INGREDIENTS (for 6 persons)

· 1/2 litre of red wine
· 1/2 litre of lemon soda or a mixture of Sprite and soda water
· 1 lemon
· Ice

ELABORATION

In a litre and a half jar, pour the red wine over ice. Then the lemon soda or the mixture of Sprite and soda water (in Spain this mixture is called “Casera”). Add some lemon slices and enjoy this easy and refreshing drink! Serve chilled!

Technorati Tags: Tinto de verano, Tinto con Casera, Tinto, Refreshing, Wine cocktail, Spanish Recipes, Spanish Gastronomy

INGREDIENTS:

· Gherkin Pickles
· Cocktail Onions
· Green Olives
· Anchovies
· Banana Wax Peppers
· etc.

PREPARATION:
Banderillas are very very easy to made. Just skew onto a toothpick the pickle, onion, olive (pitted at least, and perhaps you’d prefer stuffed) anchovies and pepper. You can play with the colors of the banderilla tapa adding/replacing ingredients, like tuna in oil, etc.

If you are really “bravo”, you can choose Jalapeño peppers!!

Technorati Tags: Banderillas, Gherkin, Onion, Olives, Anchovies, Jalapeños, Tapas, Spanish Food, Spanish Gastronomy

The “huevos rotos” is a very simple and typical tapa of Spain. All the variants of this recipe have in common fried potatoes and eggs, and they are different in the ingredients that we will refer as main ingredients.

COMMON INGREDIENTS (for 4 people)
6 eggs.
500 grams of potatoes.
¼ liter of olive oil to fry.
Salt.

MAIN INGREDIENTS (to choose a group)
(group 1) 200 grams of hake noddles and 50 grams of ewe cheese.
(group 2) 150-200 grs. of chorizo
(group 3) 150-200 grs. of Iberian ham

ELABORATION:

Peel, wash and cut potato strips, season with salt and fry them in a frying pan with hot olive oil. Once fried remove them to a plate.

Add 4 spoonfuls of oil in an antiadherent frying pan and when the oil is hot, fry the eggs. As soon as the white sets up, add the main ingredients of the group that we have chosen. For example, if we chose hake noddles and cheese, add those ingredients to the frying pan. We must cook quickly so the white of the eggs is set up but the yolk is left creamy. Then we put the mix upon the fried potatoes and break the yolk!

Technorati Tags: Huevos Rotos, Scrambled Eggs, Iberian Ham, Chorizo, Ewe Cheese, Tapas, Spanish Gastronomy, Spanish Food

The pig meat represents the most important and valuable material of the sausages industry; the sausages known as “pure type” are prepared exclusively with pig meat. The adult pig, of Iberian race, fed well and on firm muscles, provide optimal meats for sausage type conserves, as it is the chorizo.

The advantages of the pig meat is found mainly in its composition. The oil existence in the acorn, main food of the Iberian pig that gets up itself to the meats of the animal during its life, prevents an internal dehydration of the meat. This leads to succulent and tender sausages, very pleasant to our palate. In addition, the humidity of the muscular fiber facilitates the fermentations that give rise to the seasoned sausage.

The chorizo is a typical Spanish meat product. It can be considered that they do not exist in other countries sausages in which the main ingredients are paprika and garlic, bases of the elaboration of the chorizo. The spreading and consumption of this product at international level makes chorizo equipable to other high quality well-known products of Spanish, as they can be iberian ham

ELABORATION PROCESS OF IBERIAN CHORIZO

The traditional elaboration’s process of the chorizo begins by the mincemeat of the meats, mix with the rest of the ingredients (spices mainly) and rest of the mass in fresh site during one night; next the mass is introduced in pig gut, are tied and they are exposed to the natural atmosphere air, choosing suitable places on the basis of its characteristics of temperature and humidity. During the time of maturation there are processes of drying and acquisition of firmness in the texture. Simultaneously is developed the unmistakable smell, sum of the natural essences and the resultant of the fermentation on the components of the mass.

VARIETIES OF IBERIAN CHORIZO

We will consider three main varieties:

- “Cular” variety (iberian chorizo)

Ingredients:

Raw meat: Loin of iberian pig and an approximated 30% of sirloin.
Spices and others: Salt, paprika, garlic, oregano, other spices, white wine and olive oil.

Elaboration:

The raw meat is itched in heavy pieces. The mixture is marinated with the rest of the component, leaving in rest and maceration 24 hours at 123.8 degrees Fahrenheit. Then spends 50 days of dry treatment in warehouse.

The only difference between the white and the red one constitutes the presence of paprika in this last one.

- Horseshoe variety (iberian chorizo)

Ingredients:

Raw meat: Loin (second class) of iberian pig.
Spices: Salt, paprika, garlic, and oregano.

Elaboration:

Similar to cular variety, but the dry treatment lasts only 25-30 days. As it is a semicured product, is ideal for consumption as much fried, or to the plate. Very indicated too as flavoring for exquisite stews.

- Candle variety (iberian chorizo)

In this variety, the meat of loan (always iberian pig) is first quality. The rest of ingredients and manufacturing process is the same as “cular” variety.

Technorati Tags: Iberian Chorizo, Chorizo, Spanish Food, Spanish Gastronomy

INGREDIENTS for 4 people.

· 1.5 kg of potatoes
· 3/4 kg of chorizo
· 3/4 kg of blood sausage
· Ham
· 1/2 kg of green peppers
· 4 eggs
· 1 onion
· olive oil
· salt

ELABORATION

Peel, wash and divide the potatoes in slices not very thin. Wash the peppers, clear the seed and cut them into great pieces. Peel the onion and divide it. Put a frying pan to the fire with 1/4 glass of olive oil, add the potatoes and the onion, a little salt, cover and cook on a low heat during 25 minutes, so that the potato is rather cooked. Meanwhile, in another frying pan put a little oil and fry the peppers. Once fried, add a pinch of salt, remove them and fry the sliced chorizo an then the blood sausage (morcilla). At last, fry the eggs. Serve very hot!

Technorati Tags: Alpujarreño, Alpujarras, Granada, Ham, Chorizo, Tapas, Recipes, Spanish Gastronomy

Ingredients

· 20 prawns
· 3 teeth of garlic
· Small branches of parsley
· 1 little glass of cognac
· Olive oil

Elaboration

Warm up a little oil in a great frying pan, peel the garlic, cut into slices and fry it. When the garlic begins to gild, add to the frying pan the prawns and gild too. Salt the mix of garlic and prawns. Sprinkle the cognac, ignite it (be careful, please!) and, when the flame is extinguished, dust the mix with minced parsley. Serve at this very moment! Little advice: if you sprinkle the prawns with a pinch of paprika, they will win in flavor.

Technorati Tags: Prawns with Garlic, Gambas al Ajillo, Tapas, Recipes, Spanish Gastronomy

With this encounter of memorable characters, we inaugurate chronicles of international trips, since although our primary target is to share charming places within Spain, we also want in this blog to talk about those places in which, like travellers that enjoy traveling, we felt like home.

From Madrid, we arrived at Billund. Its quite centric situation in the peninsula of Jutlandia makes specially attractive to be the base from which to make different trips in any direction. In this first chapter of the visit of our cavalier to the king of Denmark, our objective will be a first contact with the coast of the Baltic Sea, with special emphasis in two places: Aarhus and Juelsminde. Do you want to see our itinerary in Google Maps?

But it would not be fair to forget Billund. A brief stroll by its streets will allow us to enjoy the stillness and the silence, and the sounds of the nature that will be a constant in our trip (if we except the boisterous night of the weekend, of course) the pretty forests of the environs specially are indicated to take a walk or to cycle and thus to begin our cure of the excess of decibels we suffer in the great south Europe cities.

Aarhus, charming city

What plus we could say of a university city, with forest, beach, pretty centric streets, animated terraces where to take brunch (with a Tuborg beer, by all means!) and boisterous night of the weekend? Much more. But lets go step by step.

A stroll by its centric streets, on foot or in bicycle, allows us to enjoy monuments like the Cathedral, the tallest cathedral in Denmark, the small town Den Gamle By, from the Viking Age to the present day or the pretty park adjacent, where we can take a rest. The atmosphere breathed is that of many young people by the street, college student, who give an urban rebel fashion to the city. The clothes stores are elegant, showing their merchandise close to us in the middle of the street.

It is essential to capture a few sun rays in the terraces of the “Spanish Stairs” which are in the border of the River Boulevard, (“Åboulevarden” in Danish) while we take brunch or a sandwich to replenish forces. And at night, in weekend, the light of the day replaces by light bulbs and lampposts, and is equally recommendable to take a beer before going to some celebration of many that take place in the city the nights of the week ends.

Risskov, the beach and the forest

Without leaving our bicycle, we exit the downtown towards forest of Risskov, where we can feel at in the heart of nature, surrounded by vegetation and birds singing. A little beyond is Risskov, where it can be appreciated the care that the Danish profess to their houses and gardens. It is a detail question, a question of the taste by the things well-done that each corner of this country distills. It is a pleasure for the guests to enjoy the lodging and the hospitality of the Danish. And its sense of humor (nothing like traveling to wipe out the topics form our heads …)

We left our bicycle parked next to the beach. The Baltic Sea extends in the horizon, with his gulfs and ends, and islands. In sunny days it is a magnificent place to sail. We can see the port too, the most important of the Baltic Sea.

But until now, we have not spoken about food, and the stroll by the beach has opened the appetite to us. Well, not only we will speak about food, but we also will try a recipe that is at the same time easy to do (like all those that we usually recommend to you) and really delicious: Frikadeller

Juelsminde, small seaside village

In the last stage of our first trip to Denmark, Don Quixote arrives at this pretty coastal village. It is recommendable to seat and eat fish in some restaurant of the small port. The green of the grass is based with the sand of its beaches in a pretty landscape, and its people take advantage of the sunny days to sail. The small houses next to the sea, like in Aarhus, are envies of whom like Don Quixote live in the inner territories of Castile.

Returning to Billund, we contemplate the mixture of green landscape with the yellow of the mustard’s flower, the farms surrounded by culture fields, some of them with the possibility of bed & breakfast. And here ends the first trip of our famous cavalier and his untiring squire, being thankful to Hamlet for his hospitality, and swearing they will return. Hasta la vista, amigos!

Technorati Tags: Denmark, Billund, Aarhus, Risskov, Juelsminde, Travels, Quixote, Hamlet,

· 1 lb ground beef
· 1/2 lb ground pork
· 1 small onion, chopped fine
· 1 teaspoon salt
· 2 eggs
· 3/4 cup milk
· 1/4 cup flour
· 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Combine meats, flour, onion, eggs, and spices in a deep mixing bowl. Add enough milk or water so you can form meat mixture into balls.In a skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Fry the meatballs. Cover and simmer slowly until meat is done.

Okay, okay, it is not from Spain, but Don Quixote spent a few days in Denmark and told us about this delicious recipe! Don’t you think it could be a good “tapa”?

Technorati Tags: Frikadeller, Danish Recipe, Tapas

Arrange the sardines in a single layer, flesh side down, in a shallow dish.

Mix together vinegar, oil, orange juice and oregano; pour over the sardines.

Season with salt and pepper.

Cover and let cure in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Drain the sardines from the marinade, cut into chunks, and toss gently with piquillo peppers and capers.

Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with basil.

.

Ingredients to serve 8:

· 2 pounds small whole sardines, heads, tails and fins removed
· 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
· 3/4 cup olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
· 1 orange, juiced
· 1/4 cup chopped fresh oregano
· Salt and freshly ground black pepper
· 2 (13-ounce) cans piquillo peppers, drained and chopped
· 2 tablespoons capers
· 1 small bunch fresh basil leaves, hand-shredded

From: Food Network

Technorati Tags: Piquillo, Sardines, Basil, Tapas, Recipes, Spanish Gastronomy

· 1/2 kilo of melon
· 100 gr. of iberic ham
· pepper

Cut the melon in slices, clear the seeds and the rind, and cut the pulp in rather great dices. Cut the ham slices in strips of a width similar to the melon dices. Surround each melon dice with a strip of ham and spit it in a skewer. Add a pinch of pepper. Let it cool one hour in the refrigerator before serving.

Technorati Tags: Melon with Ham, Iberic Ham, Tapas, Recipes, Spanish Gastronomy