Lomo with roasted pepper and herbs #156

Lomo is Spanish pork tenderloin that is dried in a similar way like salami, it´s very lean and is great if you like charcuterie but are not a fan of the fat that usually comes with it. Sometimes the Lomo is also flavoured with spices like paprika or herbs. To the lomo I simply added a piece of roasted red pepper that is marinated with some chives and parsley. A very simple tapas that is packed with flavor.

Lomo with roasted pepper and herbs

sliced Lomo
red peppers
vegetable oil
chives
parsley
salt, pepper
olive oil

Turn on your oven on maximum heat, coat the peppers with a little bit of vegetable oil and roast in the oven for 8-10 minutes, remove from the oven and set aside to cool down. Peel the peppers and cut them i large squares. Marinate the peppers in the olive oil with chopped chives, parsley, salt and pepper. Add a piece of pepper for each slice of Lomo. Serve.

Roasted red pepper & walnut dip with crostini #143

Dips are always appreciated and a great go to food for when you´re want something simple that easily can be eaten in front of the TV but don´t go for anything ready made.

Roasted red pepper & walnut dip with crostini

red peppers

vegetable oil

olive oil

garlic

walnuts

bread

parsley

salt, pepper

smoked paprika powder

Brush the red peppers with the vegetable oil and roast on high heat in the oven for about ten minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to cool, then de seed and peel the peppers. Blend the peppers with olive oil, walnuts, garlic and parsley until it´s a rough paste. Remove from the blender and season with salt, pepper and smoked paprika powder. 

Slice the bread and roast in a pan with a little bit of olive oil and salt. Add the pepper dip to the crostini and decorate with a walnut on each crostini.

Chorizo with white polenta & roasted red peppers #136

White polenta is just what it sounds like, white polenta. The taste and texture are the same but I think you can get really nice colors if you combine the white polenta with something colorful. I cooked the polenta in a light chicken stock and added some Parmesan before serving. Fried fresh chorizo and some peppers gives the dish some more flavor and using some of the fat from the chorizo when serving gives the polenta great contrast.

It´s very easy to start adding green herbs and other stuff to a dish like this and of course there is nothing wrong in doing so but I think it looks really nice to just use these two colors and keeping it very simple, your choice.

Chorizo with white polenta & roasted red peppers

fresh Spanish chorizo
red peppers
white polenta
light chicken stock
salt, pepper
Parmesan cheese

Bring the chicken stock to a boil together with some water and a few drops of olive oil, add the polenta and let it simmer for half an hour on low heat. Keep adding water and stock if necessary (it will be necessary because polenta seems to be able to hold an insane amount of water), season the polenta with salt, pepper and grated Parmesan cheese.

Slice the chorizo and dice the red peppers in big chunks, fry them together on low heat until heavily roasted. Roasting them on low heat makes the chorizo release a lot of it´s fat and it will give the peppers a smoky very powerful chorizo flavor.

Serve the polenta in a small bowl, put the peppers and chorizo on top and add a few drops of the now dark red fat from the pan.

Gazpacho salad #126

Usually when I make Gazpacho I make the classic way, mixed on a hot day served with grilled bread. But using the same stuff as you would when you´re mixing that very same Gazpacho can make a great tasting, looking and refreshing salad. All you need is good vegetables and a bit of time.It´s the marinading that will make the difference when you make this salad, you need to let the vegetables rest for an hour or two to get that Gazpacho taste, if not it will still taste good but not as Gazpacho.

And if you´re not serving tapas then it´s of course great to serve as a side for a main dish or as a appetizer, if it´s the only thing you´re serving as an appetizer then add some bread or maybe some cheese.

If you´re looking for other types of Gazpacho you can head right over to my green Gazpacho recipe, if not then keep reading.

Gazpacho salad

tomatoes, different sizes and colors
cucumber
bell peppers
red onion
garlic
dried chili flakes
parsley
white wine vinegar
olive oil
black pepper
sea salt

Dice and slice the cucumber, peppers and tomatoes, make sure to cut them in different sizes and shapes, this will make the salad look much better. Peel and thinly slice the red onion and garlic. Combine all vegetables and add olive oil, chili, red onion, garlic, parsley, vinegar, salt and pepper and then let marinate for at least one hour.

It´s fine to let it marinade for longer but serve it the same day as you made it, in my opinion it looses it´s freshness otherwise. When time for serving taste the salad and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Serve.

Green gazpacho with cream cheese crostini #88

The classic Spanish Gazpacho soup is a must for me at least once a week throughout the summer, this version is made using only green vegetables except for the tomatoes which are yellow. The flavor gets a bit different but equally good and fresh. 

Green gazpacho with cream cheese crostini

cucumber

green pepper

green chili

yellow or green tomatoes

white wine vinegar

olive oil

white bread

salt, black pepper

garlic

cream cheese

Cut all vegetables into pieces, add a few pieces of white bread and splash over some vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. Let sit out for half an hour to let the vegetables marinate. 

Blend the vegetables into an soup, season with vinegar, oil, salt and pepper. Cut bread into thin slices and toast, spread on some cream cheese. Serve the soup ice cold.

Pimientos de padron # 65

Pimientos de padron

It´s time for a tapas classic, Pimientos de padron is a true spanish classic. Easy to cook and of course delicous, all you need is this.

Pimientos de padrones
Olive oil
Salt

Wash the pimientos and dry them. Heat olive oil in a pan on high heat, roast the peppers until blackened on both sides. Add to a plate and sprinkle with salt. Serve varm.

Nachos with peppers & avocado mayonnaise # 39

Nachos with peppers & avocado mayonnaise

Nachos
Red peppers
Tomatoes
Minced beef
Sriracha sauce (or any other hot chili sauce)
Iceberg lettuce
Cheese
Chilipowder, cumin, garlicpowder
Mayonnaise
Avocado
Lemon
Salt, pepper

Finely dice the peppers, tomatoes, lettuce. Put the mayonnaise and avocado in a blender and blend until smooth, season with lemon juice, salt and pepper

Fry the minced meat and season with chili, cumin, garlic, salt and pepper. Put some meat on each nacho and grate cheese on top, bake in oven for a few minutes. Take out and put tomatoes, peppers and lettuce on top, finish with the avocado mayonnaise and sriracha sauce, enjoy.

Serrano ham with peppers & tomato salsa # 36

Serrano ham with peppers & tomato salsa

Serrano ham
Red peppers
Sundried tomatoes
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Herbs, for example chives, thyme, parsley
Garlic
Salt, pepper

Cut the ham in smaller bite size pieces. Chop the tomatoes, peppers, herbs and slice the garlic, combine with olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Put a spoonful of salsa on each piece of ham.

Roasted red peppers with fuet salami # 19

Red peppers are a great vegetable that can be used for loads of great recipes, but there is one important thing that you´ll need to do at that is to roast them. Maybe not if you´re making a salad or putting them in a sandwich but as soon as you need some extra flavor or serving them warm you should always roast them. I transforms the flavor completely and it´s almost like a different vegetables. In this recipe i simple roasted them cut in pieces in a frying pan but the classic way is to roast them whole covered in a little bit of oil on high heat in the oven or on a grill. Either way, the peppers will taste great, good luck!

Roasted red peppers with fuet salami

Red peppers
Fuet salami
Parsley
Salt, pepper
Oil

Cut the peppers in chunks and roast in a pan until cooked, slice the fuet. Arrange each piece of pepper with a slice of fuet and parsley, season with salt and pepper.

Roasted red peppers with feta cheese and parsley # 9

As simple as it is delicious, roasted peppers turn a not that special ingredient into something really great as soon as you roast it and it doesn´t matter how you do it, you can roast it in a pan, on the grill, in an oven or even using a blowtorch or putting them on the burner in case you have a gas stove. Then peel it or even leave a bit of the charred skin on an it will taste completely different.

Of course there are dishes where you want a raw pepper but for most warm or mediterranian dishes i prefer the roasted kind. For the feta cheese I always try to go for the real thing, that is Greek feta, it is by far the safest choiche, but if you have a good cheese shop around then it can be worth a shot to ask if they have any local varieties. I have had the pleasure of tasting some non Greek feta cheeses that have been of super high quality so it is worth a try. Ok, let´s make some tapas!

Roasted red peppers with feta cheese and parsley

Red peppers
Feta cheese
Parsley
Olive oil
Salt, pepper

Cut the peppers in big chunks, roast the peppers in pan with olive oil, season with salt and peppar. Break the feta cheese in small pieces and put a piece of cheese on each pepper. Finish off with parsley, olive oil, salt and pepper.