Chorizo with prawns

As we promised last Wednesday, today we are going to tell you how to make one of the most appetizing tapas recipes: Chorizo with prawns.

You know that chorizo is a spicy cured sausage, typically Spanish, so this recipe is going to be quite hot.

Photo: http://bit.ly/QqS5qU

Ingredients: 

• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 tablespoon olive oil (we recommed Spanish oil)
• 300g Spanish Chorizo by Antonio Mata
• Coarse salt (or sea salt)
• 50ml dry sherry 
• 8 medium-sized prawns 
• 2 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Preparation: 

First of all heat a frying pan (you can use a terracotta casserole as well) until medium hot. Add the olive oil and sliced garlic for 1 minute. Cut crosswise the chorizo into 1cm chunks. Then add the pieces and fry for 2 minutes, until chorizo is sweating.

Peel the prawns and add them to the pan with a bit of coarse salt. Fry for 3 minutes (until prawns get pink). Finally add a good splash of sherry and reduce it.

Add chopped fresh parsley and a bit of coarse salt. This type of salt enhaces the flavors, especially in sea food.

That's it! See you next Wednesday with new tapas recipes and Spanish gastronomy. 

New hand carved Spanish Ham from Teruel PDO and Iberico Ham by Antonio Mata

We are pleased to announce a new product in our Antonio Mata stores and online store www.antoniomata.com. It's a very special product for us:

Hand carved Spanish Ham, our loved and recognized Ham from Teruel PDO by Antonio Mata carved by the best master carver in Spain, Miguel Angel Abril. As you know, ham taste better when is properly sliced.

Also, we have done the same with our delicious Acorn-fed Iberico Ham by Antonio Mata, sliced by Miguel Angel Abril as well.

You can find 3 different weights: 80 gr., 90 gr. and 100 gr. trays. Always in a vacuum packaging, for a better preservation.

These hand carved Spanish Jamon trays are perfect for events, parties, restaurants, etc. You will impress your guests surely. Also is really easy to serve, so you only have to open the pack and enjoy the best ham from Spain. Serrano from Teruel or Iberico, Antonio Mata always offers you the best gourmet products in our stores and www.antoniomata.com.  

The Hand-carved ham trays will be available at our stores and on www.antoniomata.com really soon. We'll keep you informed!!

¡Que aproveche!

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. 

Spanish foods: Cheese from Zamora

Spain has a long tradition of producing cheese. Many cheeses are made in Spain, some of them are internationally renowned, and also there are many PDO. Throughout the entire country there is a wide variety of cheeses made from the milk of cows, goats and sheep. Some of them are manufactured from single types of milk of sheep, goat or cow and a few are mixtures of different milks.

There is a huge variation in the presentation of the cheeses, from the hard, dark-skinned, to the soft, small and tender. The cheeses are made in a wide variety of styles including fresh, matured, semi-matured, and from different types of milk such as pasteurised, unpasteurised or creamy. Therefore, some of them are inoculated with moulds to make blue varieties.

We are going to analyze and describe some characteristics of each producing area in different posts, but today we want to talk about Cheese from Castilla y Leon, the largest region of Spain.

Castilla y Leon is one of the oldest regions of Spain, as it was from where it started the Spanish reconquest in the Middle Ages. Many products are made on the traditional way. Its cuisine is based on roast and cooked meats, most notably roast lamb, black pudding (morcilla), legumes, the humble and great garlic soup, and red, rosé, claret and white PDO wines.

But definitely, there are two notably foods in this area: Jamon and Cheese. Specifically cheese from Zamora, a province of Castilla y Leon, is really known. This is a hard cheese which is typically aged about alt least 6 months. The cheeses are turned often and rubbed with olive oil, giving the cheese its characteristic dark colour. The secret of its flavour is the breed of sheep, the ‘Churra’: small, scruffy and predominant Castilian sheep.

The cheese is hard and nutty, but creamy, sweet and savory flavour. Some of them are a bit spicy. So similar to the famous Manchego cheese, its shape is cylindrical with a distinctive zig zag pattern.

Chesees from Zamora are protected and controlled by its PDO (Protected Designation of Origin by the EU) which specifies its production, ingredients, and maturation.

One of the best brands ofcheese from Zamorais Pago Los Vivales. The make 4 different types of cheese:

Blue Label – Fresh: short maturation, milk-white colour.

Green Label – Semi-matured: melting in the mouth. From 3 to 5 months of curing process.

Black Label – Matured: thick and bit dry, but pleasant flavour, its colour is ivory-white. The curing process takes from 7 to 9 months.

Burgundy label – Aged or Reserva: honey colour, stong and aromatic, reminiscent of sheeps flavour. More than 11 months of maturation.

Cheese in Spain is served sliced as a tapa, usually together with Jamon, sausages and other cold meats. But it’s quite ordinary to see a group of friends sitting at the table and tasting different kids of cheese. The Spanish are really good cheese producers, one of our greatest treasures indeed. But above all, we are excellent tasters not only of Spanish cheese, but of the whole world.

In the coming weeks, we will continue talking about cheeses from other parts of Spain, as Manchego, Spanish most valued cheese. 

Spanish Tapas: a whole world

Nowadays the Spanish term tapa is known around the World. We usually eat tapas at trendy Spanish restaurants, which are springing in many countries as UK or USA. Spanish food is in vogue, because of its simplicity, its healthy ingredients, and above all, its flavours: distinctive and strong, but pleasant and delicious.

But we know what really the tapas are? How are the real tapas in Spain? How many types of tapas can we find? Or how the Spanish eat them?

We can define Tapas are titbits eaten with drinks at a bar. Normally eaten before a full meal, but not exclusively, as the custom is to eat them between meals, mid-afternoon, mid-morning, or to brighten up any time at the bar. Or you can simply make a complete meal with them.

The name tapa (cover) is very old, and refers to the slice of bread with jamon that was put on the jars of wine, in the medieval inns, to not enter flies or dust.

What means Tapeo? Tapeo is the Spanish tradition of going out, normally before lunch or dinner, to join friends to drink beer, wine, or a soft drink, while eating some snacks (tapas), to stave off hunger. In many parts of Spain is a tradition going from bar to bar and eat a tapa on each. This is called Ir de tapas. So tapas mix the concept of eating with socializing.

Eating and drinking are complementary: drink stimulates the appetite and aids digestion of some ingredients (such as pepper), and in turn, food helps to lower effects of alcohol.

 

The tapas are cooked in all bars in Spain, so many of them are warm. Each offers different tapas, but some are common and famous throughout the country. That is the case of Tortilla Española (Spanish potato and onion omelette), Patatas bravas (spiced potatoes), Boquerones (anchovies with garlic and olive oil), the fresh Russian salad (potato with vegetables and mayonnaise salad), or Croquetas (croquettes; made of chicken, jamon or cod)

But we can find specialties by region. For example:

-          Galicia, in the northwestern coast, is famous for its seafood tapas, as this area is Europe's largest producer of shellfish. We can try the octopus, prepared in the Galician way. Or the Empanadillas Gallegas (Galician patty with seafood).

 

-          In Andalusia is so typical to order Boquerones en vinagre (anchovies on vinegar with garlic and olive oil), or even Boquerones fritos (fried anchovies), but the star dish is definitely a plate of Jamon Iberico. 

 

-          In Castilla (Castile) there is a strong tradition for tapas of pork. Therefore, we can eat Chorizo (classic Spanish red sausage) or Morcilla (blood sausage). The most famous is the one made in Burgos, with rice.

 

-          Madrid is specially known for tapas, and you can find bars everywhere. Is very common to order Patatas bravas (medium size chunks of fried potatoes in a hot spicy sauce made with chilli), and of course Callos a la madrileña (tripe casserole).

 

-          In Catalonia the Pa amb tomaca (a slice of bread with tomato and garlic sauce), or Escalibada (peppers, aubergines and onions, baked in the oven).

-          Bilbao is famous for its tapas of Bacalao a la bilbaina (fresh cod cooked in the Bilbao way), or Gambas al ajillo (fried prawns out of its shell with garlic and chilli pepper). Everything is always accompanied by local wine, the txakoli.

-          And Valencia, capital of the Mediterranean Diet, you can order any salad with olive oil (very healthy), Clochinas al vapor (steamed clams), or Esgarraet (roasted pepper, cod "esgarrat", garlic and oil; simple but delicious).

 

There are different ways to serve or present a tapa: 

-          A simple normal dish or plate (Jamon, cheese).

-          Small clay casserole or plate (fried Chorizo, Gambas al ajillo).

-          Montaditos: a slice of bread with toppings (Loin with fried onions, Morcilla de Burgos).

-          Pincho: this term is sometimes confusing (depends on the part of Spain), because it can be a small plate (Ensaladilla rusa, Tortilla Española), or in the north it refers to a tapa which all ingredientes are fastened with a toothpick (as Champiñones; mushrooms).

 

-          Banderilla: olives, pieces of peppers, chives and a gherkin all fastened by a medium size stick.

-          Pincho moruno: skewers made with spiced chunks of chicken, pork or beef.

 

The size of a tapa can vary depending on the ingredients, time of day, the area of Spain. The same goes for the price, as some include drinks. Tapas can be found in all cities and bars in Spain, always presented at the fornt desk or bar, to see what they offer.

  

We recommend that in your next visit to Spain do not fail to try and test tapas the more the better. You will find an unlimited source of ideas, ingredients and flavours, as well as friends.

Bon appetit!, or in the Spanish way, Buen provecho!

Tourism in Rubielos de Mora (Teruel), Spain. Europa Nostra Award. CittaSlow.

Rubielos de Mora is one of the most attractive towns in Teruel, situated on the right bank of the river Rubielos, belongs to the region of Gúdar-Javalambre. It is an urban-planning and architectural gem which has a collection of traditional buildings decorated with excellent grilles, while its deservedly-famous workshops are still in existence today. In fact, it was awarded the “Europa Nostra” award in 1983, in recognition of the restoration work carried out by the residents.

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It has many ecclesiastical monuments, such as: the former Collegiate church of Santa María la Mayor (17th century) which houses a fine reredos of the Life of the Virgin, work of the so-called Maestro of Rubielos; the Augustinian convent (16th-18th centuries) and the Carmelite convent (17th century); and four hermitages from the 15th to the 18th centuries.

Rubielos de Mora is also one of six Spanish municipalities approved for membership by Cittaslow international. This village invites to rest and lose touch with routine in which we are sometimes immersed, offering a marvellous gastronomy, beautiful landscapes and an exciting cultural tour.

Practical information:

Tourist office

Oficina de Turismo de Rubielos de Mora.

Accommodation

Casa Mata Apartments