Notes about Recipes in this book

• Spanish potato omelet (Tortilla Española)

  • milgwimper on April 05, 2016

    This was really good, but my eggs stuck to the pan. Not the recipe's fault. I will make it again, but hopefully without the sticking issue.

• Crispy shrimp fritters (Tortillitas de camarones)

  • Breadcrumbs on August 01, 2015

    p. 28 - The three words in the title of this recipe all sound delicious to me on their own, together they proved to be irresistible and this was the first recipe I tabbed and made from this book! When my “batter” came out of the fridge it was more like pizza dough than the pancake batter described. I’d be interested to know if anyone has eaten these in a tapas bar to know how thin they should be. I settled for ¼ inch however I felt like the author intended to be thinner. Also, although my oil was very hot, it took some time for my fritters to brown though they did crisp up quite quickly. Fritters are drained on paper towel before serving. I served with a spritz of lime and some sea salt. These were delicious and it was hard to refrain from eating all of them myself. Without a doubt they were the unanimous favourite of the four tapas I prepared. Photo here: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/1020808?commentId=9666123#9666123

  • twoyolks on August 27, 2015

    The fritters were too doughy. They would've been better with a lighter batter. I think the fritters could also have used some pimenton.

• Roasted red pepper salad (Ensalada de pimientos asados)

  • Breadcrumbs on August 02, 2015

    p. 34 - This simple little tapa is a great addition to the table and it comes together in no time. I picked up a basket of peppers at a local farm today so mr bc headed to the grill to roast three for (a half quantity of) this dish. While the peppers grilled, I made the vinaigrette that’s equal quantities of white wine vinegar (chardonnay in my case) chopped garlic and evoo. S&P season to taste. I tossed a little chopped Italian parsley in there for a burst of contrasting colour. Once the peppers have been cooled and sliced they’re tossed in the dressing and plated. These were lovely on their own and glorious with our grilled lamb chops. Photo here: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/1020808?commentId=9667750#9667750

  • jenburkholder on January 15, 2024

    A very simple but delightful little side dish. I had a few various colored peppers languishing in the fridge so threw them under the broiler and ended up with this little pepper salad. A nice contrast to a rich entree (brisket).

• Mussels vinaigrette (Mejillónes a la vinagreta)

  • Breadcrumbs on August 01, 2015

    p. 37 - The author notes this tapa is great to pass at a party as you eat the mussel and dressing right out of the shell and, the mussels and dressing can be made ahead which is a bonus. These are bright, bold and full of flavour. The salad works beautifully with the briny seafood and makes for a perfect little hors d’oeuvre. The salad that’s served atop is very similar to one I made from NSK and I think I preferred the NSK version with the white wine vinegar. That’s the only change I’d make next time around. These got gobbled up instantaneously. Photo here: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/1020808?commentId=9666132#9666132

  • milgwimper on August 06, 2015

    This is one of my favourite tapas at Pinotxo Barcelona. I followed the recipe but did nt have parsley or green onions. I used a tiny splash of good sherry vinegar and Chardonnay vinegar but I think my choice of vinegars were not enough. I needed to up it. No complaints about the recipe as it was my choice of vinegars. The taste almost, but not quite as good as Juan's in Pinotxo. Will I make it again. YES! They were a hit a dinner and tasted fabulous.

• Moorish kebabs (Pinhitos Morunos)

  • Breadcrumbs on August 01, 2015

    p. 46 - Ms Mendel notes that these tapas got their name because they are seasoned with the same spices used in Morocco on the other side of the Mediterranean. The spice blend is called ras-el-hanout in Morocco and especial para pinchitos (kebab spice) in Spain. Another super-simple dish to prepare. Though the recipe called for pork butt, time was not on my side for the long marinade period required so I opted to use pork tenderloin instead and went with a 4 hour marinade. I can’t imagine the meat being more tender but the flavour of the spice seasoning was extremely intense, a bit overpowering. I just replaced most of the spices in my cupboard a couple of weeks ago so I’m not sure if that may have been a factor or perhaps after 24 hours they might have mellowed. I’ll be curious to hear others weigh in on this. This wasn’t a favourite Photo here: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/1020808?commentId=9666138#9666138

• Pork braised in fresh tomato sauce (Magro con tomate)

  • Breadcrumbs on August 01, 2015

    p. 43 - Another hit from this book. This saucy tapas is served with a lot of crusty bread alongside to mop up the juices. Lean pork (tenderloin in my case) is cut into cubes. Garlic is minced, white wine is poured (for the dish…and the cook in my case – hey, it was a hot day!!), tomatoes are peeled, seeded and diced. I threw caution to the wind and left the skins on and seeds in. Pork is seared then garlic, wine, a bay leaf and some fennel seeds are added. The pan is covered and allowed to simmer until the pork is tender. The heat is then raised and the remaining liquid is evaporated before adding the tomatoes in and simmering until the mixture is “syrupy”. I can’t say mine ever got syrupy but it sure did smell delicious and after 45 mins we decided to wait no more and chow down. The fennel is sensational in this and the fresh tomatoes make the sauce a special treat. Photo here: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/1020808?commentId=9666130#9666130

  • twoyolks on August 07, 2018

    The fresh tomato sauce was the best part of this recipe. It went well over pasta. From the recipe header, the "lean" pork referred to here is in comparison to something like pork belly. It suggested something from the leg. I used boneless country ribs which worked fairly well. The pork did end up a bit dry but the sauce was very good.

• Chicken sauté with garlic and sherry (Pollo al ajillo)

  • Gio on August 15, 2015

    Pg. 44. We enjoyed very bite of this dish. The chicken was tender, juicy, and had a delicate but noticeable infusion of deliciousness from the browned garlic garnish as well as from garlic that's cooked with the chicken. All the juices plus the wines created a luscious unctuous sauce.

  • twoyolks on October 15, 2015

    I used bone-in chicken thighs and they came out crispy and moist. There wasn't much sauce to serve them with which detracted from the dish a bit. The sherry flavor came through well but the garlic seemed to be missing.

• Spiced meatballs in almond sauce (Albóndigas en salsa de almendras)

  • L.Nightshade on August 12, 2015

    The sauce is made of a purée of fried almonds, bread, and garlic, mixed with a crushed mix of peppercorns, saffron, clove, and salt. White wine and chicken stock are added to bring it to a saucy consistency. The fried meatballs are finished in the sauce, then served with a bit of parsley and some reserved fried almonds. We both gave these meatballs a thumbs up. The flavor of the saffron really came through. In so many dishes with saffron, it loses out in competition with the other ingredients, but it shines in this sauce. The flavor of the pork was much more evident than the flavor of the beef, for some reason, it might as well have been all pork. I think these would be quite nice made with ground turkey also. http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/1020808?commentId=9681746#9681746

• Country bread (Pan campesino)

  • twoyolks on January 17, 2021

    This is just not very good. The crumb is very tight. The dough simply doesn't have enough hydration. It also suffers from only have a single rise time. It's very difficult to knead.

• Gazpacho today (El gazpacho de hoy)

  • chawkins on July 31, 2014

    Very refreshing soup with fresh tomatoes from the garden. Janet Mendel told you to either seed the tomatoes or strain it after blending to remove the seeds, she said for a 300-watt blender with a good blade there is no need to skin the tomatoes. So I seeded the tomatoes, which was the hardest part of the recipe. As an after thought I am wondering if the 1560-watt Blendtec will also pulverize the seeds, eliminating that tedious task, I'll have to give it a go.

• Pumpkin and chickpea stew (Boronia)

  • veronicafrance on February 17, 2012

    This was surprisingly good; it tastes a lot better than it looks ( a kind of orange sludge with potatoes and chickpeas in it!). My tomato wasn't very ripe so I added a spoonful of sun-dried tomato paste, which was a good idea. Don't stint on the pimentón and garlic! I'd have given it four stars if it had looked prettier.

• Chickpeas with spinach (Garbanzos con espinacas)

  • jenburkholder on June 23, 2021

    Excellent. Use fresh-cooked chickpeas. Also good with any other greens one has laying around.

• Omelet with fava beans and asparagus (Tortilla de habas y espárragos)

  • veronicafrance on May 09, 2015

    Pretty good, but the ratio of vegetables to eggs seems a bit off. We only used half the amount of veg recommended, and it was plenty.

• Garlic cole slaw with pomegranate seeds (Ensalada de col)

  • Yildiz100 on June 22, 2019

    Delicious exactly as written, especially with fresh, tender cabbage.

• Jaén style spinach with crispy croutons (Espinacas a la Jinense)

  • twoyolks on October 11, 2016

    This is a lot of extra work for something that is basically olive oil sautéed spinach with garlic and pimentón. The croutons just seem like a needless addition.

• Cauliflower, mule-driver's style (Coliflor al ajo arriero)

  • AudreyFromNe on August 23, 2015

    (p 149) A head of cauliflower is broken into florets and boiled (per recipe) or steamed until done. Drain & reserve 1/3 cup water. In the mean time create mise en place for dressing consisting of olive oil, salt, garlic chopped, Spanish paprika (I used sweet, type was not specified), white wine vinegar & a pinch of cayenne. Heat oil on medium, stir in garlic, remove from heat and stir in remaining mise en place including reserved water (watch out - my oil was still quite hot so it spit quite a bit on the initial addition of the vinegar & water.) Drizzle over cauliflower. It makes enough for a LARGE head of cauliflower, I could have cut it by 1/3 or so. I served it warm. Three of us really liked it and the 4th said it was okay, but he finished his healthy serving. It will be made again. JM notes this works well with broccoli too.

  • jenburkholder on December 29, 2022

    Nice, simple cauliflower dish. We steamed it and went heavier on the spice than called for. Flavor is mild but balanced and went well with rice pilaf.

• Asparagus in Cazuela (Cazuela de espárragos)

  • veronicafrance on June 01, 2012

    I wouldn't make this again. The combination of asparagus and pimenton was kind of ... strange. It was saved by the eggs. But I couldn't help thinking how nice it would have been if it had just been asparagus, eggs, and cream.

• Artichokes, Córdoba style (Alcachofas a la Cordobesa)

  • veronicafrance on April 26, 2014

    This was OK, but not really special. Only worth doing with really small artichokes.

• Pumpkin sauté (Calabaza frita)

  • Vanessa on October 27, 2012

    This is a great way to cook pumpkin, with a wonderful garlicky sauce. (Sometimes it seems that a major component of Spanish cooking is a series of techniques for combining garlic and old bread!) The result is a very savory, satisfying vegetable dish suitable for all kinds of fall menus.

• Summer vegetable stew (Pisto)

  • Yildiz100 on November 29, 2015

    I was hoping for a dish that would taste like the pisto I had in Andalucia, and this was it! The only change I would make next time would be to cut the vegetables smaller than she indicates.

• Double-mashed potatoes (Patatas revolconas)

  • twoyolks on December 21, 2014

    These were weird. The paprika makes them look like sweet potatoes but doesn't really add much flavor. The bacon adds nothing but additional calories.

• Poor folk's potatoes (Patatas a lo pobre)

  • jenburkholder on April 05, 2021

    We've made these several times, and they're very tasty. Also very hands off once you have the chopping done.

• Clams with artichokes and sherry (Almejas con alcachofas)

  • veronicafrance on May 08, 2014

    Not bad, but I think you need to make sure that you have a high proportion of clams to artichokes -- ideally large artichokes, hearts only, cubed to scale to the clams. Probably best as a tapa, in small quantities.

• Monkfish in pimentón sauce (Rape al pimentón)

  • Gio on December 10, 2015

    Pg. 211. A really appealing finished dish. Lovely tender chunks of monkfish with lots of tangy reasonably spiced sauce combined with steamed small potatoes. Wouldn't want to reduce the sauce though, would have been too strong. I used a great Vinagre de Jerez, Gutierrez Colosia. Next time... crusty bread is a must.

• Grilled sea bass with caper dressing (Lubina a la plancha con aliño de alcaparras)

  • Breadcrumbs on August 14, 2015

    p. 215 - Thanks to Gio on CH for piquing my interest in this dish. mr bc cranked up the gas grill and we were good to go. I made the dressing mid-day so the flavours had time to get acquainted and happy. Yet another recipe from the two CH COTM books with a 1:1 acid to oil blend. I wimped out and went with my standard 1:3 ratio. We absolutely loved this dressing and it was perfect atop the salmon. I’ll happily make this again and again for my fish. I’m already imagining this in the winter months atop my oven griddled salmon (from FWAD). Delicious. Photo here: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/1020811?commentId=9683694#9683694

  • Gio on August 15, 2015

    Used day catch Pollock from our weekly CSF. Simple and humble, delectably fresh and lemony and tasty... pure, sprightly, and briny. Obviously we loved this dish.

• A fine kettle of fish (Caldeirada)

  • Gio on June 09, 2016

    Pg. 225. A fine kettle of monkfish medallions for us cut from our CSF share of the day. After the potatoes and fish are cooked a brothy tangy sauce to pour over them is created by the remaining ingredients. The fish was well cooked within the timing allowed, and the sauce was tangy and comforting. In spite of the potatoes I served fresh crusty bread, and showered chopped parsley over each serving.

• Chicken sautéed with fresh tomato (Pollo con tomate)

  • Breadcrumbs on August 13, 2015

    p. 243 - This is a perfect recipe for tomato season as it calls for 4.5lbs. Oh, and it’s delicious! Prep is simple but the sauce needs a long simmer. Fortunately for me, today time wasn’t a factor at all except when we started inhaling the tantalizing aromas of this sauce and then it was impatience vs a lack of time that proved to be an issue. The author suggests it will take 45 to 75 mins for the chx to cook. All I can say is there must be some big ass chickens in Spain as mine were cooked through in 15 mins after the initial browning. Nevertheless, once the chicken is cooked, the sauce must then reduce to the consistency of a jam and this, my friends, is what takes time and patience. The sauce is well worth the wait, sweet, jammy and velvety I think I’d have been happy with a bowl of sauce and some crusty bread, chicken be damned! Photo here: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/1020811?commentId=9682261#9682261

• Sherried chicken with mushrooms (Pollo al jerez)

  • jenburkholder on May 25, 2026

    This was tasty, if not more than the sum of its parts. Made with all thighs and a relatively inexpensive sherry (not a fino, had a little sweetness but not much). Served with rice pilaf that I made using a bit of the chicken fat poured from the pan. Would consider repeating.

• Roast pork shoulder (Asado de puerco)

  • chawkins on April 29, 2014

    Excellent roast, moist and very flavorful. The only issue I had was that it needed to be marinated for 24 hours which I did, but you also had to bring it up to room temperature before putting it in the oven. I took it out of the fridge 1.5 hours before and probably was not enough time for a 4.6 lb bone-in roast to warm up, so I had to roast it for an extra 40 minutes to get an internal temperature of 160.

  • twoyolks on January 17, 2021

    While some parts of this were good, overall it was disappointing. The marinade adds some really nice flavor to the outside of the roast but the inside was under seasoned and bland. The drippings burned which gave a bitter unpleasant note to the sauce. There's no indication of what "done" is for the pork so I cooked it to 180F so it was tender.

• Orange-glazed pork tenderloin (Solomillos de cerdo en salsa de naranjas)

  • Gio on May 20, 2016

    Pg. 265. Delightful for the tenderloin, and for pork chops as well. The ingredients and timing produce a tasty slice of tender juicy pork and an orangey winey pan sauce. Lovely for a dinner party or an evening meal.

  • chawkins on May 31, 2019

    Quick and easy dish with simple pantry ingredients. The pork was moist and the pan sauce was light and tasty.

  • twoyolks on July 09, 2019

    Really easy to make with good flavor. Be careful with the timing as it's easy for the pork to overcook.

• Home-style pork chops in lemon marinade (Chuletas a la casera, con aliño)

  • L.Nightshade on August 07, 2015

    Our chops marinated for about an hour, then were cooked on the big egg. I reduced the marinade in a small pan on the burner, some was used to brush the chops on the grill, the remainder was spooned over them. Unfortunately, the remainder was scant, to say the least. I’m betting these are better cooked in a pan, with more glazing happening with the marinade. http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/1020811?commentId=9675728#9675728

  • twoyolks on November 02, 2015

    We cooked these in a skillet. They took longer to cook than the recipe called for but we're well cooked. They were juicy and flavorful. The lemon really works well without overpowering the pork. Reducing the sauce with the pork chops glazes them well.

• Moorish lamb stew with prunes (Cordero con ciruelas pasas)

  • veronicafrance on July 31, 2017

    Effort vs results: 10/10. No need to marinate overnight -- a few hours will do. Made with lamb raised 10 km away, it was easy and delicious.

• Slow-braised lamb chops with sherry (Chuletas de cordero al jerez)

  • chawkins on October 03, 2013

    A simple and tasty recipe. I used lamb shoulder chops which became quite tender after braising in the sherry for 45 minutes.

  • veronicafrance on June 06, 2014

    This was quick to do and tasted OK, if not very exciting. I didn't liquidise the sauce because I thought it would turn into brown sludge. I should have thickened it, but we used mashed potatoes to soak it up.

• Fiesta paella with chicken and shellfish (Paella con pollo y mariscos)

  • Breadcrumbs on August 03, 2015

    p. 177 - I don’t believe there’s such a thing as a bad paella but this was pretty close. I definitely wouldn’t make it again. Here’s why. The cooking process seemed ill-conceived and disjointed. Mussels cooked first then set aside. Some shrimp are cooked in advance, some left to cook in the paella . . . for 35 mins, ditto for the peas (including standing time), squid cooked for 47 mins. Needless to say, everything but the rice and the mussels were overcooked, the squid was inedible. Actually my shrimp were ok too as I opted to grill them and add them in the end. I omitted the yellow food colouring as well. I’ve never come across that in a paella recipe before. Unfortunately, I cannot recommend this one. We drowned our sorrows in a lovely Spanish wine mr bc selected for the occasion. The wine was worthy of a celebration. Photo here: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/1020809?commentId=9669311#9669311