Favorite Spanish recipes

[kare_raisu]

I am interested in coming home to start cooking some Spanish meals and was hoping for some advice on great dishes you prepare. Willing to share any recipes?

[MMRuth]

Here's a link to some Spanish lamb meat balls that I like as well as chorizo cooked in sherry:

http://www.chowhound.com/topics/278615

Cilantro Gazpacho:

http://www.chowhound.com/topics/278642?user_name=&query=gazpacho

These are all paraphrased from a Penelope Casas book - Delicioso.

And one posted by Candy: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/34713...

[bear]

We really enjoy Food and Wine's simple recipe for spinach and chick peas with raisins and saffron. Great as a side for my husband and me, and a main for my vegetarian son.

Also love Torilla Espanola, although mine doesn't taste quite as delicious and the ones I had in Spain.

[paulj]

Food and Wine has profiled a couple of Spanish chefs, Adria and Andres, and has a selection of traditional and innovative recipes from both. The Spanish section of their recipe gallery has 56 recipes.

[cheftori]

I recently made some Spanish Garlic wings for Tapas. The sauce came out killer!

I think the sauce would be great on any cut of chicken and served over rice for a main course. While the recipe is a braise, if you wanted to make it a quick meal you could sear some boneless chicken breasts and then finish them in the sauce.
If you would like you can read my post: www.sagecatcuisine.com/blog_entries/37

Here is the recipe:
Spanish Garlic Wings, Serves 6
4 pounds of chicken wings, sections separated
½ cup of flour, for dredging
2 teaspoons of salt
1 teaspoon of black pepper, freshly ground
¼ cup of olive oil
¼ teaspoon of red pepper flakes
1 medium bay leaf
1 medium lemon , sliced
10 cloves of garlic, minced
⅛ cup of fresh oregano, chopped
½ cup of wine or sherry
2 cups of broth, chicken

Preheat your oven to 375 degree.
Rinse the chicken wings in cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Place flour in a shallow platter and season it by adding paprika, salt and pepper. Whisk to incorporate, then dredge the wings in the flour.
Heat oil in a skillet over high heat. Sear the chicken wings on all sides until they are golder brown. Remove the chicken from the pan and set into a roasting pan large enough to hold the chicken in a single layer. Set the roasting pan aside while you make the sauce. Add the pepper flakes, bay leaf, lemons, garlic, oregano, wine, and chicken broth to the skillet. Cook for 2 minutes to evaporate the alcohol.
Pour the sauce over the chicken. Cover the pan with foil or parchment paper right down on the chicken. Braise in the oven for about 1 hour, or until the chicken is tender and falling off the bone.

f you would like to use whole legs instead of wings:
Separate the leg and thigh before dredging in the flour. Proceed with the rest of the recipe the same way. The legs will take about 3 to 4 hours to braise.

[Eat_Nopal]

Would a Spanish cook really use red pepper flakes? My experience with Spaniards living in Mexico is that they constantly whined about things being spicy.

[JungMann]

1/4 tsp. of red pepper flakes would barely register in a marinade for 4 lbs. of chicken wings. Spanish food doesn't totally lack heat; it's just very judicious in its use of it.

[maestra]

Queso manchego with quince paste. One of my favorite flavor combinations in this universe.

[JungMann]

Try the manchego and quince paste topped with a piece of jamon serrano fried until crispy. The combination of flavors and textures will blow your mind.

[Chuckles the Clone]

Pisto: Tomato, onion, pepper, garlic. Maybe a little ham. Maybe an egg. Lots of olive oil.

A quick web search for "pisto manchego recipe" turned up hundreds of different preparations. Just like a trip through Spain. I'd suggest starting with any recipe that looks appealing and tweaking it to your personal taste. Good olive oil is crucial. Here's a decent-looking starting point: http://www.spain.info/TourSpain/Gastr...

[RGC1982]

Paella and garlic shrimp are my two favorites. There are numerous ways to cook each and I recommend both as entrees or tapas.

Paella recipes can be found just about everywhere. I have to add chicken and chorizo to mine because my daughter does not like clams, shrimp and mussels, which I also add. Garlic shrimp is a recipe I am still trying to perfect -- I'm trying to mimic the recipe from Forno's of Spain in Newark, NJ -- and so far I found a mix of garlic and paprika seems to come the closest when sauteeting in olive oil.

[Chuckles the Clone]

If you don't have it already, Penelope Casas' book _The Foods and Wines of Spain_ is hands down the best english language introduction to Spanish cooking. It works well as a cookbook as well as armchair reading into the history, culture, and styles of Spanish food.

Highly recommended: http://www.amazon.com/Foods-Wines-Spa...

[badhomecook]

Just your luck! I've been on a Spanish kick lately.
I just made this California Paella to great results: No seafood, just chicken:
http://www.latimes.com/features/food/la-fo-paella27jun27,1,1066105,full.story?coll=la-headlines-food

I also just made a great gazpacho. Check it out here:
http://badhomecooking.typepad.com/bad...

[renz]

dont forget the spanish tortilla. recipes are everywhere, but essentially you fry thinly sliced potatoes in olive oil, then add well beaten egg, stir likely, and cook gently until mostly set. carefully flip (a spare plate comes in handy) and finish till cooked.

you can add seasoning as you like: garlic, onion, etc. this is good hot, room temp, or cold.

I also love ham croquettes. make a very thick bechamel, mix in some very finely diced jamon, chill the mix a little until its quite easy to roll into egg-shaped balls. dip in egg, bread crumbs, fry. you can also make them with hard-boiled eggs, rolled in the bechamel, breaded and fried.

[paulj]

and the short cut spanish tortilla - crush good quality potato chips into the beaten egg. Let soak briefly and cook as normal.

paulj