Ham Croquettes ( Croquetas de Jamón) Spain

Ham Croquettes or "Croquetas de jamón"

Croquettes exist in every country in varied forms.  Many are made from potato, others are made of bechamel sauce and then filled with fish, chicken, ham or almost anything that might make the filling flavorful.  Today, these croquettes are a typical favorite of all times in Spain and are also considered a " tapa" which if you travel to Spain you will see that all the bars, cafes and restaurants have a selection of varied 'Tapas" which traditionally are light appetizers  to keep you going before your main meal.
INGREDIENTS
Two hard boiled eggs
 1 cup of Serrano jam cut up in small pieces ( use cheap cuts of this jam)
Flour  (as needed)
Milk   ( as needed)
Butter (one stick or 1/2 cup)
Salt  to taste
1 or 2 eggs
Bread crumbs
Oil to fry
METHOD

Bechamel sauce

Final paste with pieces of ham

Place in a large frying pan one stick of butter to melt.  You will then add one tablespoon at a time  flour so that you make a consistent paste.  Next you slowly add milk stirring continuously so that yo always have a nice smooth paste that as you add milk and stir and it cooks it will become  a nice thick and smooth  cream.  Once you have achieve the consistency you need to form the shapes of the croquettes,  you will then add the chopped jam and the chopped hard boiled eggs.  Place then on a large plate to cool for at least one hour.
Once the paste has cooled, beat a couple of eggs in a small bowl.  On a plate put one cup of bread crumb, then take small portions of the paste with two teaspoons and make the shapes then, drop in the egg mixture and coat well. From the egg you transfer to the bread crumbs and coat well.  Then fry in a small frying pan with sufficient oil or you can use a fryer.  Drain well from excess oil and enjoy!!!!

Kanelsnegle ( Danish Cinnamon Roll)

Kanelsnegle (Danish Cinnamon Rolls)

I am thinking Christmas. I am thinking sweet yummy gifts. Nothing better comes to my mind this week that some wonderful, soft, warm, delicate, full of butter and cinnamon Kanelsnegle. Kanelsnegles in Danish, Kanelbulle in Swedish, Skillingsboller in Norwegian, are all the original Cinnamon roll that have come to us in the United States through our ancestors. The difference between one and another is not much. The Swedish recipe does not call for an icing or glace on top, rather sprinkles of pearl sugar. Pearl sugar is hard to find in the US. You may have to order it online, although I know IKEA used to carry it. The Danish version is topped with a shrill of icing. All these Scandinavian recipes have some cardamon, which comes from the family of the ginger.  I have made Cinnamon rolls for many, many years, especially on Sundays when my kids were little and we would eat them for dinner. 

Bertha Marie Jensen

Today, 15 days left till Christmas, I will honor my great-grandmother, Bertha Marie Jensen, whom of course I have not met but have been told much about.  She came from Aarhus, Denmark to the United States with her parents around the age of 10 or 11.  Since my grandmother was then half Danish, I know that many of my childhood eating habits must have been Danish.

INGREDIENTS
3 tablespoons of  dry active yeast (if used a rapid rise yeast, the time for rising will be reduced to half the time)
1/3 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of butter
1- 1/4 cup of warm milk
Place all these ingredients together in a bowl.  Cover with a cloth a place to rise in a warm place for 15min.( quick rise yeast) 30 minutes for a regular yeast.
I a large bowl mix
5- 1/4 cup of flour
1 teaspoon of salt
teaspoon of cardamon
After the yeast mixture has fermented and doubled its size mix in this mixture
2 beaten eggs

Then add to the flour and knead for about 5 to 10 minutes

If you have used the rapid rise yeast you can roll out into a rectangular shape the dough.  If you have used the regular rise yeast you will have to let rise in a bowl for 30 minutes till it has double its size and then roll out the dough.

Once you have the dough rolled out into a rectangular shape you will add about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of soft butter, spreading it all over the dough and then sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.

Following you will roll together into a long tube shape and cute into equal sizes.
Place on a cookie sheet and let rise again covered with a cloth in a warm place till the rolls have double in size.

Remove cloth and with one beaten egg brush the tops of the rolls. Bake till golden for about 10 minute in an oven of 425 degrees F.

Once done cover with a glaze made with confectioners sugar, butter, vanilla extract and  milk to an almost liquid consistency.  Best when served warm.

Salted Cod with Garlic and Tomatoes ( Bacalao al Ajo Arriero)

BACALAO AL AJO ARRIERO

Salted Cod with Garlic and tomatoes

This recipe originated when mule carriers would transport seafood from the province of Vizcaya in northern Spain, in the Basque country to inner provinces away from the ocean through mountains and country side.  They would bring with them salted cod as this was a way to preserve fish and they would desalted in the rivers and mince into a frying pan and cooked with olive oil, plenty of garlic, tomatoes and bell peppers with a touch of red pepper.

INGREDIENTS

Five to six pieces of Cod

One head of Garlic

Olive oil

Red bell peppers

One small glass of white wine

One small can of tomato sauce

( or) 4- 6 ripe tomatoes

Salt  to taste

Red pepper

You may garnish with one hard boiled egg

 

You will boil the cod in salted water.  Once cooked you drain well the water and you break up the Cod in small pieces.  In a large frying pan you saute a small head of fresh garlic in olive oil. Then you add the tomatoes and the bell peppers chopped in small pieces.  Add wine and red pepper and salt if needed.  Once it has started to boil add the broken pieces of Cod.  Let all cook for about 15 to 20 minutes.  Serve with bread and garnish with hard boil eggs.

English Trifle

English Trifle

BRITISH FOOD

Flapjacks, caramel chocolate squares, ginger malt bread, Christmas pudding,

minced meat pies and gooseberry ones in hot custard are just a few of Britain’s favorites. 

But I must not forget the wonderful trifles prepared each Sunday by lovely families that would have us for dinner.

Food, I adore food, but only the exquisite, well done.Yes, you must let yourself be a little hungry to get the full effect.
                                                                                                        Lily Ann Graff


Another English recipe, Trifle.  This is as popular in England as Apple Pie is in the US.  English love this dessert made of custard, sponge cake, jelly and cream.  The first time in history that we know about this dessert is in 1596 in a book published "The good huswife's Jewell" by Thomas Dawson.  This one consisted of a thick custard with Rose water,ginger and sugar.  Sixty years later milk was added and liquor  to the sponge cake.  This later recipe is the one that has come to us in these days with added modifications like layers of gelatin and fruit.  The earliest know recipe that we know with gelatin is from 1747.  The poet Oliver Wendell  Holmes mentioned  trifles that contained jelly in1861.  Today it remains  true to the homes of every English family that I have visited in the two years of daily interaction as a missionary in England.
There are different variations of the recipe.  I will share two.

Ingredients
 2 or 3 Bananas
 One small bag frozen raspberries
 One package lemon jello
 One package raspberry jello
 One package sponge cakes or
 Half a pound cake  ( you can buy it or make a small pound cake)
 Vanilla custard recipe
Heavy whipping cream
chocolate flakes or almonds for garnish

You will follow the directions on how to make the lemon jello.   Once done you place slices of bananas evenly and the frozen raspberries previously cooked for 8 min. with 1/3 cup of sugar.
Cool and refrigerate till firm.
Follow the directions of the raspberry jello, then add this mixture to the set lemon jello and add slices of the sponge or pound cake evenly so that it will look attractive.  Cool and refrigerate till firm.
Make one recipe of a vanilla custard ( you use if you want a recipe of Bird's English custard).  When done spread evenly on top of the two jellos that are already firm.  Let cool and refrigerate.
By now you should have a total of three layers.  You will finish the recipe by whipping till stiff some heavy cream.  Place this last layer on top and garnish with chocolate flakes or toasted almonds and serve.

Spanish Potato Omelet ( Tortilla española)

Walking through the streets in every town in Spain, in every bar, restaurant or fast food eatery you will find a well rounded potato omelet which is the one dish that every Spaniard will love to eat.  It does not matter if it is 11 in the morning, lunch or dinner, it can be eaten at any time of the day and in every corner of the country. 
It is amazing that that such a simple recipe, with so few ingredients can have so much taste.  The secret is in the olive oil and the amount of each of the three or four ingredients.  But this I will come back a little later.  First, like always I like to do a little research on the background and possible history of each of the recipes that I cook.
Tortilla de patata or tortilla española, the  earliest mention in the recipe books in Spain  dates from 1881 when Fidel Romero de Gallego writes about the dish in his "Hogar y Cocina sin desorden", published in Zaragoza. In page 40 it can be read:

Tortilla de patatas Fritas
Cuando estén fritas las patatas cortadas en ronchas delgadas, se echan los huevos y se hace por las regals de la tortilla sola. 

Which translates:

Fried Potato Omelet
When the potatoes are fried in thin slices, you add the eggs and you follow the rules of how to make a regular omelet.

The instructions are concise.  The truth is that when potatoes came in to Europe they were not a favorite of the wealthy people.  Omelets recipes go back to a couple of centuries before this first recipe from Fidel Romero, but they were filled with all varieties of vegetables and not potatoes.  Potatoes were ingredients that the poor people ate.  Therefore, it is likely that the Spanish potato omelet did exist much earlier than  1881, it is just that it remain a recipe of the low class, the peasants and the hard working  part of Spanish society. 
Today " La tortilla española" is on the table of every rich, poor, elegant and  not so elegant Spaniard.

Ingredients
four to five large potatoes
Olive oil 1/4 to 1/3 cup
One medium yellow onion
salt to taste
four to five large eggs

In a frying pan place the olive oil  and heat.  Thinly slice the potatoes  and onion.  Add to hot oil and let cook stirring occasionally till it is golden.  Add salt to taste.
In a separate bowl beat the eggs and add a pinch of salt.  To the eggs add the cooked fried potatoes, draining the excess oil.  Soak well the potatoes into the eggs mixture.
In a separate smaller frying pan, add a tsp. of oil and add the mixture of potatoes and egg. Cook one side and turn over with a plate so that the other side cooks.  Do this process several times, back and forth till the middle of the Tortilla is cooked.
Serve hot or cold with bread or any other complimentary dish.

Spanish style mushrooms ( Champiñon al ajillo)

SPANISH STYLE MUSHROOMS ( Champiñon al ajillo)

Olive oil and garlic are two of Spain's main ingredients.  This recipe is a delicious side or "tapa" that can be made in 10 minutes.

Ingredients

One pound of mushrooms
1/4 cup of a good extra virgen olive oil
4 large fresh garlic cloves
1/3  cup of fresh italian parsley chopped
If you wish you may add one small glass of red wine
salt and pepper to taste

After washing the mushrooms and slicing these you will prepare a large frying pan with heated olive oil.  When this is hot pour in the mushrooms and the chopped garlic.  Saute and season with salt and if desired, but not necesary, some pepper.


Once brown add the wine, although if you dont like the taste you may leave this out and it is just as good. It is at this point that you will add the parsley over the cooked mushrooms and stir.

Serve hot with some fresh Italian, French or Spanish bread.

Cottage Pie ( Shepard's Pie)

Cottage Pie, also know as Shepard's Pie is the recipe that I have chosen  to share today.
The first time that I had this dish was in London at the home of a family. I found it very delicious and have made it ever since.
The history behind the dish goes back to thr middle ages, only that back then the dish did not have potatoes since these came into Great Britain in the mid or late 1500.  The dish consisted in using leftover meat (beef, mutton and game) cut in small portions and spiced up with currants, cinnamon and other fruits and leftover vegetables, then it was put into a pastry coffyn.  As potatoes became accepted and part of the British  diet this  recipe changed from a pastry coffyn to using mash potatoes or slice potatoes to create  a pie.  This did not take place till the 18th century.
The actual difference between Cottage pie and Shepard's pies is that Cottage pie uses minced or ground beef and Shepard's pie should use lamb or mutton.   Also originally the name Cottage came form the potatoes being sliced rather than pureed  and placed over the dish in a manner that resembled the slates of cottage roofs.
The recipe that I will share today is made of minced beef, vegetables, mashed potatoes and a tomato paste with cheese.  Other versions  will be made without the tomato paste and instead there will be a gravy broth.  I will give this other version on the side.

Cottage pie

One pound of ground beef or shredded beef
One onion
Two or three garlic cloves
wostershire sauce
mixed vegetables ( carrots,peas,beans, etc.)
Six large potatoes
Milk
Butter
Salt
Pepper
Rosemary
A good tomato sauce or paste
English cheddar cheese

(Alternate recipe)
Substitute the mixed vegetables for mushrooms with exta onion and garlic in a half butter/ half olive oil sauce with red wine.  Add the mashed potatoes and and over this the cheese  ( Use Swiss instead of Cheddar).  The layer of beef should be a little more saucy)

First you will brown the meat with the chopped onion and the garlic.  Add salt and pepper to taste. Once browned add some rosemary and wostershire sauce with a little bit of water.  You do not want it to be too liquide but it should have a gravy consistency.  Let it cook slow over the stove adding water as needed for about an hour till the meat is very tender .

Once this part is done layer overa already buttered baking dish.

Second Cook in a saucepan some vegetables till tender.  Drain water and add over the layer of meat in baking dish after adding some butter and salt.

Third  Cook your potatoes ( about six large) till tender with some salt.  Drain water and mash  and add milk, butter and seasoning to taste.  Once this is smooth you will layer it over the vegetables.

Fourth You wil prepare a tomato sauce. This you can do with by cooking some fresh tomatoes ( fresh is always best, but it takes more time) all finelly chopped and add one or two cloves of garlic, one buillon cube, one teaspoon os sugar in a frying pan with some olive oil.  Let cook slowly till extra liquid is consumed and then strain the bits of skin from the tomatoes so that is has a smooth consistency.  All this you can use instead a tomato sauce from a can.  Once this is done you add this tomato sauce to the mash potatoes and then just grate some cheddar cheese.

Place in a hot  oven to cook for about 15 or 20 minutes and serve.  ( serves about six people)

The diversity of European food.

It has been sometime now that I have wanted to write something about food and since I am not able at the moment to open up a restaurant or create a wonderful catering service, I thought that I would try to share by way of a blog my experience with food and in particular, food and  dishes  pertaining to different countries in Europe.

I started to watch my mother  and a lady that would come to help in the house when I was just a little girl.  I soon was able to start preparing food for my family and quickly became very fond of getting into the kitchen and looking for recipies to please my family and friends.

I come from a mix family, Spanish/American, but with influences of Great Britain as my mother's parents came in almost it's totality from Engand and Scotland.  To this I would have to add my own personal experiences with living in England for sometime  and my love for other forms of cooking in European countries.
I find cooking relaxing and enjoy the chance to share with friends something that I consider another form of Art.  An art that comes with the ability to then have the pleasure to savor  and always has the power to bring people together.

Empanada Gallega ( Galician style tuna pastry)

Empanada Gallega

I would like to start this blog with a recipe that has been a favorite for a while and which is very popular all over Spain but its origins come from the most northern west part of the Iberian Penninsula, Galicia.

Galicia has been considered through its history as one of the poorest areas of Spain due to the rugged terrain and almost constant rain,  which makes it difficult to raise good crops and to be able to cultivate these in large areas.  As always the cuisine of each region develops from what grows well and what plants or animals are indigenous  to that region.  Galicia also has over 700 miles of coast, therefore many dishes consist of fish.  The one I will be sharing today is typicaly made from tuna but can also be made with beef.  It is said that this turnover or pastry goes way back to the Middle Ages when pilgrims would travel the roads in route to the saint city of Santiago de Compostela and would make stops to rest and have food at different local inns.  Empanadas were an easy way to carry food on the go.

You can make these into individual pastries but the traditional is one big round pastry or rectangular pastry as shown in the photo above.   It can then be cut to individual portions.  The recipe is as follows:

For the Bread Pastry

3 cups of bread flour

1 cup of water ( warm)

2 1/2 tsp of yeast

1 tsp of salt

1 tsp of sugar

Mix all these ingredients with the warm cup of water and kneed well for about 8 to 10 minutes on a lightly floured counter  and with lightly floured hands or kneading can also be done with a mixer that has a hook and at a slow speed (you may put these ingredients in a bread maker in the manual cicle).   Once the kneading process has been done place in a sligtly greassed bowl that is oven proof and cover with a cloth  or plastic and place in the oven to rise for about 35 to 45 minutes.  It should triple its size.  When this point has been achieved  place on the slightly floured surface and  punch down and kneed again for about 5 minutes then roll out into the desired shape and place on a baking sheet ready to be filled  with the tuna filling and then cover with  the other rolled dough.  Place in warm oven to rise again for about 30 mintes and then bake.

You will  bake this in an oven of 350 degrees for about  20 minutes or until golden.  it is a good idea to take some egg yolk and brush it over the top of the pastry before baking so that it acquires a shinny glow.

Tuna Filling

1 large onion

4 large ripe tomatoes

2 hard bloiled eggs

1 small can of  pitted black or green olives ( manzallina best)

2 cans of tuna

1 small can of fire roasted red bell peppers

1 small can of sweet peas

salt  to taste and 2 stp of sugar

4 TBSP virgin olive oil

In a large frying pan pour olive oil and dized onion and tomatoes.  Saute these and let them become soft and almost to a saucy texture.  Add tuna and  chopped hard boiled eggs.  Stir and continue adding the rest of the ingredients.  Add salt to taste and the sugar.  The sugar is very important as it will take away the acidity of the tomatoes.  Spread mixture into the rolled pastry and cover with the other rolled pastry. Bake