Tag Archives: recipes

Menú del Día: Great food at a budget price

Posted on by under Axarquía, Laws and Customs, Slice of Life

Pinchitos at Ferrara Asador, Torrox Costa

For much less than the cost of an evening dinner, most restaurants in La Axarquía have a cheap, fixed-price meal available at lunchtime only.

Because the normal Spanish working day has a 3 hour break in the middle, many Spanish workers take advantage of this time (often referred to as a siesta) by catching up with friends or colleagues over lunch.

Why eat a sandwich at your desk when you can enjoy a leisurely lunch with friends?

Ferrara Asadaor, Torrox Costa, Spain

Roast pork at Ferrara Asador, Torrox Costa

Drinks and bread included

Known as “Menu del Día“, you can usually enjoy a two or three course meal, including bread and your first drink, for around 8 – 10 euros.  It´s usually a set menu, though there is often a choice of three or four dishes for each course.

A typical menu might include soup or salad to start, followed by fish or pork with flan or coffee to finish.  Bread, plus your choice of first drink (beer, wine or water) are usually included in the price.

Typical board advertising Menu of the Day, Spain

Look out for a board outside the restaurant, advertising the Menu del Día, which will usually be written in Spanish, and always remember to look out for restaurants and bars frequented by locals rather than tourists.

My choice in Torrox Costa:

** Ferrara Asador on the N340, near to the Repsol garage.  At only €8 with great service, good choice and quality of food, it´s well worth a visit, but go before 2.00pm as it gets very busy, especially in August.

** Fancy something a bit different ?  Try the Jing Chinese restaurant on the Paseo Maritimo along Ferrara Beach.  Their menu del día is even cheaper at €6, but drinks cost extra.  Again, excellent food and service.

Where´s your favourite place to eat, east of Málaga?

Love food?  You might like to drool over these posts:

Slice of Life:  Spanish bars

Let´s talk about tapas!

Fresh Figs Stuffed with Goat´s Cheese and wrapped in Smoked Bacon

Patatas a lo pobre: Poor man´s potatoes

Posted on by under Recipes

Patatas a lo pobre is a classic Andalucían dish that can be served either as tapas, or to accompany a wide variety of fish and chicken dishes.

I have my own version that I sometimes cook in the microwave, using less olive oil than in the traditional way of cooking in a frying pan.  It is just as delicious!

Ingredients (adjust according to taste/numbers):

Potatoes, sliced

Onions, sliced

Garlic, chopped

Green peppers (Italian), sliced

Red pepper, sliced  (I just add a small amount for the colour)

Salt and pepper

Mixed herbs

Extra virgin Olive oil

Patatas a lo pobre - ingredients

Layer the ingredients into a glass Pyrex-type dish, drizzle with olive oil, cover with pierced cling-film and microwave on full power for approximately 20 minutes (or until potatoes are cooked).  I usually check about halfway through, give it a little mix around and add more olive oil if I feel I need to.

Que aproveche!

Have you ever tried cooking tapas, at home?

You might also enjoy these posts too:

Fresh Figs Stuffed with Goat´s Cheese and wrapped in Smoked Bacon

Let’s talk about tapas!

All at sea with the Virgen del Carmen

Easy No-Bake Chocolate, Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Cookies

Posted on by under Recipes

 

Easy No-Bake Chocolate, Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Cookies

I haven´t posted a recipe for a while, but I´ve got a delicious treat to share with you today. It´s not a Spanish creation, but you do get to see a photograph of some Spanish ingredients – does that count?

These cookies are quick and easy to make, using just one pan.  Waiting for them to set is the hardest part!

It´s a good job the oatmeal needs chewing or otherwise you could just inhale these little beauties!

Although I´d heard of no-bake cookies I´d never made them, but when I saw these chewy, sticky bundles of goodness at Sweet Dreaming I just knew I had to make them straight away!

They take only a few minutes to prepare and are great to make with kids if you have any little hands eager to help in the kitchen.   I’m sure they’ll love scraping the saucepan afterwards, (which is quite safe  as there are no raw eggs to worry about)!

I´ve photographed the whole process, so if you just click on each of the photos in the gallery you can follow, step-by-step.

Easy No-Bake Chocolate, Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Cookies  (Galletas de avena con chocolate y crema de cacahuete)

½ cup (1 stick) butter
1½ cups granulated sugar
½ cup milk
4 tablespoons cocoa powder
½ cup peanut butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups quick-cooking oats

1. Add the first four ingredients (including the cocoa powder) to a large saucepan.

2. Stir, whilst bringing to the boil, then let the mixture simmer for 1 minute only.

3. Remove from heat.

4. Add the peanut butter and vanilla extract and stir until smooth.

5. Add the oats and stir until coated.

6. Drop by heaping tablespoons onto wax paper-lined baking sheets.

7. Use the back of the spoon to smooth them out and flatten into more of a “cookie” shape.

8. Set aside to cool until set, which takes about 45 minutes.   I usually pop the trays into the fridge because they don´t set so well if it´s hot in the kitchen – and I do live in Spain!

This mixture will make around 25-30 cookies depending on how big you make each of them.

Easy No-Bake Chocolate, Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Cookies

What are you waiting for?  Go and make some and tell me what you think!

You might also like to look at some of my other recipes:

Andalucían sizzling hot spicy prawns

Patatas a lo pobre: Poor man´s potatoes

Let’s talk about tapas!

Fresh Figs Stuffed with Goat´s Cheese and wrapped in Smoked Bacon

Posted on by under Recipes

Because our fig trees have more ripe figs than we know what to do with – I decided to re-post a great recipe that always goes down well in our house, every August.

Serve as a starter or as a main course.   Delicious!

Simply pluck the fresh figs from the tree and slice off the top and bottom of each fruit.  Cut a cross into the top of each fig and stuff with a square of goat´s cheese.  Wrap in a rasher of smoked bacon and skewer with a cocktail stick.

Bake in a hot oven for approx 20 minutes.

 

That´s it – enjoy!

 

If you like the look of this recipe, you might also enjoy:

Patatas a lo Pobre: Poor Man´s potatoes

Lemon Chicken for a Summer´s Day Lunch

I can see Africa from my terrace!

 

 

Andalucían sizzling hot spicy prawns

Posted on by under Recipes, Slice of Life

Gambas al pil-pil

Gambas pil-pil: There is nothing more typical in Andalucían cookery than spicy prawns served sizzling hot with crusty bread to mop up the juices – together with a glass of chilled white wine or manzanilla, of course!

This quick and easy dish uses three classic ingredients of Spanish cookery – shellfish, garlic and olive oil.   Why …. you’ll even hear sound effects as the sizzling prawns pop and splutter in the hot oil as you bring this time-honoured Andalucían dish to your table.

Maybe you’ve returned home from Andalucía and want to recreate memories of a perfect lunch under the shade of the trees in a quiet plaza. Or you dream of sitting on a sunny terrace overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, watching the palm trees sway in the gentle breeze as the waiter serves your tapas.

Now, what could be more evocative than that?

 

Here´s what you need for each person:

  • 10-12 large peeled prawns (uncooked) per person for a starter, or 15-17 for a light main course (gambas)
  • 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil (aceite de oliva)
  • A few stems of flat-leaf parsley (perejil)
  • 2 plump cloves of garlic (ajo)
  • 2 teaspoons of paprika spice, adjust according to taste.  Alternatively, if you can find it, use specially prepared pil-pil spice, sold at most Spanish street-markets on the spice stall. Most recipes omit this ingredient, but without it the dish lacks the classic colour and depth of flavour.
  • 1 small dried hot chilli pepper
  • Fresh, crusty bread or rolls
  1. Heat the oven to 220 degrees C.
  2. Peel, clean and de-vein the prawns. Wash them in cold water and dry thoroughly.
  3. Chop the garlic into small slices.
  4. Finely chop the parsley reserving some for the garnish.
  5. Chop the dried chilli pepper, discarding the seeds if you prefer a less fiery flavour.
  6. When the oven comes to temperature put the olive oil into a small ovenproof dish (use one per person), and put in the oven for 3-4 minutes or until the oil starts to bubble.
  7. Remove the dish or dishes from the oven, stir in the paprika powder, peppers, garlic and most of the parsley.
  8. Add the prawns, ensuring they are well coated with the mix.
  9. Return to the oven for 4-5 minutes, until the oil is bubbling vigorously and the prawns have just turned pink. Don´t overcook them as they will become rubbery.
  • Garnish with remaining parsley, and serve immediately, still in the ovenproof dishes, while the oil is still bubbling.
  • Serve with a well-chilled white wine and fresh crusty white bread to mop up the spicy oil.