebait with garlic and parsley)

1 kg of large whitebait 
Vinegar to cover
salt
Extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves of garlic
parsley






Clean the whitebait,  remove innards, bones, tails and heads. Split in two pieces. Flush with water very cold, do not stir or fish can be broken. Drain it when fish is clean. 

Pastel de brócoli y coliflor con salsa de zanahoria (Broccoli and cauliflower cake with carrot sauce)

400 gr. broccoli

400 gr. cauliflower

6 eggs

1/4 l. of milk

1/4 l. of cream

2 slices of bread

bread crumbs and butter 

water

olive oil

salt & black pepper

Cook the broccoli in salted water for 4-5 minutes. Drain and mash with electric mixer. Put aside.

In another pot cook the cauliflower for 10-12 minutes. Drain and mash with electric mixer and also put aside.
Break the eggs into a bowl. Season with salt and ground black pepper. Beat and add the milk and the cream . 

Guiso de cordero y alcachofas (Lamb and artichokes stew)

1 kg lamb

300 g of artichokes

300 g of peas

150 g ripe tomatoes

150 g potatoes

2 onions

1/2 head of garlic

1 glass of white wine

10 g of pine nuts

flour

ground black pepper

paprika

olive oil

2 bay leaves

parsley and salt

2 eggs boiled

Clean the lamb, cut it, season and dip in flour. Lightly fry the meat in olive oil, when golden place it in a pot. (Keep the olive oil in the fry pan) Add about 1 liter of water, and boil for 20 min along with the chopped artichokes and potatoes. After that time, add the peas and cook for another 10 minutes. 

Pollo al ajillo con patatas (Garlic chicken with baby potatoes)

1 whole chicken chopped or 2 kg of chicken wings or thighs
4 cloves of garlic
10 - 15 boiled baby potatoes
olive oil
parsley
1 cup water
1 glass of white wine
salt and black pepper

In a large frying pan put plenty of olive oil. When hot put the chicken and fry until well browned (20 min).

Incorporate the boiled baby potatoes split in half. Stir the chicken and the potatoes, making sure that they are not sticking to the bottom of the frying pan.

Pollo en pepitoria (Pepitoria Chicken)

1 chicken (chopped)
2 onions
1 carrot
1 green pepper
1 glass of white wine
2 cloves of garlic
8 almonds
3 slices of bread
olive oil & salt
black pepper
1 bay leaf
few strands of saffron
1 - 2 boiled eggs

Add salt and pepper to the chicken pieces and lightly fry in a saucepan with olive oil.

Chop the onions, garlic, carrot and green pepper, put them to fry over low heat in a saucepan with some olive oil and season. When they start to turn brown add the golden chicken, bay leaf, saffron strands, 1 glass of water and wine. Close the pan and cook for 50-60 minutes in low-medium heat.

Ensalada de pimientos rojos con atún y huevo (Red pepper salad with tuna and egg)

3 red peppers
1 tomato
extra virgin olive oil
sal
2 eggs
2 cans of tuna


Vinaigrette dressing
50 ml white wine vinegar
50 ml cooking liquid from peppers
100 ml Olive Oil
pitted black olives or tapenade
(Place all ingredients in a hand blender and mix for 30 seconds intermittently)


Preheat the oven to 200ºC. Wash the red peppers and the tomato, place them in a glass bowl dish, and put in the oven. Take out after 20-30 minutes. Cover with a cloth and let it cool.

Sobaos pasiegos (Traditional muffins from Cantabria)

250 grams of flour
250 grams of butter
250 grams of sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon rum or anise liqueur
1 pinch of salt
zest of one lemon
3 teaspoons powdered yeast




(Traditional recipe from Cantabria, north of Spain)




Mix the yeast with the flour and put aside.

In a deep bowl place the butter lightly melted (room temperature). Add the sugar, lemon zest, a pinch of salt, lightly beaten eggs, rum or anise and flour already mixed with yeast. Knead everything with your hands until well blended and, if necessary, you can use a wooden fork to mix everything.