5 Typical Spanish Recipes

Due to the COVID-19 safety measures, we are advised to keep the security measures and quarantine, with this, there’s plenty of time to venture into the kitchen and, why not try making typical Spanish recipes? In this post, we will show you 5 quick, simple and tasty dishes, that will get you to Spain in just a few minutes!

Spanish Paella

It’s one of the most emblematic dishes of Spanish cuisine. It comes from the intensive cultivation of rice and other ingredients in Valencia, which has led to the creation of Paella Valenciana by peasants and local workers. For lunch, they took what they had harvested in the fields and cooked the Paella. The Paella is a simple dish eaten on any occasion, but especially when friends or families get together, or on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. Are you brave enough to cook this dish?

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp of Olive oil
• 1 Onion
• 1 tsp each hot smoked paprika and dried thyme
• 300g paella or risotto rice
• 3 tbsp of white wine (optional)
• 400g can chopped tomatoes with garlic
• 900ml of Chicken Stock
• 400g of frozen seafood mix, vegetable mix or meat
• ½ of Lemon Juice and other ½ cut into wedges
• Handful of flat-leaf parsley (chopped)

Preparation:

1. Put one tablespoon of oil in a large frying pan or wok and add one chopped onion.
2. Add one teaspoon of hot smoked paprika, one teaspoon of dried thyme and 300g of paella or risotto rice. Stir for 1 min and then add three tablespoons of white wine.
3. When evaporated, add a can of 400g of chopped tomato with garlic and 900ml of chicken stock.
   Season and cook, uncovered, for about 15 minutes, and stir from time to time until the rice is almost tender and still with some liquid.
4. Add 400g of seafood mixture, vegetables or even meat (whichever you prefer) to the pan and cover with a lid. Bring to the boil over a low heat for 5 minutes or until the shellfish, vegetables or meat are cooked and the rice is tender.
5. Squeeze a bit of lemon juice, spread with a handful of flat-leaf parsley and serve with the wedges of the half lemon.

Tortilla de Patatas (Spanish Omelette)

One of the most popular tapas in 477 millions of people around the world, Tortilla is one of the simplest dishes to make, can you believe it? It can be served as a main course, breakfast snack or even as a tapa to share among friends. It can be eaten cold or hot and there are tortillas for all kinds of tastes. But here we will teach you how to do the traditional Spanish Tortilla recipe. If you feel adventurous, why not add some extra ingredients?

• 1 Big Potato or 2 Potatoes
• 4 Eggs
• Salt
• Olive oil

Preparation:

1. First, peel the potatoes and then cut them in slivers.
2. Heat the oil in a frying pan, (attention: the oil has to cover the bottom of the frying pan), and put there the potatoes. Move it regularly, so all the slivers can be cooked.
3. In a bowl, add 4 eggs and mix it with two pinches of salt.
4. When the potatoes are cooked, dry and add them to the bowl, then put the whole content in a different frying pan with just a bit of olive oil.
5. Let it cook slowly and be careful, the tortilla shouldn’t stick to the edges.
6. When the tortilla is cooked underneath, put a plate on top of the frying pan. Be careful! This is the most risky moment of the recipe!
7. In a fast and precise movement, turn over the frying pan, so the tortilla is now well flat in the plate, and after that, let the tortilla slide in the frying pan to cook the other part.
8. Be careful, a good Spanish Tortilla has to be runny, not too dry, so you have to cook it, but not too much.

Gazpacho

The history isn’t well known, but we know that it was born in Andalusia. It’s even said that "De gazpacho no hay empacho" - gazpacho is never too much!!! The Gazpacho, it’s one of the easiest dishes to find in any café, restaurant, or bar in Spain, one of the most consumed dishes or drink during Summer because it’s refreshing and served cold. Easy to prepare and can be made from all kinds of leftovers. Shall we try ?

Ingredients:

• Bread (without the crusts)
• 8 Tomatoes(no need to chop just take the seeds)
• Cucumber(peeled and seeded)
• Green Pepper(without seeds)
• Salt, Pepper and Ground Cumin
• 1 big Garlic or 2 smalls (chopped)
• ½ of Onion (peeled)
• Sherry Vinegar
• 3 tbsp of Olive Oil

Preparation:

1. You’ll need to cut out all the ingredients, a blender or a food processor. Put everything except the bread inside the blender and let it grind, after a minute to grind put the bread, but let it rest so that it softens a little and is easier to grind.
2. Grind everything back to a consistency you like (could be a puree consistency).
3. Then put the soup in a container and leave it in the fridge until it is completely fresh.
4. To finish, as soon as it is cold, serve it and you can add some bread crumbs or other types of toppings that you may like.

Huevos Rotos (Broken Eggs)

The history of this dish goes back to 1846 from the book "Gathering from Spain" this recipe was one of the food resources of a lot of humble families in Spain. Variations of this dish, can be found throughout Spain, including the Canary Islands, where it’s said to have originated. It’s a simple and humble dish that enchants many, and where the main goal is to leave the egg yolk liquid, to be able to dip the chips on it. Yummmy!!! Ready to be charmed?

Ingredients:

• Iberian Ham or Mushrooms
• 1 or 2 Eggs per person
• ½ litre of Olive oil
• 2 large Potatoes
• Salt

Preparation:

1. Fry the potatoes over medium heat for about 10-12 minutes, as soon as they are ready, drain and add salt and pepper. (Note: Use olive oil).
2. Fry the eggs in another frying pan, but be careful to leave the yolk liquid (It’s important!!!)
3. When ready, place the potatoes on a plate and cover them with the eggs.
4. You can also add the Iberian ham, mushrooms or peppers to chaperon.

Churros con Chocolate (Churros with Chocolate)

Okay, it’s actually not a dessert, but one of the best Spanish sweets, so we couldn’t leave this one out.
One theory says that churros were brought to Europe from China by the Portuguese. Another theory is that the churros were created by Spanish shepherds because the “churro dough” was easy to produce and fried in the mountains, where they lived. Churros are best eaten dipped in very thick hot chocolate and are usually eaten as a snack in wintertime or if you have a sweet-tooth for breakfast.

Ingredients:

• 300g of Powdered Chocolate
• 1½ glass of Milk
• ½ glass of Water
• 250g of Flour
• Salt, Sugar and Oil
• 1 Pastry Bag with a grooved nozzle

Preparation:

1. Put the water to boil with a little bit of salt on it. Once it boils add the sieved flour and stir constantly.
2. When the mix is easily detached from the bottom of the pan, remove from the heat and let it cool until it’s lukewarm.
3. Put the mix into a pastry bag.
4. Heat some oil in the frying pan and, once the oil is hot enough, put the dough, using the pastry bag, and shape them as you like.
5. Don’t make too many at the same time, as they must have space. Remove them from the pan once they get a golden color and drain them with paper.
6. Boil the milk and add the chocolate. Stir and remove from the fire when the ingredients are all mixed. You can add more milk according to your taste.
7. The best way to eat them is by dipping the churros in the chocolate cup.

After all this theory, why not jump into the kitchen and test some of these fantastic recipes? We Oasis, are sure you’ll be the next Masterchef of Spanish cuisine in your family or among your friends. And when you’re next travelling around Spain or maybe having a free walking tour with our groups, you can easily find these dishes in most of the restaurants on the streets, so enjoy!

LET’S DO THIS?