Editor's July Pick #12: Spanish Spuds

Editor's note: The spud, the "Swiss Army knife" of the vegetables. If you're looking for something a bit different to do with them, give this recipe a try instead of a potato salad or the standard new potatoes and you'll have a new favourite side dish in no time. Definitely consider making two batches as once you've tried this you'll definitely be thinking about it the next night!

Sides for your “Salads”

Spanish Spuds

800g potatoes, cut into cubes

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped finely

1 garlic clove, chopped finely or

1 tsp garlic paste

1 medium red chilli, seeds removed

chopped finely

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp ground cumin

Pot of soured cream to serve

Boil the potatoes for 5 minutes. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and gently fry the onion until it colours. Add the garlic and spices, fry for 2 minutes.

Drain the potatoes and tip into the mixture. Turn to a high heat and shake the pan so that the potatoes are covered with the onion/spice mixture. Cook for 10 minutes until tender. Serve with soured cream.

This side would be a great addition to your sharing plates – bags of flavour, particularly if you're serving a fish platter. Different to the traditional tapas dish “patatas bravas” in serving with the soured cream and not tomato sauce. In addition to which the soured cream is served on the side of the side – if you get my drift – some like it, some don't.

The recipe given is for a large quantity – it's difficult to say how many servings – I would say eight to ten – you could halve the quantities if you wish but I've learnt from experience that whatever is leftover you'll absolutely, definitely and without doubt use!

Editor's July Pick #11: Crostini spreads

Editor's note: Suitably inspired by the previous menu I had a look through for some European-style 'bits' and was of course not let down by the blog. I know I've always sung the praises of these recipes - if you're an olive lover like me, or would do absolutely anything for pesto then this is my go-to double whammy.

Crostini spreads – to buy ready-made or not to …

...that is the question!

Do whatever suits you – there are some great quality tapenade and pesto products out there. If you're going to use ready-made buy as good a quality as you can afford.

Here are recipes for both :

Tapenade

100g black olives, pitted

4/5 cloves of garlic (or equivalent tsps of paste)

1 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil

black pepper

lemon juice – try a dessert spoon – you can always add more

4 finely chopped anchovies, drained

75g chopped capers

Blitz the olives, then add the garlic, capers and anchovies and blitz again, briefly – you want a rustic paste, not mush. Tip into a bowl and add the oil, lemon juice and black pepper to taste – remember to taste as you go you can't take it back!

Pesto is vibrantly green! It's made from crushed basil leaves, toasted pine nuts, garlic, Parmesan and olive oil.

The following recipe serves 4, is easy and takes 10 minutes to make.

1 small garlic clove or equivalent roasted

pinch of sea salt

25g pine nuts, lightly toasted

50g fresh basil leaves

juice of half a lemon

125ml extra virgin olive oil

Use a small food processor. Put the garlic and salt in the bowl and pulse, then add the pine nuts and repeat until roughly chopped – don't overwork. Add the basil and pulse gently until well mixed but still retains texture. Turn into a serving bowl and add the Parmesan and lemon juice. Pour in the olive oil and mix to a paste. Season to taste.

You could make the pesto ahead and transfer to a jar with a tight lid (sterilised of course) – drizzle a layer of olive oil over the top of the pesto. It will keep in the fridge for up to a week.

If I had to choose one to make from scratch it would be tapenade every time – it really is scrumptious.

Tomato paste is a bit strong for my taste - if it's not cooked it has a bitter taste but preparing some of each will cater for everyone. A tip – a thin scrape of paste is all that's required!

One might say the Crostini is fiddly, but, almost all of it can be done in advance and you can take short cuts for example, you can buy sliced pitted olives, ready to blitz after draining.

Editor's July Pick #10: Before I go any further ...

Editor’s note: This is a post more for inspiration than anything else. Here’s one from the vault that features a tapas menu and if there’s nothing on this list that gives you food for thought then I’m afraid we can’t be friends!

Before I go any further ...

… I thought I'd let you know about La Estrella Tapas Bar.

Early supper out on a Friday night with friends. La Estrella is located at the bottom end of the High Street in Rushden, Northamptonshire. To give you an idea how popular it is, we booked on the 25^th September for ten days hence and got the last table.

It is modern, bright and has a relaxed, informal atmosphere - café style dining.

It helps when one of the staff is Spanish - it gives a certain chutzpah, not wishing to confuse cuisines!

Mixed olives and bread are brought, along with pre-tapas drinks. I'm not a “fizz” drinker but decided to throw caution to the wind and chose a glass of Prosecco from the specials board, which was delicious and I'm difficult to please.

The menu caters for everyone - to cut a long story short here are our choices :

Gambas al Ajilio

King prawns cooked in garlic, virgin olive oil

and fresh chillies

Chorizos del Demonio

Spicy chorizo served with fire roasted red pappers

Whitebait from the specials board

Patatas Bravas

Twice cooked potatoes smothered in garlic aioli

and bravas sauce

Champinones al Ajillo

Button mushrooms in garlic and olive oil

served with parsley and lemon

Queso at Horno

Soft baked goats cheese served with onion

chutney and tomato jam

They were generous portions, so much so that we've decided that when we go back we'll order two tapas each and then may be a patatas bravas in the middle for all!

Editor's July Pick #9: Soup De Loop

Editor’s note: I don’t know about anyone else but sometimes I have the urge for something completely unseasonal. Often, it’s soup in summer. People use it as a go-to in winter but I find that it’s the perfect meal when you can’t be fussed after a long day and it’s not too hot outside, ticks all the nutritional boxes and it's the perfect one pot meal. Of course if it’s too hot for a warm soup, you could always go with gazpacho!

What to do …

… with your stash of veggie stock.

Back in the day when I was working for my Cordon Bleu Certificate and, may I say, before there were such programmes as Masterchef one of the tasks we were given was an invention test.

The brief was - make a soup with a bowl of cooked peas, sweetcorn, carrot and broccoli.

Here's my recipe :

Soup de Loop

1 onion, diced

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 green chilli, chopped – seeds removed

glug of rapeseed/Canola oil

1 old potato, cubed

1 litre/1¾ pints of veggie stock

1 dessert spoon of medium curry powder

1 tsp mace

salt and black pepper

Dice the carrots and keep the broccoli in small florets and set aside.

In a large saucepan sauté the onion, garlic and chilli in the oil, add the curry powder and mace. Add the stock and cubed potato and bring to the boil, then simmer until the potato is cooked but firm. Place two ladles of the soup into a blender and blitz until thick.

If you want to gauge the texture the trick is to dip a spoon into the blitzed soup – check the back of the spoon – it will show the texture. If you're happy with the consistency add it back into your remaining soup. Complete by adding your cooked peas, sweetcorn, diced carrots and broccoli. If you want a thicker consistency repeat the “blitz” with two more ladles.

As with all soups taste and adjust the seasoning at the end and you're ready to serve, piping hot.

The result was a chunky, thick soup with visible veggies.

I passed!

Editor's July Pick #8: The Fudge follow on …

Editor's note: I do feel that one's palate refines a little with age. More and more I find what I would have considered "Classic" pairings that I once would have passed up, very appealing. Take fruit and chocolate, once I would have never given thought to it but now I completely understand the sharp and sweet combination to give you a flavour that's greater than the sum of its parts. Give this coulis a go, combine with some of the fudge from Pick #6 and you'll thank me!

The Fudge follow on …

… remember the chocolate fudge

It occurs that it can be the beginning of a great store cupboard/fridge/freezer summer treat. If you need a reminder of the recipe then check out “Two down, seven to go” for chapter and verse and for the hints and tips too.

Moving swiftly on - use seasonal fruits – strawberries or raspberries, to compliment and serve with the melted fudge and make a coulis – whilst the raspberry season isn't as long as the strawberry you can buy frozen if all else fails.

Both fruits are a perfect marriage with chocolate.

Berry Coulis

200g strawberries, hulled and halved

200g raspberries

75g icing sugar, sifted

Heat the fruit in a large pan for 4-5 minutes or until the fruit starts to break down. Add the icing sugar and continue to cook for a further 2-3 minutes or until the sugar has dissolved.

Transfer the mixture to a food processor and blend until smooth, add a splash of water if necessary to loosen. Strain the coulis through a sieve and set aside to cool. Chill in the fridge until needed.

If you feel the need to ease your chocolate conscience, using seasonal fresh fruits will do the trick – all you need now is ice cream!

Editor's July Pick #7: The photos

Editor's note: In cooking there are photographs, and there are photographs. As the author says, it not only looks delicious - and beautiful! - but fun too, and all with recipes that won't take an age, don't require a degree in Cookology or break the bank. Why not give it a go!

Two tabs down …

...the photos.

First up Peanut Chocolate Brittle

You can see the caramel forming – the golden brown colour beginning to appear and the sugar still melting.

Act fast – the caramel sets quickly.

The brittle in the bowl on the left has been bashed to sprinkle over ice-cream or to fold into home-made. The bowl on the right contains bite size pieces.

Second up Chocolate Fudge

I knew these tongs were going to be useful.

The tongs were perfect for holding the fudge and coating as much of it as you want in the cocoa powder. You can grip the fudge without squashing it and able to swirl the fudge around with control.

How much fun was that?!

Editor's July Pick #6: Chocolate Fudge

Editor's note: I've always been wary of fudge, as I'm not a fan of the holiday-town, pure sugar style that has no flavour. That stuff is likely 100% sugar and without the condensed milk so MiamMiam to the rescue with a winning recipe! Although I still remember fondly the "finger of fudge" that Cadbury's produce... memories - years ago!

Two down, seven to go …

… here comes the chocolate – in the form of fudge from The Little Book of Chocolat :

Chocolate Fudge

400g dark or milk chocolate, broken into small

even sized pieces

25g butter

397 can condensed milk

100 icing sugar

30g cocoa powder, sifted

Line a 20cm square tin with baking parchment.

Melt the chocolate in a bain-marie. In a non-stick saucepan, melt the butter and gently warm the condensed milk. Add the melted chocolate and mix well until smooth. Beat in the icing sugar until blended and smooth.

Put the mixture into the prepared tin, spread evenly into the corners, smooth over the top and place in the fridge to set for at least an hour. Remove and cut into small squares and dust with cocoa.

The recipe also mentions serving the fudge warm with ice cream.

Here are a few hints and tips I hope you'll find useful :

Use chocolate drops if you can get hold of them – they are all the same size and your chocolate will melt evenly.

Your squares should be approximately 2cm – don't panic – it's a guide. You can use a ruler if you want. There's always an edge when you remove from a tin. I trim the edges – don't throw them away – we'll come back to these later.

Use unsalted butter.

Sift the icing sugar – you'll be glad you did since it almost always has lumps in it. The most effective way of sifting icing sugar is to both sift and measure at the same time. Place a mixing bowl on your scales and set to zero. Spoon a quantity of icing sugar into your sieve, holding it over the bowl. Using a dessert spoon, bowl side down in the sugar, move in a circle forcing the sugar through until you've got the required amount. Keeps the washing up to a minimum!

As is usual I've popped a box in the freezer and will retrieve in a week to see how it has fared.

Remember the recipe in the book mentions serving the fudge warm with ice cream – use the trimmed edges set aside earlier - cut into cubes and melt in the microwave for 20 seconds on a medium heat. If you want the fudge to be a smoother consistency then add another 10 seconds.

Sorry if you'd given up chocolate this month!

P.s. Freezer report – I boxed the fudge and froze for a week – it was as good as it was when made so ideal if you want to make ahead or stash it so it doesn't disappear when you're not looking. Fridge it straight from the freezer – it's really good cold.