Anyone Like Spanish Food??

[UKBusinessLive]

If i could, I'd move to Spain tommorrow, The Spanish are so easy going, their food is out of this world and really exiting, Tonight i was looking for a little treat to cook at the weekend and i came up with this

Mantecados

I remember in Spain at Christmas time you get big boxes of Mantecado's, Its a cross between a cake and a buisuit i guess and with all different flavors, its a nice way to have a treat at christmas time.

We'll believe it or not tonight i found a recipe for Mantecados and i'm well chuffed, going to have a bash making some this weekend


Mantecados de lim?n - Yum Yum

These Spanish Christmas cookies are small, light, and downright delicious. Enjoy mantecados during the holidays, or whenever you have a craving for something sweet.

Heres the Video http://video.about.com/spanishfood/M...dos-Recipe.htm

Ingredients Needed to Make Mantecados

For this recipe, you will need:

1 cup shortening
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon anise extract
1 lemon
citrus peeler
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 1/2 cups flour

Prepare the Eggs and Lemon Zest

Separate the egg yolks from the whites. You will use yolks for the dough and the whites to brush the cookies to give them a golden color. Whisk the egg whites to break them apart.

Peel the lemon zest with a citrus peeler. But if you don't have one, you can use vegetable peeler and get the yellow part of the lemon.

Make the Mantecado Dough

In a very large mixing bowl, whip the vegetable shortening with a mixer. Then add in oil, and when it incorporates into the shortening, add sugar, then egg yolks, anise, lemon peel, juice, and cinnamon. Mix together.

Add flour and baking soda to mixture and be sure to mix well. At the end of your mixing, the dough will become a texture of wet crumbs.

Bake and Serve the Mantecados

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Take enough dough to form walnut-sized balls, and roll them between your hands. Place the cookie onto a cookie sheet sprayed with oil.

Lightly press down on each ball to flatten slightly. Brush the egg white on top of each cookie. Place the cookies in the oven and bake until they turn light brown. Let the cookies cool 2-3 minutes and serve.

God i want to make some now I'm so hungry

Anyone else have any nice Spanish Recipes to share, as we're having a Spanish weekend in my house

Hola

[Wayne Luke]

Sounds interesting. Have never had Spanish food before. Don't even recall a Spanish restaurant nearby though we have everything else. Japanese, Korean, Chinese, French, Indian, Persian, Turkish, English Pub. We do have a lot of Mexican and Baja (Cali-Mex) style restaurants though.

[lasto]

Been spain,Mexico and loads of other places but i dont eat anythin but english food.
I dont even eat curries - i prefer the food im used to such as hot pots/stews/fish and chips.
The wife eats any ole crap and even tries new stuff whereas i just give it a miss.I dont care if im missing something because i live to eat and not eat to live unlike some people out there.

[Dean C]

Everyone thinks Spanish - Tapas. It's a lot more than that. I do prefer French food though. The bread, the cheese, the wine. Delicious. And did I mention the bread?

[sharkee]

Hmm...come to think of it, I don't really know much about Spanish cuisines. What are the popular, globally-renown Spanish foods around? I eat all kinds of food, it would be really cool if anything I'm into actually originated from Spain.

[UKBusinessLive]

Originally Posted by sharkee

Hmm...come to think of it, I don't really know much about Spanish cuisines. What are the popular, globally-renown Spanish foods around? I eat all kinds of food, it would be really cool if anything I'm into actually originated from Spain.

Hi Sharkee,

I guess the most famous Spanish rice dish in the world is the Paella! Before you start cooking it is helpful to know that Paella is best made in a wide, shallow pan with looped handles; the Paellera. My recipe below is to serve 4 but if you really love it 3 persons. Paella seems like an extravagant dish, well it is, but it’s easy to make, and pretty ecomonical



lets do it!!

Finely chop:
1 red onion, 1 red and 1 green pepper, 4 cloves of garlic, 2 tablespoons of ( by preference fresh) flat-leaf parsley.

Puree tomatoes:
You can either buy canned peeled tomatoes but by preference use to fresh ones. Peel of the skin and than rasp them with a grater.

Prepare the seafood:
Peel and devein 16 large raw shrimps, cut 2 squid tubes into rings, and scrub and debeard 12 fresh mussels. Cover this all and put them into the refrigerator.

Make the sauce: Sofrito
Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in the paellera, cook a chopped red onion in it, add the 2 tablespoons of parsley and 3 of the 4 chopped garlic cloves. Cook this all for 8 minutes with an occasional stir. Now add the pureed tomatoes and 2 teaspoons of paprika and keep on cooking until the juice from the tomatoes has evaporated and the sauce is as consistent as a jam. Now put the Sofrito into a bowl and clean the paellera.

Cook the mussels:
Start cooking the mussels while the Sofrito is cooking. Put the mussels in a saucepan with a cup of simmering water, cover and steam it for 5 minutes. Remove the mussels discarding unopened and put them aside.

Cook the shrimps and squids:
Put 1 tablespoon of olive oil in the paellera and put it on a medium to high heat and add the last clove of chopped garlic. Place the shrimps in the paellera and cook them for 1,5 minute. Now add the squid rings and cook for another 1,5 minutes. Keep on tossing the paellera continuously. After this remove the shrimps and squid and flavour them with a little salt & black pepper. Now cover it all up and put it aside.

Cook the diced red and green peppers:
Cook them in a medium heated paellera with two tablespoons of olive oil and stir occasionally for 6 minutes. Now add the sofrito to the pan and 1,5 cup of rice; this may be Calasparra, Bomba or regular grain rice is fine. Cook this for a minute with some stirring. Now add a pinch of saffron threads, 3 cups of heated fish or chicken stock, 1,5 teaspoon of salt and 1,5 teaspoon of black pepper, sir it a little to mix it up. Now let it cook for 10 minutes without stirring. Make sure all the rice is cooking; adjust the pan a bit when necessary.
Now let it cook on a low heat level for 15 minutes. After this turn up the heat for a minute until you can smell the rice toasting. Remove the paellera from the stove and add the seafood, cover it all up and let it rest for 5 minutes.

?Que aproveche!



--------------- Added [DATE]1243577680[/DATE] at [TIME]1243577680[/TIME] ---------------

Originally Posted by Wayne Luke

Sounds interesting. Have never had Spanish food before. Don't even recall a Spanish restaurant nearby though we have everything else. Japanese, Korean, Chinese, French, Indian, Persian, Turkish, English Pub. We do have a lot of Mexican and Baja (Cali-Mex) style restaurants though.

Wow Wayne, I can't beleive you've not tried any Spanish Food. Perhaps Mrs Luke might like to try one of my recipes for your approval

[Wayne Luke]

Originally Posted by UKBusinessLive

Perhaps Mrs Luke might like to try one of my recipes for your approval

I might try them myself as I am the more adventurous cook in the house. The Paella looks interesting. I wonder if there is a vegetarian variety out there.

[Biker_GA]

Originally Posted by Wayne Luke

I wonder if there is a vegetarian variety out there.

Ewwww!

[UKBusinessLive]

Originally Posted by Wayne Luke

I might try them myself as I am the more adventurous cook in the house. The Paella looks interesting. I wonder if there is a vegetarian variety out there.

I didn't know you was a Veggie Wayne

Oh well Specially for you Buddy you change a few bits, Try this one....



This vegetarian paella is so moist, full of flavor, and substantial, that you will scarcely notice it is meat-free. The great thing is you can pratically add whatever fave veggies you like, experiment

The green, red, and yellow bell peppers add a vibrant splash of color to the pale rice, while the tangy artichoke hearts, delicate peas, and juicy tomatoes ensure that this vegetarian paella will satisfy even the most avid carnivores.

1/4 cup (2 fl. oz) of olive oil

5 cloves minced garlic

1 large yellow onion, chopped

4 cups (32 fl. oz) vegetable stock

2 cups (16 oz) rice

4 medium tomatoes, skinned, seeded and chopped

1 small red bell pepper, seeded and cut into thin strips

1 small green bell pepper, seeded and cut into thin strips

1 small yellow bell pepper, seeded and cut into thin strips

1 cup (4 oz) green peas

2 cups (14 oz) artichoke hearts, tough outer leaves removed and quartered

1 lemon

Lemon wedges, to garnish

I've done it in Americian measures

Preparation

Heat the olive oil in a paella pan and saut? the onion and garlic until the onion is tender and translucent. At the same time, heat the Stock in a separate saucepan until simmering.

Pour the rice into the paella pan and saut? for about 3 minutes. Add the bell peppers and tomatoes and cook for a further 3 minutes. Add the simmering vegetable stock and cook over medium heat for 20 minutes or until almost tender and almost all the liquid has been absorbed. Stir in the peas.

Sprinkle the artichoke hearts with a few drops of lemon juice and arrange over the rice in an attractive pattern. Continue cooking until the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is tender.

Serve the paella straight from the pan, garnished with lemon wedges

Oh, almost forgot, to get the ice cold San miguel's out the Fridge



Big Plate of paella, a few beers and an afternoons shooting down the Range - Heaven

[Wayne Luke]

I am not a strict vegetarian just very picky about the meat that I eat and its impact on the environment around me. Just easier to find fruits and vegetables grown in an environmentally friendly and sustainable way. Hard to find seafood that fits those requirements where I live. Shame because I love seafood but my values on the environment win out.

That second recipe looks very good. I will have to try it though.