This recipe was sent to us by Virginia of NYC. Warm Octopus Salad, or Tapas de Pulpo, is a tasty dish that can be served as an appetizer or main dish. Serve with a glass of chilled white wine and enjoy!

Warm Octopus, Paprika and Potato Salad

Ingredients

• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 10 baby yukon potatoes
  
• 4 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 small shallot, minced
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 1/2 cups of chopped (cooked) octopus*
  
• Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
• 1/3 cup of water

*I buy octopus from a Greek Market which is cold but already cooked

Directions

1. Parboil potatoes, drain, cut into 1/4" rounds, set aside
   
2. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat
3. Add garlic, shallot and saute for 2-3 minutes
4. Lower heat, add potatoes, paprika, oregano, cayenne pepper, and water. Cook for about 10 minutes. Water will mostly be absorbed by potatoes.
   
5. Add octopus and 2 Tablespoons of water, stir all ingredients together, cooking for 2 minutes, remove from heat.
   
6. Garnish with a dash of paprika, lemon slices and/or cherry tomatoes. Serve immediately.
   

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This recipe was sent to us by Virgina in NYC. Here we have one of her favorite breakfast dishes which was inspired by leftover potatoes from the night before. A Spanish omelet or tortilla. In Spain you will find this dish served in tapas cafes. It is served hot or cold and enjoyed for breakfast, lunch or dinner.




Spanish Tortilla
Serves 4-6 depending on serving sizes

Ingredients

• 4 sliced potatoes, 1/4" rounds (in this case the potatoes were cooked leftovers)
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 large tomato, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 6 eggs
• 1/4 cup milk
• paprika
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Whisk the eggs with milk
3. Grease an 8" baking dish and add a single layer of potatoes.
4. Next add a layer of the vegetables
5. Add another layer of potatoes and continue layering until potatoes and vegetables are all used
6. Pour the egg/milk mixture over layers
7. Sprinkle with paprika
8. Place in oven and cook for about 15 minutes until eggs are cooked through. Turn heat up to 500 and cook until moderately browned. Remove from heat and serve immediately.
   

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In honor of my recent trip to Spain, I prepared this wonderful mixed seafood paella, garlic alioli and a pitcher of Red Sangria to share with my close friends--It was a huge hit! Here is a recipe for a White Sangria if you prefer this. While paella is a wonderful romantic recipe for two; something perfect for a Seduction Meal, this recipe is good for 4-6 people depending on serving sizes. But no worries, if you find you have leftovers you will look forward to sharing the meal again the next day....it's that good!

Paella is best when cooked in a paella pan, which is a large, shallow, flat pan that allows the rice to be evenly distributed at the bottom of the pan.  As such it absorbs the wonderful flavors imparted by the broth, saffron and sofrito.  Also the best part about using a paella pan...scraping the crispy bits on the bottom. Note: there is a point in the recipe when you no longer stir the ingredients so be sure to cook until slightly crispy. When serving this dish,  the rice should be dry, not creamy like risotto. The first half of cooking paella is to perfectly flavor the rice, after that you then add the meat, seafood or vegetables within the rice to cook. The whole process is about an hour. Not bad for such a delicious meal!    

It was a glorious summer night so I put the paella pan on my BBQ grill for consistent heat under the entire pan. I was thrilled to prepare this dish with my new 15" paella pan.  I have made paella before, but working with the right equipment does make a difference. The rice had much better flavor, but then again the ingredients I used were pretty great too.  I hope you enjoy this as much as we did!  (Full Disclosure: I was given the pan by LaTienda.com).


Mixed Seafood Paella - Paella de Mariscos
Makes 4-6 servings
Recipe Courtesy of LaTienda.com

Ingredients:

• 6 cups clam or seafood broth
• 1 tsp thread saffron
• 1 1/2 pounds firm-fleshed fish, cut in bite-sized pieces
• 1 dozen mussels
• 1 dozen small clams
• 12 large shrimp in shells
• Sea salt
• 2 tbsp parsley, minced
• 8 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp fresh thyme
• 2 tsp sweet smoked paprika
• 8 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 6 scallions, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
• 1 large tomato, chopped
• 2 cups Bomba or Calasparra paella rice
• Lemon wedges
• Serve with Alioli (garlic mayonnaise)/ See Recipe BeloW

Preparation:

1. Heat the broth in a large pot. Stir in saffron.
2. Pat fish and shrimp dry between paper towels. Sprinkle with salt and let sit 10 minutes.
3. With a mortar and pestle mash parsley, garlic, thyme and 1/8 tsp salt into a paste. Stir in paprika; add water if necessary to form a paste.
4. Heat 6 tbsp of oil in 15" paella pan over medium high heat and quickly brown the fish 1-2 minutes. Do not fully cook. Remove to warm platter.
5. Add remaining 2 tbsp of oil, onion, scallions and bell pepper to paella pan and cook until the vegetables are slightly softened. 
6. Raise heat, add tomato and cook until it becomes sauce-like, 2 to 5 minutes.
7. Pour in the hot broth and bring to a boil. Sprinkle the rice evenly across the pan. Boil for 3 minutes, stirring rice and rotating pan occasionally. 
8. Stir in parsley pastime Taste for salt
9. Add all reserved fish (but not shrimp). NOTE: Do not stir after this point.
10. Lower the heat, continue to simmer until rice is no longer soupy but enough liquid remains to continue cooking the rice (about 10 min.) / (I closed my BBQ lid)
11. Add extra liquid if necessary. (I added about 1/4 cup of white white)
12. Arrange shrimp, clams and mussels over rice, placing edges of mussel and clam shells so they open facing up. Push them down in the rice a bit.
13. Cook, uncovered, for 15-20 minutes until rice is almost done (I closed my BBQ lid)
14. Remove pan from the heat and cover with foil. Let sit 10 minutes.
15. Garnish with lemon wedges and serve with fresh alioli.

Alioli Garlic Mayonnaise - Alioli
Recipe Courtesy of LaTienda.com

Ingredients:

• 1 egg, very fresh
• 2 tbsp chopped garlic
• 1 cup of extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 tsp salt

Preparation:

1. Place the egg and chopped garlic in a blender or food processor. Whirl until garlic is smooth.
2. With the motor running, add the oil in a slow stream, until the sauce is thick and emulsified. Add salt to taste.
3. The sauce should be creamy and will have a nice garlic bite. If the alioli is runny, this may mean that the egg was old. To fix this problem, either try again with a fresher egg, or add store-bought mayonnaise to the sauce.

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