[teamfat]

About a year ago I posted a challenge focused on Asian dishes. This time I am picking a place about halfway around the world - Spain.

Yes, a country I would love to visit and munch my way through. From simple patatas brava to a classic, old school paella. So fire up your thinking caps, and take a trip to Madrid,or Barcelona, Valencia or Seville. Lots of influences. Full on dinner, or just a few tapas. Have at it!

The RULES, such as they are:

The challenge begins on the 1st. Or whatever day the winner finds out they are the winner. The last entry must be made by the last day of the month.

• You may post multiple entries.
• All entries must be cooked during the month of the challenge.
• If you use a documented recipe, please cite your source.
• Entries should include the name of your dish and a picture of the final product. Sharing personal recipes and pictures of the process are not mandatory but extremely helpful.
• The winner is chosen by the person who posted the challenge and is announced after the last day of submissions. The decision is final and falls entirely at the discretion of the challenger.
• Submitting an entry makes you eligible to win. If you do not wish to be considered for the win you may still participate in the challenge, but make your wishes known to the challenger.
• The winner’s bounty includes praise, virtual high-fives, and the responsibility of posting the next month’s challenge. That entails choosing a theme, posting a Challenge thread that includes the guidelines, checking in on the submissions regularly during the month, and promptly choosing a winner at the end of the challenge.

mjb.

 

[Kelvin Green]

This one will be tough. We will see…

 

[neskihe]

Interesting challenge. Did I understand correctly that only by going to Spain will I be able to participate in it?

 

[counterprize]

Interesting challenge. Did I understand correctly that only by going to Spain will I be able to participate in it?

where would you go first?

 

[teamfat]

No, you don't need to go to Spain to cook a Spanish dish. You may only need to go to your pantry, your fridge, your freezer. But more likely at least one trip to a nearby market to get what you need.

Here's a few ideas of what to cook:

Spanish Recipes

I may have some frozen shrimp, maybe I will try the Gambas al Ajillo.

mjb.

 

[counterprize]

Hearty rustic Paella...

 

[henryreid721]

That's looks great..

 

[chrislehrer]

Now that my crazy August is over, I am definitely going to participate in this one!

 

[chrislehrer]

First entry for me this month, one of my favorites: gazpacho.

When I was a kid, my mother read an (in)famous NYT food article that caused lots of Americans to eat half-pureed, third-rate salsa Mexicana as gazpacho. I liked that stuff, but when I eventually had the real thing, I was blown away. The big things about the NYT version were (a) it wasn't pureed smooth, (b) it had no oil or bread or vinegar, and (c) it was served without any garnishes. You just dumped veggies and a bit of dry red pepper into the blender, ran it a while, and added salt. I decided to do it right.

Now that our summer CSA has started, I have excellent tomatoes and such, so I started there.

Following a hybrid of several recipes, I put chopped tomato, cucumber, bell pepper, garlic, and onion in a big bowl with some salt and let it sit about 45 minutes. The veggies went in the blender, and a couple of slices of torn bread were allowed to soak up all the expelled juice. The bread went in the blender. A little sherry vinegar, and then I ran it on very high speed until completely smooth. With the motor running, I ran in about a cup of extra virgin olive oil. Season generously with salt and chill.

To serve, finely diced onion, bell pepper, and cucumber, plus sherry vinegar.

Plated, with garnishes and a drizzle of olive oil. Plus a plate of caprese salad (mediocre mozzarella -- I couldn't get better -- but the tomatoes are spectacular) and an okay rose.

My wife HATED the old NYT gazpacho, and my daughter is usually not crazy about cold soups in general, but they wolfed this gazpacho down!

 

[counterprize]

Basque cheesecake aka Torta Vasca

Traditionally made with a lil vanilla, however, I tried a splash of rose water instead and actually was surprisingly delicious!

 

[chefross]

First entry for me this month, one of my favorites: gazpacho.

When I was a kid, my mother read an (in)famous NYT food article that caused lots of Americans to eat half-pureed, third-rate salsa Mexicana as gazpacho. I liked that stuff, but when I eventually had the real thing, I was blown away. The big things about the NYT version were (a) it wasn't pureed smooth, (b) it had no oil or bread or vinegar, and (c) it was served without any garnishes. You just dumped veggies and a bit of dry red pepper into the blender, ran it a while, and added salt. I decided to do it right.

Now that our summer CSA has started, I have excellent tomatoes and such, so I started there.
View attachment 119788
Following a hybrid of several recipes, I put chopped tomato, cucumber, bell pepper, garlic, and onion in a big bowl with some salt and let it sit about 45 minutes. The veggies went in the blender, and a couple of slices of torn bread were allowed to soak up all the expelled juice. The bread went in the blender. A little sherry vinegar, and then I ran it on very high speed until completely smooth. With the motor running, I ran in about a cup of extra virgin olive oil. Season generously with salt and chill.
View attachment 119789
To serve, finely diced onion, bell pepper, and cucumber, plus sherry vinegar.
View attachment 119790
Plated, with garnishes and a drizzle of olive oil. Plus a plate of caprese salad (mediocre mozzarella -- I couldn't get better -- but the tomatoes are spectacular) and an okay rose.
View attachment 119791
My wife HATED the old NYT gazpacho, and my daughter is usually not crazy about cold soups in general, but they wolfed this gazpacho down!

Awesome. Gazpacho hails from Andalusia. Made it many times although for my kitchen all vegetables were Brunoised by hand.

 

[Clarkli085]

nice recipie

 

[chrislehrer]

As already indicated, the CSA is in full swing, which means that in addition to lots of tomatoes I also have eggplant, zucchini, peppers, etc. After digging around in some old cookbooks, I found a recipe for something called pisto Manchego that fit the bill admirably. The idea is to sauté onions and zucchini (and/or eggplant) in olive oil until pretty soft, then add peppers, garlic, and tomato and gently cook down until medium-thick. At the last minute you put eggs in and poach them there -- rather like shakshuka, though not usually especially spicy.

Now for my "let's see what I've got on hand" version, I have everything I need, but the question is how much tomato to use. I'm serving the last of the gazpacho Andaluz, which is pretty tomato-ey, and there's going to be more caprese because my daughter adores it and we have excellent tomatoes, so I thought maybe I'd dial it back for the pisto.

I gently sautéed onions and zucchini (the zucchini was enormous!) until tender, with just salt, pepper, olive oil, and a little oregano and thyme (classic Spanish herbs; I'll add fresh parsley at the end).

Once that was tender, I added bell pepper, mild jalapeno, tomato, lots of garlic -- and a little leftovers of a Paul Prudhomme-based stew with pretty much the same ingredients plus eggplant. Added a bit of water and cooked half-covered, gently, until it got fairly thick.

To complete the dish, I put the pisto mixture into individual serving dishes, cracked an egg into a well in the middle of each, and baked in a medium-hot oven until the whites were set and the yolks runny. Sprinkle with fresh parsley, and...

Full meal: homemade baguette, pisto Manchego, cheap Spanish red, gazpacho Andaluz, olives, Spanish/Italian marinated eggplant, caprese salad. Delicious!

 

[PaulLemoine]

Love the choice! Spain is a playground for cooks: smoky pimentón, fresh seafood and sherry‑vinegar tang. If you’re looking for an approachable entry, try a one‑pan arroz negra (black rice) with squid ink—it’s like paella’s goth cousin and looks stunning. Or build a tapas board: pan con tomate, jamón serrano, manchego and a quick tortilla española. Spanish cuisine is about bold flavors and communal eating, so pour a glass of Rioja and fire up some flamenco on the speakers

 

[chefross]

Love the choice! Spain is a playground for cooks: smoky pimentón, fresh seafood and sherry‑vinegar tang. If you’re looking for an approachable entry, try a one‑pan arroz negra (black rice) with squid ink—it’s like paella’s goth cousin and looks stunning. Or build a tapas board: pan con tomate, jamón serrano, manchego and a quick tortilla española. Spanish cuisine is about bold flavors and communal eating, so pour a glass of Rioja and fire up some flamenco on the speakers

Why don't YOU join in any have some fun making some of the above?

 

[counterprize]

some very humble pintxos...

 

[teamfat]

Ah, the first day of fall. Definitely a shift in the weather here in Salt Lake City, cooler and wetter than it has been. But there is still time to get into the kitchen and whip up some Spanish inspired dishes. I tried to make gambas al ajillo with chorizo ( the dried, cured kind, not the Mexican raw, fresh sausage )

It didn't work. The shrimp were seriously freezer burned, I should have tossed them out and not even tried. I overcooked the chorizo, not good. A serious disappointment, barely edible. You can see how weird the shrimp turned out. But the olive oil, from Spain, still had some decent flavor, so I did finish up the bread after sopping up some of the tasty oil.

I'll do better next time. Now let's see what you have got!

mjb.

 

[chrislehrer]

So I’ve been busy, but I did end up doing some more Spanish things.

First, I sauteed a chicken, cut in parts (the thing was enormous, which wasn’t the plan), in olive oil.

Then I fried a bunch of garlic in the same oil, rather slowly, until browned.

The chicken went back in with the garlic, and I added fresh chicken stock and a couple of bay leaves, and poached everything gently until tender.

Result: pollo al ajillo

Pretty good, but I had HUGE leftovers and wasn’t sure what to do with them.

Well, the next day I skimmed off the olive oil from the chicken and made aioli with it. Then I cut up a bunch of raw vegetables. Then I diced the chicken, added some aioli, basil, and onion. I also made a classic Caesar salad—not Spanish exactly, but it fit the bill—and served. So here you go:

Caesar salad, carrots and tomatoes with aioli, chicken salad w/aioli, supermarket pseudo-baguette, and in the corner more gazpacho Andaluz.

I still have leftover chicken, aioli, and gazpacho, so I know what I’m eating for lunch!