FLASH Tapas



You know those articles you read from cooking blogs that tell you to keep certain things in your cupboards if you do not have time to cook but want something quick and easy? It is the same idea for tapas. If you have 4 to 6 non-perishable items on hand, you can make tapas very easily. So, that is why I called this post, FLASH Tapas.





From the three pictures below, you can see how I put together a series of tapas from bags, jars and cans. You may not have access to the stores that I do but I can find most of these products at Trader Joe’s, World Market and Meijers. The wine and beer I found at Trader Joe’s. Let me know where you found your products!



Chorizo, marinated artichoke salad, and chips



Mediterranean olives, roasted red peppers, and marinated garlic cloves





Green olives, artichoke hearts (with vinaigrette or sautéed in olive oil with bacon or pieces of ham), peanuts







SOMETHING HOT, SOMETHING QUICK AND EASY!!

Garlic shrimp for two. This recipe is from Cantabria, the north-central region of Spain.

Garlic shrimp for two.





Take ½ lb. of small shrimp, frozen or raw and rinse. Make sure the frozen shrimp are thawed out, which can be done by running cold water over them. After rinsing the shrimp, dry on paper towels.

Wash one red fresh chili pepper, cut in half, remove the seeds, and then cut into thin rings. If you are using dry chili peppers crush them.








Slice 3 garlic gloves.

Put 1/3 cup light olive oil into a skillet on medium high heat. Once the olive oil is heated and sizzling quickly put in shrimp and garlic. Do not let garlic burn and do not over cook the shrimp. It will probably take 3 minutes to cook the shrimp. Move shrimp around gently as they cook.

Once the shrimp is cooked turn heat off and put into a small dish.



Use a toothpick to eat with or your fingers.



WHEN EATING TAPAS ALWAYS HAVE NAPKINGS, A FORK, SMALL DISHES AND SLICED BAGUETTE BREAD, WHITE OR WHOLE WHEAT.




Enjoy any tapas with beer, or wine. Sangria is good too!!

Patatas Bravas

¡ADELANTE!

The most important thing in making patatas bravas is finding a potato that fries up fast, so that the potato does not get too brown before they are cooked through.

Some suggestions would be red potatoes, Russet or Yukon golden.

Let’s get started!

Peel and rinse 2-3 or more medium size potatoes. I tried the precooking in the microwave and that worked out pretty well. So, after they are rinsed wrap the potatoes individually in a paper towel and cook in microwave 2 minutes for 2 potatoes and 21/2 minutes or more for 3 potatoes, but don’t overcook. They should be just a little undercooked or they will be mushy when you cut them up.

After they have cooled a bit, cut length-wise

and then in medium size cubes.

As for frying the potatoes, I used a wrought iron

skillet but you can use any kind of skillet as long

as you have enough oil to finish the frying so the potatoes will not burn or stick.

Put enough olive oil to cover the bottom of the skillet and a little more. Heat the oil over medium hot temperature.

Once the oil is hot put your potatoes in the skillet and cook until light to medium dark brown, lower heat if it seems too hot, and cook the potatoes through.

Drain potatoes on a paper towel, then put in a dish, and put a lid on them to keep them warm or put in an oven safe plate or bowel to keep warm until the sauce is ready.

Making the tomato sauce for the potatoes:

Chop one small onion or ¼ of a medium size onion. Crush one clove of garlic or use ¼ tsp. of already crushed garlic that comes in a jar.

Put 1 tbsp. of olive oil in a small saucepan and heat over med. to low heat but do not let it smoke. Add garlic and onion and cook until onion is transparent, but do not let garlic burn, as it will become very strong, so lower heat if needed.

Once the onion is cooked, add 1/8 cup white wine and 1 small can of tomato sauce.

If you want spicy sauce, which is what the Spanish like, you can add ½ tsp. or more of any hot sauce. Some suggestions would be hot paprika, jalapeno pepper hot sauce, and Cholula hot sauce. Lower heat and let sauce simmer for 10 minutes, stirring from time to time.

When the sauce is ready put over the potatoes using a spoon.

The potatoes should not be smothered in the sauce. You can always add more as you eat them.

Enjoy with red or white wine or beer.

¡¡BUEN PROVECHO!!

If you want to make the traditional Spanish sauce here is the recipe:

*1 onion finely chopped

*1 clove of garlic also finely chopped

*6 ripe tomatoes chopped - about 600g

*1 teaspoon of sugar (optional)

*3 dried chilies

*1 or 2 teaspoon of hot paprika - depends on how spicy you like your food

*1 level soup spoon of plain flour
*approx. 200ml of water

*1 teaspoon of sherry vinegar or wine vinegar

*salt

*freshly ground black pepper

For the bravas sauce, fry the onion, garlic and the dried chilies gently in some olive oil until the onions turn transparent - this should take about 10 minutes. Then remove from the heat, add the paprika and stir this in. Add the chopped tomatoes and the sugar, return the mix to the heat and simmer gently for about 5 minutes. The sugar is added to take any bitterness out of the tomatoes Mix the flour with some water and then stir this into the sauce, add the 200 ml of water and leave to simmer for about 15 minutes to reduce the sauce.

Now you should blend the mix either in a food blender or using a hand held blender. Once you've done this pass the mix through a sieve to remove the tomato skin and seeds. You should then end up with a nice thick bravas sauce.