Saint Isidore’s donuts

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Two years ago I published the recipe for these very typical treats from the festivities of Saint Isidore the Labourer, patron saint of Madrid. These rosquillas are very popular and a must during this month of May. Their names are quite interesting; they are called silly, smart, there’s the French and those of Saint Claire.

The four types have in common the dough and differ only by their toppings: The silly don’t have any, hence its name, the smart are topped with a glaze made with sugar, vanilla or lemon and water; Saint Claire’s have a white coat of merengue and the French have a coating of ground almonds.

I’m reposting the recipe because it was one of those from the beginning of me blogging that were written both in Spanish and in English in the same post, and I’m afraid that is why it escaped the attention of many of my English speaking readers. So here they are again. Enjoy!

Ingredients for the rosquillas

• 1 kg of flour
• ¼ kg of sugar
• ¼ liter of oil (preferably olive oil)
• 9 eggs
• 2 teaspoons anise
• Ingredients for coatings
• Eggs
• Water
• Sugar
• Icing sugar
• Ground almonds
• Vanilla

Directions

In a mortar crush the anise, and mix it with oil, eggs and sugar. Then slowly add the flour, the dough will become increasingly difficult to mix, it is best to use the appliance to mix bread of the mixer or finish it with your hands. Work it a while to make it easy to form cylinders and bent them to form the donuts.

Preheat oven to 220 º C (430 ºF) and as it warms, place the donuts on a baking tray (usually not necessary to grease) and paint them with an egg wash. To prepare this mixture use the same amount of whole eggs and egg yolk, I just needed one egg and one egg yolk.

The donuts can be glazed twice. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until donuts are browned and slightly cracked.

Now, here come the differences.

Silly donuts

Just use the egg wash and then bake.  Allow to cool and sprinkle them with icing sugar

Smart donuts

In addition to the egg wash, once baked and while still hot, we are going to dip them into a bowl with syrup made with ½ liter of water and ¼ kg of sugar.  Then we bathe them with a glaze.

The one I used is very simple but you can use any glaze you like. Simply mix 175 g of icing sugar with 2 or 3 tablespoons of hot water and ¼ teaspoon vanilla essence. If you want to make lemon flavor, substitute the vanilla with a tablespoon of lemon juice for every two of water.

Give them two baths with glaze; the first covering the entire top of the donut. The second is applied after the first one has dried, pouring the glaze irregularly on top of it. Place them on a rack to do so.

French donuts

These ones, need a generous layer of ground almond (coarsely ground) after the egg bath. Then bake like the silly ones.

Saint Claire’s donuts

These are the ones that take a little more work. Once baked they need a coat of white meringue. To prepare the meringue you will need:

• ¼ kg of sugar
• 125 ml of water
• 1 egg white beaten until stiff

In a saucepan put together water with sugar on the stove until you obtain syrup. When you achieve a thick strand, add the egg whites and mix until you get a thick white bath. Bathe the donuts with that mixture and bake again at 150 ° C (300 ºF) until the meringue has dried.

It seems too much work but once we have all the coatings, the process is very fast and success is assured.

And the winner is…Lemon Chicken with Garlic!

Lemon Chicken with garlic

Thank you very much for your congratulations and for voting. The recipe chosen for today post was the lemon chicken. This delicious dish is very easy to make, and very tasty. The good thing about it is that it only uses ingredients that we usually have in our kitchens, so is perfect for a last minute improvised dinner (or lunch). I hope you like it.

Ingredients

• 6 large chicken fillets chopped
• Olive oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 6 garlic cloves with the skin, crushed with knife
• The grated zest of one lemon
• The juice of two lemons
• 4 tablespoons chopped parsley and a little more for garnish
• Salt and pepper to taste
• The rind of the second lemon cut into very thin strips for garnish

Directions

Heat the oil in a large frying pan and fry the onion in it, when tender (but not brown), add the garlic and stir. Add the chicken and sauté over low heat until slightly browned.

Add the zest and juice of two lemons, let it boil a bit and with a spoon scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to retrieve all the substance from the chicken, remove the pan from the heat and add the chopped parsley. Add salt and pepper to taste and stir.

Place the chicken in a serving bowl, pour the sauce over it and decorate with the strips of lemon and the parsley reserved.

Enjoy!

There were not a lot of votes, but with one vote each one, the recipes in second place are:

• Avocado and prawns salad
• Chocolate chips cookies
• Three delights fried rice
• Meat roll

Now I know what I’m going to be posting in the next days…

Fabada Asturiana or Asturian bean stew

Early this year I mentioned that one of my resolutions for 2013 was to make some of the recipes that were more challenging for me. Well, within the Spanish culinary tradition we can find a few of those dishes, especially within the stews. Cocido madrileño, lebaniego or maragato, Callos, Ollas or fabadas are good examples.

In order to be true to that New Year’s resolution, I decided to make a real Fabada Asturiana (Asturian bean stew) a couple of weeks ago. Fortunately everything went well from start to end, so I can proudly say that I succeeded in my first attempt.

The verdict: The fabada is actually a very simple dish. The only really important thing is the quality of the ingredients, well, that and time.

Hope you like it as much as we do.

Ingredients

• 500 gr white, broad beans from La Granja, dried
• 2 Asturian chorizos *
• 2 Asturian blood sausages *
• 100 gr of lacon (pig’s shoulder ham) *
• 100 gr of streaky bacon *
• 1 onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• Parsley
• 1 or 2 bay leaves
• Salt to taste

* All these meats together are called Compango

Directions

Put the beans to soak in cold water the night before or at least 12 hours before cooking time.

Place at the bottom of a large pot, the meats (chorizo, sausage, lacon and bacon), cover with the beans and lay on top of that, the peeled onions, whole garlic cloves, parsley and bay leaves. Cover with cold water and bring to a boil.

When it starts to boil, degrease and remove impurities that rise to the surface as a foam. Then “scare” the beans (this means, add a bit of cold water to stop the boiling), lower the heat to a minimum and let simmer, with the pot partially covered.

During cooking, we’ll have to “scare them” again (about 2 more times). The beans should always be covered with the broth. To stir the stew, do a little shaking with the pot, avoiding the use of ladles to prevent the beans to break.

Cook for 3 hours. The stew is ready when the beans are tender.

Halfway through cooking, add the saffron, a few strands will suffice and it is advisable to toast them a bit before throwing into the stew.

If after three hours the broth is still too clear, take out a few broad beans and crush them with a fork. Bring this mash to the stew again and turn up the heat for a few minutes until it thickens.

When the beans are ready, check the salt and correct if necessary. It is not advisable to add the salt before, because the meats are already salted.

Before serving let stand for a few minutes, take out onion, garlic (if you find it), bay leaves and parsley. Also, take out the meats and cut into pieces.

Enjoy!

Oh, almost forgot! The next day the Fabada tastes even better…

Twelfth Night

“Be not afraid of greatness”

Shakespeare, Twelfth Night, II, v

Epiphany has finally arrived. Tomorrow morning the kids will wake up very early to ask us that we bring them to their grandparents’ to see what the kings have left for them there (in our family gift-giving between Santa and the Kings is very fair and well organized). After opening the gifts from kings, we will have a fabulous breakfast at which the star will be the Roscón de Reyes and hot chocolate … delicious.

This year I decided to make the Roscón myself and, after a few bumps in the road, I managed to bake not one, but three delicious roscones!

No Time for embellishments, the sun was setting

This recipe has been tested (which I find fundamental. In my quest for the perfect roscón, I’m afraid that a few of the recipes out there have never been tested…which is not cool if you do not warn beforehand) and there’s enough quantity for two good size roscones. I hope you enjoy it and that you have a very nice Epiphany day.

Ingredients

• 500 g bread flour
• 15 g fresh yeast
• 150 ml of milk
• 2 or 3 eggs depending on size (do not exceed 170 g)
• 120 g butter soft
• 12 g salt
• Candied fruits to taste (orange, pumpkin, cherry, melon ….)
• 125 g sugar
• 1 tablespoon rum
• 2 tablespoons orange blossom water
• Zest of 1 orange and 1 lemon

Directions

Dilute the yeast in 100 ml of warm milk. Put in a bowl 150 g of flour and pour in it the milk mixture, form with your fingertips a ball of dough. With the tip of a knife make a cross in the dough and cover with a damp towel or a film and let it sit in a draft-free place and not too cold for the dough to rise. The dough should increase two or three times in size and the cross will almost completely disappear when ready (a few hours). This dough will be our “sourdough” or starter dough.

When we are ready to continue, beat the eggs and add the rum, salt, sugar, orange blossom water, the remaining 50 ml of milk, butter and zests.

In another bowl put the remaining flour (350 g) and with the help of a spatula, slowly add the mixture, turning until a thin and elastic dough is formed. Incorporate the “sourdough” that has been resting and mix them both together.

Knead the resulting dough vigorously, knocking it against the table for about 20 minutes. At the beginning the mixture is very sticky and seem like it will never acquire the necessary texture, but with patience and adding a bit of flour occasionally (and only if we begin to lose hope), in the end the dough will acquire a homogeneous and elastic texture and it will easily peel off from the work surface (preferably marble or silicone).

Once achieved, the dough must rest again until it increases its size two or three times (consider using a bowl large enough to avoid overflow, cover well with plastic wrap and a cloth). At this point I divided the dough in half, put them in different bowls, and allowed them to rest overnight (here you can choose, if you want to freeze or refrigerate one of them for using it later or another day). The next morning (today), I knead and formed the roscones and allow them to rest and rise again for a few hours. Just before we went to the Kings’ Parade, I baked one (which we ate when we returned as a snack with hot coco) and the other just went out of the oven as I write this post. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

After the dough has leavened, besmear your hands with oil and deflate the dough with your fist, knead lightly and form the roscón.

There are two ways of forming the roscón:

• Form a ball with the palm of your hand and roll it in circles. Then make a hole in the middle with your thumb and forefinger and continue to open the hole while turning the dough.
• After forming the ball, form a long loop then join the ends.

With the roscón already formed, cover with a cloth and let rise again with the same criteria as before (double size), but this time on the baking sheet.

Preheat oven to 180 ° C (350 ° F).

Finally, brush with beaten egg mixed with milk; decorate with candied fruits, almonds and sugar.

Bake the roscón for about 25 minutes. Two important issues at this time are:

• First, place the roscón in the lower area of the oven so it does not brown too quickly. If required, in the last minutes you can raise the tray a bit to finish browning
• Second, it is advisable to place a container or tray with water in the oven to add humidity.

Adapted from roscondereyes.net

For other delicious recipes related with this, pay a visit to Tanya, A.K.A. Chica Andaluza and Barbara at Late bloomers. These gals have made two delicious recipes that I’m sure you’ll love.

Almost forgot! The Roscón de Reyes usually is filled with whipped cream or custard (nowadays also with mocha or chocolate) and inside are placed little “surprises”. If you get a figurine, then you will be the King or the Queen for the day; but if you get a bean, you’ll have to pay for the Roscón (the next one, I assume).

Experiment # 1: Roscón de Reyes

I, despite having a degree in law, studied science in high school, so scientific experiments are not a secret to me. Ok, maybe I’m exaggerating, but I really like to experiment, especially in the kitchen.

Normally I only write about my successful “experiments” and left to others forgotten in the dark.

My intention this year is to write about these recipes or dishes that have been a taboo for me for quite some time now, either because I’m unable to achieve its perfect state or just because I’ve been too afraid to even try…

My first experiment of the year was a Roscón de Reyes, a very Spanish tradition to celebrate the visit of the Three Wise Men.

I chose the recipe from a Spanish blog called Javirecetas because normally his recipes are very well explained and taste good.

Here’s a collage with the main steps and the final result.

The verdict: Unfortunately, something went wrong at some point, because although the flavor was good, my dough didn’t rise as much as it should and the outer texture was a little rough.

My theories: The milk wasn’t hot enough and the yeast didn’t activate properly. Lack of kneading.

But it’s okay, because I have decided (too) that these experiments can only end in success. So tomorrow I’ll get back to work, this time following the recipe of Iñaki Oyarbide or Angelita Alfaro …I’ll see.

Defeat is not an option! Wish me luck!

PS.: Once I succeed with the recipe I’ll translate it (if necessary) and post it

The Cider House Rules

“Goodnight, you princes of Maine, you kings of New England”

Last May, a blogger friend, Blaga from Broken Sparkles, dedicated a post with two recipes to Bluejellybeans. One was this delicious Triple chocolate cheesecake and the second one was an outstanding recipe for Cider Chicken with Tagliatelle. It only took me 7 months to make it, but I assure you that it will take a lot less to you.

Although the recipe calls for tagliatelle, I made it with spaghetti because it was all I had at home …Sorry Blaga!

This recipe is from Patrick Anthony, of “Ready Steady Cook”.

Cider Chicken with Tagliatelle

Ingredients

• 400 g long pasta, ideally tagliatelle
• 2 tbsp. vegetable oil
• 400 g chicken breasts, skinless, cut into chunks
• 210 ml dry cider
• 1 ½ tbsp. wholegrain mustard
•  15 g butter
•  1 large leek, halved lengthways and finely sliced across
•  80 g mushrooms, sliced
•  100 ml double cream
•  1 tbsp. chives, snipped to garnish

Directions

Cook pasta according to package instructions.  Meanwhile, heat 1 tbsp. oil in a pan and fry chicken for 8 minutes, turning occasionally, until golden all round.  Add cider and mustard.  Season and simmer for 5-7 minutes until slightly reduced.

Melt butter in another pan, add remaining oil and cook leek for 3 minutes.  Add mushrooms and cook for another 2 minutes. Add leek and mushrooms to chicken, stir in cream and simmer for 2 minutes.

Toss cider chicken with tagliatelle.  Garnish with chives (or parsley) and serve.

Blaga suggested serving this meal with a green salad and garlic and herb bread.

Enjoy!

Chorizo ​​with cider

Seeing that I still had some cider left, I decided to make some chorizos in cider, a tapa very popular here in Spain and typical from the Principality of Asturias. It seems incredible how easy it is to make these chorizos, and they taste so good.

But of course the key to this dish is in the quality of the feedstock. Choose a good quality chorizo and cider.

Ingredients

• 3 chorizos
• 1 glass of cider
• Extra virgin olive oil

Directions

Cut the chorizo into medium size slices, put them in a pan with a little bit of oil and sauté over medium heat until golden brown on all sides.

Add the cider and turn up the heat until it boils, then lower the heat and let it simmer until the cider reduces, about 30 minutes.

To serve, use an earthenware casserole and accompany with bread. Or serve directly over a slice of bread as a one bite tapa.

Shh…is a secret!

Today’s recipe is simple yet delicious. Made with seasonal products and perfect for these autumn days.

Apparently, twenty years ago, the owner of a bar in Seville featured a tapa with small pieces of Iberian pork simply marinated and grilled. The success was overwhelming and the practice spread throughout the city, jumping later to the other provinces of Andalusia, Extremadura, Madrid and the rest of the country. And today these meats, traditionally used for the production of sausages are considered an exquisiteness, which resembles for its fat composition and flavor to Kobe beef.

One of such pieces is the Iberian secret. There are two theories to explain its name: the first says that it is because the butchers kept them for themselves, for their quality; and the second one is because it is hidden, covered by fat and adhered to the sheet of bacon.

Iberian Secret with caramelized apples

Ingredients

Serves 4

• ½ kilo of Iberian secret
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 glass of Pedro Ximénez
• Maldon salt
• Pepper

Garniture

• 2 Golden Delicious apples
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon butter
• ½ kilo of potatoes
• ½ onion
• 1 dash of oil

Directions

Peel the potatoes, cut into slices as in for a Spanish tortilla, mix them with the chopped onion and place in a greased baking dish, splash some olive oil and put it into a preheated oven at 180 º C (350 º F) for 45 minutes.

Cut apples into quarters and then eighths, peel each piece. Melt the butter with the sugar in a pan and sauté the apple slices until they turn golden brown and caramelize.

Cut the meat into biased fillets (not too thick). Heat the oil in an iron skillet and cook the fillets on both sides until they look a bit roasted outside and little pink inside. Take them out of the pan and season with a few flakes of Maldon salt and pepper. Reserve and keep warm.

Deglaze skillet with Pedro Ximénez, until obtaining a slightly thick sauce.

Serve the meat with a few slices of apple, potatoes and bathe with the sauce.

Enjoy!

Source: The excellences of pork, by Ismael Diaz Yubero. With recipes of María Jesús Gil de Antuñano (Do not pay attention to the price, it was a gift)

Spanish tortilla

Hi! I’m back from my short holyday in Paris. I had a wonderful time, despite the weather… I walked a lot and ate a bit too much, but hey! It was France, what was I supposed to do?

Anyway, I left with a French recipe and I come back with a Spanish tapa. This is like one of the most popular dishes in Spain.

For me, a real Spanish tortilla only has eggs, potatoes and onion, that’s it. Some people don’t like onion and that’s ok too, you can take those out, it still will be right. But that’s just me, you may add other things if you like, courgettes, aubergines, peas, chorizo…bearing in mind that you have to try it at least once without any additions.

Ok, that said it seems a little silly from me to give you any recipe, because it is really simple and there are lots of recipes on Internet already. But I have to write something to accompany the photographs, right?

The quantities here are for a big or medium tortilla, for 5 or six people if you are having it for lunch or dinner with a salad. But if you are going for the tapa approach (that is, cut into bite-size pieces and serve with bread) then you’ll have enough for a small gathering of friends.

Ingredients

• 6 or 8 large eggs
• 500-600 g potatoes
• 1 small onion
• Olive oil
• Salt

Directions

Wash, peel and cut the potatoes into thin slices. This is a good moment to use that mandoline. Peel and slice the onion.

Heat olive oil in a pan, (enough to cover the potatoes) and fry the potatoes together with the sliced onion at a moderate temperature until they are soft, but not brown. Remove and drain over paper towels, then mix with the beaten eggs. Add salt to taste.

Remove the excess oil from the pan or use another one with just a thin layer of oil in it. Pour the mixture and fry slowly at a medium- low temperature on one side.

It doesn’t take long; when you see that it is set on one side and starting to set on top is time to flip it over. This may seems tricky, but you just need a dish bigger than the pan or a flat lid. Put it on top and flip with a quick and steady movement.

Now slid carefully back into the pan to finish cooking and allow it to set for a few more minutes. Some people like their tortilla to be a little runny, but I like it well done and firm, so the cooking time is up to you.

I hope you enjoy this recipe and let me know how you like it better, with or without onions. Do you like other veggies in it?

For other recipes of tortilla de patatas you can go to Chica Andaluza or Hot cheap & easy, theirs are great.

Have a nice day!

Clams with mushrooms and sherry sauce

Summertime is the best moment for light eating, because the body doesn’t need all the extra calories for fighting the cold weather. But that’s not an excuse for not eating properly or just eat salads and greens.

Today’s recipe is a wonderful example.  It reminds us of the ocean breeze, the sand between our toes and the sound the waves make when they reach the beach; besides, is very similar to one of our favorite dishes from one little restaurant we love to dine in when we go to the the south.

The chef gave me his recipe last year, but made me promise not to share it with anybody else. That’s why I changed, added and left completely out some ingredients and this was the result. Delicious clams with a wonderful sauce for dipping bread. He didn’t give any measurement, but I’m going to try to give you some quantities.

Ingredients

• 500 g clams
• 3 garlic cloves
• ½ onion
• 200 g mushrooms sliced
• 400 g tomato puree
• A splash of sherry

Directions

Put the clams in water and let them there for 10 to 15 minutes to clean. Meanwhile, make a sofrito with the garlic and onion. Then add the sliced ​​mushrooms and tomato puree, let it simmer until everything is cooked. Finally, add the clams and a splash of sherry. Allow the clams a few minutes to open and… ready!

Enjoy!

Stuffed Peppers

On July 11 I became an aunt again. One of my cousins ​​in Panama and his wife had a beautiful baby boy named Diego Alejandro. All this happened while I was on the beach, so when I got home I started to make a gift for him in cross stitch.

The problem is that I have chosen a very ambitious project that’s taking me longer than expected and I spend most of my free time embroidering and trying to finish it before the child goes to college. So far this is my progress.

Almost there!

Last week another nephew was born, this time in Madrid. And when I finish with the gift for Diego I have to start with something for little Javier… Maybe I have to change this blog to a cross stitch blog, so at least I’ll have something to write about…

I know what you are thinking, “it takes 9 month for kids to arrive, so why not start before they were born?” Well, I was busy with this “little” project for my son Fernando. See? Busy, busy, busy…besides, I like to live in the edge

He’s a huge Mickey’s fan

Today’s recipe is very simple. All you need to do is gather the ingredients, mix and fill. Perfect for a quick dinner or as a starter.

Piquillo peppers are very typical of Spain and the good thing is that normally they are preserved in oil for sale, so we can find them throughout the year and almost anywhere. Its name is derived from the Spanish word for “little beak” because of their form.

They are grown in Lodosa, a municipality of Navarre. Very versatile, they can be filled with many things (meat, chicken, fish, seafood, rice …) and may be served cold or hot.

One good idea is to stuff them with cheese as I show you today.

Peppers stuffed with goat cheese, olives and raisins

Ingredients

•  200 g whole piquillo pepper in oil (7 or 8 units)

Filling

• 50 g black olives, pitted and chopped
• A few raisins chopped
• 200 g goat cheese
• 1 garlic clove crushed
• Salt and pepper

Directions

Put the chopped olives and raisins in a bowl and mix with the cheese, garlic and a tablespoon of oil from the peppers. Season to taste and proceed to fill the peppers with the help of a teaspoon. Keep them in the fridge until firm, one or two hours, before serving.

The garlic flavor is very strong with one clove, so I recommend that you add half of it and taste it first, then decide if you want more or not. Raisins add some contrast to this recipe, highlight the flavor of goat cheese and soften the garlic taste.

Enjoy!