Valencia bound

From Alfredo’s With Love On Summer Break!

The time is almost here – tomorrow I will be off to a villa just south of Valencia near Oliva, not far from the Costa Azahar…I cannot wait. Peace and quiet amongst the orange and lemon groves. Heaven! The weather here has been great this week in Hampshire with highs of 30 degrees and we have also been graced by a couple of seriously spectacular electrical storms the last two nights.

Weather in Valencia region looking v promising too…

 

Food this week has been barbecues and paellas and cold spreads, home made pestos and salads.

 

This morning I got in the desayuno mood with scrambled eggs topped with several slices of lightly pan fried jamon serrano. Working on my Spanish too with a fab app called…wait for it…Cat Spanish – it is very good and highly recommended!

I will, I assure you, be taking lots of food photos whilst away and will post on my return plus any new recipe ideas.

I hope you all have a peaceful and relaxing time wherever you are this summer, surrounded by friends, family, good food and wine!

 

Hasta luego!

 

Spring Thyme Lemon Chicken Thighs in Prosciutto

This was a delightfully easy supper and full of spring flavours. I wanted to keep the flavours simple and fresh. I chose boneless skinless chicken thighs which I marinated in a little olive oil, zest of a lemon and lots of thyme. I brought the oven to 180c. The thighs were each then wrapped cosily in a prosciutto slice – though you could of course use serrano ham or parma at a pinch. I skewered each with a cocktail stick to hold the shape whilst they cooked. Remove when they are cooked. I sat them in a roasting tray with a further light drizzle of oil on the pan bottom.

They took around 40 minutes. The flavours simply burst forth in every mouthful – and the ham was lightly crispy, yet succulent. I served these with Venezia new potatoes and the asparagus recipe from the previous post – only I served the green spears cooled rather than cold. The vinaigrette went soooo well with the chicken!

I hope you try this some time soon – and of course it is one that can be tinkered with – you could wrap basil leaves around the chicken rather than thyme and then wrap the ham round. Or you could indsert slithers of garlic into the chicken first and even some red chill finely sliced, then pop the ham around. Experiment!

Let there be light lunches!

The last few days as my stomach returns to normal and the gastric juices flow more calmly, the order of the day has been for light lunches – and yesterdays was a typical one in our household. A good buffalo mozzarella from a local farm – Laverstock, which has its own magnificent buffaloes and produces all sorts of amazing products, including buffalo ice cream! – sharing a plate with my favourite tomatoes – baby san manzarnos, a variety of salad leaves including chard, escarole, red oak leaf and baby beet greens with a drizzle of balsamic crema al limone, a little rock salt and a grind of black pepper. Then just a simple platter of porchetta from Modena in Italy and some more serrano ham. My kids also adore fennel so we try to always have slices of those on such a table with a little lemon juice and olive oil.

And what I love about such lunches is that they are slow, easy and generate lots of great conversation – people can take their time.

The table is the best place to be – apart from the kitchen!

Lazy tasty Serrano brunch…

Just took several generous slices off my serrano ham piece and pan fried til just crispy – served it with an egg on lightly toasted and olive oiled ciabatta. A gorgeous brunch – made me dream of Spanish nights to dispel the current grey gloopy gloom that has descended on late december Hampshire.

What ever you get up to this New Year’s Eve – have a wonderful time! I’ll toast you all this evening with a glass of champagne!

Happy 2014!

A wrap roaring success!

Busy busy time at work at the moment so will not be posting too much for a few days…but lunch today was a wrap-simple and delicious. Garlic and coriander wraps laid out flat – one half spread with a layer of serrano ham, then some finely chopped spring onions, sliced manzana tomatoes, slices of buffalo mozzarella , a few slices of red chilli, basil leaves and then another layer of serrano ham. Fold over the empty half – lightly dust a frying pan with olive oil – heat it up, then carefully slide in two of these babies. After a minute or so carefully turn them with a spatula or fish slice. They are hummingly yummy.

Play about with the fillings until I get back!

Rocket fuelled Lazy Light Lunch…

Busy Saturday doing lots of little really…so needed a light lunch that would tidy us over until supper – friends coming round so afternoon shopping trip to Salisbury was on the cards. Had a gorgeous ciabatta loaf which I sliced and grilled lightly on one side, then rubbed with babe Spanish tomatoes split in half – the shells I then pushed into each slice. I topped them with some sexy serrano ham, slivers of salty, sweet and tangy parmesan. Then a little rocket, some more olive oil and voila – a simple, yet just right lunch – I adore rocket – it just adds that pepperiness to such dishes and makes them even more appealing.

Paella con verduras y jamón serrano…

Last night I was once more in the mood for one of my favourite dishes…but this time I wanted to make one that centred on vegetables. I was very pleased with the result and the flavours were fresh and vibrant. There is no reason why you could not make this a completely vegetarian dish I guess, if you used veg stock instead of chicken and cut out the ham.
But that is not for me…..I wanted a hint of meat and the delicate wisps of serrano ham were a perfect match to the rainbow of veg. I reckon that this is also a very healthy dish- I’m not one for adding up this or working out that calory or carb wise – but I reckon this would be hard to beat for a colourful, healthy, reasonably quick dish that could not fail to impress your guests – or just you and yours!

Ingredients for 4 – with a little left over!

1 aubergine – or eggplant for my US friends! Halved, quartered lengthways and cubed
1 red pepper – deseeded and cut into squares or strips.
1 courgette – or zucchini! – halved, quartered lengthways and cubed
6 cloves of garlic
400 gm of paella rice – rinsed well under cold water
100 gm of serrano ham = cut lengthways down the centre then into strips
olive oil
125 ml of dry white wine – I only had cava in – I drink mostly red – but the cava worked just as well! Decadent!
1 litre chicken stock
Pinch of saffron – or colorante
Almost a tsp of smoky paprika
12 baby plum tomatoes, halved – or you could use cherry toms
Handful of chopped parsley

Add a good glug of oil to a paella pan- or huge frying pan if not – or a sauté pan would do – but for goodness sake go out and buy a paella pan tomorrow!

Once it is hot add the aubergine, pepper and courgette. Pan fry for about 5 minutes stirring all the time. Then add the garlic and leave for another 5 minutes. Add the serrano ham and fry for just a minute or so until it starts to colour and crisp a little. Add in the rice and move around the pan til all the grains look coated.

Then add the wine and let it bubble for a moment. Have a drink yourself. Then add the stock, saffron or colorante, and the paprika. Stir, and once it is bubbling, turn down to a very low heat and leave for 15 minutes stirring every now and then.

Then add the tomatoes and cook for about another 10 minutes or until the liquid has been absorbed. The rice should still have a little bite, be al dente, toothsome…you get the idea. Toss on the parsley – remove from the heat and let it rest for 5 minutes whilst you set out the plates and have another glass of something good.

Then serve!

I liked this as an alternative to my meatier, fishier version very much. Please get more paella into your life!

Even my kitchen angels were impressed…..!

Saturday Supper Part Deux – Med Eggs…

I used to love egg and chips for supper as a child – in fact I still do…who doesn’t…but these eggs, with a mediterranean twist, are just a wee bit posher, yet still simple. I will give you the ingredients for one person and then you can multiply it to your heart’s content…this is a very social dish.

Olive oil & vegetable oil
2/3 potatoes, par boiled for 15 minutes – I used Maris Pipers
2 spring onions, chopped quite finely
A good handful of cherry or baby plum tomatoes, sliced
1 good free range or organic egg
Fresh rosemary – a good tbsp chopped roughly
1 clove of garlic chopped finely.
Black pepper and sea salt

Once the potatoes have cooled – I leave them for about 15 minutes or so in a sieve over a pan – slice them into rounds-some may split but that does not matter. In a really serious splash of olive oil, pan fry the potato slices until starting to brown – be patient and turn gently with a spatula – great word that – spatula…love it! Add a few grinds of black pepper and sea salt.

Then add the spring onions, garlic, tomatoes and rosemary. Continue to fry gently for about another five minutes – at this stage you could also add some slices of serrano or parma ham if you felt so inclined and in a more meaty mood.

In another frying pan, heat a splash of vegetable oil and fry the eggs until the white sets but the yolk is still unctiously runny. I used eggs from  Old Cotswold Legbars last night – a favourite of mine – so tasty and deep golden. And their shells are a rather funky pastel blue colour!

Serve the spuds in a dish and slide the egg on top…I split some of the white doing this…as you can see above…blast…so take care…but, hey , it still tasted wonderfully wonderful! I love a little zing with this dish- so I also threw a few slices of red jalapenos on mine.

The eggs, olive oil and rosemary just meld so well flavour wise. A great Saturday supper….or indeed anytime!

The picture below is of the ingredients making friends in the pan…..Happy Sunday to you all!

Monday magic… of the tomato variety…..

Tonight was one of those nights when an experiment worked, and worked so well, I wanted to freeze time. The flavours were simply exquisite. I used one of my favourite base dishes of pan fried plum toms with rosemary and cream…and added to it. You know by now, well I know that you know that I know, that I like to fiddle with recipes…so here we fiddly well go!

For 4 folk who may have been working in the garden all day…

Two decent punnets of baby plum tomatoes – mine were from Spain and as sweet as a smile from Marilyn Monroe.
1 clove of garlic finely chopped
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
250 ml of single cream
5 or 6 slices of serrano ham – or prosciutto would be fine
1 slice of smoked bacon
A good handful or more of baby spinach and rocket, chopped
Black pepper
Olive oil

400 gm of pasta – rigatoni or fusilli

Pop a good tablespoon or two of oil in a frying pan. Heat and then add the tomatoes. Add the garlic after a minute or so, then chop off with scissors quite a lot of rosemary into the pan and then add the sprigs too.

Let them cook for about 15 minutes or so on a low heat until they give when pressed with a spoon. Flatten them a little with a slotted spoon – but don’t break them open too much.

In a second pan, fry the smoked bacon finely chopped. When cooked, add in the serrano ham chopped and allow to crisp a little.

Cook the pasta – I always use rigatoni for this.

Add the bacon and ham to the tomato mixture, then add the cream. Heat gently and after two or three minutes, add in the spinach and rocket. Grind over some black pepper. Stir for about 5 minutes until it wilts into the cream sauce.

Drain the pasta and then pop a portion into each of the 4 bowls – then spoon over the tomato mixture.

I cannot express how wonderfully dreamy and gorgeous this dish is. It is…believe me…….no……don’t….make it for yourself!

I had been gardening all day today trying, as I mentioned in the last post, to get it tidied before this weekend’s belated birthday celebrations for my son and daughter. In the process, I discovered that there were lots of blackberries lurking wistfully below my sage plants and rosemary bushes. So, I picked them! And happily my rhubarb had coped with my absence and soldiered on, producing several fine stems which I duly cut…but with love. I poached the chopped rhubarb lightly and then popped them and the blackberries in a low gratin dish. I knocked up a crumble mix using plain flour, porridge oats, some crushed pecans, pumpkin seeds, butter and brown sugar. The result was stultifyngly superb though I say it myself!

I think part of the secret of the crispy buttery top was cooking it for 40 minutes on 180 degrees then switching the oven off, removing the crumble and after about 10 minutes returning it to the cooling oven whilst we ate the main course.

Anyway it was fruitastic and even better because it all cane from our garden. I drank a cold pinot noir from Alsace whilst cooking, and a lovely bottle of shiraz with the meal itself. I listened to Bob Marley on the record player, then the Pet Shop Boys ‘Disco’. I felt good… and I felt as if I was back where I belonged……in my kitchen!

And here was the mellow aftermath in Alfredo’s after our meal…my home from home…

Serrano ham…it has it all….and I love it!

This is a picture of a dish I knocked up from bits and bobs one evening – grilled aubergine and tomatoes topped with Serrano ham, mozzarella and manchego……….Ah…Spain….my heart skips a beat just at the thought of it. I love Spain. I adore Spanish food. It is more than that though – it is passion -a real passion for such great produce….great people…earthy, fabulous cuisine….OK ..that’s enough! You get the picture! Amongst my favourite contributions to the food world by Spain is Serrano Ham….say it again Serrano…it rolls off the tongue. Some foods just sound sexy before you have even met them. There is nothing more Spanish than jamón serrano.

This country ham ( the hind leg of the white pig) is a national treasure shared in Spain by all walks of life. Cured for at least a year, it has a much deeper flavour and firmer texture than its closest relative, Italian prosciutto, and less fat. The word “serrano ” in Spanish refers to the sierra, or mountains. Jamón Serrano is traditionally produced in mountainous environments where the air is clean, the moisture levels just right and the winters very cold. These are the traditional requirements for curing. The hams are placed in sea salt for a brief period of time – approximately one day per kilo – and then they are strung up. They are allowed to experience the changes of temperature as the seasons progress. The right time to eat them is when an experienced ham-master inserts a long splinter of cow bone and whiffs the jamón, like a connoisseur of wine who sniffs the cork. You will see them all over Spain, hanging from the rafters in delicatessens and tapas bars.

You must also try, if you have not already, Iberico Ham. The essential difference between Jamón Serrano and the marvellous Ibérico Ham (commonly known as “pata negra” or “black-hoofed” ham) is the breed of pigs and the diet they are fed on. Its curing process is very long too (over 2 years, twice as long as serrano ham) and it has outstanding flavour and aroma, much down to how the pigs are raised. These are truly spoilt pigs!

Immediately after weaning, the piglets are fattened on barley and maize for several weeks. The pigs are then allowed to roam in pasture and oak groves to feed naturally on grass, herbs, acorns and roots, until the slaughtering time approaches. At that point, the diet may be strictly limited to olives or acorns for the best quality jamón ibérico, or may be a mix of acorns and commercial feed for lesser qualities. The finest is called jamón ibérico de bellota (bellota being Spanish for acorn).

This ham is from free-range pigs that roam oak forests (called dehesas) along the border between Spain and Portugal, and eat only acorns during the last stages of their lives. Oh, and it is also VERY expensive! But. like all the best things in life…just tell yourself …’you’re worth it’ and buy some!

It actually only accounts for around 8% of ham sales in Spain. Both types are mounted on special stands called ‘jamoneras’ in order to slice them thinly. As well as eating it cold, it is also great to use serrano ham in cooked dishes.

I always have serrano in the house…you should too. It is so versatile. My two children adore a breakfast I occasionally make on Sundays using quails’ eggs and serrano ham.

For 4 of you, fry 2 or 3 large slices of serrano shredded slightly in olive oil until crispy. Crack 8 quails eggs into a bowl. Add gently to pan with ham and fry them for a couple of minutes or until the whites turn opaque. Sprinkle over some grated parmesan and let it melt a little, then scatter over some fresh thyme leaves and a twist or three of black pepper. You can make this with regular eggs… but I prefer this version.

And if you are going to woo someone this weekend…woo them with serrano…!