Friday ... and cooking up some good stuff

 

Octopus and potatoes (pulpo a la gallega con patatas) , Spanish cured meats (Charcuterie), fried sprats (Boquerones fritos ), wine, garlic & saffron chicken

Time for a bit of charcuterie

Lomo, jamon, fuet, chorizo .... plus a bit of garlic & rosemary chicken and the all important bread & rioja

Roasted Italian herb sweet potatoes, potatoes & carrots. with Lamb

Tapas Friday

The best thin based, crisp edged, ham, mushroom & black olive pizza!

Make your sauce -

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 or 3 cloves minced/grated fresh garlic
half a finely chopped onion
1 tin of chopped tomatoes or .... you could even mess about processing fresh ones.
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil .... or skip the Oregano & Basil and use 2 teaspoons of dried Italian mixed herbs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon of sugar
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons tomato paste


In a small/medium saucepan, sauté garlic & onions in olive oil until tender. Add selected seasonings etc and continue cooking a few more minutes. Stir in chopped tomatoes, and then tomato paste. Simmer on low heat for about 10 minutes.


The thin crust dough (this is a no messing about waiting an hour etc for it to rise dough, it is a make it n' bake it dough)

• 1 pack of dry yeast
• 1/4 teaspoon of sugar
• 3/4 cup of lukewarm water
• 1 & 3/4 cups of plain white flour
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt

 With the above ready you'll need to do the below ...

1. Combine 1 packet of dry yeast, 1/4 teaspoon of sugar and 3/4 cups of lukewarm water. Mix a little and let sit for 6-8 minutes.
2. Combine 1 & 3/4 cups of plain white flour with 1/2 teaspoon of salt in a bowl or food processor.
3. Pour the water combination into the bowl (or food processor) and mix until ready to knead (around 30 second in a food processor). If using a bowl, mix with a spoon until you have a neat ball.
4. Prepare a lightly sprinkled surface with flour. Place the dough and knead for around 2-3 minutes.
5. Roll out by hand for a 12'' base.
6. Place in 12'' lighly oiled pizza pan (mine has holes to produce a crisper base). Press out dough to form a slight lip.
7. Apply your sauce and toppings ... sauce , mozzarella, toppings. I chose generous toppings of ham, mushrooms & black olives
8. Cook in a pre-heated oven at 225c for 10-15 minutes (times may vary based on different ovens. Fan assited oven will be quicker! etc etc etc).
9. Remove from oven, slice eat and enjoy ........ with a bottle of white wine ;-)

Sweet Potato chips

tasty, tasty, tasty!

• Peel a big sweet potato, chop into shards
• Deep fry in olive oil for a minute at 180c
• Take out and rest for a minute
• Fry again for about 2 minutes
• Serve, salt, eat, enjoy!!

Homemade olive & garlic bread

Rather nice and didn't go stale for days.

Bit of a a hassle getting the chopped garlic and olives mixed in well, but worth it.

Good places to eat - Cafe Espana

Busy Spanish eatery in Soho with great food, great service and a good atmos ... and very easy on the wallet! :-)

63 Old Compton Street, London, W1D 6HT

http://srv-londonimages-2.londontown.com/2007/September/AI449137_429long.jpg

Various tapas boards at home

Always serve on wood ;-)

Good places to eat - Rock & Sole Plaice

We always have well cooked tasty fish & chips at this historic chippy.

Also has a good choice of fish :-)

47 Endell Street, Covent Garden, WC2H 9AJ

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/202/504760287_8e5e44d321.jpg

Good places to eat - Taro

Great Japanese food in Soho. Great chicken Teriyaki Don ... Mmmmm

www.tarorestaurants.co.uk

Empanada - make an empanada

What you'll need -

Shortbread Pastry

400g lean mince meat

1 red, 1 green and 1 yellow pepper

1 onion

2 chopped cloves of garlic

1 Beef stock cube

1 egg

salt

pepper

pimenton dulce

white wine.

What you'll need to do -

You'll need to fry the meat, garlic and chopped onions and peppers in a good non-stick high-sided frying pan. while cooking add salt and pepper and sprinkle with pimenton.

Give it a good fry for about 10 mins then add the stock cube and put on a low heat, and slowly cook for 15/20 mins.

You don't want the mixture too dry so add wine (u can use water but I prefer wine for taste) to keep the ingredients in a good tasty sauce.

Brush a baking tray with olive oil and lay the pastry base

Fill with the cooked ingredients and spread out evenly

Place the top layer of pastry and brush with a beaten egg

Pop in the middle of a hot oven for 30 minutes at 180c or until you have a nice golden crust.

a Jamón .... every kitchen should have one