EASY TAPAS

I promise I will henceforth make more of an effort when photographing food :s I've been given tips by my sister-in-law and so hopefully they will start getting better! Her tips were:

1. Natural Light -  here I have literally stood in the light which is apparently the dumbest thing you can do...

2. Close ups - get up close and personal with the food otherwise you find yourself having to explain in detail that it is in fact a sweet potato not a steak.

3. Make sure the background is a different colour from the food - natural backgrounds are good but the wood in this picture is the same colour as the food so a slate would have been better.

4. Make your food look nicer than this! - I am very often STARVING by the time I plate up so I throw it at the thing so I can get. it. in. my. face.

So I will try these out in my next post.

RECIPE

Serves 2 (if you are big eaters)

Patatas Bravas

• 3 Medium-sized Potato, peeled and chopped into 2cm cubes
• Salt and Pepper
• Olive Oil

• 1 red chilli, chopped (remove seeds if you want it mild)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tin chopped tomatoes

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius and oil a baking tray with olive oil. 

2. Parboil the potato for 10 minutes then drain in a colander. Shake the colander gently until the surface of the potato is fluffy. This will crisp them up in the oven.

3. Place the potato in the baking tray, tossing in the oil and seasoning with salt and pepper, and bake for 30 minutes or until crisp and golden.

4. Meanwhile, place a glug of olive oil, the chilli, garlic and paprika in a saucepan. Fry gently for 2 minutes and then add the tinned tomatoes and sugar. Simmer for 10 minutes and then season to taste.

5. Serve the potatoes topped with the tomato sauce.

Garlic Mushrooms

• 200g Closed Cup Mushrooms, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 1 Tbsp White wine Vinegar
• Handful Parsley, chopped

1. Heat the oil in a saucepan over a medium heat and fry the garlic gently for 2 minutes. 

2. Add the mushrooms and fry gently for 10 minutes. Lastly, add the vinegar and parsley and heat through before serving.

Chorizo in red wine

• 200g Chorizo Sausage, chopped into 1cm rounds
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• Olive Oil
• 250ml red wine

1. Heat the oil in a deep frying pan over a medium heat and fry the garlic and onion gently for 3 minutes.

2. Add the chorizo and fry for 2 minutes to release the oil, add the red wine and simmer gently for 15 minutes, then serve!

Salt and Pepper Squid

• 4 small squid, cut into rounds
• 200g Plain Flour
• 1 Tsp Maldon Sea Salt
• 1/2 Tsp Ground Pepper
• 500 ml Sunflower Oil

1. Heat 4cm of sunflower oil in a deep frying pan (I used a Wok).

2. Mix the flour, salt and pepper in a bowl. Add the squid rings and tentacles, toss them in the flour until lightly coated.

3. Test that the oil is hot enough by dropping in a small piece of squid. If it floats and fizzes it's hot enough. 

4. Cook the squid in batches until it is crisp and golden, and place on kitchen towel to soak up any excess oil before serving.

TIPS AND TWEAKS

I definitely wouldn't try making these all at the same time straight away although it is possible!

The chorizo basically cooks itself as do the mushrooms. You could just whack all the ingredients in and cook those two dishes slowly whilst you deal with the potatoes and squid.

Or you could make the mushrooms, potatoes and chorizo in advance and reheat them whilst making the squid. The potatoes would not be quite as crispy though.

Happy Experimenting!