Gambas al ajillo (Prawns with garlic)

1⁄2 cup extra virgin olive oil
4-5 garlic cloves, minced or sliced
1-2 dry red chillies
500 gr./1 lbs prawns, peeled and deveined
salt
fresh ground pepper
4 tablespoons flat leaf parsley, chopped

Usually served as a Tapa, is so delicious it can be made as a main course!

In a pan or earthenware dish, warm the Olive Oil , add the garlic and sliced chillies.

When garlic starts to change colour, add the shrimps, and sauté quickly for about 2-3 minutes(until shrimps change colour), add salt and groud pepper, and sprinkle the parsley and serve at once in a warmed serving dish.

 If you wish, you can add lemon juice and paprika at the same time as the salt.

WARNINGS:

If you use frozen shrimps, you have to make sure they are dry when you add them to the pan.

Conger in cider with prawns (Congrio a la sidra con gambas)

4 slices of conger or eel

2 glasses of cider 

1 onion 

2 medium tomatoes 

100 gr. / 1 cup peeled shrimp or prawns

12 mussels 

1 green pepper 

2 cloves of garlic 

1+1/2 cup water 
1 bay leaf

extra virgin olive oil 
parsley
flour

salt 

Season the conger or eel slices and roll in flour. Saute in olive oil (5 - 7 tablespoons) in a casserole and set aside. 

In the same casserole add 2 tablespoons oil. Cut onion into strips and fry slowly. After 5 minutes add the green pepper cutted into thin rings and the chopped garlic. 

Boild the mussels with a bay leaf and 1 and 1/2 glass of water. 

Meanwhile grate tomatoes, and when poached, add the tomatoes along with the water from the mussels and cook slowly for 5 minutes. Season if need it. 

After 5 minutes, add the slices of ​​eel and the cider. Allow to cook about 7 minutes. Then add the prawns and mussels and leave cooking another 3 minutes.

Use chopped parsley for garnish. 

Tips_ Traditionaly you can add boiled egg and sparagus on top also. 

Cod Fritters (Buñuelos de Bacalao)

250 gr of desalted cod 
1/2 green pepper 
1 clove of garlic 
200 g flour 
10 g yeast 
1 egg 
50 g butter 
200 ml milk 
vinegar 
olive oil 
salt 




Melt the butter and put in a bowl. Add the flour, yeast, milk, egg, butter and a pinch of salt. Blend with a stick and left to ferment a couple of hours. 

Finely chop the green pepper and 1 clove of garlic and lightly fry in a pan with a little oil. Crumble the cod and add to the pan. Saute briefly and add the dough. Mix softly. Set aside and let it cool. 

Set plenty of olive oil in a saucepan and cook over high heat. When hot pour small amounts of dough with a spoon. Remove the fritters when they are golden brown and let them drain on kitchen paper.


Tips_ Dip Buñuelos in Alioli as we do traditionaly in Spain. You can add a bunch of parsley
1/2 teaspoon of cumin to the alioli before mixing for extra flavour. 

Clams with Artichokes (Almejas con Alcachofas)

20 preserved artichokes
2 garlic cloves
3 - 4 tbsp olive oil
1 glass of water + artichokes liquid
1 tbsp flour
1/2 glass of white wine
24 clean clams
pinenuts or chopped almonds
salt and pepper





Drain the artichoke and set the liquid aside. 

Chop the garlics and brown them in frypan with hot olive oil. When almost ready add few pinenuts or chopped almonds for extraflavour. 

In a mixer wisk the flour, white wine and the 1 cup of remaining liquid from artichokes plus some water until filling up 1 glass. Pour in the frypan. 

Add the clams and cook until they are open. Then add the artichoke cutted in half and cook for a few minutes before serving. Add salt and pepper to taste. 

2 pax Lobster Paella (Paella de Bogabante para 2)

4-5 fullhands of rice 
1 lobster 
2-3 big grated tomatoes 
6 + 1 cloves of garlic 
2 dry red peppers 
12 - 16 Mussels 
water 
extra virgin olive oil 
salt & pinch of sugar
1 bay leaf
saffron 
parsley

Cut in half the dry red peppers, and take out the seeds and the stem. Place into mixer bowl or a mortar, along with 1 garlic glove, a bit olive oil and mix all. Then add half glass of water and let it hydrate for 1 hour at least. (if you do it in the mixer bowl, add the water before mixing, it will help) 

Cut the lobster into pieces. Cut lengthwise from head to tail and then transversely by the union of the chest to the abdomen, having 4 pieces this weay. If bigger lobster, cut smaller pieces like in the picture .

Heat the olive oil (half glass will be good). Lightly fry the lobster until the shell turns red. Once it is ready set aside, but leave the olive oil in the pan, you´ll use it to keep cooking. 

Mussels and avocado spread (Paté de mejillones y aguacate)

1 can of pickled mussels (or 10 - 12 boiled mussels with a bay leaf) 
1 large avocado
A few drops of lemon
¼ sweet onion or fresh chives
2 tablespoon of thick mayonnaise
1 teaspoon of white wine



Drain the mussels well.
Peel the avocado and remove the bone.

Put in the glass of the mixer mussels, chopped avocado, few drops of lemon (important to avoid mixture oxidation), the chopped onion and mayonnaise and the white wine.

Putting the cool spread in a bowl. Cover it with plastic wrap, making sure the plastic touches the entire surface of the pate, to prevent it from rusting.

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. 

Marineras (Sailors)

Ensaladilla rusa
Rosquillas or slices of toasted bread
Anchovies 
Vinegar Whitebait (Boquerón)


Take the breadstick, place a tablespoon of ensaladilla on top. 
Add an anchovy or a boquerón on top. Enjoy it now!

Paella Mixta (Chicken & Sea Food Paella)

2 chicken breasts

500 g of clams & 500 g prawns

1/2 kg of mussels

300 g squid rings

3 cups of rice

1 - 2 liters of fish broth

1 tablespoon of saffron

1 red pepper

2 large tomatoes without skin

2 cloves of garlic

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 lemon

½ teaspoon ground pepper

salt & 1 bay leaf

1 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley

1 cup cooked peas (optional)

For starting cook the mussels, scraping clean the beard and all they have adhered to the shells. Place them in a covered pot with water and 1 bay leaf  for about 5 min. just until all of them are open. We take away the shell and put aside, leave some with one of the shells ( 4 -6) Keep the water. 

Fry lightly in the pan with olive oil the garlic, red pepper and finely chopped tomatoes & parsley.

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.

Almejas a la marinera (Sailor´s clams)

500 gr of clams
half onion
3 cloves of garlic
half tablespoon of flour
1 tablespoon sweet paprika
1 small glass of white wine or fish broth
chopped parsley
extra virgin olive oil
bay leave



Wash well under cold water and rub. Leave to soak in salted water.

Place some extra virgin olive oil, chopped garlic cloves and the chopped onion in a pan. When it is golden add the flour. Stir well. Remove the frying pan from the heat, add the paprika and mix.

Empanada Gallega (Galician patty)

500 grams of flour

25 grams of fresh yeast

160 ml water

50 ml white wine

1 pinch of salt

olive oil

1 egg

-

1/2 kg of onions

350 g of tuna (drained)

4 tablespoons of tomato sauce

sweet paprika

Peel and chop onions. Place it in a saucepan with olive oil (add plenty, extra olive oil will be used for the dough)  over medium heat until onions start to become transparent. Then add 1 tablespoon paprika, mix a little and add the drained tuna. Mix well.

Take out from fire, drain the olive oil and put aside. Add the tomato sauce.

Cazón en adobo (Marinated dogfish)

1/2 kg of dogfish (thick slice)

4 bay leaves

5 cloves of garlic

a tablespoon of sweet paprika

a tablespoon of oregano

a teaspoon of ground cumin

a glass of white vinegar

a glass of water

a tablespoon of salt
-----

flour

extra virgin olive oil

To prepare the marinade, cut the slice of dogfish in bite sized pieces. Clean the skin and ugly parts of the dogfish.

Place the pieces of dogfish in a deep bowl and add a tablespoon of salt, garlic beaten up with the skin, broken bay leaves, paprika, cumin and oregano.

Fabes con almejas (Beans with Clams)

1/2 kg. of white beans

1/2 kg. clam

1 tomato

1 spring onion

1 carrot

1 leek

1 bay leaf

4 cloves of garlic

extra virgin olive oil

salt & chopped parsley

Traditional dish from Asturias 

Put the beans to soak in a bowl with water 24 hours before cooking.

The next day, put water (about 1 liter) in a pot and add the beans, the leek, carrot, spring onion, 2 cloves of garlic, bay leaf and salt. Cover and cook in a low to medium heat for 60-90 minutes (until the beans are cooked. Depends on the pot, and also if fire is electric or gas). When beans are tender, if they have too much broth, remove a little. Remove the vegetables and keep aside.

Chipirones rellenos de cebolla caramelizada (Squids with caramelized onions)

8 squids
2 medium onions
3 cloves of garlic
1 green pepper
100 ml dry white wine
a bunch of parsley
salt and olive oil





Start chopping as small as possible 2 cloves of garlic. Cut into thin strips onion and green pepper.  In a pan add the garlic, and without browning add also the onions and green peppers.
Let fry slowly for about 40 minutes. The onions should be golden, but not brown. 
Finally add the white wine and boil down. Take away from the fire and let cool. 

Albóndigas de Bacalao (Cod Meatballs)

salted cod
egg
hard bread
garlic
red pepper
onion
tomato
cayenne & parsley
artichokes
potatoes
green peas (optional)


The fishballs should be prepared the night before. To make the fishballs mix the cod with an egg, a clove of minced garlic, parsley and some grated hard bread.

Arroz cremoso marinero, salmonetes y ajo negro (Seafood rice, red mullet and black garlic)

200 gr. rice
4 large red mullet

1 small onion

2 black garlic cloves (or regular garlic)
green pepper
a glass of dry white wine
three quarters of a liter of fish broth
olive oil
chopped parsley
salt, pepper & saffron

With a bit of olive oil fry the chopped onion and green pepper until transparent, add the garlic and let it cook a couple of minutes.

Add the rice and stir a couple of minutes. Add the wine and cook until all the alcohol evaporates. Stir following the direction of clockwise.
Gradually add fish stock. The rice should always be covered with a some broth. Usually take twice as much water than rice. 

Caldo de pescado (Fish broth)

1 kg of thorns (usually white fish: monkfish, hake, sea bass ... )
100g carrots
100g leeks
1/2 stick of celery 
100 g of onion
black peppercorns
laurel
parsley & dill

(This is a basic spanish recipe. Fish broth will be used in other recipes)

Paté de atún (Tuna foie)

2 cans of tuna
1 can of anchovies 
2 or 3 dill pickles if small
1 Boiled Egg
1 roasted red pepper
1 tablespoon of cream cheese
1 teapoon of Extra Virgin Olive Oil







We add all the ingredients to the bowl of the mixer, all together. Beat, beat and beat, until you have a homogeneous mixture.

Pour into a covered container and put it in the fridge.


Serve in toasted bread as nice tapa.

Fideua Valenciana (Fideua from Valencia)

400 grs. of thick noodles
400 grs. of monkfish (or another white fish with thick meat)
400 grs. of red shrimps
200 grs. of prawns
150 grs. of clams
150 grs. of mussels
1 - 2 quid (Optional)
3 ripe tomatoes
2 garlic cloves
1 liter of fish soup
olive oil
4 threads of saffron
1 tea spoon of cayenne
salt

Boil the mussels with 1 glass of water in a covered pot with some water and bay leaves until they open. We´ll use the remaining water later on.

Pour some olive oil in a pan and fry the shrimps and prawns for a maximum of 3-4 minutes. Leave aside.