Cooking with "Tapas" by Jose Andres

[Chinorlz]

Bechamel (and bits of serrano) filled croquetas are served regularly at what I believe is the finest tapas restaurant I have ever eaten at here in Boston. It's called Taberna De Haro. They seem to sell quite a few of these croquetas and don't make them any other way.

Could I trouble someone to post the ingredients/instructions for the chicken &garlic with chanterelles? That's a dish that I NEED to make!

Great thread guys.

I made the squid w/onion and bay leaves last night along with a finely diced serrano/artichoke hearts dish for dinner. Mmm, homemade tapas!

[Dorine]

I was generally accustomed to eating bechamel-filled croquettes when I lived in Spain, but mostly in priovate homes. I generally chose other things at tapas bars so can't speak to them.

I love the bechamel-filled croquettes--and agree with the person who mentioned that they have to be hot enough.

[Pontormo]

I made an excessive amount of bechamel last night for something different. Wish I had remembered the croquettes and reserved it.

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Just wanted to say Mark (see, your name is first) and Rochelle were right: the sofrito goes well with the TORTILLA DE PATATAS. Now, I need to figure out what else to do with the sauce with ingredients I have at home.

I also liked this recipe, but admit I had the same problem I experience from time to time with recipes that call for smoking hot pans. Whenever I read Bill Buford talk about how hot the stoves are in restaurant kitchens or I see the high flames on macho cooking shows, I keep wondering what it is that makes their food brown slightly, caramelize or sear instead of burn. Is it the copper bottom on my pan that gives me different results?

I waited until the olive oil smoked to plop in my potato, onion and egg mixture, adding a fourth egg to half the recipe just because I went a little too happy on the onion. The edges immediately became scalloped (you know, like a girly collar or old-fashioned ornate candy dish at Aunt Bertha's house) and seized up before I started to shake the mixture into place in the pan. I ended up flipping it over a little prematurely for fear of burning the tortilla. End result was fine, but browner than I would have liked.

The first time I heard about Spanish tortillas was when I was making my way through a now classic vegetarian cookbook by Anna Thomas. Over the years I somehow developed the notion that they were basically the same as frittatas. However, Jose Andres, at least, employs a much different method. Once I find my way past the Fearing of Burning, I certainly would be able to appreciate the quicker cooking time.

FYI: A Tuscan contorno went beautifully with the tortilla since I ate the latter as a main course. A farmer from West Virginia has been bringing these exquisite little French string beans to the market. After blanching my lot, I sauteed them slowly in olive oil with slivers of garlic and lots of salt, adding a little more water now and again, until they turned an unappetizing Army green and some of them pulled apart. Trust me.

[percyn]

Hot Spring Egg & White Asparagus - 2nd Attempt

Cooked Eggs at 63 C for 1 hr

This time I mixed the pureed asparagus and aioli along with chives and herbs

And the Yolk was nice and runny - though it continues to cook when removed from a water bath and chilled, so move quickly.

Turned out much better than 1st attempt.

[BryanZ]

Theoretically if you're holding it at 63C it shouldn't have any carryover cooking. I have noticed for some reason, however, that the longer the eggs are in the bath, say over 1.5 hours, the less runny and more pasty they become. I'm not sure if that's a result of having an inaccurate bath or something else.

Nice dish though, Percy.

[docsconz]

Hot Spring Egg & White Asparagus - 2nd Attempt

Cooked Eggs at 63 C for 1 hr

This time I mixed the pureed asparagus and aioli along with chives and herbs

And the Yolk was nice and runny - though it continues to cook when removed from a water bath and chilled, so move quickly.

Turned out much better than 1st attempt.

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Percy, a thing of beauty.

[BryanZ]

I quickly threw together the potato chip tortilla today to surprisingly good results. I used Archer Farms (Target brand) kettle cooked sea salt and black pepper chips about six eggs. Came together quite well, I must say. A pleasantly tasty surprise and soo easy.

[docsconz]

I quickly threw together the potato chip tortilla today to surprisingly good results.  I used Archer Farms (Target brand) kettle cooked sea salt and black pepper chips about six eggs.  Came together quite well, I must say.  A pleasantly tasty surprise and soo easy.

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It is a good dish. While I wouldn't say it is superior to the traditional version, it is much easier and a good alternative when the traditional can't work.

[BryanZ]

Seriously all I had were eggs and potato chips. It was meant to be.

[Jose Andres]

Seriously all I had were eggs and potato chips.  It was meant to be.

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I think the combination works!

José

[Jose Andres]

You don't know how happy you make me seeing this discussion! I love to see the fotos of your dishes! This week I will be on e-gullet doing a chat http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showforum=245

Come talk to me!

[markemorse]

Bummer: due to "real world" commitments, I completely missed the conversation with Jose...nonetheless--fantastic that that kind of thing can happen here, and thanks to Jose for participating....

The revelation that some people weren't using pimenton in their preparations of these recipes was interesting (though I completely understand the difficulties of sourcing "exotic" ingredients), b/c to me it's one of the fundamental taste elements of the cookbook in general. I mean, these days I think my copy of the book even smells like pimenton (due to page-turning while cooking)!

The book also brought into focus another ingredient that I'd never really "gotten" til now: bay leaves. Maybe i'd never had fresh enough bay leaves before, but they never really seemed to have any discernable effect when I used them. The ones I've used to cook out of this book with, however, are a revelation, especially in the tomato-based recipes like sofrito. Amazing!

So, I'm curious....is anyone else experiencing any ingredient epiphanies here (other than potato chips )?

mark

Edited October 23, 2006 by markemorse (log)

[BryanZ]

Potato chips aside, I just recently found pimenton, at Target of all places. I'd searched Wegmans, a few Whole Foods locations, and several gourmet boutiques to no avail.

It appears that McCormick has just come out with Spanish smoked paprika. I can't vouch for the quality but it sure is smokey. It also has a nice depth of flavor Hungarian hot paprika doesn't. I cooked with it recently to add some deeper flavor chords to a vegetarian dish I was doing and it turned out very well.

So those who can't find pimenton, head to your local Super Target.

[Pontormo]

Interesting, Bryan!

I must have mentioned this elsewhere, but I finally found pimenton at Whole Foods fairly recently, offered in sweet, bittersweet and hot flavors. The employees of each store get to chose what products they will carry, so make a cheerful noise. The number of Spanish items are slowly starting to expand here in the city where José Andres makes his mark. I am not sure if that is the connection, though. The number of Spanish items have been growing over the years, beginning with almonds to a few more cheeses, orange blossom honey, a few more wines...

To answer Mark's question, the one ingredient that really has proven to be a revelation is Spanish chorizo since I have never cooked with it before. Serrano ham does not have that effect since it is so close to prosciutto crudo, at least as far as my tongue's memory goes.

[docsconz]

For those who may be looking for pimenton or other Spanish ingredients and having difficulty finding them, the single best source in the US that I know of is tienda.com.

[markemorse]

La Tienda looks better than ever, new website and everything. I noticed they've got the Ortiz stuff prominently displayed...if anyone is placing an order with La Tienda you might consider adding some Ortiz Bonito del Norte or ventresca to your order if you've never tried it before...it's a completely revelatory canned tuna experience! It's pricey (actually quite a bit pricier than here in Holland), but if you're a tuna lover you owe it to yourself...

mark

Edited October 24, 2006 by markemorse (log)

[docsconz]

La Tienda looks better than ever, new website and everything. I noticed they've got the Ortiz stuff prominently displayed...if anyone is placing an order with La Tienda you might consider adding some Ortiz Bonito del Norte or ventresca to your order if you've never tried it before...it's a completely revelatory canned tuna experience! It's pricey (actually quite a bit pricier than here in Holland), but if you're a tuna lover you owe it to yourself...

mark

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Agreed.

[Dorine]

La Tienda looks better than ever, new website and everything. I noticed they've got the Ortiz stuff prominently displayed...if anyone is placing an order with La Tienda you might consider adding some Ortiz Bonito del Norte or ventresca to your order if you've never tried it before...it's a completely revelatory canned tuna experience! It's pricey (actually quite a bit pricier than here in Holland), but if you're a tuna lover you owe it to yourself...

mark

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Agreed.

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Totally agreed! I've been happily ordering from tienda.com for nearly a decade when I first heard about it through a Spanish teachers' e-group. Everything has arrived well and in perfect condition! It's the only place I know in the US to get horchata de chufas!

[percyn]

I recently ordered this from La Tienda

including Iberico Chorizo and a regular verity of picante Chorizo (which is much better than the D'artgnan I usually source from)

I haven't tried the Iberico chorizo yet, but plan to during Thanksgiving.

[Dorine]

I recently ordered this from La Tienda

including Iberico Chorizo and a regular verity of picante Chorizo (which is much better than the D'artgnan I usually source from)

I haven't tried the Iberico chorizo yet, but plan to during Thanksgiving.

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I like Cantimpalos best, and wish it were available here. I miss it!

[Marc Olson]

A couple of weeks ago I got the urge to make paella, and that led to an onslaught of Spanish cookbooks, including "Tapas", by far the most beautiful of the several I purchased.

Yesterday I made (from several cookbooks): peppers stuffed with veal, turkey/chantrelle/truffle croquettes and from 'Tapas' the Chicken and Garlic.

As I read through the Chicken and Garlic recipe I was surprised by the total cooking time in the text of approximately 10 minutes total for the wings. I followed the other steps in the recipe but in the end the wings were in the pan for about 50 minutes, browning alongside the 'cracked but not peeled' cloves. During the last 20 minutes I added the sherry, stock and herbs and let everything reduce.

Since the meal was a 'Sunday cook, Monday eat' proposition around school logistics we didn't eat the wings until tonight, reheated in a closed casserole until hot.

They were fantastic!

We have leftovers that I plan to reheat tomorrow under the broiler and then 'finish' with the reserved olive oil/sherry/stock glaze.

The croquettes that I made also turned out great. I made them following a recipe from "The New Spanish Table" that called for a meat filling to be mixed with a bechamel and then chilled (at least 3 hours). I chilled overnight and then formed spoonfuls of batter rolled in flour to shape, then dipped in egg followed by panko. Cooked for 8 minutes at 350 in the deep fryer and allowed too cool they were splendid.

I'm looking forward to trying other recipes in "Tapas"; unfortunate that the timing on the first dish I tried didn't seem to have gone through the 'recipe test'. I could see deep frying wings for 10 minutes, the saute method with garlic in the pan seemed to need more time than suggested by the recipe.

[Nina C.]

An indulgent trip to Despana means I have the ingredients for Fabada. When I did a search for a recipe, this article on Tapas by Jose Andres came up. Can someone who has the book take a look and see how Food & Wine modified it? Or if anyone is familiar with Fabada, I'd appreciate suggestions!

Thanks.

[Dorine]

I learned how to make fabada asturiana in Spain some 35 years ago and have been making it from memory ever since. Looked at the link to JA's recipe and noticed a couple of things to coment on.

1. He doesn't use morcilla (blood sausage). Neither do I, for two reasons. First, I don't like it; don't like eating blood anything. Second, it is unavailable where I live, and if not here, unlikely available anywhere in the US except perhaps tienda.com or in NYC.

2. He adds onion, not in the recipe I was taught.

3. He uses different forms of pork than I do (see below).

I went to cocinavino.com to check recipes there (this site is based in Spain and in Spanish only; also uses only metric measures). Like JA's, all the recipes offered there are made with white beans (fabes in Asturiano, or habas blancas in Spanish). JA's entire head of garlic is in line with the entire heads called for in recipes there. The pimentón, saffron and chorizo afree with those recipes. Spanish recipes also call for punta de jamón (tip from jamón serrano) and and lacón (a boiling type ham similar to ours from Galicia and Asturias), both of which I always use when making fabada here. The bacon is not in the recipes there; the ham hock is in a minority of them. The pimentón and saffron JA calls for are part of what I learned and the cocinvino.com recipes.

Hope this helps.

[Daniel]

I just got my shipment from tienda thanks to the fine people on this board. I bought a couple pound bag of there paella rice a few types of paprika, pickled garlic, almonds, and a really pretty looking olive oil.. I am highly considering purchasing a leg and a holder for Xmas Even Dinner. Has anyone had an experience with buying whole legs from them...

[BekkiM]

As I read through the Chicken and Garlic recipe I was surprised by the total cooking time in the text of approximately 10 minutes total for the wings.  I followed the other steps in the recipe but in the end the wings were in the pan for about 50 minutes, browning alongside the 'cracked but not peeled' cloves.  During the last 20 minutes I added the sherry, stock and herbs and let everything reduce. 

Since the meal was a 'Sunday cook, Monday eat' proposition around school logistics we didn't eat the wings until tonight, reheated in a closed casserole until hot.

They were fantastic!

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That's exactly what I thought! I too cooked them for more like 45 minutes, then let them cool in their juices so they were more easily transportable to my "competition" and reheated them in a 300F oven. Did something similar the second time I made them, only that time I planned ahead to let them sit overnight and I think it made a huge difference in the flavor.

When I made them the third time, they weren't quite as good and I think it was because I forgot I had brined them for 30 minutes or so the first two times in 1/4 cup salt, 1/4 cup sugar in ~1 quart of water.