A typical country bean soup. We have found versions of this classic soup in each country we visited. Our favorite is the traditional soup prepared in Galicia, Spain, with their local ham (lacon), green vegetables (grelos) and potatoes (cachelos), ask for "Caldo Gallego" or "Pote Gallego" if you visit the region.
This is a family favorite. It is really easy to cook. We have included additional tips and explanations because rice is one of the techniques that distinguish a master from a common cook. Results vary with the type of rice, water, pan, and the personality of your stove, and we wanted to cover every eventuality.
There are many fine chocolate ice creams available at specialty stores and elsewhere today. But nothing compares to the thrill and great taste of making your own.
Ajo blanco comes from Malaga and it is one of the many gazpacho soups found in Spain. If you feel you would like to try preparing it in the traditional way, do everything in the same order, but use mortar and pestle. Put the paste in a big bowl before adding water. This cold soup is a natural source of E vitamin from the olive oil and almonds.
The best recipe I know for sponge cake is the traditional same quantities of everything, but using heavy cream or whipping cream instead of butter. The cake comes out very light and airy. Using a food processor makes the mixture even more so.
The better tomatoes you use the better your gazpacho will be. Juicy tomatoes -like plum tomatoes, or any other of the kind used for sauce- work best. If desperate for gazpacho but with no fresh tomatoes at hand, use tomato juice, tomato puree or canned tomato is not recommended, though once you have tried the real thing you will find the taste very different. The second most important ingredient for flavor is olive oil. If there is no time to chill the gazpacho, add ice cubes, though you might find the taste too strong; gazpacho improves with some rest. Prepare your gazpacho the day before, or when you get up in the morning, it will be perfect for your lunch or evening meal.
This version of the Spanish dish is a meal on its own. To serve as an appetizer, halve the meat or just skip it. You can also change the vegetables to suit your taste.
This is an interesting way to serve lettuce. Crunchy lettuces are not the best for this recipe, but you can use the outer leaves, those you don't throw into the salad.
Homemade mayonnaise is very easy to do; you will need only egg, oil, lemon juice, and salt. A few extra ingredients can transform a basic mayonnaise into a very special sauce.
A hand held blender makes this task very easy, as you can use it in smaller containers and prepare only the amount you need. The only trick to get the mayonnaise to thicken is to have all ingredients at the same temperature, that is room temperature.
Very simple but a treat if you use only fresh tender spring vegetables. Vegetables stew in their juice. Very little or no water required. No wine.
This simple recipe can be adapted for speed cooking by using prepared or frozen vegetables. We prefer fresh, but frozen vegetables are better than no vegetables.
Chicken stock works very well with this recipe. Vegetable or mushroom stock works sometimes. The choice depends on the kind of edible mushrooms employed, especially if using stock made out of cubes or concentrate. Mushroom stock, which would seem the logical choice, sometimes masks the flavor of the most delicate mushrooms.
Calling flan a caramel custard is to do it an injustice. No mere pudding, this traditional Mexican dessert is the crème de la crème of sweets. Of course, not surprisingly, there are a hundred and one variations on the basic recipe. But sometimes the original is so much more than one can expect, to alter it is to approach cooking blasphemy.
Preparing flan takes a bit of effort, but the results will be worth it. If you doubt it, just ask the people who can't tell you because their mouths are too full of flan. A big thumbs up will do nicely.
Few cultures would be adventurous enough to call a recipe 'fried milk', especially since it's made by boiling and frying. But that's the basis of this delectable treat. Great desserts don't come any easier than this one.
Piquillo peppers have their own unique flavor, sweet and spicy. You can serve this one as a sorbet. Or pour 1 cup of the cold cream in the ice cream maker and put mini scoops of piquillo pepper sorbet, as garnish, in the bowls with chilled soup.
The most elaborate of all menestras, delicious and a stylish display on the table. The result is worth the preparation and cooking time it takes but, be advised, it is not speed cooking; reserve this menestra for a special occasion.
A hit with all our guests and amazingly easy to prepare. The uniqueness in flavor comes from using as dressing the olive oil and cider vinegar mixture from the baking dish. That trick we learnt from Arzak, one of the top chefs in Spain.
Strawberries, or any other fruit, juiced and combined with skim milk make a healthy drink, much lighter in sugar and fat than the usual milk shakes and smoothies.
