Tile of Cream Patamulo Cheese with Crispy Ham from Teruel

Today we will make a recipe using two of the most typical products of Aragon, specifically in the province of Teruel. Patamulo Cheese from Bajo Aragon has its heart in places like the small village of Samper de Calanda. It has a nice texture, and very distinguished tastes that is easily identified. Made by the traditional way, its curing process is from 2 to 4 months. And the Ham fromTeruel PDO is definitely the star of the products of the province, and a pride for all Aragonese and Spanish. Followers of this blog and Antonio Mata perfectly know the virtues of this excellent cured ham. Let's see how to prepare an appetizer that is a perfect combination of cheese and ham:

TILE OF CREAM PATAMULO CHEESE WITH CRISPY HAM FROM TERUEL

Photo www.elmundoiberico.com

Ingredientes:

• Ham from Teruel PDO by Antonio Mata
• 250 grams Patamulo Cheese
• Pedro Ximénez Reduction
• 2 egg whites
• 20 gr. sifted flour
• 20 gr. butter cream point
• Milk
• Cream
• Butter
• 1 pinch of salt
• Black pepper

Preparation:

To make the cream cheese Patamulo, heat it over high heat 150 ml of milk and 150 ml of cream and butter. Season with salt and black pepper. When very hot add the cheese Patamulo (previously diced) and we will remove constantly until melted. Tip, if it is too runny, let's take a little cornstarch to thicken.

To make the tiles: Preheat oven to 180 º C. Whisk the egg whites until stiff and mix hard with butter and flour until a smooth dough. Put baking paper on a tray and make mounds with the dough. They should be round and we have to crush them flat. We'll leave in the oven for about 10 minutes until golden and then remove and let cool. Meanwhile, in another pan put 3 slices of Ham from Teruel PDO by AntonioMata. We'll leave them until the texture is crunchy. Surely the ham will take longer than the tiles.

Once made the ham, chop it and mix well with the cream cheese Patamulo. To serve, we will make a ball of cream cheese and ham on each tile and add a little ham over each ball. We can add a dash of Pedro Ximénez reduction.

And that's it. This is a dish that you shall be as great chefs before your guests but not a very complicated processing. We hope you feel encouraged to try at home.

See you next Friday with more recipes and tapas!

Recipe from http://www.elmundoiberico.com/content/7-recetas-con-jamon-iberico-entrantes-primeros-platos-tapas#Canapes1

Spanish Cured Ham tapa recipe by Angela Torres: 'Teruel Sensation of Antonio Mata'

As we announced a few weeks ago, Angela Torres, one of the promises of Spanish cuisine, has participed in the Cured Ham from Teruel Tapas Contest, organized by the Control Board of Ham from Teruel (our region). Today we present the recipe of the cover made ​​with Cured Ham from Teruel by Antonio Mata (our delicious cured ham).

Angela Torres is considered a rising young star of Spanish cuisine and has a weakness for our Spanish Cured Ham Antonio Mata. Se has won some tapas contest before, and worked on several important restaurants in Spain. Now she has her own restaurant in Teruel, one of the most prominent gastronomic cities in our country. In the restaurant, she offers cutting-edge cuisine, with typical products, at a very reasonable price.

We’re lucky! She explains her tapa recipe for us:

TAPA RECIPE: TERUEL SENSATION OF ANTONIO MATA

Ingredients:

• Whole peeled tomatoes
• Sugar
• Cream cheese
• Cured Hamfrom Teruel PDO by Antonio Mata
• Puff pastry dough
• Sunflower oil
• Balsamic vinegar

Preparation:

Tomato confit: drain the tomatoes and put 3 kg of tomatoes with 1 kg of sugar, leave over low heat until it becomes jam, then let it stand and cool to start doing the cover.

In the center of the plate put some tomato. Place the cream cheese wrapped with CuredHam from Teruel PDO by Antonio Mata. All has to be wrapped with round shaped pastry. Fry it in sunflower oil, not olive, to not remove the taste. Brown on all sides (put on a plate with paper to drain).

Cut into chunks the Cured Ham from Teruel PDO by Antonio Mata. We will put in the fryer in very hot oil, and leave it to cool to stay crispy.

Put the ball of pastry already fried. Above all a little cream cheese, that will make the crispy ham sticking up. We will make a circle with balsamic as decoration, and the puff ball in the center.

This tapa is very important to do at that moment to have fresh feelings of all its products. We will have everything ready: the jam, the pastry, crispy ham made​... You just have to complete the assembly.

We hope that you dare to do it at home, because it's really delicious. And if you don’t dare to do it yourself, you know, can visit the Angela Torres restaurant in Teruel and enjoy all her tapas recipes.

Tasting Extra Virgin Olive Oil: how to do it and aspects to be considered

One of the main products of Spanish gastronomy is the so called ‘Green Gold’. The best olive oils in the world are produced in Spain, are a very healthy food (thanks to oleic acid, same as Spanish Cured Ham), and an excellent seasoning for our recipes also.

Olive oil is one of the most appreciated flavours of the world, but do we know how to tell its quality? Or appreciate the nuances of their different flavours? Here’s some small tips of how to make an olive oil tasting.

For an olive oil tasting, we must realize what aspects exactly we can rate with our senses. So, we can use the smell, sight, taste and touch. These help us in the analysis of aromas and flavours.

First of all we pour a bit of olive oil in a cup and cover it with a glass. In this way aromas are concentrated and will be easier to appreciate. After a few seconds uncover the cup and proceed to smell the oil with short breaths.

Then turn to taste it. Take a small sip of olive oil and scatter it around the mouth. We can perceive the four basic tastes (sweet, salty, sour, bitter) and the characteristic flavours of oil that we are tasting.

After that, we can evaluate the colour, fluency or feeling to the touch. You should wait more than fifteen minutes from one test to another to remove the remains of the mouth. Chewing a piece of apple a few seconds can help us. Once the tasting is made, we can ascribe different features:

Sweet touch: absence of bitter or spicy flavour.

Bitter touch: olive varieties are more bitter than others. Olive oil can be made with fresh green olives.

Green leaves: if the olive is very green and has been ground with pieces of leaves and stems, may have these nuances.

Grass: some oils remind freshly mown grass.

Fruity touch: remind the smell of fresh fruit at its peak of ripeness.

It’s also possible to perceive defects. Some of the easiest to tell are:

Sour oil: is reminiscent of vinegar.

Rancid oil: has had excessive contact with air.

Dull: oil that lost its aromas and flavours by aging or storage in places with excessive temperature. 

Sobrasada red sausage: types and recipes

Sobrasada is the most distinctive and appreciated product in the Balearic Islands. But is not unique to Mallorca, is also made in many other parts of Spain. We find three different types of Sobrasada, depending on the breed of the pig:

• ‘Porc negre’ (black pig for Spanish): from Balearic Islands
• Iberico (Iberian pig): from Extremadura, Andalusia and Castilla mainly.
• White pig: from all other parts of Spain, especially in the north (Teruel and Pyrenees).

The three types are delicious, and the taste is not too much different. The largest difference is due to the recipe. Each area, even each village, Sobrasada is made in different ways, with their own artisan and traditional methods. 

The Sobrasada looks like a sausage, because the mixture is stuffed in natural casings, but actually, the texture is more like a soft pâté. When eaten on its own, it’s usually spread on a toast with a slice of Manchego cheese. Many chefs say that Sobrasda is the best pâté in the world.

We’d love to show you how we made the Sobrasada, so here you have a homemade sobrasada recipe by now:

Ingredients:

• 2/3 of pork tenderloin
• 1/3 fatback and lard in equal proportions
• Salt
• Pepper
• Hot paprika

Preparation:

Mince the meat finely, fatback, and lard and season with salt, pepper and paprika. Fill natural casings with the mixture and cure the sausages in a cool place of about 50ºF. How long time has to be cured? Two months for thinner sausages (2 inches in diameter), four months for thicker ones (3 and 5 inches).

RECIPE: Sobrasda with beans and Spanish Cheese

Ok, four months later we have our own Sobrasada cured and ready to be eaten. How can we cook it? In a toast as stated above, or for example in the following recipe way:

Ingredients:

• 150gSobrasada
• 400g cooked white beans
• 1 small onion (diced)
• 1 garlic clove (crushed)
• 1 large tomate (pureed)
• 2-4 slicesof Spanish Cheese
• ExtraVirgin Olive Oil

Preparation:

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil in a low heat. When the onion is brown add tomato and stir all for a while. Add white beans and cook for 5 minutes. Place all into a cazuela (terracotta tray) and spread the Sobrasada on the top. Then place some Spanish Cheese slices. Grill for a few minutes and it’s ready to enjoy it.

¡Que aproveche!

A Ham from Teruel for the Champions of the Euro2012

At the start of this Euro 2012, the Regulatory Council of Ham from Teruel, publicly promised that if Spanish National team got the cup, give away a PDO Ham from Teruel to each of the 23 players. 

Last Sunday we all saw and enjoy the historic victory of Spain over Italy in the final. The large score (4-0) certified that Spain has become part of the legends of this sport. No one in history has gotten the called 'Triple Crown', winning Euro-World Cup-Euro.

Today, the Regulatory Council of Ham from Teruel, has announced that will contact the Royal Spanish Football Federation to fullfill its promise and give a delicious and certified Ham from Teruel to each player.

The relation of Ham from Teruel and Spanish football is not new and on good terms: Luis Milla, Under-21 Spanish National team coach and former Real Madrid player, was given a Ham from Teruel PDO a few months ago, also the present coach, Vicente del Bosque, received a jamon in February due to his visit to Teruel city. 

From Antonio Mata want to congratulate all members of the Spanish National team on the success achieved in the Euro2012 and make us proud of them. Thanks champions!

Spanish Chorizo: spicy red sausage

Chorizo is one of the most famous sausages of Spain. Picante (spicy) or Dulce (sweet), there are many types of Chorizo. Each region or village makes it in its own way, with different ingredients and quantities, but basically is a red pork sausage with paprika and garlic.

You can find Chorizo curado (cured) or fresco (fresh) in every store in Spain. Cured is not cooked normally, but fresh is used to accompany a lot of dishes and recipes (always grilled or fried). Many times a group of friends meet in the countryside or the beach to have a good meal cooking grilled chorizo, chuletas (pork chops), sausages, black pudding… As in the photo

There are more types of chorizo in the world:

• Portuguese chouriço: pork, fat, wine, paprika and salt. Stuffed into natural casings and slowly dried over smoke.
• Mexican chorizo: similar to fresh uncooked Spanish chorizo, it’s made from fatty pork, but you can find beef, vernison, kosher or vegan versions. Secret ingredient: chilli peppers.
• Brazilian linguiça: chouriço refers to blood sausage, and linguiça to a normal pork sausage.
• Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic: smoked, well-seasoned sausage very similar to the smoked Spanish version.
• South America: deep red colour mixture of chopped pork meat, pork fat, salt, pepper grains, cinnamon, achiote and other spices.
• Goan chouriço: Indian chorizo is a legacy of Portuguese community. It’s a deep red por sausage links made from pork, vinegar, chilli, garlic, ginger, cumin, turmenic and other spices, and is extremely hot.
• Philippines: Chorizo-making has a long tradition in the Philippines, with each region having its own speciality. This type of sausage is cured and available in the Spanish style.

But how many types of chorizo are in Spain? Well, each region, village or family has its own way to make chorizo. There are lots of different recipes. We’re going to see a few of them:

Dry Spanish Chorizo

• Cantimpalo: typical from Salamanca, Segovia and Valladolid in Castilla y Leon region.
• Pamplona: similar to Italian salami, but with less fat.
• Leon: contains a lot of garlic and its flavour is really hard. It can be cooked.
• Leon Herradura: made with the famous Pimenton de la Vera (type of Spanish paprika), normally in the shape of a horseshoe.
• Soria: Thick large brick like paprika flavoured, made from meaty chunks of pork loin.
• Blanco (White): made with pork loin, garlic and spices and white colour, similar to Italian soprassatta but with its distinctive aroma.

Semi-cured Spanish Chorizo

• Bilbao: naturally air-dried sausage made from pork and well-seasoned.
• Pirineo (Pyrenees): really hard and smoked.
• Teruel: hard spicy red sausage. Teruel is maybe the capital of chorizo and pork in Spain. Many people thinks that the best Spanish ham and sausages or chorizo come from Teruel.

One thing is sure, there are many types of chorizos and sausages, especially in Spain, and all are delicious, but the best is from Teruel: land of chorizo, Spanish ham and all kind of pork meats. 

Types of Spanish Iberico and Serrano Ham

Jamon (Spanish for ham) Iberico or Serrano is in addition to caviar,foie and black truffles, the fourth finest and valued flavour in the world, as ensuring the best chefs and experts. The exclusivity of this food, only made in some regions of Spain, perfect because of its climate, tradition and know-how, makes it one of the most sought after and asked for. A truly gourmet delight.

But, what do we know about the different kinds of Jamon? What is exactly a Jamon Iberico or a Jamon Serrano? Well, the biggest difference is in the feeding of the animals, and the types of pigs.

Mainly we can find two breeds of pigs in Spain:

Black Iberian: This legendary and select race has many qualities, including a great capacity to accumulate fat under its skin and between the muscular fibres. This is what produces the typical white streaks that make it special. It’s the only breed used to makeIberico ham. Only in some cases, pigs grow and live freely in the dehesa (meadow), where they can run and do exercise, what is perfect for the hams.

White pig: is a cross between Large White and Landrace (mother side) and Duroc breed (father side). These races allow to obtaining quality hams with low levels of dietary cholesterol (high in unsaturated fats and low in saturated fat). It’s used to make Serrano ham.

So, from the back leg of a Black Iberian pig we can make:

-        Jamon Iberico de Bellota(Spanish for acorn): is the top grade of Spanish ham. Bellota means that the pig has been fed exclusively on a diet of acorns and herbs. This feeding gives the hams a very rich flavour and smooth texture. These hams need to be cured for at least 24 months. The world most famous brand is Joselito.

-        Jamon Iberico de Recebo: the pig has been fed a mixed diet including both acorns and compound feed (cereals mainly). The hams take some flavour of the acorn, but with less intensity.

-        Jamon Iberico de Cebo: pigs raised in a compound feed diet. Anyway, the breed makes an excellent ham even without the acorn diet, with a very smooth texture and good flavour.  

And from the back leg of a White Spanish pig we can make:

-          Jamon Serrano: this indicates that the pig has grown (and the ham has been made) in a mountain range, so is used to indicate a wide range of hams. The salting and curing process is the same as for the Iberico ham, but usually for less time. Flavours range from mild and full flavoured, excellent as well. Jamon Serrano is the staple of most Spanish families and restaurants and accounts for 90% of ham production in Spain.

-          Jamon from Teruel: this refers to a PDO (Protected Designation of Origin by EU Authorities) type of ham made exclusively in Teruel, a region with perfect conditions, including climate, for raising pigs and curing process. Jamon from this area has an special flavour, highly valued and appreciated by top Spanish chefs, who often use it in their recipes and restaurants. PDO Council lays down rules that ensure the high quality of this ham. There are really strict rules for growth and feeding pigs, for the curing process, even for the altitude (800 m.a.s.l.) and the geographical area at which the hams are to be made. There are many brands and small companies of Jamon from Teruel, but undoubtedly, the most recognized for its quality and special flavour is Antonio Mata.

And what is a Paleta? Simple: a Jamon is made from the back leg of a pig. The Paleta or Paletilla is made from the front leg (shoulder cut). Obviously the Jamon has more meat than the Paleta because the size difference, as it’s smaller (but less expensive).

We hope helped to tell the different types of Jamon and its qualities for your next purchase.