Sunday Lunch

After the breadsticks and sardines (which were yummie by the way) prepared by Louise we come swiftly on to an alternative for the good old chicken Sunday lunch. Here's how it works;

Part One - The Chicken.

Chicken pieces (drumsticks, wings, breast... whatever you fancy);
2 cloves of garlic;
6 large mushrooms;
1 large onion;
Salt and pepper to taste;
Olive oil;
250ml cream; and
One cocktail consisting of pineapple, gaseosa (cream soda) and vodka.

So, first chop the onion into tiny little pieces, slice the mushrooms and chop up the garlic.

Get a largish oven dish with a lid and pour in about 2 table spoons of olive oil. Cover the bottom of the dish with the onions then place the chicken on top. Next sprinkle the chicken with chopped garlic and cover with the sliced mushrooms. Salt and pepper to taste then pour the cream over the top and you should have something that looks like this;

Now cover the dish with its lid and bang in the oven on about 200 degrees for about an hour to an hour and a half.

Part Two - The Vegetables.

1 large onion;
1 courgette;
1 aubergene;
1 green pepper;
2 cloves of garlic;
2 tomatos;
Tomato juice;
Olive oil;
Salt and pepper (to taste); and
grated cheese.

With the exception of the aubergene roughly chop all the vegetables into chunky pieces. Take up a large oven dish and pour in about 2 table spoons of olive oil. Place the vegatables in the oven dish then cut the aubergene into slices and layer on top. Add salt and pepper to taste then pour in the tomato juice. Scatter the grated cheese over the top and you should have something like this;

As with the chicken, 200 degrees will do only the vegetable will take about half an hour or so. When done the vegetables will be soft and juicy but the cheese should be crispy on the top.

Serve the chicken and the vegetables together for an alternative approach to Sunday lunch in a Spanish style.

Try it, enjoy it and post a comment.

Steve

Louise's quick sardine tapa (for when you can't wait for the main).

The Spanish love their sardines and when you return from a hot morning at the market and can't wait for the amazing chicken your husband is cooking up this little tapa idea will just tide you over.

1 tin of sardines in tomato sauce;
Mayonaise;
Garlic; and
Salt & pepper.

Simply mix all the ingredients together in a small bowl until you have a paste then serve with rosquillas (little shaped Spanish breadsticks).

Louise

The Divine Comedy - I Like

...on a Harley!

Casemates square in Gibraltar filled with hundreds of Harley Davidsons and other bikes of various shapes and colours today for the annual meet of the Gibraltar Harley Davidson Club. Seeing as one of my great passions (next to stuffing myself with food) is biking, yours truly was there with Louise and Bronte in tow.

Here are some photos of the owners bikes on display.

 

 

 

 

 

The detailing on this one was worth closer inspection.

The classic V-rod; but where's Britney?

 

Ok. Back to cooking for the next one... promise.

Steve

Mojito time

I've neglected the blog a bit recently due to time constraints and such. Besides which I haven't really cooked much lately. I sat here earlier on staring at the keyboard, soaked in sweat (it's a bit hot at the moment) and searching for inspiration. Finding none I felt the urge for alcoholic refreshment. It was at this point that inspiration struck. Why not make a mojito and blog about it?

So here it is!

You will need white rum, lime juice, ice, soda water and fresh mint.

Oh, and a big glass to put it all in.

Put the ice in the glass and cover with a generous out pouring of the spirit (rum), break up the mint and add to the glass. Mix it all around a bit. Next throw in a splash or so of lime juice and then top up with soda water or if you prefer club soda for a sweeter taste.

The result...

There you go. Bob's your uncle and whats'er names you aunt.

Enjoy!!!

Dead fish never tasted so good.

Despite the less than appetising title this is actually a quick and simple way of cooking fish ensuring it retains its flavour while not becoming dry.

The fish in question was brought from the fresh fish counter at the local Mercadona by my wife. Unfortunately she does not recall the name of the fish however being as its dead I don't think it will mind.

Actually we normally use a fish called Dorada (not Wanda) but any oily fish will suffice. It is the principle of the method that counts rather than the fish.

Before I list the ingredients, let's have a look at the fish.

If you think they look bad you should see the other fellow.

The rest of the recipe is as follows;

1 large onion;
A table spoon of olive oil;
A knob of butter;
Three cloves of garlic;
One large tomato;
A teaspoon full of brown sugar (helps the medicine go down);
Salt and pepper to taste; and
Beer.

First chop the onion into pieces as small as you can make them. Then heat up a sauce pan and melt the butter. Add the olive oil to the pan with a little salt then add the onion. Cook the onion pieces for about 6 to 7 minutes adding a little water from time to time to make sure they don't dry out. The onion will become soft, sweet and translucent. At this point add the sugar and cook for another 2 minutes but don't let them burn - use a moderate heat.

The fish should be cleaned up and gutted. Remove the spine and as many of the bones as possible. The fish should be opened up like a butterly. You'll see what I mean from the next photo. Place each fish on a piece of silver foil.

Crush then chop the garlic and place down the centre of each fish. I used 3 fish hence 3 garlic gloves. Next chop the tomato into tiny pieces and place on top of the garlic. Finally, when the onions are ready, distribute them equally between the fish by piling then on top of the garlic and tomato.

You should have something like this;

Impressive don't you think. Add salt and pepper and drissle some olive oil over the top just for the hell of it then fold the fish up in its foil to make a little parcel ready for the oven.

Place in the oven on 150 degrees and cook for about 20 to 30 minutes. Check to make sure the fish is done and that it is not drying up or burning. The fish should go from being pink in colour to white. The foil helps to retain the moisture and intensify the flavour.

When done, remove from the foil carefully and serve with a side of your choice. Boiled new potatoes with a coating of melted butter and a sprinkling of fresh garden mint would be fine. I chose a light salad with an olive oil and balsamic vinegar dressing.

Superb!!!

Try it, eat it, enjoy it.

'til next time.

Steve

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