Our cookery classes are as much about learning to cook as they are a sociable experience. We hope you enjoyed your evening and are ready to recreate the meals at home. The recipes work really well as delicious dinners and make a great combination for dinner party ideas.
You Cooked:
- Seafood Paella;
- Mackerel, Romesco & Salsa;
- Morcilla, Quail Egg & Pepper Pinchos;
- Padron Peppers;
- Ham Croquettas;
Seafood Paella
Serves 4
Ingredients:
- – 80ml olive oil (80 ml)
- – 1 large onion finely diced
- – 2 garlic cloves minced
- – 2 medium tomatoes peeled and diced
- – 5 teaspoons sweet paprika Spanish pimentón de la Vera is the best if you can get it.
- – 1 pinch of saffron threads
- – 380g rice (380 g) see notes
- – 240ml white wine (240 ml)
- – 720ml of seafood stock (720 ml)
- – 12 prawns or jumbo shrimp, shells on if possible for extra flavor
- – 12 mussels
- 2 large squid cleaned and sliced into 1/4-inch rings, tentacles left whole (not used in this dish)
- Alternatively when squid and mussels are out of season, use 400g seafood mix, defrosted
Method:
- Add your saffron to the white wine and leave to infuse.
- In a large saucepan, bring the seafood stock to a simmer and keep warm.
- Put a large paella or saute pan over medium-high heat and add the olive oil. When hot, add the onion to the pan and saute until translucent, stirring often.
- Add the garlic and cook until aromatic (about 1-2 minutes). Before it starts to brown, add the tomato and stir, adding in the paprika and a pinch of salt. Continue to stir and saute until the tomatoes are reduced and the oil is sizzling
- Next, add the rice and stir to combine. After a minute of sauteing, spread the rice evenly across the pan (don’t worry if it looks like a thin layer, it will puff up).
- Add the white wine and stock to the pan, all in one go. Reduce the heat to low, and cook, without stirring, for 10-15 minutes with a lid on.
- Pan fry the prawns over a medium-high heat until pink and firm, then add them to the paella.
- If the rice starts to dry out you can top it up with a bit more hot stock, half a cup at a time. Don’t stir the rice.
- If using mussels, add them to the pan with a splash of water and put the lid back on. After a few minutes of steaming, the mussels should open Discard any that don’t.
- If using a seafood mix, add it to the pan at this point with the lid and allow to steam for 5 minutes.
- When the stock in the paella pan fully evaporates, you will hear a faint cracking from the bottom of the pan as the socarrat starts to form. If you don’t hear anything, you can raise the heat to medium for a short burst!
- When the rice is ready, remove the pan from the heat and taste to check seasoning.
- Serve from the pan, with wedges of fresh lemon.
Mackerel, Romesco & Salsa
Ingredients – Serves 4:
- – 4 mackerel fillets, bones removed
For the Romesco sauce:
- – 1 roasted red peppers, seeded and skinned
- – 40g stale bread
- – 30g almonds
- – 10g smoked paprika
- – 30ml red wine vinegar
- – 100ml olive oil
- – Salt and pepper
For the salsa:
- – 1 medium onion
- – 1 red pepper
- – 1 medium fennel bulb
- – 20g capers
- – 20g anchovies
- – 20ml chardonnay vinegar
- – 50ml extra virgin olive oil
- – 20g flat leaf parsley
- – 10g tarragon
- – Salt and pepper
Method:
- Place all the Romesco sauce ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Adjust the liquid if needed then season to taste.
- For the salsa, finely chop the vegetables, fish and herbs. Place them in a bowl and mix together. Add the vinegar and oil, and season to taste.
- Place the mackerel skin side up on a tray, then season and drizzle with olive oil.
- Cook under a grill on a medium to high heat for four minutes or until there is a good colour on the skin and the fish is cooked through.
- On a small plate or bowl, add a generous layer of Romesco sauce. Top with the cooked mackerel and serve with a generous spoon of salsa.
Morcilla, Quail Eggs & Pepper Pinchos
Ingredients – Serves 4:
- – 1 whole morcilla de burgos
- – 8 fresh quail eggs
- – 200g tinned piquillo peppers, sliced into thin strips
- – 1 garlic clove, peeled and finely sliced
- – 2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
- – 1 tsp caster sugar
- – Sea salt
Method:
- In a medium size frying pan, gently warm the olive oil and add the garlic slices, cook gently for 1 minute or until lightly brown. Remove from the oil, add the piquillo peppers and slowly cook for five minutes. Sprinkle a pinch of sugar, season with sea salt and return the garlic, cook for a further 10 minutes on low heat and set aside.
- To cook the morcilla, cut the sausage into 1-inch thick pieces and fry in a hot frying pan for 3 minutes on each side. Drain on some kitchen towels.
- For the quail eggs, gently crack each egg using the edge of a knife. Drop each egg in a small ramekin or cup and gently slide it into the hot oil. Cook four eggs at a time until they firm up, 1 to 1.5 minutes. Larger eggs may take a little longer.
- On a warm plate, spoon the warm piquillo peppers, place a piece of the morcilla sausage and top with a crispy fried quail egg before serving.
Padron Peppers
Ingredients – Serves 4:
- – 300 grams of Padron peppers about 2 cups
- – 50 ml extra virgin olive oil (1/4 cup)
- – Flaky sea salt
Method:
- Rinse and dry the peppers.
- Heat the olive oil in a pan at high heat until it is very hot (but not yet smoking).
- Add the peppers and cook, tossing occasionally, until the skin starts to blister and soften. Don’t let them burn, but do leave them enough time to completely soften.
- Remove the peppers and place them on a plate.
- Sprinkle generously with sea salt and enjoy!
Ham Croquettas
Ingredients – Makes 24:
- – 60g unsalted butter (60 g)
- – 60ml olive oil (60 ml)
- – 120g flour (just under one cup — 120 g)
- – 1 medium onion very finely diced
- – 1l whole milk at room temperature (1 litre)
- – 1 pinch nutmeg
- – 225g jamón serrano or Parma ham diced into small pieces (225 g)
- – flour for breading
- – 2 beaten eggs
- – breadcrumbs for breading (try Panko for non-traditional extra crispy croquettes!)
Method:
- Melt the butter and warm the oil in a heavy pan over medium-high heat.
- Add the diced onion and sauté for a few minutes, until it just starts to colour.
- Add a pinch of salt and the nutmeg. Don’t add too much salt as the Serrano ham is already salty.
- Add the diced ham and sauté for 30 seconds more.
- Add the flour and stir continuously, until the flour turns a light brown colour. You must not stop stirring or the flour will burn!
- When the flour changes color, add the milk little by little, always stirring until you incorporate the entire amount. It should take about 15-20 minutes to add it all.
- Turn off the heat and let the dough cool to room temperature.
- Butter the sides of a large bowl and place the croquette dough inside, covered directly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate a minimum of 4 hours, but preferably overnight.
- To make the ham croquettes, shape them into little logs (or use a pastry sleeve if you have one.)
- Next, while heating a pan full of olive oil on the stove, pass the croquettes through the three-step breading process. First, cover them in flour, then in egg, and, finally, in the breadcrumbs.
- Fry the ham croquettes in the hot oil for about five minutes (making sure to turn halfway so they brown evenly) and then let them cool for a few minutes before enjoying!
We hope you enjoyed the class!
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