Tapas

A small group of beasts made the journey to West Hollywood for an incredible spanish themed feast and Monica's special sangria. 

Gambas al Ajillo

Contributed by Sarah

Ingredients:

1 lb shrimp, 25 count to a pound

4 large cloves of garlic, finely minced

1 tsp sweet Spanish paprika

1 tsp red pepper flakes

2-3 oz of cognac (I substituted pear juice instead)

1/4 cup virgin olive oil

3 tsp chopped fresh parsley

1 lemon for juice

1 Baguette

Preparation:

This garlic shrimp recipe, gambas al ajillo makes 4 servings as an appetizer. If preparing for a main course, double the recipe.

The shrimp can be peeled first, before cooking them if you prefer. In addition, if you like larger shrimp, you may purchase shrimp with fewer count to a pound. However, 25 to a pound are about the right size for this tapa.

In a sauté pan or heavy frying pan, warm the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and sauté for about one minute or until they begin to brown. Be careful not to burn the garlic!

Raise the heat to high and add the shrimp, lemon juice, sherry or cognac and paprika. Stir well, then sauté, stirring briskly until the shrimp turn pink and curl – about 3 minutes.

Remove from heat and transfer shrimp with oil and sauce to a warm plate or serve right from the pan. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Sprinkle with parsley. Serve with fresh bread.

Manchego Salad Recipe

Contributed by Heather

Ingredients:

6 cups of arugala

1/2 cup walnut oil

3 tablespoons of champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar

6 ounces of Manchego Cheese (grated or shaved)

1/2 cup of Balsamic Vinegar

Carmelized walnuts

Caramelized shallots (3 shallots)

1 large Fuji apple sliced and cored

Directions:

Boil Balsamic Vinegar until ir reduces to 1/4 cup, about 2-4 minutes. Mix vinegar and oil and season with salt and pepper. Caramelize shallots with butter and olive oil, cook over medium high heat for 5 mins. Caramelize walnuts with sugar and non stick spray until sugar starts to create a dark sauce. Mix ingredients together with dressing and drizzle balsamic right before serving.

Crostini with Spanish Olive Tapenade

Contributed by Anna

1 Baguette, sliced1 1/4 cups pitted Manzanilla Spanish Olives, rinsed and drained well

1 Tbsp. drained capers

1 large garlic clove, minced

1 tsp. fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

Mix olives, capers, garlic clove, and lemon juice in food processor or chopper.  Then, mix in olive oil and cilantro and let sit for a few hours in the refrigerator to marinade in the flavors.

Place the baguette slices on a tray and toast in the oven at about 350 degrees F, for approximately 10 minutes or until lightly browned.  Take crostini out of the oven and top with Spanish Olive Tapenade, and Shredded Italian Five Cheese.  Place back into oven until cheese is melted and garnish with thinly sliced green onions, lengthwise, or chives

Spanish Tortilla

Contributed by Alex

Ingredients:

3 large brown potatoes

1 medium to large onion

5-6 cloves of garlic (I usually use big cloves)

6-8 eggs

10” Teflon Skillet

Large plate for flipping

Heat resistant spatula

Paper Towels

Wash and peel potatoes, then

Dice potatoes into ½” cubes no larger

Chop onion up

Garlic – I usually chop it really fine and create a paste. First, chop the garlic up just a bit then

sprinkle with a good amount of salt and continue chopping until it is finely diced and creates a

sort of paste

Crack the eggs into a large mixing bowl and whisk with a little bit of salt.

Instructions:

Pour a bath of olive oil into the skillet  - do not skimp. 

Heat the oil. Once it is hot (test it by dropping in a potato cube and seeing if it hisses and turns brown), add all the potatoes and sprinkle with a little bit of salt. You will need to watch them and keep turning them. You want them to get golden and at some point you will eventually turn down the heat and continue flipping them. 

Once they are near the golden stage, add the onion and flip it for a bit and finally towards the end, add the garlic and allow to cook for a bit. When you add the onion and garlic, the heat should be no higher than “3”. The potatoes, onions and garlic will absorb the predominance of the oil. 

Once ready, take them out of the pan with a slotted spoon or spatula and dump them in the egg

mixture. Because they are so hot, they will start to cook the eggs – sort of.

Wipe out your Teflon pan with a paper towel.

Dump the mixture from the mixing bowl into the Teflon pan which should be hot. Watch carefully as it as it forms a “skin” and go around the edges of the entire Teflon pan with the heat resistant spatula. 

Turn down the heat to about a “4” or less you don’t want the skin to get too cooked. Once the “skin” looks like it is pretty solid put a plate on top of the skillet and flip the tortilla. 

Slide it back into the pan and go around the edges some more, turn the heat down a bit, and once it has formed a skin press down on it with the spatula. 

Let it cook and flip a few more times until it feels solid/dense.