Pizarro and Fragata

When it comes to Spanish food Jose Pizarro is the master, so when Fragata UK offered food bloggers the opportunity to cook two dishes with him I was hooked.

To be in with a chance you had to come up with a couple of recipes using their range of Spanish ingredients and include olives in each dish, Jose would pick the ones he personally liked and the successful recipes would be cooked with him. A similar competition for non-bloggers is running on the Fragata UK Facebook page.

Though I am a huge advocate of local foods Wales, bounteous though she is, does not yet have Olive groves so I have long used Fragata Olives and Peppers whenever cooking Spanish food. Of course if I am visiting my brother-in-law who lives in Orba I will hit the markets for local produce, but Fragata are my go to brand in the UK.

A main course should be fairly straightforward especially as we are at the peak of the tomato season and I live very near Trealy Farm whose award winning charcuterie includes chorizo,  and a spicy version. Combining this with olives should give a nice rounded dish, and one that combines  Local and Great. This main course will serve two but could be a starter for four people.

An olive element in a dessert might be a little trickier, but a brainstorming session with James Swift from Trealy during chorizo discussions gave me some ideas.

So off to the kitchen to test the recipes!

First up use the glut of tomatoes to make a thick sauce, 4lbs of tomatoes simmered slowly in their own juices with a splash of olive oil and some sweet smoked paprika and a little Halen Mon smoked sea salt.

Then a tin of Fragata Pitted Black Olives is called into action as olives are combined with Fragata Capers, Anchovies, Garlic, Lemon Juice, Olive oil, Black Pepper and Parsley to make a Tapenade.

The tapenade will fill a boned out chicken thigh which will be wrapped in Jamon Serrano and poached before being quickly fried and served with a rich smoky tomato and chorizo sauce. A spicier version could well use Fragata Piri Piri for a chili hit.

Mains done it’s time to turn attention to dessert.

With the amazing oranges and lemons that Spain produces a citrus theme seems obvious, but what to make and how to involve olives in the dessert?

For a while, I have made an Orange Ice Cream. As Orange juice, Milk, Cream and Eggs do not emulsify well, only the zest of the orange is used, infused in the milk and strained out once it has given its rich citrus flavour and also coloured the milk.

To add more citrus flavour a little Lemon Marmalade is added to the custard before chilling. Next whipped cream goes in and the ice-cream maker does its magic for 15-20 minutes.

An Olive, Almond Lemon Praline will accompany the dish with a fudge sauce providing some extra flavour and texture.

So to the recipes:

Tapenade

Ingredients

• 1garlic clove, crushed
• 1 lemon, juice only
• 3 tbsp. capers, chopped
• 6 anchovy fillets, chopped
• 250g/9oz black olives, pitted
• small bunch fresh parsley, chopped
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2-4 tbsp.extra virgin olive oil

Preparation method

1. To make a rough textured tapenade, simply mix all the ingredients together, adding enough olive oil to form a paste.
2. For a smoother texture, tip the garlic, lemon juice, capers and anchovy into a food processor and process for about 10 seconds. Add the olives and parsley and enough olive oil to make a paste.
3. Season to taste if necessary.

 

Chicken

4 chicken thighs skinned and boned out.

4 slices of Jamon Serrano

4 Dsp. Tapenade

Place the tapenade in the middle of the chicken thigh and roll it over to seal, Wrap the chicken in a slice of ham then wrap in Clingfilm to make a sausage shape. Double wrap and then refrigerate.

Before using poach the thighs in the Clingfilm at a gentle simmer for 25 minutes to cook through then unwrap and crisp the ham by frying in a little olive oil or butter.

 

Tomato Sauce with Chorizo

Ingredients

 

400 mils Tomato Sauce

100grams cooking Chorizo skinned and cut into ½ inch slices

1 clove of Garlic sliced

1 small Onion diced to ¼ inch

4 Pimiento Piquillo

1 tsp. Smoked Paprika

Smoked Sea Salt

2 Piri Piri chilis (optional)

1tbsp Olive Oil

 

Heat the Olive Oil then add the Chorizo, Onion and Garlic, cook on a medium heat for 5 minutes before adding the Pimiento Piquillo, fry for a further 2 minutes before adding the Paprika stirring well to ensure that it is well distributed. Add the Tomato Sauce (and Piri Piri if wished) and bring to simmer for 10 minutes.

 

Put onto a plate and add the Chicken, ensuring that a little sauce has been reserved to drizzle over the chicken. Serve.

I would serve this with a good rustic bread to soak up the rich sauce at the end. Patatas Bravas would be another option,

Orange Ice Cream

Ingredients

130g Sugar

5 Egg Yolks

200ml Milk

240ml Double Cream

Zest of an Orange

50ml Marmalade (I use Lemon)

Put the Orange Zest in the Milk to infuse then bring to a gentle simmer and take off the heat.

Whisk the Yolks and Sugar till well combined.

Slowly pour the milk into the egg/sugar mix whisking all the time, and return to the saucepan, .over a low heat.  Stir continuously as it heats to around 72c. Much hotter and you will have Orange Scrambled Eggs so use a thermometer. When thickened to coating consistency remove from heat, add the Marmalade and stir to dissolve then cool and chill in the fridge to 5c.

Whip the cream to double the volume but do not over whip then fold in to the chilled custard. Place in Ice Cream Maker or straight into freezer. If using a machine once set freeze, if using the freezer remove after an hour, stir and return. Stirring prevents the build-up of ice crystals. The ice cream should be soft enough to serve straight from the freezer but if not let it stand at room temperature for 10 minutes or so.

 

Olive, Almond and Lemon Praline

Ingredients

4 or 5 Pitted Green Olives

7or 8 Whole Almonds

Zest of a Lemon

4oz (110g) Caster Sugar

Roughly chop the almonds and Olives and combine with the Lemon Zest.

Put the Sugar into a saucepan and add the Olive, Almond Lemon mix. Heat gently until the sugar melts and turns golden. DO NOT STIR. When the syrup has taken on the colour you like swirl to make sure that the solid ingredients are all coated in syrup and turn on to a Silpat Mat or oiled baking tray to set. When set break into small pieces or put through a food processor for a finer finish.

If possible save a little caramel and mix in double cream to make a Fudge Sauce.

To serve, I also made a few Lemon Tuille Biscuits

Ingredients

10oz Self Raising Flour (Sifted)

8oz Butter

4oz Sugar

Zest of a Lemon

Cream the butter and sugar then stir in the flour and add the zest. Bring the ingredients into a ball.

Break off small lumps the size of a Walnut and place them on an oiled or papered baking tray leaving lots of space as they will expand!!!

Bake at 180c for about 8 minutes then remove and allow to cool on the tray, they are thin and delicate and would break. Once cooled, place in an airtight container.

 

This dough will stay fresh for a week in the fridge or can be frozen so no need to make hundreds at once!

 

 

This blog post was for a Fragata UK competition and I used a hamper of Fragata products provided by them.

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