Potty for Potaje ?

There are many Spanish dishes that I’ve fallen in love with since living in Spain, and Spanish potaje is one of my favourites.

Potage has its origins in the medieval cuisine of Northern France (from Old French pottage; "potted dish") European cottage gardens often contained a variety of crops grown together. These were called potage gardens by the French, as the harvest from that garden was used to make potage.

Potaje refers to the base of the stew which usually is always made with water, onion, garlic and garbanzos (chickpeas).  Often this dish is called “potaje de garbanzos” or even “potaje de vigilia” (meaning potaje of abstinence or vigil) as it is typically made without meat and during lent to be eaten on Fridays – a time when the Catholics do not eat meat. The Spanish potaje is varied, depending on the region, so there are different versions of this soup all over Spain. Chorizo,(paprika pork sausage),Morcilla (black pudding), lentils and Bacalao (salted cod) are all typical ingredients used in it.
It’s a hardy, healthy dish that is especially perfect for the cold days of winter (and apparently the cold, early days of Spring as well!). Even better, like most all stews, it keeps well and tastes more delicious with each day!

 Potaje de garbanzos y Espinacas
Chickpea and Spinach soup

Ingredients
250 grams of dried chickpeas
1 onion, spiked with 1 bay leaf and 2 cloves.
2 carrots, peeled.
500 grams of baby spinach.
1 onion, finely chopped.
2 tablespoons of olive oil.
1 teaspoon mild paprika.
2 slices of white bread.
4 eggs. (optional)
Salt and pepper.

Method
Soak the chickpeas overnight in plenty of water. On the next day add some salt, the spiked onion and the carrots to the soaking water. Pour on enough water to cover all the ingredients. Bring to a boil and leave to simmer for 40 minutes.

Sweat the onion and garlic in the olive oil. Sprinkle on the paprika add the pre-washed spinach and cook for a short time. Remove the onion and carrots from the chickpeas and take out the cloves and bay leaf. Mash the carrots and onion in a mortar with the white bread.

Combine with the chickpeas and add the spinach mixture. Continue to cook for 10-15 minutes and season to taste with salt and pepper. Divide the soup between four oven safe dishes. If you fancy the egg version, break an egg into each soup and leave to set in a preheated oven at 200 celsius.

If you are planning a casual gathering, it also works well served in small bowls as a tapas.



Empanadillas

Empanadas or empanadillas (smaller versions) are in, Spain, Portugal, the Caribbean, Latin America, and the Philippines, essentially a stuffed pastry. 

The name comes from the Spanish verb 'empanar' meaning to wrap or coat in bread.

Usually the empanada is made by folding a thin circular-shaped peice of dough over the stuffing, creating its typical semicircular shape. Empanadas are also known by a wide variety of regional names.

Most cultures have some sort of traditional "pocket" or meat pie food making it a portable and hearty meal for working people

It's quite simple -- they're very portable, easy to make and, of course, they don't have to be meaty.

Empanadillas de Atun

Ingredients for the pastry

Traditional shape for empanadillas

Ready to start filling the pastry

The filling - tuna, anchovies and egg

Now for the tricky bit.......

Ready for the oven

........and the result!

Tuna empanadillas (Makes about 15)

Pastry
135 grm plain flour
50 grm butter or margarine
2 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese, grated
¼ teaspoon salt
1 egg
water

Filling
1small onion, chopped
2 sticks of celery, chopped
2 carrots, diced
100 grm tuna, flaked
I tin anchovies
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 large red pepper, thinly sliced
2 hard-boiled egg, chopped
Pinch paprika
2 garlic cloves, chopped

Method
Mix salt into flour and rub in butter as for short crust pastry. Work egg and cheese into mixture to make a dough, using a little water if necessary. Knead lightly, cover with clingfilm and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Soften onion, celery, carrot and red pepper in oil and add garlic. Cook for a couple of minutes, then add tomato and paprika. Cook until the vegetables are soft. Place mixture to one side to cool. Add chopped egg, tuna and anchovies to the cooled mixture.

Roll out pastry thinly, cutting into 3” diameter rounds with a cutter or glass, 1 tsp or so of mixture in the centre of each round, then fold in half, expelling the air and crimping with your fingers. Place on a non-stick tray in a pre-heated of at 200 for 20 mins. Serve at room temparture or cold with a glass of chilled Amontillado.

Recipe of the day by Lorraine Rimmer



Carrots and chillies painted in Acrylic



Carrot and chilli soup

serves two

Ingredients

4 large carrots

1 red chilli

500ml chicken stock

1 med onion

2 cloves garlic

Tablespoon olive oil

Coriander

Method

Heat the oil in a pan until hot, fry the onion, garlic and chilli for 2 mins – or until soft.

Add the sliced carrot and fry for a further minute

Add chicken stock and cook until the carrots are soft.

Remove veg with a slotted spoon and place in blender. Blend until smooth.

Return to the stock and season to taste.

Add a bunch of chopped coriander just before serving.

Scoville Chart

Wondering how to rate the heat level of various types of chile peppers?

Peppers are rated based on Scoville Units, a method developed by Wilbur Scoville in 1912. The original method used human tasters to evaluate how many parts of sugar water it takes to neutralize the heat. Nowadays human tasters are spared and a new process called HPLC, or High Performance Liquid Chromotography measures the amount of capsaicinoids (capsaicin) in parts per million. Capsaicin is the compound that gives chiles their heat. The chart below rates chile peppers, with 0 being mildest and 10 highest heat