...and a good time was had by all.

There are few joys in life that compare with spending time with good friends and eating good food. We enjoyed such an occasion this afternoon and it was the perfect time to try a fusion of a few cuisines from across the Mediterranean; Spain, Italy and Malta.

We started with a traditional Spanish asparagus stew as featured on this blog back in April 2010 only with chorizo sausage rather than bacon. This was accompanied by Maltese bread and dipping oil made from olive oil, chopped chilli and mixed herbs.

Following this we continued with tagliatelle and a bacon and mushroom creamy sauce along with a mixed leaf salad with a balsamic vinegar and olive oil dressing. The recipe for the pasta follows, quantities are sufficient to cater for eight dinner guests.

500g tagliatelle;
200g butter (salted);
400g mixed mushrooms (button, closed cap, porcine);
400g chopped bacon or thickly sliced ham;
300ml cream;
Half a teaspoon of nutmeg;
One clove of garlic;
Salt and pepper; and
100g parmesan cheese.

Actually the execution is really easy. Melt the butter in a large frying pan then slice the mushrooms and add them to the butter along with the bacon. Crush and chop the garlic and add this to the pan. Fry together for about ten minutes then add the cream and pepper to taste then cook for a further two or three minutes.

In the meantime cook the tagliatelle in a large saucepan of salted boiling water until al dente, drain and add the creamy mushroom and bacon sauce. Finally, add the parmesan cheese and serve immediately.

For the salad toss together mixed lettuce, tomato, cucumber and drizzle with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and a little lemon juice. Sprinkle with some fine sea salt and serve as an accompaniment to the pasta.

We chose a fine French Merlot as a companion to the meal and finished with a choice of sherry trifle and lemon meringue. A fantastic time was enjoyed by all.

Tapas in Madrid

We went to Madrid last weekend. It's about 6 hours drive from where we live (nearer 7 if you count pee pee stops) and well worth the journey. Actually travelling up is part of the adventure however the place itself is fantastic. We stayed on the outskirts in a town named Alcala de Henares and travelled in to Madrid centre on Sunday evening to wander around Plaza Mayor and get something to eat. More on Madrid at another time but for now here is an observation and a piece of advice for the traveller thinking of visiting Spain's capital city.

Tapas in Madrid is free!!!

On the Costa del Sol and Costa de la Luz we get fleeced. You go into a bar, order a drink and then buy tapas at around €2 to €3 each which, considering the size of the dishes takes 3 or 4 tapas to fill you up. Not so in Madrid where you go into the bar, order your drink and then order the tapa of your choice. This is then brought to you along with your drink free of charge. This meant that we were eating out at a fraction of the cost we originally budgeted for. Superb! How do they do it? Who cares? Free food!!!

While there we watched Spain beat Chilli in the World Cup qualifier. I was quite surprised at one point when the team wearing blue kit scored and every one cheered. I had assumed the blue team was Chilli you see while the other team wore red (Spain's usual kit). Someone later explained to me that each team has two kits of different colours and on this occasion Spain wore blue. Anyway they won which was good as I now live in Spain and its not as England has got a team right now is it? But, what do I know, I hate football.

Back to tapas and here, in true spirit of this blog is one quick recipe for a tapa. More will follow soon. Just you try and stop me.

3 eggs
3 rashers of bacon (or 4 depending on how big they are or how much you like bacon)
About 4 good handfuls of green beans (well how else do you measure them)
2 measures of vodka
Half a glass of orange juice
Half a glass of cream soda
1 shot of Grenadine

First, chop up the green beans and put in a pan with salt and water. Bring the water to the boil and simmer for about 15 minutes.

Next, beat the eggs in a jug or bowl then throw them in a frying pan with some olive oil and fry them up until, well... fried I suppose. When fried break up into little pieces and leave in the frying pan.

Then, chop the bacon into little pieces and again throw into the frying pan with the eggs. Fry for about 4 minutes.

Finally, drain the green beans and add them to the frying pan. Cook together for about 5 minutes and then serve with fresh crusty bread as shown below courtesey of our new camera.

The observant of you will have noticed the extra ingredients listed but not used in the above recipe. For those new to 'Burning Down The Kitchen' there is a law first and foremost that must be obeyed as drilled into me by my friend and Executive Chef (who will remain nameless to protect his professional reputation) namely...never cook without alcohol within arms reach.

Get a tall glass and place it in you freezer for 15 minutes. Take it out and immediately fill it with the vodka, orange juice, lemonade and a dash of Grenadine. Throw in a couple of ice cubes and sit back and watch.

The Grenadine is for artistic effect as it sinks to the bottom of the glass and set against the orange juice gives the appearance of a sunrise. Very effective. Just as efective is the result that comes from placing the empty glass in the freezer before filling it, but I'll leave this to you to try.

Anyway, more tapas recipes are to follow and we still need to get around to that Italian feast.

Hasta luego

Steve 

High tech cooking

So were in our new place now and starting to settle in. There have been a few disasters along the way, like the car choosing the weekend we move house to finally die (beyond economical repair I believe is the correct term) and my camera to go missing hence the lack of photos on my blog. Never mind though, we're here and here to stay this time.

I finally began to calm down after the stress of the move and a recent Trust law exam (which I passed by the way - yeh me) and decided it was about time I set foot in the kitchen again. Actually, the kitchen in this place is great. Everything is new and high tech. We've got a touch sensitive hob with digital display and bleeping noises to remind you that you've left something switched on. The microwave doubles as a grill and the oven has so many settings we don't know what to do with them (especially as the instruction books are in Spanish). The oven even has network capability so I can hook it up and operate it from the PC and even my mobile phone while we're out. Not that I see the need really but you never know, it may come in handy one day.

Anyway, I decided to cook this weekend and with all the mayhem going on around here all I could think to cook with my new futuristic kitchen was comfort food.

The ultimate comfort food.

A huge fry up. Bacon, sausage, eggs, beans, fried bread... the works.

Now were on a month of de-tox and dieting.

Until next time, if I don't have a heart attack first.

Steve

Asparagus Stew

We went for a meal a few months back at a restaurant on the way to Casares and for a starter I had this amazing stew. I mentally tried to work out the ingredients while I ate and then messed around at home until I figured out how it was made. I now pass this wisdom on to you. The ingredients, most of which are pictured below are as follows;

Asparagus either fresh in a bundle as pictured or frozen;

1 large onion chopped as small as you can;

4 large mushrooms, sliced;

2 rashers of bacon, chopped into little bits;

4 eggs (or one for each person dining with you);

2 cloves of garlic, crushed and chopped;

1 glass of white wine;

1 pint of chicken stock;

Water;

Fresh (or dried) basil;

Salt and pepper to taste;

Butter, just a knob;

A big handful of grated cheese - I use cheddar;

Olive oil; and

At least 1 gin and tonic with ice and a slice of lemon (not an ingredient but absolutely essential).

Here we go, quick and easy. Heat up the oil in the pan along with the knob of butter then add the onions and fry for about 6 or so minutes until sweet and translucent. Add a litle water to prevent them from drying out and burning. When done, chop up the asparagus and add to the onions along with the mushrooms, garlic, basil, salt and pepper then fry for about 2 minutes. Add the glass of white wine and a splash of water and you should have somnething that resembles this;

Now its time to add the chicken stock and the bacon. Bring to the boil and simmer for about 10 minutes or until the asparagus is soft (but not too soft - you want a bit of resistence to the tooth but not enough to crunch when you eat it). During this time, make sure there is sufficient liquid to keep the aparagus just (and I mean only just) covered. Now this is where things get a little weird. Crack open your eggs one by one and pore into the broth taking care to ensure that the yolks stay intact. As far as possible, try to keep the eggs separate from each other. See the below photo;

You are basically poaching the eggs within the stew. When the egg whites are cooked with the yolk still runny (please excuse the technical term), the stew is ready to serve. Spoon out the eggs, one per person onto a plate. Share out the stew between the diners (the above should make enough for 4 people) into soup bowls then place one egg on top of each bowl and sprinkle with grated cheese. Serve, eat, enjoy and remember where you saw it first.  

A comment or two to say thanks wouldn't hurt either.

Until the next one...

Steve