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Cool delights to go with your Spanish mains
This week Clare Latimer rustles up a healthy (and one not so healthy) delicious delight from Spain
I HAVE always had a great affection for Spain ever since my godmother went out there and opened a hotel and also a launderette in the late 60s.
She was the original ‘My Beautiful Launderette!’ This was down in Torremolinos, which in those days was a little village unlike today where it is split in half by the south of Spain motorway.
Later on my parents bought a house in Majorca that we had until very recently so I really feel that I have eaten Spanish food half my life.
Here are two recipes to get you in the Spanish mood and to encourage this get out some Gypsy King music and a bottle of chilled Rose Rioja, which I will admit to drinking all through our heat wave.
Creamy Gaspacho
This is a recipe from Benjamin Urdiain who had a superb restaurant in Madrid with three Michelin rosettes.
It is the first time I have seen sherry vinegar and mayonnaise added to this famous and cooling soup.
You can garnish with finely chopped onion, green peppers, cucumber and toasted breadcrumbs if you wish.
Ingredients
Serves 4
One kilo ripe tomatoes;
125g onion, peeled;
125g green peppers, stalks removed and deseeded;
Half red pepper, stalk removed and deseeded;
200g cucumber, peeled;
One clove garlic, peeled;
125g crustless bread;
Half lemon;
One tbsp sherry vinegar;
Six fl oz olive oil;
Six fl oz cold water;
salt and freshly ground; black pepper;
One tbsp mayonnaise.
Method
Chop up the tomatoes, onion, green and red peppers, cucumber, garlic, and put into a large bowl.
Cut up the bread into cubes and add to the bowl.
Squeeze the lemon juice over the vegetables and bread.
Add the sherry vinegar, olive oil and water and then season with the salt and pepper.
Leave to marinade for 12 hours in a cool place.
To complete the soup, put it into a blender and add the mayonnaise.
Whiz until smooth. Pour through a sieve if you like it smooth. (I leave it rough to add more texture).
Check the seasoning and then chill thoroughly.
The soup must be served very cold.
Fried Puffs with Catalan Cream
The Spanish version to doughnuts, puffed in hot oil.
Not so healthy as the previous recipe but even more excuse to have a go as you have to indulge somewhere along the line
Buy the puff pastry because life is too short to start rolling and chilling three times over! Also be very careful when using hot oil.
Ingredients
Serves 4
For the cream.
13 fl oz milk;
Half cinnamon stick;
Half vanilla pod;
Strip lemon zest;
30g cornflour;
Five egg yolks;
120g sugar.
For the pastry puffs.
250g bought puff pastry;
Half litre olive oil;
Garnish.
250g milk chocolate, melted;
Optional: 100g icing sugar.
Method
Reserve one-third of the milk (approx) and bring the rest to the boil with the cinnamon stick, vanilla pod and lemon zest.
Meanwhile make a paste with the reserved milk and the cornflour and then beat in the yolks and sugar.
Pour the hot milk over the yolk mixture and return to the saucepan. Stir continuously over a low heat with a wooden spoon until it returns to the boil.
Remove from the heat, strain if you wish, and then leave to cool.
To make the puffs, roll out the pastry to a thickness of about four millimetres and use a pastry cutter to cut circles about four centimetres across. Heat the oil until very hot and fry the pastries, a few at a time, turning then gently until golden brown and really puffed up.
Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.
To serve, put the cream into a piping bag and fill each puff.
Cover the centres of four plates with the remaining custard and then if using the melted chocolate dribble a pattern on the plates.
Then place the puffs – about four each – in the middle of each plate and then sift icing sugar over the top and serve. |
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