Three course Spanish menu for Lunch.

The Spanish lunch is the main meal of the day and usually has three courses followed by coffee.

Gazpacho (cold tomato soup)

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Paella

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Churros with chocolate organe sauce

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Coffee and Liqueur or Brandy

Bread is ALWAYS on the Spanish table. It is plentiful and fresh, and used to mop up sauces. 

Gazpacho (Cold Tomato Soup)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/Basil_and_Organic_Tomato_Soup.jpg

Serves 2-3 

30 minutes

Ingredients

• ½ cucumber, peeled, roughly chopped

• 1 large yellow pepper, de-seeded, roughly chopped

• 1 large red pepper, de-seeded, roughly chopped

• 6 ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped

• 2 banana shallots, roughly chopped

• 3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

• 100g/3½oz stale white bread, soaked in a little cold water

• 3 tbsp olive oil

• 2 tbsp sherry vinegar

Method

1. Blend most of the cucumber, peppers, tomatoes and shallots to a rough purée in a food processor, reserving a couple of chunks of each vegetable for the garnish.

2. Add the garlic, soaked bread, olive oil and sherry vinegar to the food processor and blend again until smooth, or to a more textured consistency if desired.

3. Transfer the soup to a jug, cover with cling film and chill for at least 20 minutes, or until cold.

4. Cut the reserved vegetables into small cubes. When ready to serve, pour the gazpacho into bowls and garnish with the vegetables.

Paella

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8b/Paella_Marinara.JPG

Serves 6

60-70 minutes

Ingredients

• 4 langoustines

• 500g of mussels, washed and cleaned

• 500g of clams, washed and cleaned

• 1 onion, diced

• 3 garlic cloves, minced

• 2 chicken breasts

• 4 chipolatas

• 1 pinch of saffron

• 1 tsp paprika

• 400g tin of chopped tomato

• 400g of short grain rice, preferably Bomba rice

• 1.2l shellfish stock

• 1 tbsp of parsley

• salt

Method

1. To begin, heat a paella dish over a medium heat and add 1 tbsp of oil. Sweat down the onions with the minced garlic until softened

2. Dice the chicken and cut the chipolatas into small chunks. Add to the pan, season with salt and fry. Once browned, add the saffron, paprika and chopped tomatoes

3. Cook until the pan is almost dry, then add the rice and give it a really good stir to coat in the tomato

4. Bring the shellfish stock to the boil and add ¾ to the rice. Stir and allow to boil rapidly for 5 minutes before turning the heat down to a gentle simmer

5. Cook without stirring (this is very important for a paella) for around 15 minutes, then add the langoustines and cook for a further 8–10 minutes, until the rice is cooked

6. If the paella begins to look dry, top it up with the remaining shellfish stock

7. While the rice is cooking, cook the clams and mussels. Heat a large saucepan with a tight fitting lid over a high heat

8. Quickly tip in the mussels with about 50ml water and replace the lid. Give the pan a good shake – the idea is to steam the mussels as quickly as possible so you need to keep the lid on and the heat high

9. After a couple of minutes, take the lid off and have a look at the mussels – if they have opened up they are ready. Strain through a fine sieve and cover with a tea towel until you need them to stop them from drying out

10. Repeat the exact same process with the clams. I removed the clams from their shells to fit everything in the paella dish, but you can leave them in if you prefer for presentation

11. When the rice and langoustines are cooked, top with the mussels and clams and sprinkle over a handful of chopped parsley

Churros with chocolate orange sauce

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/226/447644763_d7b08cad15_z.jpg?zz=1

  

Serves 5

40 minutes

Ingredients

For the churros

• 225g of plain flour

• 1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda

• 1 pinch of salt

• 320ml of boiling water

• 40g of butter, melted

• 400ml of sunflower oil

• 75g of caster sugar

• 1 tsp ground cinnamon, heaped

For the chocolate sauce

• 180ml of double cream

• 1 orange, zest from

• 150g of dark chocolate, chopped

Method

For perfect churros you’ll need a piping bag and star-shaped nozzle, a deep-sided pan for frying and a thermometer to check the temperature of the oil. If you don’t have a thermometer to hand, toss a cube of bread into the oil when you think it has come to temperature – if it turns golden brown in 15 seconds, you’re good to go.

1. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt. In a heatproof jug, combine the boiling water and melted butter

2. Make a well in the centre of the flour and pour in the contents of the jug, beating quickly with a wooden spoon until you have a smooth, thick batter with no lumps. Set aside to rest for 10 minutes

3. In a medium bowl, mix together the sugar and cinnamon. Line a separate tray with kitchen roll then set both aside

4. In a small saucepan, gently heat the cream and orange zest for 5 minutes, making sure it doesn’t boil

5. Place the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl, strain the warmed cream over the top then leave to stand for 1 minute. Stir until smooth and combined, then pour into a small bowl or individual glasses

6. To cook the churros, heat the sunflower oil in a large, deep-sided saucepan until it reaches 180°C on a thermometer

7. While the oil is heating, fit a large piping bag with a star shaped nozzle (1.5–2cm wide) and fill with the dough

8. Working quickly, pipe 2–3 strips of dough directly into the hot oil, snipping off each strip with a pair of scissors. Fry for about 2 minutes each side, or until golden brown, then remove to the kitchen roll-lined tray

9. Toss the cooked churros in the cinnamon sugar, then repeat the process with the remaining dough

10. Serve the still-warm churros with the chocolate sauce for dipping. The churros are best eaten on the day of making