Spanish Tapas & Pinchos Recipes – Prawns & Chorizo; Spanish Meatballs;
Our cookery classes are as much about learning to cook as they are a sociable experience. We hope you enjoyed your day and are ready to recreate what you cooked at home.
You Cooked:
- Gambas al Ajillo with Sweet Potato & Chorizo Croquettes;
- Spanish Meatballs;
- Chicken Pinchos;
- Romesco Sauce;
- Avocado aioli;
Gambas al Ajillo
Ingredients – Serves 4:
- – 4 tablespoons good quality extra virgin olive oil (Spanish olive oil, if possible)
- – 4 cloves garlic finely sliced
- – ½ teaspoon chilli flakes
- – 200 g raw prawns
- – Salt and pepper to taste
- – Juice of half a lemon (plus 2 lemon quarters for garnish)
- – 1 teaspoon paprika
- – 1 tablespoon parsley finely chopped
Method:
- Put the olive oil into a cold frying pan and add the sliced garlic and chilli flakes. Place the pan over a medium heat and allow the oil to gently heat up until it’s sizzling. Once the oil is sizzling, cook the garlic for 1 more minute. (Take care, as garlic can easily burn if cooked too long!)
- Add the prawns, bring back to sizzling and cook for about 3 minutes, stirring a few times, until the prawns are pink all over and starting to curl.
- Season with salt and pepper and squeeze over the juice of half a lemon. Stir the prawns one last time and then turn the heat off.
- Sprinkle with the paprika and parsley and serve immediately, while still sizzling.
- Serve with crusty bread and Fino Sherry for a delicious and impressive starter, or as part of a selection of tapas.
Sweet Potato & Chorizo Croquettes
Ingredients – Makes 15:
- – 500g sweet potates (2-3 medium)
- – 300g cooking chorizo, skinned
- – 50g Butter
- – 50g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
- – 400ml whole milk
- – 2 spring onions, thinly sliced
- 5 eggs, lightly whisked
- panko breadcrums, for crumbing
- rapeseed oil, for deep-frying
- seasoning
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 170°C, then place the sweet potatoes on a roasting tray and bake in their skins for about 40 minutes, or until soft all the way through. Allow to cool and then cut them in half-length ways and scoop out the flesh. Mash the flesh with a fork and set aside (you should get about 250g mashed sweet potato).
- Meanwhile place the chorizo in another roasting tray or ovenproof pan and roast in the same oven for about 10 minutes. Allow to cool then place in a food processor and pulse until the chorizo is the texture of very coarse crumbs. Set aside.
- Melt the butter in a medium pan over a low heat. Remove from the heat and tip in the flour, then return to a medium heat and stir continuously for around 4 minutes to ‘cook out’ the flour. Remove the pan from the heat and pour in half the milk; it will bubble and thicken immediately, so keep stirring to avoid any lumps forming. Add the remaining milk to the pan, return to a low heat and continue to stir as the mixture thickens. Cook for 4-5 minutes to produce a thick white sauce that will make up the base for the croquettes. Set aside to cool completely.
- In a large bowl, mix together the chorizo, 250g sweet potato mash and the white sauce until all is combined. Add the spring onions, season with salt and pepper and mix again.
- Set 3 large bowls out in front of you on the work surface: some flour for dusting in one, the beaten egg in another and the panko breadcrumbs in the third. Use a set of scales to weigh out 25 x 30g balls then roll them in the bowl of flour and toss to make sure they get an even coating. Dip each floured ball in the beaten egg and then roll in the crumbs. Place all the crumbed croquettes in a single layer on a large tray and chill in the fridge until ready to fry.
- If you have a deep fryer, turn it on and heat the oil to 170°C. Fry the croquettes in batches for about 4-5 minutes until golden and crispy – do not overcrowd the pan. If you do not have a deep fryer. Remove with a slotted spoon, drain on kitchen paper, and serve hot. They work particularly well with saffron aioli.
Spanish Meatballs
Ingredients – Serves 4:
- – 450 g ground meat a mixture of beef and pork
- – 2 garlic cloves
- – 1 egg
- – 2 ½ tablespoons dried breadcrumbs
- – 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
- – ¾ teaspoon sweet paprika
- – ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
- – ¼ teaspoon hot paprika
- – 1 teaspoon salt
- – ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- – 1 tablespoon olive oil
- – Tomato sauce:
- – 1 medium onion
- – 2 tablespoons olive oil
- – 3 garlic cloves
- – 2 cans chopped tomatoes each weighing 400 g/ 14 oz
- – ½ teaspoon fennel seeds
- – 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- – 2 bay leaves
- – ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- – 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
- – salt and pepper
Method:
Make meatballs:
- Place the ground meat, grated garlic cloves, lightly beaten egg, dried breadcrumbs, parsley, sweet, smoked, hot paprika, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Mix well with your hand. Form between 30 and 35 small meatballs, about the size of a walnut.
- Fry meatballs: Heat the oil in a large skillet. Fry the meatballs (in two batches if necessary) until brown on all sides. This will take about 5 minutes. Take the meatballs out of the pan and set them aside.
Tomato sauce:
- Chop the onion very finely.
- Saute: Heat the 2 tablespoons olive oil in the same skillet. Add the onion and cook it until translucent. Add the finely chopped garlic cloves and stir for another minute.
- Simmer: Add the tomatoes from the can, fennel seeds, oregano, bay leaves, cayenne pepper, and chopped parsley. Add some salt and pepper as well. Stir well and bring to a boil. Simmer on medium-low heat for 20 minutes or until slightly thickened.
- Add the meatballs to the pan and heat them in the sauce for about 5 minutes or cooked through.
- Serve as suggested above.
Chicken Pinchos
Ingredients – Serves 4:
- – 2 chicken breasts
- – 1tsp sweet paprika
- – 1/4tsp chilli flakes
- – 1tsp ground cumin
- – 1tsp ground oregano
- – 1tbsp fresh thyme leaves
- – 1 garlic clove, chopped
- – 1 tbsp olive oil
- – Salt and pepper
Method:
- Cut the chicken into 2cm cubes, add into a mixing bowl with all the above ingredients.
- Marinate.
- Soak wooden skewers in water for 20 minutes to protect from burning.
- Thread the meat onto skewers.
- Cook on bbq until 75C in the centre is reached.
- Serve with mojo picon.
Romesco Sauce
Ingredients – Makes 3 Cups:
- – One 450g jar of roasted red peppers, drained
- – ½ cup raw or roasted almonds (unsalted)
- – ¼ cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, rinsed and drained
- – 2 medium-to-large cloves garlic, peeled and quartered
- – 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
- – 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- – ½ teaspoon fine sea salt, to taste
- – ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Method:
- In a blender (preferably) or food processor, combine everything but the olive oil. Securely fasten the lid and blend, starting on low and increasing the speed as you are able to gain traction.
- Once the ingredients are mostly blended, start drizzling in the olive oil while running the blender. Blend until you reach your desired consistency (I like my romesco sauce pretty creamy, but you might prefer it with a chunkier texture).
- Taste, and add additional salt (up to ¼ teaspoon) if it doesn’t quite knock your socks off yet. Serve immediately with toasted sourdough bread rubbed with raw garlic (as a funkier version of Pan con tomate), you could add chorizo or other toppings
- You could also use as a sauce for arancini and many other dishes.
- Or store in a jar in the refrigerator for 4-5 days.
Avocado Aioli
Ingredients:
- – 30g mayo
- – 1/4 lemon juice
- – 1/4 lemon zest
- – 1/6 avocado
- – 1 clove of garlic
Method:
- We simply place all the ingredients in a blender and whizz until smooth. Correct seasoning and chill in the fridge until needed.
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