Best Spanish Winter Recipe

With winter truly upon us we have been cooking some great typically Andalucian meals over the past few weeks, the threat of snow and hard frosty mornings always gets us in the mood for lighting the wood burner and cooking something with a bit of character for evening meal.

Our winner for best Spanish winter recipe this year is 'Butterflied Lamb & Garlic Asado', a take on the Andalucian lamb asado which uses the famous Cordero Segureno from the Granada region of Spain.

A very simple recipe to prepare and cook, use a terracotta roasting tray if you can and you will get that reassuring 'thud' when the spoon hits the bottom whilst serving up this delicious dish. This Spanish asado is juicer than its close cousin as the lamb is cooked as whole piece instead of steaks. Pop this one in the oven or woodburner and you will create an aromatic dish that is sure to impress the guests as well as the tastebuds!

Full instructions for this winning winter recipe can be found on our main website here

Spanish Lamb Hotpot

Spanish lamb hotpot or ‘Olla de Cordero’ is a popular dish in rural Granada where the famous ‘cordero segureno’ lambs are bred. The quality of the lamb makes a dish like this very special indeed and cooked simply it lets the flavour of the lamb do the work. A lovely winter warmer cooked in typically Andalucian rustic style using a natural terracotta casserole. For this recipe we cooked the lamb in the oven but it can also be cooked on the hob.

You will need (serves 6)

1.5kg Lamb, cubed

2 Sticks of celery, chopped

2 Carrots, sliced

4 Vine ripened tomatoes, chopped

2 Onions, chopped

1 Red bell pepper, chopped

4 Garlic cloves, cracked

2 Sprigs of Thyme, leaves chopped

Black peppercorns

70cl Rioja

Salt

1 tbsp Plain flour

Olive oil

Equipment: Terracotta ‘olla’ or earthenware casserole.

How to cook:

1. Firstly heat a good drizzle of olive oil in the casserole, add the lamb and the flour and brown for 2 minutes then remove from the heat.

2. Add the rest of the ingredients to the lamb and mix together.

3. Pour in the red wine and season well with salt and pepper.

4. Slow cook at 140 degrees for 3 hours topping up with water if required.

5. Serve with mashed potatoes and green vegetables.

Pan Fried Lamb Steaks with Rosemary

Very quick and easy recipe for lamb steaks with rosemary. Have your butcher cut a rear leg of lamb into inch thick steaks, the meat can then be marinated, pan fried or barbequed. This recipe is for a quick lamb lunch and only takes a few minutes once the marinade has worked its flavours into the steaks.

Ingredients: (serves 2)

2 Thick lamb steaks

2 Sprigs fresh rosemary

2 Garlic cloves

Sea salt

Cracked black pepper

Olive oil

How to cook:

1. Crush the garlic cloves and remove the leaves from the rosemary, add to a pestle with the salt, pepper and a good slug of olive oil. Bash and mix well.

2. Place the lamb steaks into a cazuela and pour over the marinade making sure the lamb is covered on both sides. Marinade for 30 minutes (or up to 4 hours)

3. Place the lamb steaks into a hot frying pan and fry for 6 minutes each side or until lamb is cooked to your preference.

4. Serve with fresh salad and boiled potatoes.

Lamb Salad on Potato Cakes

Andalucia, although not famous for it actually produces some of the finest lamb in the world. "Cordero Segureno" is a rare breed of sheep which over many years and generations has become accustomed to the harsh rural Andalucian conditions. In fact the breed is so adapted to the long dry summers and cold winters of Spain a flock sent to the south of France a few years ago for breeding didn't flourish, seems the French countryside was too kind, green and forgiving for what must be the toughest sheep in Europe!

Orce village and surrounding areas are famous for their "Asado de Cordero" a slow baked lamb dish with potato, garlic onions and herbs. These tradaitional dishes are served in the center of the table in an enourmous metal baking tray - everyone of course then gets stuck in, crusty bread and red wine ready to mop up and wash down.

You can of course make an asado yourself, there are usually leftovers so here is what to do with them, that garlic and herb infused meat makes a great summer salad. Leftovers from a roast leg of lamb in rosemary also work equally well. Lamb salad on potato cakes, nice and easy.

Ingredients:

Leftover potatoes
Leftover swede or turnip
1 Onion, diced
Cracked black pepper
1 Garlic clove, diced
Squeeze lemon juice
Olive oil
Leftover roast lamb
Fresh salad, peppers, Tomatoes etc

Cooking:

1. Combine the swede, potatoes and diced onion in a large cazuela and mix well along with the seasoning.

2. Add the garlic, and a splash of milk, continue to mix then shape into patties or “potato cakes”.

3. Fry each cake until golden brown on each side then set aside onto a plate.

4. Cut the lamb into thin strips and arrange over the potato cake then add the mixed salad.

5. Drizzle generously with extra virgin olive oil.

Roast Lamb in Rioja Gravy

Well winter is certainly upon us! December in inland Andalucia usually sees a few sprinkles of snow before Christmas - cue the fire. There is nothing quite like the smell of roast leg of lamb cooking in the woodburner, this recipe uses a red wine gravy to accompany the lamb. A great winter warmer. Enjoy.

Ingredients: (serves 4)

1 Large leg of lamb
1 Onion
1 Carrot
3 Garlic cloves, crushed
2 Sprigs rosemary
70cl bottle Rioja/red wine
1 Jar piquillo peppers



Lamb

1. Rub olive oil over the lamb, using a small knife create holes in the lamb and push rosemary inside, season the lamb with salt and pepper.

2. Place in a pre heated oven on a shallow baking tray at 180 degrees for 2 hours.

Gravy

1. Roughly chop the onion and carrot, fry in a cazuela until browned along with the garlic.

2. When the lamb is ready, remove from the oven and pour the juices into the cazuela. Add the pequillo peppers and any remaining red wine.

3. Cook over a high heat and reduce by half.

4. Sieve the vegetables, the gravy is now ready. Serve piping hot.

Spanish Lamb Recipe

Barbequed lamb is a real treat and can be marinaded in many ways, this particular marinade is best left for at least three hours to infuse all those flavours. For this recipe we have a leg of lamb cut into steaks with the bone remaining in the centre. Great flavour and an easy summer barbeque recipe.



Ingredients:

1 Leg of Lamb (cut into steaks)
Fresh Mint (roughly chopped)
1 Onion (grated)
1 Garlic clove (crushed)
100g Butter
Dry mustard
Ground black pepper

Cooking:

Prepare the barbeque and get a nice "brasa"

Prepare by rubbing the meat with the dry mustard, grated onion and garlic.

Mix your butter with a little onion and garlic, add pepper and gently heat into a sauce then add the mint leaves and simmer for 2 minutes.

Place the lamb on the barbeque and baste with the sauce while cooking.

The key to the cooking is that the barbeque coals are just right, not too hot and with cooking time only around 10 minutes the basting of the meat can be generous. For more traditional Spanish barbeque ideas visit the Orce Serrano Hams recipe pages.

Happy Barbequeing!

Roast Lamb & Asturian Cider

Spanish recipe for lamb - Cordero segureno is a fine lamb produced in and around the village of Orce, the quality is regarded as one of the best in the whole of Spain. For this recipe we have used Asturian cider - there are two types of  cider both bottle fermented but the "extra" which is slightly stronger packs a little more flavour.



Ingredients:

1 large leg of lamb about 2 1/2 kg
6 garlic cloves roughly squashed (skins left on)
4 apples, cored and quartered
500ml Asturian cider
Extra virgin olive oil
4-5 sprigs of thyme or rosemary
Juice of half a lemon
Salt and pepper
500ml Chicken or lamb stock





1. Preheat the oven to high then score the lamb in a criss-cross pattern, drizzle with a little olive oil and rub in salt and pepper.

2. Put the lamb in a deep roasting tin and add the garlic and herbs, pour over the lemon juice, add an extra drizzle of olive oil and cook in the hot oven for about 20 minutes.

3. After 25-30 minutes, turn the heat right down and remove the leg of lamb. Place the apples into the tin and pour in the cider and return to the oven for about an hour.

4. When the lamb is cooked, remove from the tin and place onto a cutting board, cover with foil and leave to rest while you prepare the sauce.

5. Place a sieve over a pan and tip in the contents of the roasting tin (everything will be nice and soft) into the sieve, squashing down so you get out the juices.

6. Discard the pulp remaining and add the stock to the pan with the juices, boil until the sauce is the thickness you like.

7. Carve the lamb and serve with the sauce and fresh greens and potatoes.



Enjoy!

Liver tapas

More photos of prehistoric cats... this is the same guy from the previous post and an actual cast of the bones found in Fuente Nueva. Some influence for Ridley Scott's "ALIEN" movie in 1979?



Lambs liver or "higado" is quite popular in Andalucia. With some fresh good quality liver one of the best ways to cook it to gently fry..

It was an accident when this method came about as our neighbours brought some liver for us to cook in the frying pan. Due to time (and some hungry guests) we decided to throw the chopped up liver into a terracotta cazuela with a little olive oil and let it cook over the BBQ coals (15 minutes)

Apparently the taste was infinitely better over the smokey barbeque



The liver needs to be sliced up into generous parts and sliced thinly later for serving. Sea salt adds a nice flavour as well as a little crunch, excellent with a good red wine for tapas or starters.

Always good to hear "Muy buena!!!" after such a simple tapa.