Cooking in Barcelona!

Nibbler went to the Iberia Peninsula for two weeks and had a very good time indeed. Got back yesterday afternoon, and since Jetlag is Queen, we will start posting food memories here (the fabulous art and other memories go to the other blog).

On the last day in Barcelona, we did what all of us had been looking forward to throughout - a Spanish cooking class! It was conducted by Cookandtaste which we read about in the BT. For 50 Euros each, we learnt to cook a four-course meal and of course had the meal for lunch. It was an excellent experience all round.

This was our chef instructor, Paul, who was quite hilarious in a deadpan way.
















This was the menu:

Chupito de Sopa de Tomate Al Aroma de Idiazabal de Peio Garcia Amiano (Gazpacho with a twist!)

Tortilla de Patatas y pan con Tomate (aka a very thick omelette)

Paella de Marisco (you cook this, you can cook anything, says Paul)

Crema Catalan (like Creme Brulee)

The cooking school has just emailed the recipes, yay, which are now posted for
future reference. :)

Chupito de Sopa de Tomate al Aroma de Idiazábal

(tomato soup flavoured with idiazábal smoked cheese)

Ingredients (4 servings)

4 tomatoes, peeled and seeded

20 gr idiazábal (sheep) cheese, grated (parmesan may be used as substitute)

20 gr of allioli sauce

2 spoons of balsamic vinegar

2 cloves of garlic, peeled

25 gr of walnuts

25 gr of hazelnuts

parsley

olive oil

salt

Method

Peel the tomatoes, seed and blend them together in a blender with the vinegar and a pinch of salt.

In a mortar, pound the garlic cloves, the parsley and all the nuts. Emulsify with a little of olive oil.

Serve in a cup and decorate with a teaspoon of what you’ve got from the mortar, a teaspoon of allioli and some grated cheese.

Paella de Marisco

(seafood paella)

Ingredients (4 serves)

8 prawns

2 squids (or cuttlefish), in rings

500 gr of clams and / or mussels (1.1 pound / 17.5 oz)

2 or 3 cloves of garlic, peeled, crushed

1 tomato, peeled, minced

6 tablespoons of olive oil

400 gr of rice (1 pound / 14 oz)

1,1 l of fish stock (4.4 cups)

8-10 saffron threads or colouring

Method

Heat the oil in the pan and fry the prawns until slightly browned. Transfer to a plate and set aside.

Add the tomato in the same hot oil and fry slightly. After some minutes, add chopped garlic and fry over medium heat.

When the tomato starts to burn, stir in the squid and the clams and mussels.

Stir in the stock and the saffron and bring it to a boil.

Add the rice and distribute it evenly. Rice can’t be touched beyond this point!

After some minutes add the prawns in a decorative pattern.

Increase the heat to medium-high and cook for (+/-) 8 minutes, rotating and swirling the pan to distribute the heat evenly. Reduce heat to minimum and cook (+/-) 10 more minutes.

Let it stand for about 5 minutes before serving.

Tortilla de Patatas y pan con Tomate

Ingredients (4 serves)

Tortilla de patatas

300 gr of potatoes, peeled, chopped (10 oz)

1 onion, peeled, in half rings

3 eggs

olive oil

salt

Pan con tomate

4 slices of farmhouse bread

2 red tomatoes

1 garlic clove (optional)

olive oil

salt

Method

Tortilla de patatas

Peel and rinse the potatoes; dice them thinly.

Peel the onion and cut it in half rings.

Fry the potatoes in plenty of hot olive oil. Add the onion into the frying pan when the potatoes are half done.

Leave over medium heat until both the potatoes and the onion are well done. Set aside over absorbent paper.

Beat the eggs in a separate bowl and season with salt. Pour the drained potatoes and onion in the bowl and mix.

Remove excess of oil from the pan. Pour the mixture over the heated pan and cook until the bottom starts to brown. Add other ingredients like mushrooms, artichokes, fish, meat as desired at this point.

Flip it over, and gently slide the tortilla into the pan again so the uncooked part is face down and finish cooking.

Pan con tomate

Peel a clove of garlic and cut it in halves. Cut the tomatoes also in halves cross wide.

First rub the bread with the garlic with the cut side, and then with the tomato, squeezing gently. Sprinkle it with salt and drizzle it with olive oil.

Crema Catalan

Ingredients (6 serves)

6 egg yolks

200 gr of sugar (0.5 pound / 7 oz)

1 l of milk (4 cups)

40 gr of starch (1.75 oz / 0.11 pounds)

peel of one lemon

1 stick of cinnamon

vanilla (optional)

Method

Blend the egg yolks and the sugar until it becomes a fine cream. Add 750 ml of milk and stir to get a good mixture. Add the lemon peel and the cinnamon.

Heat it over medium-high heat in a saucepan.

Meanwhile, dissolve the starch in the remaining milk and stir the mixture into the saucepan.

Bring to the boil, stirring all the time and set aside at first bubble.

Let it cool for a while, still stirring, and distribute it in little earthenware dishesº before it cools down completely.