Tag: chorizo

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Tapas

Cooked my own tapas, with variety of dishes.

Pan fried squid and prawns: Simple slice the squid into rings and fry on a hot pan with a splash of olive oil. The prawn, I butterflied and again just cooked in a hot pan.

Patatas Bravas – Fried potato, topped with a spicy tomato sauce. I made the tomato sauce myself, onions, tinned tomatoes, a hint of chilli and a splash of balsamic vinegar. The potatoes, I cheated and used frozen fried potatoes baked in the oven.

Chorizo Frito al Vino: Remember to buy the whole sausage and not the thinly salami style sliced version.

Chorizo

My method is to cut the chorizo into slices about quarter of an inch thick. Fry in a large frying pan until sealed on both sides and just starting to go a little crispy. At this point I add the red wine (Spanish red wine is best, but I am sure you can use any good red wine).

Cook the chorizo for a few more minutes and then serve.

Rosemary flavoured roasted chicken breast: Simple roast a chicken breast on a bed of rosemary with a splash of olive oil.

Overall some delicious dishes.

Photo source.

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What no chorizo?

Only a couple of days ago I mentioned cooking Chorizo Frito al Vino using Tesco’s Cooking Chorizo.

You can imagine my disappointment that my local Tesco is discontinuing to sell the cooking chorizo.

I’ll have to start using the dried version.

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Chorizo Frito al Vino




I do like this dish which is simply the spicy Spanish sausage, sautéed in red wine.

I have started using Tesco’s Cooking Chorizo which is not as hard (or as chewy) as the traditional dried chorizo which you can buy from most supermarkets.

Just a note you are buying the whole sausage and not the thinly salami style sliced version.

Chorizo

My method is to cut the chorizo into slices about quarter of an inch thick. Fry in a large frying pan until sealed on both sides and just starting to go a little crispy. At this point I add the red wine (Spanish red wine is best, but I am sure you can use any good red wine).

Cook the chorizo for a few more minutes.

Serve as part of a tapas or with salad. The red wine with the chorizo makes a wonderfully spicy sauce which you can dunk warm soft bread into.

Photo source.

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Tapas for a Tenner

I have been meaning for ages to visit La Tasca. I really like tapas and I really wanted to try their paella – more often then not I am very disappointed with the paella that is offered at other places.

So today I happened to be in Regent Street and popped into La Tasca for a (very) late lunch.

I decided to do the Tapas for a Tenner deal. This deal allows you to eat as many tapas as you want for just £10! The deal varies across the UK, but here it was available until 5pm, whilst in Bristol it is available from 5pm!

Tapas for a Tenner

I went for six dishes in the end.

Patatas Bravas – Fried potato, topped with a spicy tomato sauce.

A Spanish classic and a tapas favourite. The tomato sauce was spicy, but rather too salty for me. Whilst the potatoes were soft and not crispy, slightly oily. A bit of a disappointment for a dish which should be relatively simple to make. It felt like it had not been freshly cooked and left around for a while. For me tapas should be freshly cooked.

Paella de Pescado – Paella with squid, prawns and mussels, served with lemon.

This was a well flavoured dish, but again like the patatas bravas did not taste fresh, felt like it had been cooked a good hour earlier.

Calamares a la Andaluza – Deep-fried rings of squid, served with roasted garlic mayonnaise and lemon.

Now this is a dish which again is simplicity, but oh was so wrong. The rings were overcooked so were rubbery in texture. I got the feeling (and I may have been wrong) that these were not freshly prepared, but came from a packet or even the freezer. Good calamari should be cooked using fresh squid. Alas they covered the calamari in salt – if I wanted salt I would have asked for it.

Chorizo Frito al Vino – The spicy Spanish sausage, sautéed in red wine.

This in my opinion was perfect, great chorizo cooked in red wine, bursting with meaty flavours and with a great depth provided by the red wine. This one I would have had second helpings of.

Selección de Embutidos – A selection of cured Spanish meats.

Can you get this wrong, no, and La Tasca didn’t. Three slices each of three different kinds of cured Spanish meats.

Paella Valenciana – A Valencian-style paella, with mixed seafood and chicken.

A different paella to the first tapas, but a similar story.

Overall I kind of had what I expected. La Tasca is a chain (not a family run restaurant) and probably cooks to a system. I did enjoy the meal (despite the disappointing food) and the ambiance and the atmosphere was pleasant, and you have to remember this was a very busy Regent Street.

Will I go again, possibly if I was stuck and there was nothing else to choose from.