Pumpkin & Spanish Paprika Soup

Autumn/Fall is has been with us for a while now and pumpkins are bountiful at this time of year. So as per usual I came up with another delicious and tasty soup. You can do this soup by using the flesh from your pumpkins that you may have carved for Halloween. The sweetness of the pumpkin flesh and the unmistakeable taste of Spanish paprika make this soup an explosion of flavour on your palate with every spoonful. If you do not have Spanish paprika stocked in, you can use regular paprika but make sure it is the sweet variety. You can prepare this soup as a starter at a dinner party or as a delightful supper accompanied by buttered rustic bread. If you want to make this soup vegan just omit the butter and used a little bit more oil. So, go on, give it a go and we hope you enjoy it as much as we did! For 4-6 people you will need...

• 850g pumpkin, chopped into 1 inch pieces
• 1 large potato, diced
• 1 medium white onion, chopped
• 1 small red onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 teaspoons sweet Spanish paprika
• Few celery leaves [optional]
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 ½ litres [7 cups] boiling water
• 2 vegetable stock gel pots [or cubes]
• 15g Butter & 1 tablespoon olive oil, for frying
• Flaked almonds, to serve
• Pumpkin seeds, to serve

How to...

1. In a large stock pot, heat the oil and butter on medium heat and fry the onions for about 5-7 minutes until soft and translucent.
2. Now add the garlic and cook for a further 2-3 minutes.
3. Add the pumpkin, potato, paprika, celery leaves [if using] and stock gel pots or cubes. Give it a good stir and season with freshly ground black pepper. 
4. Pour in the boiling water and stir well, bring to a boil. Now reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 45 minutes to an hour.
5. Turn off the heat and let cool down a bit before blending with a stick blender or in a jug blender until you get a velvety consistency.
6. Ladle into soup bowls and sprinkle with the flaked almonds & pumpkin seeds. Serve hot.

Enjoy!!

R&A

Manchego, Spanish Paprika & Leeks Mac 'n' Cheese

We had some Manchego cheese and a huge leek in the fridge and both of us were starving Saturday lunchtime. So, I had a look in our pantry and rustled up this recipe quite quickly to be honest. It took me about an hour to prep and cook it. This dish is kind of a Spanish take on the American classic and is very tasty. Do not worry if you do not have Spanish paprika or Spanish sherry, use whatever paprika or sherry you have but if you manage to get the real deal it will definitely be worth it. The Manchego cheese and Spanish paprikas give this dish its piquant, smoky flavours and the leeks provide the sweetness whilst the breadcrumbs provide the crunchy bit. Give it a go and I can guarantee that you will ask for more!! For 4 people (or 2 very hungry people) you will need...

• 1 large leek, washed and thinly sliced
• 15g +25g butter
• 60ml Spanish Dry Sherry
• 500ml whole milk
• 25g plain flour
• ½ teaspoon Pimentón Dulce (Spanish sweet paprika)
• ½ teaspoon Pimentón Picante (Spanish hot paprika)
• 1 teaspoon Pimentón Ahumado (Spanish smoked paprika)
• 250g Pennette or Macaroni
• 200g Manchego cheese, grated
• 2 tablespoons breadcrumbs
• Salt & pepper 

How to...

1. Start by cooking the pasta until nearly al dente. When cooked rinse with cold water and set aside.
2. Now, let’s cook the leeks. Add 15g butter to a small frying pan and when melted, add the leeks and cook on medium heat for a 5 minutes. Now, season with salt & pepper and add the sherry. Cook for a further 10 minutes or until the sherry has evaporated and leeks are soft. Turn off the heat and set aside.
3. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.
4. For the cheese sauce, add 25g of butter to a medium pan and when melted add the flour and stir for about 3 minutes until golden brown. Add the milk and the 3 types of paprika and stir on a low to medium heat stirring continuously until the sauce thickens. Turn off the heat and add about 150g of the grated cheese. Stir again until the cheese is melted.
5. Now in the cheese sauce pan add the cooked pasta and cooked leeks. Stir well to mix the pasta with the sauce and pour into a small oven dish (we used a round 20cm diameter earthenware dish). Sprinkle the top with the remaining cheese and the breadcrumbs and more freshly black pepper.
6. Bake for 30 minutes. Take out of the oven and leave to rest for 15 minutes. Serve!
   

Enjoy!!

R&A

Tuna Empanada Galician style - Empanada gallega de atún

Empanadas are quite common on dinner tables all over the Hispanic world. in Spain they are usually baked as large pies and cut into squares and can be served as tapas. In Latin America, empanadas are small pies with different fillings. Originally empanadas came from the Spanish regions of Galicia & Leon but basically became popular all around the whole world. I had this Galician empanada when I went to Spain a couple of years ago and I had to recreate it over here as it was so good. It can be served either hot or cold. I used two sheets of pre-made pastry which makes things way easier. So give it a go and we're quite sure you will try it again! You will need.... 

• 2 ready to roll shortcrust pastry sheets
• 2 large or 3 medium red sweet peppers, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon pimentón dulce (sweet paprika)
• 1 teaspoon pimentón ahumado (smoked paprika)
• 2 cans tuna chunks (in oil), drained
• Small bunch of parsley, finely chopped
• Handful green olives, stoned and chopped
• 2 hard-boiled eggs, roughly chopped
• Olive oil
• 1 tablespoon olive oil mixed with a pinch paprika, for brushing on final empanada

How to...

1. Pour oil into a fry pan over medium heat and add in garlic. Cook it for 2 minutes, until golden. Then add in onion,pepper, paprikas, tomato paste, salt & pepper to taste and cook until onions and peppers are soft, about 10-15 minutes.
2. Take off the heat and let cool. Once cool, add in tuna, olives and parsley and mix well.
3. Pre-heat the oven to 190°C
4. Roll out the first pastry sheet and spread the tuna/veg mixture in the middle, leaving about one inch from the sides. Crumble the eggs on top and cover with the other pastry sheet. Seal the edges well with a fork and baste the top with the oil/paprika mixture and snip the empanada with scissors with in three or four places (so as steam can escape).
5. Bake for 25 minutes until reddish golden. Remove from the oven and let rest for at least 10 minutes. Serve hot or cold.

Enjoy!!

R&A

Aromatic Beef & Sweet Potato Casserole

This aromatic casserole is guaranteed to make your taste buds work. It is sweet, tart with a hot kick but no flavour overpowers the other. It is just perfect. The vegetables are sweet ones like sweet potato and butternut squash although swede is quite peppery sometimes. I created this dish as I went through my herb & spice pantry which my awesome wife sorted for me lately. It seems that whenever I go to find something there I never do so she made sure that everything is sorted and easy to find. Oh, I'm so messy!! Anyway, give this casserole a go as something new and different from the norm. You can replace butternut squash with pumpkin as well. For about 6 servings you will need...

• 800g diced beef
• ½ large butternut squash, diced
• 1 sweet potato, diced
• ½ swede, diced
• 1 large onion, roughly chopped
• 3 celery stalks, chopped
• 2 tbsp chopped parsley
• 1 piece cinnamon stick
• 2 inch piece liquorice root
• 1 black cardamom pod, crushed
• 1 ½ teaspoons hot paprika
• 1 red chilli, chopped
• 500ml beef stock
• 500ml water

How to...

1. Preheat oven to 180°C.
2. Heat oil in a cast iron casserole and add the beef. Cook the beef until brown, about 5 minutes.
3. Add vegetables, parsley, liquorice, cardamom, cinnamon & hot paprika and stir well. Cook for about 5-10 minutes.
4. Add stock & water, stir again.
5. Cover and put in oven for 3 hours.
6. Serve with mashed potatoes and extra chopped parsley.

Enjoy!!

R&A