Top This Tapas

Marc's best friend Frank has finally come to visit, and instead of my normal way of choosing the country of the week I asked him if there was any particular country he would like for me to cook. He chose Spain since he had spent quite a bit of time there and really enjoyed the food. Well Spain of course is Tapas. So in honor of his visit and the country of Spain I took on a 7 course meal. Actually I am not that crazy, so I assigned Christi the salad (because I thought she had all of the stuff...but she was ok with a trip to the store) and the dessert as usual.

Surprisingly, either I am becoming a really good cook, or I got lucky because there were no crazy mishaps...and no part of this meal was hard. So here is my Tapas Dinner...the recipes in order of how they were served.


To begin you will first need to make Alioli unless you are lucky enough to find it in the store. You will be using this for two of these recipes listed below.

Mayonnaise Aioli

Ingredients

1 cup mayonnaise
6 fresh garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste (I used very little salt but a decent amount of pepper)

Method 

In a small bowl, combine all ingredients.

Cover and chill for at least one hour before serving.

Appetizer Plate

I began this meal with an appetizer platter that consisted of Manchego cheese, Cheddar cheese (for a little extra something), Serrano Ham, Olives, and Chorizo (which ended up being a huge hit). Served next to a plate of sliced Baguettes and Garlic Bread.

As it turn out I purchased chorizo that was not in the sausage casing so it had the consistency of slop…but once I cooked it…then microwaved it to make sure it was cooked…It was a hit. It was SO good!

Plus that Manchego cheese was delicious!

The next course was the salad that I had assigned to Christi. Here is the recipe that she used:

Red Onion and Orange Salad

Ingredients

4 medium oranges, peeled

1 small red onion, sliced fine

2 tbsp raspberry vinegar

6 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

Salt and freshly ground pepper

4 tbsp golden raisins, covered for 20 minutes in hot water, then drained

20 black olives, pitted

2 tbsp sunflower seeds

2 tbsp almonds, blanched and chopped fine

Sprigs of fresh mint, to garnish

Method

Remove the white pith from the oranges and cut the fruit crosswise into 1/4 inch slices.

Arrange on a serving platter and scatter over the sliced red onion.

In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper.

Spoon this dressing over the onion and oranges.

Sprinkle with the raisins, olives, sunflower seeds, and almonds.

Garnish with mint sprigs and serve chilled.

This salad was surprisingly delicious. The flavors really catch you off guard.

The next course that was served was my favorite of the night!

Bread with Mushrooms and Alioli

Ingredients

5 ounces mushrooms remove stems slice thin

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

A pinch of sea salt

1 tsp sherry wine

Alioli (which you made previously)  

French baguette sliced into rounds

Method

Heat the olive oil in a pan.

When the oil is hot, add the mushrooms, salt and sherry.

Cook until mushrooms have changed color and are cooked. Drain and set aside.

Spread with alioli and top with mushrooms.  

Broil (on Hi) for about 1 minute or until alioli starts to bubble.

Keep an eye on it so that the bread does not burn.

Serve Immediately.

 

 YUMMY!!!!!

Our next course was:

Chickpeas and Fresh Greens

Ingredients

1 can chickpeas cooked

2 lb fresh spinach (this equaled three bags when weighed in the store)

2 pieces bread (toasted or fried to make bread crumbs with)

1 onion

1 head garlic

Parsley

Paprika

Salt

Method

Boil the spinach in water with a pinch of salt.

Drain well and set aside.

Using a mortar and pestle, crush the fried bread with two tablespoons of chickpeas to form a paste.

Gently fry the peeled garlic and chopped onion until golden, then add a little paprika, followed by the bread and chickpea paste, the drained spinach, the parsley and the remaining chickpeas. 

 

Check for salt, then allow to cook gently for 15 minutes. Serve warm.

  

 

 This is best served on bread.

 

Next up we had:

Stuffed Tomatoes

Ingredients

3 large tomatoes or 4 Medium ones

4 hard-boiled eggs, cooled and peeled

6 tbsp Alioli

Salt and pepper

1 tsp parsley, chopped

1 tbsp white breadcrumbs, if using large tomatoes

Method

Cut the tops off of the tomatoes and remove all the insides.

Mash the eggs with the alioli and add the salt, pepper and parsley. Make sure the consistency is as thick as mashed potatoes.

Stuff the tomatoes, firmly pressing the filling down.

Cover with cling film and keep. Refrigerate until serving.

 

 After WAY too much food we came to the amazing:

Prawn and Bacon Brochettes

Ingredients

1 pack thinly sliced bacon

24 Medium to large shrimp, deveined and peeled

Freshly ground black pepper

1 tbsp olive oil

2 lemons, quartered

Method

Devein and clean shrimp...you may have help!

Wrap bacon generously around each shrimp.

Place the wrapped shrimp down flat on a board and skewer them through the fattest part and the tail, making sure the bacon is firmly fixed.

Season generously and drizzle with the oil.

Roast in the oven at 425ºF on an oiled baking tray for 8-10 minutes.

Squeeze over the juice of the lemon wedges and serve immediately.

Lastly, Christi brought over Flan which is the national dessert of Spain. She did not however give me the recipe, but I know you can easily find recipes for this online or in many books. 

 

It tasted WAY better than it looked!

Finally some other funny pics from the night: