As promised, here's an easy recipe for pisto, which I'll translate as: “Ratatouille Spanish style” (or at least the way I make it) . I've tried to find the original thread for recipes that Fernando started last year, but couldn't, so, here it goes:

Ingredients:

3 tomatoes
3 small potatoes, or 2 big ones
2 onions
3 cloves of garlic
2 green peppers
1 courgette
1 aubergine
olive oil (about 1 smallish glass)
salt
pepper (optional)
parsley (optional)
2-3 eggs (optional)

Peel the potatoes and cut them the way you would to prepare a "tortilla de patata'. Wash all the veggies, dry them off with absorbent kitchen paper, and then dice the aubergine and the courgette into 2 cm, or ¾ in cubes, slice the peppers into strips and the onion into rings, and chop the garlic. Peel the tomatoes as well, remove the seeds and any hard parts, and dice.
In a big frying pan, casserole or somewhere similar, with hot olive oil, fry the fine slices of potato, the onion until transparent, and add the pepper and garlic; then add the aubergine and courgette, the tomatoes, check for salt, lower the heat a little, and leave to cook for around fifteen-twenty minutes. At last, you may add the previously beaten eggs, the ground black pepper, stir a little, and sprinkle with chopped parsley before removing from the heat.

Best if served in a casserole (earthenware) and either hot or at room temperature.

Voila! Bon appétit! (pardon my French, he, he!)

Recipe for the very typical dish: "Boquerones en vinagre', or Fresh anchovies in vinegar.

Ingredients:

300 gr (10 oz) anchovies
Wine vinegar
Garlic
Fresh parsley
Salt
Olive oil

To clean the fish, run your index finger along the belly, completely opening the anchovies. Pull gently from the head and separate the spine from the flesh. Wash the fish thoroughly in cold water and allow to dry. Divide each anchovy into two fillets. (You might be able to avoid doing most of this if your local fish merchant is nice enough to do the cleaning for you! )
Place the anchovies in a container and cover with the vinegar. Leave to marinate for two to three hours until the flesh softens.
Meanwhile, finely chop the garlic and the parsley, which should always be fresh. After the marinade time, rinse the anchovies well, removing all the liquid.
Place them on a platter, sprinkle with the garlic and parsley, and season with salt. Finally, drizzle with olive oil until they are covered. And that's it, done! (These anchovies are just as good eaten the next day, and even after a couple of days, if kept in the refrigerator. ) Best accompanied by some bread, so they can be served as canapés.

Tortilla paisana, or “Omelette country style”. (This is really a variation of the amazing but plain tortilla de patatas)

Ingredients:

500 gr (1 lb) potatoes
6 eggs
100 gr (4 oz) green beans
100 gr (4 oz) peas
50 gr (2 oz) Spanish ham
50 gr (2 oz) chorizo
1 onion
Olive oil
Salt
(Note: Some ingredients may vary to taste, as happens with most Spanish dishes, other possible ingredients are green peppers, tomatoes,….)

Peel the potatoes, wash them, and chop into fine smallish pieces. Finely chop half the onion in the same way.
Heat plenty of olive oil in a frying pan and add first the potatoes, then the onion, together with a dash of salt. Fry on a low heat, stirring occasionally, making sure that they are cooked through, but do not brown much.
Chop the beans and cook, together with the peas, until tender.
Chop the other half of the onion and add to a frying pan with some olive oil. Fry until the onion becomes transparent, then add the ham and chorizo (both diced), the beans and peas (once strained), and finally add all of this to the potatoes, draining off any surplus oil (saving some for later).
Beat the eggs with a little salt in a deep bowl, and add the mixture to the egg, stirring well.
Heat, yet again, a frying pan, well greased with some of the oil, and cook the omelette on both sides. Flipping it about a couple of times, or until both sides look golden brown, and….delicious!

Enjoy!

Coming up: patatas ali-oli, bacalao a la vizcaína, croquetas de jamón, salmorejo, pollo al ajillo, etc....

pim,
Outstanding!

I can't wait to try these recipes. I can't decide which one I'll try first. I hope I can find fresh anchovies in a nearby specialty seafood store. I can't tell you how many 'boquerones' I ate while in Spain, I just love them.

Looking forward to other recipes from your kitchen,
Shawnito

Shawnito,

¡Graaaciaaas!

Question: I was about to post the recipe for 'bacalao a la vizcaína', but I guess it would be "useless" if you can't find 'pimientos choriceros'(sweet red peppers¿?) in other countries, I really have no idea....Could anyone tell me if they exist in other places, please? (it's hard to believe you don't have the very tasty and healthy white asparagus in many places! )

BTW, any requests?

Hello pim,

At least in Los Angeles, there is no problem finding fresh white asparagus. It usually cost a bit more than the green variety. I suppose some of the cheaper supermarkets don't carry it, but most of the better ones do offer it.

As for the sweet red peppers, I think most specialty Italian food stores offer them. They aren't cheap, but they are so good.

The bacalao may be harder to find. We have fresh cod, but the salted variety (bacalao) I don't remember seeing. Maybe CaliBasco or somebody else would know where to find salted cod.

One of the better aspects of living in a large multicultral city is having access to nearly all the worlds ingredients. Sadly, those who don't live in the largest cities don't have such good luck.

Saludos

Pim
Here in NY white asparagus is very hard to find. (Perhaps at specialty shops where it is SO ridiculously expensive.) However, bacalao is pretty easy to find here and in the last few years even good chorizo can be found. Hooray! Thanks for posting your recipes..I love them...

Good job Paloma

Se me está haciendo la boca agua

Fernando

Ooops! The ghosts in my computer are playing games again!

¡Oye, Paloma me vas a matar con tus recetas, hija!

I love Bacalao a la Vizcaina. The best, after my Abuelita's, I ate in Santiago de Compostela on Christmas day, 2001! I thought I had gone to heaven! Ay que rico!

Shawn,
I can get Bacalao at any Latino market here in North Florida, but I have found that our Publix supermarkets carries Canadian codfish in a box that tastes exactly like the bacalao español.

Pim, the pimientos morrones or sweet peppers are plentiful here as well. But as Shawn says if you buy the Italian brands they are pricey. I buy the 6oz. cans from Spain at my Latino Market and they are about .89 cents.

You may want to try La Tienda; or
La Española Meats; or, you might try my favorite,
Cuban Food Market and see if they sell Bacalao.

I can't wait to try your recipe, Pim!

Buen Provecho, everybody!