The Times Magazine - UK (2021-01-30)

POTATOES WITH PEPPERS AND CHORIZO

SERVES 6

PREPARATION TIME: 10 MINUTES. COOKING TIME: 44 MINUTES

This stew is rich in flavour and is the perfect comfort food.

• 100ml olive oil • 5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced • 2 onions, finely chopped


• 2 red peppers, seeded and finely chopped • 3 tomatoes, roughly chopped


• 300g semi-cured chorizo, cut into 2cm slices • ½ tbsp hot pimentón (or use
  sweet pimentón and 1 dried cayenne chilli) • 1kg floury potatoes, peeled and
  cut into chunks • 2 tbsp red wine or sherry vinegar • 2 sprigs of fresh thyme,
  leaves picked (optional) • Salt and freshly ground black pepper


• Bread, to serve

1 Heat the olive oil in a large pan over a medium heat and add the

garlic, onion and red pepper. Fry until golden, about 15 minutes.

2 Add the chopped tomatoes, chorizo, pimentón, potato chunks and

cook for a further 5 minutes. Add the vinegar, thyme leaves (if using)

and 1.5 litres water. Season and bring to the boil. Simmer for about

25 minutes until the potatoes are cooked. Serve immediately with

some good bread.

MUSHROOMS WITH GARLIC

SERVES 3

PREPARATION TIME: 10 MINUTES. COOKING TIME: 10 MINUTES

Seasonal mushrooms with garlic. I have always been a big fan of

mushrooms, as everyone in my family loves mushroom picking.

This recipe can be adjusted to use any type of mushroom.

• 300g wild mushrooms, such as oyster, or a mixture of wild and field mushrooms
  
  
  • 8 tbsp olive oil • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper • 3 garlic cloves,
    finely chopped • 1 tbsp freshly chopped flat-leaf parsley • 3 sprigs of fresh thyme
  
  
  • Splash of white wine
  
  
  
  

1 Trim the ends of the mushrooms and wipe them clean with a damp

cloth. If they are particularly dirty, rinse carefully in cold water and dry

quickly on kitchen paper before they absorb too much water.

2 Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan and fry the mushrooms,

insides facing up, for a couple of minutes. Season the insides with salt

and pepper and flip over. Season again and fry for another 2 minutes.

Add the garlic and parsley and cook, stirring, for a couple of minutes.

3 Add the thyme sprigs and wine and set light to the pan with a lighter

or some long matches. Let it flambé for about 30 seconds, then serve.

MY SPECIAL SANGRIA

SERVES 6 (PAGE 29)

PREPARATION TIME: 15 MINUTES. COOKING TIME: 5 MINUTES

I’m sure many of you have come across sangria before but, trust me,

you won’t have tried my special recipe. It takes a little longer to prepare,

but it is worth the effort. You can make the syrup and preserve the fruit

in advance. It should keep for 3 weeks in the fridge.

• 1 orange • 1 lemon • 1 peach or 3 plums, stoned and roughly chopped • 1 pear or
  apple, cored and roughly chopped • 200g caster sugar • Quarter of a cinnamon
  stick • 200ml brandy • 200ml triple sec • 1 punnet (200g) strawberries, halved
  
  
  • Ice • 1 x 750ml bottle Spanish red wine • 500ml sparkling lemonade
  
  
  
  

1 Wash the orange and lemon, peel off strips of the zest and cut into

thin strips. Use a sharp knife to peel away the rest of the skin and pith

and discard. Cut the fruit into segments and put in a pan with the zest.

2 Add the remaining fruit (except the strawberries) to the pan, along

with the sugar, cinnamon stick, 200ml water, brandy and triple sec and

bring to the boil. Simmer for 1 minute, then remove from the heat and

add the strawberries. Leave to cool, then chill in the fridge. All the

essential oils and aromas of the fruit will infuse the syrup. This is

the secret of this sangria.

3 Fill one third of a large jug with ice cubes and pour in enough of the

fruit and syrup mix to come halfway up. Add wine until the jug is

nearly full, then add the lemonade to finish off. Stir with a long-handled

spoon, sit back and enjoy. n

Extracted from Tapas Revolution by Omar Allibhoy

(Ebury Press, £25); restaurants: tapasrevolution.com

Eat!

SPANISH

32 The Times Magazine