Chorizo Empanadas

Enticing Edibles



When I was in Spain a few years back with my family celebrating my parents' 50th wedding anniversary, we had a lot of excellent restaurant meals in addition to the meals we fixed ourselves at the villa we stayed in. One thing we didn't eat in Spain was tapas.

I'd been looking forward to trying tapas in Spain since my first visit to a tapas place in DC a couple of years earlier. But every time I'd bring the subject up — and I brought it up several times — my mother immediately squashed the idea. I've no idea why.

It turns out that empanadas are primarily a Latin American dish. I only found one Spanish recipe in my searching.

So I was surprised a couple of weeks ago when she called and said she was having a tapas party and would I make empanadas for it. I've still no idea why she was so opposed to tapas in Spain — and I'm 90 percent sure she wouldn't remember it as I do so I haven't asked. But I've been meaning to make empanadas for some time and this, obviously, was the perfect excuse.

It turns out that empanadas are primarily a Latin American dish. I only found one Spanish recipe in my searching. But who cares? They would certainly make nice two-bite morsels suitable for munching with a glass of sherry or wine and it would be easy enough to create a recipe that tasted more of Spain than Honduras or Cuba so that's what I did.

They turned out fine if not excellent, the main problem with them was the Spanish Chorizo. Although I cut it into a little dice — a tad over 1/8 inch — the pieces were still too chewy. So in the recipe below I recommend coarsely processing the sausage to make the overall texture of the empanadas more palatable.

Chorizo Empanadas
Makes about 16 small empanadas.

Pastry for two crust pie
4 oz Spanish chorizo
1/2 md. Spanish onion — 1/4" dice (about 1/2 c)
1/4 red bell pepper — 1/4" dice (about 1/2 c)
1 yellow potato (about 3" in diameter)
1/2 tsp dried Herbes de Province
1/2 tsp coarse salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 c chicken stock
2 tbsp white wine
1 egg
Smoked Spanish paprika

Make pastry, divide in half, form into flattened balls, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate.

Peel and cut potato into 3/4" dice. Place in a covered, microwave-safe container and cook on high for about 5 minutes or until fork tender. Drain, rinse, and cool. Mash coarsely with fork.

Cut chorizo into 1/4" dice and process until coarsely chopped in a food processor. In a large bowl, thoroughly mix potato, chorizo, onion, bell pepper, herbs, salt, pepper, chicken stock, and wine. Mixture should be slightly moist but not wet — you may need to add a bit more wine.

Heat oven to 400F.

Roll out pastry as for pie crust and cut into 3" diameter circles (I used a glass and knife to cut the rounds). Moisten half the edge of a round (I find my finger, dipped in a small bowl of water works best), place a rounded tablespoon of filling toward the moistened edge, fold other side over, and crimp edges with fingers to seal. Place filled empanadas on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Beat egg with a tablespoon of water and brush tops of the empanadas with the mixture. Cut a slit in the top of each pastry and then sprinkle lightly with paprika. Bake about 30 minutes or until lightly browned. Makes about 30 empanadas.

These are good hot, but also at room temperature. They should freeze well, unbaked, and I would put them unthawed in a 400F oven for 40 - 45 minutes to bake.

Here are few more tapas/meze/hors d'ouevres...
Duck Rillettes
Country Pate
Saganaki

Originally published November 17, 2006.

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Paella

Spanish Evening



We'd spent the day at the Alhambra in Grenada. It had been a rainy day, but in many ways that added to the beauty of the palace by lending the architecture's sunny exuberance a hint of melancholy. A bright smile put on to hide the aches and pains of 700 years of history. The patter of rain on flag stones accenting the gurgling of water in the building's fountains and streams.

Around 2:00 we returned to our van and headed back our villa in the south, stopping to buy some ham, bread, and cheese for lunch. Around dusk the sky finally began to clear highlighting the puddles left by the rain with colors of rose and orange. We reached the coast just after dark, too tired to cook so we decided to stop somewhere and get paella.

Around dusk the sky finally began to clear highlighting the puddles left by the rain with colors of rose and orange.

We'd been in Spain for a week and a half and had yet to order this most famous of Spanish dishes so we looked for a likely café as we drove along the coast toward home. Eventually we found a place and parked the van. The evening was somewhat chilly with a breeze blowing in from the Mediterranean, but not really cold. The sort of weather that makes a hearty meal all the more appealing.

Sadly, we chose the wrong restaurant. We ordered two different paellas and both were greasy and the flavor one-dimensional. I don't even remember what they were, only the disappointment. If that had been the only paella I ever ate I'd never have eaten it again.

Fortunately I'd had good paella both prior to that experience and since then. Dishes filled with the smoky flavor of sausage and paprika or briny taste of the sea. Tender chicken surrounded by creamy rice and blessed with a kiss of saffron. Flavors made round by the sweetness of ripe bell pepper and peas. Made well, paella is seriously good.

Paella
Serves 8.

4 c chicken stock
5 - 6 strands saffron
1/2 lb chorizo — cut into 1/4" rounds
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts — cut into 1" cubes
1 tsp Spanish paprika
salt and pepper
3 tbsp olive oil
1 lg onion — peeled and diced
1 red bell pepper — diced
3 cloves garlic — sliced
1 c white wine
1 c short grain rice (ideally Spanish Bomba, but a risotto rice works)
1/2 can diced tomatoes (15oz can) — drained
1 1/2 c frozen peas
1/2 lb shrimp — peeled

Heat oven to 325F.

Bring chicken stock to a vigorous simmer and add saffron.

Heat oil in a large, covered sauté pan over medium high heat. Brown chorizo and reserve. Season chicken with salt, pepper, and paprika. Brown in pan on all sides and reserve with sausage.

Reduce heat to medium and saute onion and red pepper until translucent, stirring occasionally. Add garlic and continue cooking for one minute. Add rice and cook for another three minutes, stirring frequently.

Add tomatoes, chicken, and sausage to pan. Stir in wine and stock and bring to a vigorous simmer. Cover and place on center rack in oven. Cook until most, but not all, of the liquid is absorbed — about 30 minutes. Add shrimp and peas, re-cover, and continue cooking another 10 minutes.

Try Paella with...
Leeks with Anchovy Butter
Green Beans with Anchovies
Espresso Ice Cream with Nutella Swirl

Technorati: Food | recipe | kevin d weeks | seriously good | main dish | spanish | rice

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SG Archive:Romesco Sauce

The Other Red Sauce



The sweet taste of your lover's mouth — at once familiar and foreign. Spicy heat, sparse and sere as the Sonoran dessert, but filled with flowers biding their time. Woody notes reminiscent of sawdust on a shop floor tickling your nostrils. A slight juiciness and tightening of your jaws heralds something pungent. And beneath it all is a musk, roots buried deep or forest loam.

Sweet. Spicy. Woody. Pungent. Musky. Each element springs to life on your tongue and in your nose.

This isn't the red sauce and its essential flavor of cooked tomatoes with which most of us are familiar. However delicious that Italian mainstay may be. However carefully the flavors may have been enriched and layered one on another, it is simply not the same thing as this Spanish delight, this Romesco sauce. Even the way it feels in your mouth is different.

This isn't the red sauce and its essential flavor of cooked tomatoes with which most of us are familiar.

Romesco isn't an alternative to tomato sauce. It's too powerful — too assertive — for something like pasta. It needs an equally powerful foil. Something with deep flavors. Something with an edge that can stand up against a red Spanish bull. My favorite is grilled tuna.

Romesco Sauce

2 roasted tomatoes
4 lg garlic cloves — pan roasted
1/4 c bread crumbs
1/2 lime — juice & zest
1 dried New Mexico pepper — seeded and rehydrated
1 roasted red bell pepper — cored
1/2 tsp smoked Spanish paprika
salt to taste
1/2 tsp ground white pepper
2 tbsps red wine vinegar
1/4 c blanched almonds

Place nuts in a food processor and process until well ground.

Add remaining ingredients process until smooth. Adjust consistency of sauce by adding olive oil if too thick.

Notes:
The Sauce should be made a few hours in advance to allow flavors to mature.
You can substitute blanched filberts (hazelnuts) for the almonds or use a combination.

Technorati: Food | recipe | kevin d weeks | seriously good | Spain | sauce

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Paella

Spanish Evening



We'd spent the day at the Alhambra in Grenada. It had been a rainy day, but in many ways that added to the beauty of the palace by lending the architecture's sunny exuberance a hint of melancholy. A bright smile put on to hide the aches and pains of 700 years of history. The patter of rain on flag stones accenting the gurgling of water in the building's fountains and streams.

Around 2:00 we returned to our van and headed back our villa in the south, stopping to buy some ham, bread, and cheese for lunch. Around dusk the sky finally began to clear highlighting the puddles left by the rain with colors of rose and orange. We reached the coast just after dark, too tired to cook so we decided to stop somewhere and get paella.

The rain added to the beauty of the palace by lending the architecture's sunny exuberance a hint of melancholy.

We'd been in Spain for a week and a half and had yet to order this most famous of Spanish dishes so we looked for a likely café as we drove along the coast toward home. Eventually we found a place and parked the van. The evening was somewhat chilly with a breeze blowing in from the Mediterranean, but not really cold. The sort of weather that makes a hearty meal all the more appealing.

Sadly, we chose the wrong restaurant. We ordered two different paellas and both were greasy and the flavor one-dimensional. I don't even remember what they were, only the disappointment. If that had been the only paella I ever ate I'd never have eaten it again.

Fortunately I'd had good paella both prior to that experience and since then. Dishes filled with the smoky flavor of sausage and paprika or briny taste of the sea. Tender chicken surrounded by creamy rice and blessed with a kiss of saffron. Flavors made round by the sweetness of ripe bell pepper and peas. Made well, paella is seriously good.

Paella
Serves 8.

4 c chicken stock
5 - 6 strands saffron
1/2 lb chorizo — cut into 1/4" rounds
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts — cut into 1" cubes
1 tsp Spanish paprika
salt and pepper
3 tbsp olive oil
1 lg onion — peeled and diced
1 red bell pepper — diced
3 cloves garlic — sliced
1 c white wine
1 c short grain rice (ideally Spanish Bomba)
1/2 can diced tomatoes (15oz can) — drained
1 1/2 c frozen peas
1/2 lb shrimp — peeled

Heat oven to 325F.

Bring chicken stock to a vigorous simmer and add saffron.

Heat oil in a large, covered sauté pan over medium high heat. Brown chorizo and reserve. Season chicken with salt, pepper, and paprika. Brown in pan on all sides and reserve with sausage.

Reduce heat to medium and saute onion and red pepper until translucent, stirring occasionally. Add garlic and continue cooking for one minute. Add rice and cook for another three minutes, stirring frequently.

Add tomatoes, chicken, and sausage to pan. Stir in wine and stock and bring to a vigorous simmer. Cover and place on center rack in oven. Cook until most, but not all, of the liquid is absorbed — about 30 minutes. Add shrimp and peas, re-cover, and continue cooking another 10 minutes.

Try Paella with...
Cece Fritos
Beets Dijonaise
Key Lime Mousse

Technorati: Food | recipe | kevin d weeks | seriously good | chicken | spain | shrimp | rice

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Spot-On:The Rain in Spain

About this time ten years ago I had little stickers all over my house giving the Spanish word for various things such as lamps, tables, and the toilet. By far, though, the preponderance of stickers were in the kitchen labeling such things as pasta, canned tomatoes, pork chops, and shrimp. Each evening I'd spend some time reading travel books and making notes on places to see. I was going to be in Spain for two weeks, celebrating my parent's 50th anniversary, and I planned to absorb every ounce of the experience - and the food.

Read the complete article at Spot-On.

Technorati: Food | essay | kevin d weeks | spot-on | spain

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Paisano: Pinchos Morunos

In April of 711, the Arab governor of Tangiers, Tariq ibn-Ziyad, crossed the strait between what are now Morocco and Spain with an army of 10,000 Berbers. At the time the Iberian peninsula was ruled by the Goths and their king, Roderick, took an army south to repel the Moorish invader, but Tariq and his troops defeated Roderick's army in a battle near the River Guadalete.

Tariq's army then followed the old Roman roads north to the Goths' capital city, Toledo, taking the cities of Ejica and Cordoba along the way. Resistance was minimal, whether reduced by Tariq's intimidatory propaganda (reportedly he'd had group of prisoners cut into pieces and their flesh boiled in cauldrons) or not. The invasion had been ordered by Musa, the governor of North Africa, who joined the invasion the following year with another Berber army of 18,000 -- including a large number of Arab officers. Musa took Medina Sidonia, Seville, and Merida, where a last stand by the Goths failed. And that was more or less that for the next 700 years until the Christians defeated the Moors and drove them out.

Close your eyes and taste the spices swirling across your tongue.

To this day traditional Spanish architecture shows a clear Moorish influence -- so does the cuisine.

Called Pinchos Morunos (Moorish Pointed Stick or Thorns), this recipe, adaped from the Williams-Sonoma Web site, highlights the Moorish influence on Spanish cooking. The Moors didn't eat pork but the Spaniards have, apparently, always loved eating pig. I can imagine the marinade with lamb, but judging by the results I'm positive it has been tweaked over the centuries to specifically complement pork.

These bites of pork are extraordinarily good. Close your eyes and taste the spices swirling across your tongue. One moment they stamp on your taste buds -- a Flamingo dancer pounding a rhythm of sensation, hard heels beating a tattoo with skirts flouncing. Then the flouncing skirts morph into swaying silks and delicate veils and the erotic languor of a belly dance caresses your tongue. Two cultures, choreographed into a seamless dance across the palate. Romancing the nose. Seducing the belly.

Moorish Pork Kabobs (Pinchos Morunos)
Serves 8.

1/2 cup olive oil
3 tbsp ground cumin
2 tbsp ground coriander
1 tbsp sweet paprika
1 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp salt, plus more, to taste
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 lb pork shoulder, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 tbsp minced garlic
1/4 c chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 c fresh lemon juice

Combine the olive oil, cumin, coriander, paprika, cayenne pepper, turmeric, oregano, salt, and pepper in a small skillet over low heat. Cook until warmed through and fragrant, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature.

Place the pork pieces in a bowl and rub with the spice mixture. Add the garlic, parsley and lemon juice and toss well. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat a cast-iron grill pan over medium-high heat, or prepare a hot fire in a grill.

Thread the meat onto skewers and season with salt. Grill on all sides until just cooked through, 12 - 15 minutes total.

Technorati: Food | recipe | pork | pork kabobs | spain | morrocco | pinchos morunos

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Sangria

An Iberian Libation



For a time when I was a kid my parents threw a big lawn party every summer. They'd invite 20 to 30 people serve grilled pork chops and chicken, two or three different salads, and a few other side dishes. Liquid consisted of gallon bottles of Almaden (this was back when Almaden was a good California wine) and a couple of pictures of sangria.

Unlike many foods that have come into and gone out of fashion, sangria has remained popular. Lot's of variations have shown up over the years, but my preference is still for the red wine and citrus juice version that I would sneak tastes of all those years ago.

Why does man kill? He kills for food. And not only food: frequently there must be a beverage. ~ Woody Allen

I just completed an article on granitas for NPR's Kitchen Window (I don't yet know when it will be published) and as I tried to think of recipes I knew I wanted to do one that used wine. As I thought further on it and researched the topic it occurred to me that sangria would make a nice granita. And I was right, although it's better suited to use as an Intermezzo than as a dessert.

I tweaked my standard sangria recipe for the granita by adding a bit more sugar and leaving out the ginger ale. But the recipe below is what I make for drinking at parties. Note that a cheap but decent wine works fine. Using a high quality wine is a waste of money, I typically use something like $10 - $12 Chianti.

Sangria

1 qt robust red wine
Juice of 2 lemons – reserve rind
Juice of 2 limes – reserve rind
Juice of 2 oranges – reserve rind
1/2 c sugar
1 can ginger ale
1 lemon – quartered
1 lime – quartered
1 orange – sliced

Mix fruit juices and wine and dissolve sugar in mixture. Add rinds and refrigerate at least six hours. (May be made a day ahead.)

Twist 1 lemon and lime quarter and several slices of orange into a large pitcher. Toss in remaining fruit and add wine mixture and ginger ale. Serve.

Technorati: Food | recipe | sangria | beverage | wine | spain

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Cochifritos & Patas Bravas

Food Porn



I walked in the front door and confronted a huge bowl of paella. At least, I thought it was paella. The perfectly shaped peas, bell peppers that seemed to glow, glistening mushrooms, and rice coated with a creamy golden sauce — as well as few things I couldn't immediately identify — had me salivating in moments. Paella or not, I know it was Spanish because emblazoned across the book's cover was Spanish. In smaller type below the title I read, "150 mouth-watering step-by-step recipes."

I bought it, of course. The book was filled with simple, genuinely "mouth-watering," recipes as well as gorgeous pictures. I opened the book and read about Banderillas, a tapa composed of olives, anchovies, and cornichons and featuring a photo that seemed to spill from the page. Another recipe offered Flash-Fried Squid — a significant weakness of mine. Delving deeper there was an exquisite photograph of an avocado, orange, and almond salad. And the Pan-Fried Sole with Lemon and Capers I already knew (tilapia is a good substitute in the US). And what right-thinking Southerner could resist a recipe for Empanada that include pork and sausage in a cornmeal-based pastry shell? I was hooked. The bargain price of $2.99 was irrelevant. I would have paid ten times that without a further thought.

I seldom buy cookbooks anymore (as opposed to books about cooking and eating — which I still buy). When I need ideas I hit the Internet. It's fast, offers a huge range of recipes, and it's easy to crib an idea here, a technique there, and an ingredient over yonder and quickly combine them into a recipe that meets my needs.

But this book… I took it home and drooled over it for a week before deciding where to start — what to cook first. And now that I've begun, I've picked the next three recipes to try. And marked three more for later — including one I plan for my birthday at the end of September. This, my friends, is a cookbook.

Last night I made Cochifrito and Patatas Bravas. Mmmm… Good food. In fact, seriously good food.

Cochifrito

1 3/4 lb well-trimmed lamb — cut into strips
2 tbsp olive oil
1 ea onion — diced
2 cloves garlic — chopped
1 tsp smoked Spanish paprika
2 ea lemons — juiced
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
salt and black pepper to taste

Season lamb with salt and pepper. Heat oil over medium high heat in a large frying pan. Brown the lamb, adding the onion about halfway through. Add the garlic and sprinkle with paprika and lemon juice. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 15 minutes.

Adjust seasonings and serve, garnished with parsley.

Patatas Bravas

1 1/2 lb small new potatoes (about 2" diameter)
5 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic — sliced
3 ea dried chilies — seeded and chopped
1/2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp smoked Spanish paprika
2 tbsp red or white wine vinegar
1 ea red or green bell pepper — seeded and sliced
salt to taste

Boil potatoes until tender — about 10 minutes. Drain and quarter.

Using a mortar and pestle grind together garlic, cumin, chilies, and paprika. Add vinegar.

Heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add potatoes and bell pepper and brown potatoes. Stir in vinegar mixture, taking care to coat all potatoes. Add salt to taste and serve.

Technorati: Food | recipe | lamb | main dish | potatoes | side dish | cochifritos | patas bravas | spain | spanish

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