Author: Kev

Written by

Irene Solino

Published on

29 June 2022

Pisto de verduras

Pisto is the Spanish version of the Ratatouille. It is a dish of stewed fresh vegetables. The key is good quality olive oil and fresh, seasonal vegetables. Pisto is originally from the Murcia region of Spain but can be found in the rest of the country with different adaptations. It’s a fantastic vegetable dish for those following a Paleo/Whole30/gluten-free or vegetarian/vegan diets. It is a simple dish but beautifully rich and colourful and full of flavour.

 

 

 

 

Elaboration method

 

1# Preparation

 

Dice all the vegetables in separated containers.

 

2# Tomato sauce

 

We always cook our meals with homemade tomato relish, it is more work but ultimately worth it. If you don’t have time you can use any tomato sauce you like. My preference is for a more rustic juicy sauce, so I use a food mill, and don’t peel, take the seeds or use a blender. But if you have a favourite recipe for your tomato sauce, just use it and skip this first step.

 

Diced the tomatoes. Put in a medium pot 4 tablespoons of Extra virgin olive oil. Add the tomatoes. Bring to a lively bubble, uncovered, and cook 40 minutes (now on a medium heat), or until the sauce is thick and reduced by half. Stir often, watching for sticking. Remove the pan from the heat and put the salt adjusting to your preference. Use a food mill with the tomato sauce.

 

3# Sauté

 

Some pisto recipe cooks each vegetable separately, but if you don’t have time, just do it as a one pan meal adding the ingredients in different moments.

Put a frying pan on a medium heat and add a good splash of oil. Add the garlic. Sauté until starting to “dance”. Add the onion and sauté until they start to turn transparent.  Add the peppers and cook over medium heat for 12-14 minutes, until well softened. Add the zucchini and cook 4 minutes. Add the tomate relish and cook together for 30 minutes, covered with a lid. Stir a few times and adjust salt if need it.

 

Delicious all by itself but you can add a stack of toasted sourdough for dunking, fried or poached egg.

 

For more delicious Spanish winter recipes, check our partners blog from Eat Spanish.

Written by

Chef Pepe

Published on

8 April 2022

Hola Chef Pepe (Eric Garcia)

Chef Pepe (Eric Garcia) was born in Barcelona, but his family moved to Madrid when he was five years old. Two very different cities, one curious young man.

 

Eric began his career in hospitality at the age of 13, and it did not take long for him to discover his passion for food in the busy life of a restaurant kitchen. His formative years in elite culinary schools in Madrid shaped his technical skills while working in the catering and hospitality industry for several years.

 

Pepe’s deep connection with food runs in his blood. He fondly recalls family lunches that always rolled into dinner during the summertime in Asturias, a region renowned for its superb seafood and celebrated gastronomy. His grandfather, also a chef, inspired him deeply, while other family members taught him the value of fresh produce and traditional farming from the ground up.

 

It comes as no surprise Chef Pepe’s approach to food is simple: healthy food cooked to perfection and served for the enjoyment of family and friends. The heart of traditional Spanish gastronomy at its finest: exceptional produce, like legumes, meat, fish and vegetables with lashings of olive oil.

 

When it comes to life and food is, for Chef Pepe, it’s all about balance: Living in the present, enjoying family moments and witnessing his children grow healthy. A mindset that he translates into his business, cooking fresh and hearty food that makes people feel happy.

 

Chef Pepe believes the future of food lies in supporting local producers, cooking with native ingredients, and adopting sustainable practices that preserve the natural environment – acting locally, thinking globally!

 

Do you want to experience the best Spanish tapas food experience? Get in touch with us to organise your perfect catering event!

 

Salud!

 

Written by

Pepe Garcia

Published on

3 February 2022

Braised Oxtail with Potatoes

Today I’m going to teach you how to cook a delicious and hearty Braised Oxtail with Potatoes recipe that my mom used to cook for our entire family back in Spain. For this recipe we are going to need a pressure cooker and a bit of time, but it’s very easy. Are you ready to surprise your family and friends with a traditional Spanish dish? Let’s go!

 

Ingredients:

 

  • 3 Kg Beef Oxtail
  • 4 Tomatoes
  • 3 Onion
  • Rosemary
  • Pinch of Black Pepper
  • 3 Bay Leaf
  • 200 gr Plain Flour
  • 1 Bottle red wine
  • 1 Leek
  • 1 Kg Potatoes
  • 3 Carrots
  • Thyme
  • Pinch of Claves
  • Olive Oil
  • 100 gr White wine

 

Elaboration Method

 

  • Peel the Onion and Carrot and dice cut them very small alongside with the leek
  • On the pressure cooker, add a bit of olive oil to sautéed the veggies
  • In the meantime, in another pan, flour and season the oxtail, seal in the hot pan and put it inside the pressure cooker.
  • Once the veggies are soft, add the oxtail to the pressure cooker, make a bouquet with the spices and put in on the pressure cooker with the tomato. Cover with water and cook it for one and half hours.
  • In another pot, pour the entire the red wine bottle and boil it until caramelised. Be careful don’t burn the wine!
  • Once the pressure cooker is done (1.5 hrs), take off the oxtail and blend the stock.
  • After you finish blending the stock, add it into the pot where the caramelised red wine is and add the oxtail.
  • Cook it for another hour.
  • In the meantime, peel the potatoes and cut into wedges, place them in water.
  • In another pan, add olive oil and when is in 146 degrees add the potatoes and cook them until brown and crunchy outside and massy inside.
  • Listo! We have our delicious Braised Oxtail ready to eat.

 

Video

 

Have a look at the video for the Braised Oxtail with Potatoes full cooking class.

 

 

Enjoy amigos!

Written by

Pepe Garcia

Published on

27 January 2022

Wonderful Paella Journey

Often people think that Spanish food it’s just about tapas, jamon and Croquetas. Fortunately, that’s not true. It’s so much more! Let us take you to a wonderful Paella Journey, where we will show you all about the different types of paellas and maybe even convince you why you should have this delicious dish at your next catered event.

Let’s start with the Original Paella, that was born in Valencia, East Coast of Spain. Here the Paella is most commonly made with chicken and pork. Sometimes they use rabbit, but is something that I call ‘an acquired taste’, because it’s not for everyone (we think it’s great!).

Chef Pepe Garcia
Chef Pepe with a delicious Seafood Paella

Then we have the Paella mixta; which is a mixture between the Valenciana and the Seafood. The main ingredients are meat, chicken and seafood.

When it comes to fresh and unique flavours, there’s the Famous Seafood Paella – it usually contains prawns, calamari, mussels and other seafood depending on what’s available. What about the vegetarians?! We do have an option for our herbivore friends. The vegetarian Paella contains mostly all fresh seasonal produce and lots of mushrooms; they make the Paella softer and super tasty. Pepe has his secret recipe to make the Vegetarian Paella incredibly yummy.

 
Chicken Chorizo Paella
Our Delicious Chicken Chorizo Paella

So why have Paella at your next catered event? Paella is party food! Whether it’s a relaxed Sunday session, a wedding, engagement or birthday party its food that is easily shared and enjoyed, plus, with all of the different styles of Paella described above, you can be sure that you can cater to all dietary requirements.