food & drink
For those used to doing their regular shopping in the supermarkets of the
UK it can take a liitle use to the ways of shopping in Spain. Although there
are many supermercados here on the Costa Azahar they are nowhere as sophisticated
as those in England. They range in size from the small corner stores quite
often hidden in the side and back streets of the local towns to those of
a reasonable size in the larger towns. Perhaps more excitingly perhaps are
the many open open air and covered markets providing a wide variety and
choice of fresh produce - meat, poultry, fish, vegetables, breads and pastries.
The ever changing cornucopia of stalls in the marketplaces is truly a cooks
inspiration and incentive to get busy in the kitchen. Spain is a wine drinking
country and no meal is complete without it. Refrescos is the word for cool
non alcoholic drinks includin lemonade, orangeade, cokes and other fruit
drinks. Although most tap water is quite safe most people prefer to buy
and rink bottled water - it is readily available sin gas, stll, or con gas,
fizzy. Batidos are milk shakes whilst zumos are fruit juices.
recipe of the month
Each month we shall present a new recipe for you to try. Please note that all of menus are salt free - however there is nothing to stop you adding a small amount of salt if that is your normal practice. Each one of these has been tried and tested by us - the ingredients being readily available and mode of preparation proven. So now try and enjoy:
Tortilla de Patatas
Tortilla de patatas is basically a potato omelette (about 4cm thick). It
is popular all over Spain and often served in bars as a tapa and is eaten
either hot or cold. Some people prefer to make it without the onions.
Ingredients:
• 4 medium-sized potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
• 6 eggs
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 chopped green pepper
• ¼ litre olive oil
• salt
Method:
First, heat the oil in a large frying pan and then gently fry the sliced
potatoes until almost soft, stirring from time to time so that they don’t
burn on the bottom of the pan. Add the onion and the green pepper and continue
frying until all the vegetables are soft. Drain the vegetables in a colander
to get rid of the excess oil. Beat the eggs in a bowl and season with salt
and pepper. Add the potatoes, etc. and mix well and check seasoning. Heat
a little oil in a frying pan on a moderate heat. Pour in the potatoes and
eggs and shake the frying pan from time to time so that the omelette doesn’t
stick to the bottom. Once the bottom of the omelette has set, turn the heat
down low and cover the pan. After about ten minutes, turn the omelette by
placing either a flat plate or saucepan lid on the frying pan and quickly
turning over. Gently slide the omelette back into the frying pan and continue
frying, once again shaking the pan from time to time so that it doesn’t
stick to the bottom, until it has set all the way through.
The secret of producing the perfect tortilla de patatas is to take plenty
of time gently frying the potatoes in the early stages. It is also well
worthwhile investing in the purchase of a tortilla utensil that is effectively
two frying pans that hook together this making it very easy to flip the
omelette over. Once you have made your first you can experiment by adding
somall amounts of other vegatables such as peas and pimentos.
