Patatas arrugadas

First of all I love Canarias, I try to go at least 1 week every year in Gran Canarias to spend some time under the sun and to the beach.

Then I love patatas arrugadas o papas arrugadas as they would say there.

Very easy, delicious and quick

INGREDIENTS

• 300g of small potatoes/papas
• About 3 handfuls of big salt
• water

RECIPE

• Clean carefully the skin of the potatoes, don’t peal them
• In a large pan, put the potatoes and water until it covers the potatoes, not more
• add about 2 big handful of big salt, don’t be scared. The potatoes won’t be salty inside
• Cook for arround 18mn until the potatoes are cooked and water evaporated. If the potatoes are already cooked but some water is left, remove it.
• Bring back the potatoes on the fire, add 1 handful of salt and keep moving the potatoes by moving/shaking the pan with your hands every minute until the potatoes goes white
• Eat with mojo that you can find in shops or do it yourself, it’s easy.

Rabbit & chicken Paella

Nothing more yummy than a real Valencia Paella, this one is with rabbit and chicken from the recipe of my mother in law, and in fact, we froze the broth she made last time to be able to re-use it at home quickly.

Just throwing the rice inside and that gave us the paella almost like if we were eating it out from the sun of Valencia.

What do you need?

• Chicken
• Rabbit
• Rize
• Green flat beans
• Big white flat beans
• 1 Fresh lemon
• Water
• Garlic
• Tomato frito
• Salt & paprika

Steps:

• Prepare the fire in the barbecue and make sure it’s strong
• Start cutting the flat green beans by removing the 2 extremes and put aside
• Cut a bit from the white beans (this will allow them to not get dry)
• Start frying the chicken and rabbit on the fire in a bit of olive oil
• While it cooks, cut the garlic in the tin of tomato frito
• When the meat is cooked, add the green beans and tomato
• Stir on the fire and then add the paprika and salt
• Add water in the Paella (you can rinse the pan where you cooked the meat inside)
• Let boil for 30mn and add the rice in the shape of a cross and make it disappear by doing some movement under the rice with a spoon
• Cook until water is gone and rice cooked.
• Put aside of the fire and let 5mn to rest before putting it on the table.
• Decorate with fresh lemons and eat from the Paella directly by putting it on the center of the table

Valencia Paella and express weekend

When we go to Valencia, 20mn from there in ‘La casa del campo’ of Juan’s mum, it’s always a pleasure – and especially with such a nice weather. The small house sits in an very busy garden with orange & lemon tree, cotton, flowers, palm tree, etc…

It started in the morning with a nice breakfast (fresh orange from Valencia, ‘pain perdu’, coffee). And the exciting part is always the Paella, this weekend it was chicken & rabbit Paella. With a nice aperitif before as usual.

Too short always but lovely as usual.

Tortilla de patatas y cebolla

Tortilla contest at Juan Antonio’s work!! Last minute reminder, last minute potatoes shopping for making it for tomorrow. Pressure on me as he needs to win obviously and share the blog afterwards 🙂

I putting the recipe more for the picture than for the recipe as such as it’s not very complicated. This is the recipe of my mother in law with a tiny change. I would have loved to make a small hole inside to taste it but it needs to look good so fingers crossed!!

What do you need?

• 7 eggs
• 6 potatoes
• 1 big onion
• 280ml of olive oil (don’t be scared, I know! I’ll explain why)
• Salt, black pepper, dry garlic

Peel and cut in small pieces the onion. Peel and cut in it’s half each potatoes and then slice them in small pieces of 2 to 3 ml wide approximately.

Meanwhile, put the 280ml of oil in a large frying pan. Fry the potatoes and onions together, make sure it doesn’t get brown and stir often to ensure that the potatoes are fully cooked. Let’s not full ourselves, a spanish tortilla with no oil is not going to taste the same. I’m not in favour of frying, in fact I don’t like it and I tried many times to put very little oil and it never tasted like my mother in law!

After about 15mn once your potatoes are well cooked, remove the potatoes from the oil.

Meanwhile, beat the 7 eggs, add the salt, a little bit of black pepper and a pinch of dry garlic.

Take a smaller frying pan, ideally one that is deep – your tortilla will look better small and fat than big and thin.

Put at least 3 or 4 tablespoon of the same oil we used. While it’s heating up, put the cooked potatoes & onions in the beaten eggs, mixed to ensure it’s fully covered, then put the mixture in the frying pan.

Cook the first 3 or 4 minutes at maximum, ensure it doesn’t burn – then reduce the gas. Make some small holes with your wooden spoon to ensure the base is well cook. Take a tortilla lid or a big plate, return your tortilla on the other side, put back in the frying pan and continue to cook. You should do this twice in theory but I usually keep it like that. If you don’t want it too dry like an omelet, make sure you stop it before it gets dry.

Put on a nice plate and serve it with an aioli and some cereals bread.

Tapas

Tonight and after a week of vacation in Gran Canaria and a lovely wedding, it was my time back in the kitchen. And we wanted a few tapas so why not do it at home. After all pay day is at the end of the week so no restaurant for tonight and even less during week days 🙂

I just did 3 simple tapas and a small salad

#1: Mini hamburger, goat cheese and courgette on a toast of cereals bread

#2: Ham & mushrooms on a toast of cereals bread

#3: Gambas, calamar, mushroom and courgette

#4: Tuna and dry fruits salad

What do you need:

• Half a courgette
• 2 big mushrooms
• 4 fresh gambas
• A few rings of fresh calamar
• Garlic
• Salt, pepper, parsley, herbs of provence
• Ham
• Salad
• Green olives
• Parmesan
• Dry fruits
• Tuna

Cut 4 thick slices of courgette, clean and cut the 2 mushrooms in 4. Fry the mushroom and courgette with garlic in olive oil. Make sure it doesn’t get burn and it’s better to cook not too much for it to stay slightly crunchy.

In 2 pans, start frying the gambas and calamar in olive oil with garlic. Add some salt (I put the sepia ink salk from Minorca) and pepper. In the other frying pan, fry the 2 mini hamburger making sure you’ve done a small hall in the middle with your thumb, but without passing through. Once fried on both side, add the goat cheese in the ‘hole’

Once everything is ready and cooked, it’s time to dress.

On a thin cereals bread, dispose the hamburger with goat cheese, a slice of courgette and you can add a piece of mushroom

On the other thin cereals bread, dispose the ham and mushroom that you can assemble with a wood stick

Finally with a longer wood stick, put a gamba, calamar, mushroom, gamba, calamar, mushroom and courgette. You could also dispose it on a slice of bread with some ajoaceite. which is delicious.

Paella Valenciana of my mother in law

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• Flat green beans
• Garlic
• Tomato frito
• Flat white beans
• Chicken & Rabbit
• Arroz bomba
• Paprika

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Prepare the fire in the barbecue and make sure it’s strong

Start cutting the flat green beans by removing the 2 extremes and put aside

Cut a bit from the white beans (this will allow them to not get dry)

Start frying the chicken and rabbit on the fire in a bit of olive oil

While it cooks, cut the garlic in the tin of tomato frito

When the meat is cooked, add the green beans and tomato

Stir on the fire and then add the paprika and salt

Add water in the Paella (you can rinse the pan where you cooked the meat inside)

Let boil for 30mn and add the rice in the shape of a cross and make it disappear by doing some movement under the rice with a spoon

Cook until water is gone and rice cooked.

Put aside of the fire and let 5mn to rest before putting it on the table.

Decorate with fresh lemons and eat from the Paella directly by putting it on the center of the table