QUINCE PASTE (MEMBRILLO)

Eat this with hard cheese or with cream cheese on toast.
You need:
4-5 quinces
water
sugar
1 lemon

Cut the quinces in chuncks (we do not peal nor core them) Boil the quinces in water. When they are soft drain off  the water and puree the quince meat with a hand food mill ( see our recipe for tomato sauce). Weight the pureed quinces and put them back in the pan. Add the same weight of sugar. Bring this to boil and then let it all simmer for 10-15 minutes until the paste gets dark brown (15 minutes more or less). Take the pan off the heat and  add the juice of a lemon ( to taste). Put the paste on a rectangular pastic or tin box and let it cool down completely . It should become solid after 1 hour or so. This lasts well in the fridge ( for a couple of months).

We did this so that the children would get to know what a quince was like. One of them thought it was a pear and tried a bit of raw quince - not very pleasant!

EMPANADA

This is a bit laborious but very delicious. The dish can be done also with cockles, scallops or dry salted cod.

You need:

For the filling:

2 big onions (in thin slices)

half a green pepper (cut thinly)

4 'piquillo' peppers cut in strips

2 cans of tuna (in oil or spring water)

2 hard-boiled eggs (chopped in slices)

4 table spoons olive oil

1 bay leaf

2 teaspoons of vinegar

salt

For the pastry

500 gr plain flour

1 glass dry white wine

1 glass olive oil approx

1 teaspoon paprika (sweet)

1 teaspoon salt

30 gr butter

1 egg (beaten)  

In a deep frying pan heat the olive oil. Add the onions, the green pepper and the olive oil. Let it fry over low heat for 20 minutes more or less until it is caramelised and translucent. When it is cooked, drain the excess oil and reserve it. Add the tuna (in little flakes) the eggs and the piquillo peppers. Add the salt and vinegar, fry for 2 minutes and reserve.

For the pastry: put the flour in a bowl with the salt and paprika. Mix it. Add the wine. Then take the reserved cooking oil and add it to more olive oil until you fill one glass. Add the glass of oil to the flour and wine and mix it all well with your hands until the dough does not stick to the bowl (1-2- minutes only).

Cut the butter into 10-12 small cubes. Make holes in the dough with your fingers and 'bury' the cubes of butter in them. Cover the bowl with a cloth and let it rest for 20 minutes.

Line a tray with baking parchment and 'paint it' with olive oil.

Cut the dough in two. Over a floured surface extend the first half and put it onto the tray. Make holes over the whole surface with a fork. Put the tuna filling on top. extend the other half of the dough and put it onto the filling. Seal the sides with your fingers and make holes with the fork again. Paint the empanada with the beaten egg.

Cook over a preheated over at 200 degrees for 45-50 minutes (until it becomes golden).  Eat this at room temperature. 

The children helped with the pastry. They were a bit bored with the filling but they dutifully tasted it and aproved the final result. 

ROAST PORK

This is an easy Sunday lunch or supper.

You need:

- loin or joint of pork (score the skin)

- salt, pepper, a teaspoon of coriander seeds, a teaspoon of fennel seeds, half a teaspoon of oregano.

- 2 table spoons of olive oil

- water

With a pester and mortar crush the salt, pepper, coriander and fennel seeds and oregano. Rub this on the pork on all sides ( try to get this into the scored fat as well)

Put the pork on a roasting tray. Add the olive oil on top and put some water ( 1 glass) on the tray.

Roast for 15 minutes at 250 degrees ( in a preheated oven) and then lower the temperature to 150 degrees. Leave it in the oven (you do not need to do anything to it) for 2.15-2.30 hours.

Let the pork rest for 20 minutes or so outside the oven before eating it.

We added some chopped pumpkin with salt and a little bit of balsamic vinegar 45-50 minutes before taking it out of the oven. You can add also carrots, potatoes, red peppers or aubergines.

My children only agreed to touch  the raw pork and rub the spices in it after I promised they could have most of the crackling, but they seemed to enjoy it after they started doing it.

POTATOES WITH CHORIZO (PATATAS A LA RIOJANA)

This is a straightforward winter (heavy) lunch meal.
You need:
150 gr chorizo cut in 1 cm slices (try to buy good chorizo as the cheap versions are full of fat)
250 gr potatoes in chunks
2 table spoons in olive oil
a clove of garlic (cut thinly)
1 onion (cut thinly)
1 tb spoon of sweet paprika
salt
water
Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan (do not make it too hot, just a little). Add the garlic and wait for a minute or so until it is golden. Then add the onion - reduce the heat and let it fry for 10 minutes until the onion is translucent ane a little golden. Then add the chorizo and wait for 10 minutes (if you want this with less fat heat the chorizo for 30 seconds in a microwave oven first) Afterwards add the potatoes and continue frying (over medium heat) for 10 minutes. Add salt and the paprika and cover the whole lot with water. Continue heating the pan until the water boils and then reduce the heat. Let it simmer for 20 minutes until the potatoes are soft and the sauce becomes thick. Serve.
It is very easy for the kids to help with this. We practiced cutting the potatoes in chucks by chipping them rather than making straight lines - they enjoyed the noise they made.  Chorizo is always a winner with my children.

FRIED SQUID

This can be served as a snack or a starter. Kids (and adults) simply love it. If you are feeling really indulgent get a baguette, put inside the fried squid and add a dollop of mayonnaise - this is the famous 'bocata de calamares' from Madrid. Seriously yummy.

You need:
- around 200 gr squid cut in rounds or sticks ( see picture). Fresh squid is obviously ideal, but frozen squid(already clean and cut)  also does the trick ( it has less flavour though)
- salt
- breadcrumbs
- olive oil
-1 lemon

Put a really generous amount of olive oil on a frying pan and heat it until it is almost smoking. Meanwhile add the salt to the squid and then dust the squid with the breadcrumbs. Put the squid in the pan, reduce the hit to medium and fry them quickly (around one minute or a minute and a half on each side - if you overcook them they will become tough and rubbery). Squeeze a bit of lemon on top and serve immediately .

Some people add garlic, parsley or chili, but this masks the squid flavour.

My children  refused touching the squid  ( I can see why). We tried dusting the squid inside a plastic bag and they thought that was a bit better - still they found the raw squid texture pretty revolting. None of this put them off from eating the whole lot once the squid were fried.

STEWED LAMB

If you only try one recipe from this blog try this. It comes from my grandmother and it is delicious. It is my 9 years old son's favourite dish.

You need:
lamb steaks (one per person - this recipe is for 5 persons) It is best with leg steaks.
salt
flour to dust the steaks
1 and a half cloves of garlic
1 table spoon of chopped parsley (preferably flat)
1 glass of white wine
1 glass of water
peas (they can be frozen)  - 100 to 150 gr
3 potatoes cut into not to small cubes (see picture)
olive oil

Salt the steaks and dust them wit the flour. Fry them on a pan on a generous amount of olive oil until they are a little golden on both sides. Put the steaks aside.
Discard half of the oil that you have used to fry the steaks.
Heat the remaining oil. While the oil is heating up, mash the garlic and parsley with a pestle and mortar and add it to the glass of whine. Add it all to the oil and wait until there are bubbles on the surface (1 minute or so). Add the water, wait until there are bubbles again. Add the steaks and let it all boil for 45 minutes over slow heat. Add the peas and let it all boil for another 5 minutes.
Separately fry the potatoes on olive oil until the are golden. Add them to the lamb and let them boil for a final 3-4 minutes.
This dish, as all stews, tastes better after a day.

CROQUETAS

This is a very traditional Spanish dish/snack. I rarely have enough patience to make them but two of my aunts are the 'queens of croquetas', so the kids have been practicing with one of them. We made them with (serrano) ham but they are delicious with chicken, prawns or boiled egg.

You need:
1 l milk (full fat or semi skimmed)
4 tb spoons olive oil and more to fry them
1 leek chopped thinly
3 table spoons of flour 
300 gr of serrano ham chopped very thinly (parma ham or equivalent is also good). You can do this in a food processor (for other kinds of croquetas substitute the ham by 300 gr of boiled or roast chicken, or 200 gr of raw prawns, or 4 boiled eggs)
2 slices of mild Cheddar cheese (or Edam, Gouda or equivalent)
salt
a pinch of nutmeg

To coat the croquetas (this is just indicative - add more if you need it):
1 glass of flour
1 beaten egg with 1/2 glass of milk
1 glass of fine breadcrumbs

Heat the oil in a deep pan over medium heat. Add the leek, reduce the heat and cook it for 10 minutes until it becomes translucent. Stir in the flour and continue stirring it for 5 minutes until the flour is golden. Separately (in the microwave if you wish) warm the milk and pour it into the flour mixture. Cook, stirring continuously, for about 2 minutes. Take the pan off the heat. Now, this is the trick for smooth velvety croquetas: with a hand held blender bled the mixture well for 3-4- minutes.

Add the ham, salt and the nutmeg. Take the pan back to the heat and keep stirring until you have a thick bechamel sauce (this should take another 4 minutes more or less). As you take the pan off the heat add the cheese. It should melt immediately. Stir it all once more, pour the mixture over a shallow dish and let it cool for at least one hour (or overnight)

Put three dishes in a row. Pour the flour on the first one. On the next one pour the beaten egg and the milk. In the last one add the breadcrumbs.

Pick a spoonful of the mixture (it should not be sticky - if it is, then let it cool a bit longer). With your hands mould the mixture like a kernel or a cylinder. Keep doing this with the rest of the mixture. You should get 45 to 50 croquetas.

Roll the kernels/cylinders in the flour, then in the egg and milk, and finally in the breadcrumbs. Put the croquetas on a tray (they should not touch each other) in the fridge so that they get firm before frying them. The croquetas are even better if you freeze them at this point - they last for 2-3- months in the freezer.

In a small deep frying pan or in a fryer heat olive oil over strong heat. The oil should cover the croquetas. Add 5-6 croquetas (you need to fry them in badges) Reduce the heat to medium and  and fry for 2-3 minutes until they are golden. As you take them out put them over a kitchen paper lined tray to get rid of excess oil. Serve them immediately.

Kids like helping with making the kernels and with rolling the croquetas. Do not let them approach the frying pan as the oil is too hot and it will splatter if accidentally some of the mixture gets out of the coating.

I do not know any children who do not like croquetas.