Sobrasada and Honey

Sobrasada, the Mallorcan sausage...

Sobrasada is one of those unique delights from Spain which is still relatively undiscovered. Unique in both flavour and its somewhat strange appearance the sobrasada sausage is enjoyed all over Spain and goes exceptionally well with - Honey.

In fact its almost criminal not to have sobrasada with honey! The two flavours go so well together that there are not that many recipes out there for this sausage. Staying with the honey theme here we have one of the simplest sobrasada recipes available with an added twist of fruit...



Take one french stick and cut into slices and toast.

Spread a good portion of sobrasada on top of each toast.

Drizzle with honey.

Slice up a ripe kiwi fruit and place on top.

Serve and enjoy, a very Summery Spanish breakfast.

Serrano Ham and Cheese

Serrano ham and Manchego cheese - perfect tapas? Well we think so although accompanied by a good red wine really does compliment the duo quite nicely!

Not that often we write a promotional post on this blog but for the benefit of our readers in the EU we thought this would be something worth letting you know about...

Meet the Serrano Ham "Anejo" translation into English roughly means "Aged". This ham is cured for no less than 24 months, weighs in at 8 kilos + and boasts a fabulous texture, flavour and aroma. One of the finest artisan hams from Granada.



So why the big fuss? Well, if you haven't visited our online Spanish Delicatessen yet the Anejo currently has 10% off its usual website price but that's not all...

Throughout the summer of 2009 the Serrano Ham Anejo also comes with a wheel of mixed milk Spanish cheese for your enjoyment - absolutely FREE! The cheese itself is a mixture of cows and ewes milk - perfect for tapas and a fine accompaniment to the grand reserva "jamon". What makes this offer even more attractive is that the cheese is a substantial 1.8 kilo's - a decent round of cheese that will accompany the ham from the first slice to the last. Tapas Perfection!



Take advantage of this fantastic offer and visit Orce Serrano Hams and have a browse through our Spanish ham and embutidos pages.

Serrano Ham Anejo


Need Ham Tapas Ideas? Discover more >>>

Serrano Ham Pieces

Serrano ham pieces are great if you don't need a full ham, they are of course boneless, easy to carve and unlike full leg serrano hams can be kept in the fridge. Looking after your ham piece is very simple and much the same as a full ham - simply rub a little olive oil over the most recently cut area, cover with a ham sock (tea towel works just as well) and place in the fridge for next time.



...If you have a friendly local butcher why not trade a few slices and get them to machine cut some of you ham piece, wafer thin slices with a nice Manchego and bottle or red...lovely!



Recipe: Serrano Ham and Pear Salad

Ingredients

100g Mixed salad leaves
1 Pear (sliced)
30g Toasted almonds (chopped)
Good splash extra virgin olive oil
Splash white wine vinegar
300g Serrano ham
100g Manchego cheese
Broad leaf parsley (chopped)

Method

Mix the pear almonds and salad leaves in a large cazuela.

Whisk together the olive oil and vinegar, add to the salad and toss.

Cut your serrano ham into inch long (approx) slivers and spread around the salad with the cheese.

Scatter with parsley.

Lemon Baked Bacalao

This Spanish cod recipe is very easy to make and great at any time, a typical Spanish summer dish packed with flavour, this dish is often served in the restaurants in and around Orce village.

Ingredients:

Half kilo of fresh cod
Large knob of butter
Flour
Salt & pepper
Paprika
2 Tablespoons lemon juice



How to cook:

Melt the butter in a cazuela and add the lemon juice.

Mix salt, pepper and flour.

Cut the fish into large pieces and dip into the butter before coating with flour.

Place the fish into another cazuela adding the rest of the melted butter then sprinkle with paprika.

Bake in the oven on a medium heat for 30 minutes.

Serve with patatas bravas and/or salad with good olive oil.

Recipe for Dogfish

This Basque style Dogfish recipe is quick and easy making it ideal for a family supper. The garlic and chili really add something special to this succulent, meaty fish.



You will need:

4 thick Dogfish fillets (skin and bone removed)
4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
200ml extra virgin olive oil
Good handfull fresh parsley, chopped
salt
1 small hot red chili, chopped




Method

1. Clean the fish under cold running water, pat dry and sprinkle with salt. Set aside for about an hour.
2. Heat the olive oil in an earthenware cazuela and gently cook half of the garlic until golden, then add the fish, parsley and the rest of the garlic.
3. Add the chili (according to your taste)shake the cazuela, to prevent the fish from sticking and turn down the heat.
4. Cook gently for around 20 minutes depending on the thickness of the steaks, shaking the dish from time to time.
5. when cooked, the fish will be firm and white and still soft and tender in the middle.
Serve in the cazuela with boiled new potatoes and a green salad.

Spanish Pancetta

Spanish pancetta is one of those cured meats that tends to get overlooked, the equivilent to belly pork pancetta is also quite often mildly cured in Spain. It can be used in soups and stews and indeed is a key ingredient in the famous Fabada Asturian recipe from the North of Spain.



Cured pancetta has a wonderful flavour and favourite way to cook it in Andalucia is to lightly fry it in olive oil, flavoursome tapas and a nice breakfast alternative.

Cola Cao Free Gifts

The Spanish drink "Cola Cao" has been around for decades - there was even a song named after it so in a way its one of Spain's most famous products. Cola Cao have various offers on their chocolate drink from time to time but there is always a freebie with the big 3kg boxes. The latest being an air disc...



It might just be me getting a little older :) but discs that flew in the air when I was a child were the standard and now very collectable "frisbies" Air discs? It wasn't until I had to blow it up did I realise how enormous these things were. Throw them into a light wind and they hang around like a UFO for an extraordinary length of time. Great Fun.

I think the current Cola Cao offer is glow in the dark vibration drumsticks or suchlike, bit loud perhaps...anyway if you would like to buy the famous Spanish Cola Cao pop into our Chocolate page and if you need the 3kg box with crazy free gift drop us an email.

Spanish Lamb Recipe

Barbequed lamb is a real treat and can be marinaded in many ways, this particular marinade is best left for at least three hours to infuse all those flavours. For this recipe we have a leg of lamb cut into steaks with the bone remaining in the centre. Great flavour and an easy summer barbeque recipe.



Ingredients:

1 Leg of Lamb (cut into steaks)
Fresh Mint (roughly chopped)
1 Onion (grated)
1 Garlic clove (crushed)
100g Butter
Dry mustard
Ground black pepper

Cooking:

Prepare the barbeque and get a nice "brasa"

Prepare by rubbing the meat with the dry mustard, grated onion and garlic.

Mix your butter with a little onion and garlic, add pepper and gently heat into a sauce then add the mint leaves and simmer for 2 minutes.

Place the lamb on the barbeque and baste with the sauce while cooking.

The key to the cooking is that the barbeque coals are just right, not too hot and with cooking time only around 10 minutes the basting of the meat can be generous. For more traditional Spanish barbeque ideas visit the Orce Serrano Hams recipe pages.

Happy Barbequeing!

Spanish Summer

Well its here, 87 degrees yesterday and then Granada had a big thunderstorm to clear the air and water the garden. Some interesting wildlife in the garden this year...

Tapas in many parts of the world perhaps but I wouldn't fancy this big feller on the bbq!



Ingredients for salad...



Chicken BBQ marinades, be adventurous!



..and something cool in the shade, horchata, perfect



Mountains of summer recipes coming up on here and in our recipe bank