french onion mashed potatoes

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I found this recipe on Bluesky one sleepless night from a rather unlikely source (he usually posts political stuff) and it sounded so good I wanted to give it a go. He also linked to a recipe, which I used as a base but ended up changing it a bit (as usual). For example, I left out the heavy cream and used a salted butter & olive oil mix to caramalise the onions, plus swapped out gruyere for manchego (finely grated so it stirs in and melts easily). And only stirring after mashing so the potatoes didn’t get all gluey.

Anyhow, the basic idea is gorgeous mashed potatoes with caramalised onions and cheese stirred in, so it’s pretty flexible. I’ve also made this with a mix of sweet onions and shallots and then stirred in wilted baby spinach at the end – also delicious.

Ingredients & instructions below…
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parsley-almond-feta pesto

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I totally forgot about this recipe until I was looking through my files for a different set of photos this morning and found these (from last May). And I thought darn, I could have made this today but I used up all the parsley yesterday making this sauce. Then it occurred to me that if I just added chopped almonds and crumbled feta to that sauce I would end up with this. Which is what I did. The first time I made this pesto I served it with air fryer roasties and a simple onion & tomato salad (above). Today I’m going with roasties again but with air fryer drumsticks and… not sure yet. Will add that photo below later on.

UPDATE: nope, in the end I didn’t use the parsley sauce to make this pesto because it already had salt added (forgot about that, oops) and with the feta and toasted almonds (also salted) it would have been too much. But I’ll keep it in mind next time I make the parsley sauce, to add salt just before using in case I want to use it for something else. Made the batch yesterday to use up the parsley while it was still fresh.

Ingredients and instructions below…
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solomillo al “whisky”

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While writing a recent article on the curious history of solomillo al whisky I realised that the recipe I had originally posted here back in 2011 needed updating, so here it is. And yes, there is no whisky in it. Click on the link to read the origin story of this quintessential sevillana tapa.

My favourite version of this sauce has a nice lemony zing to balance out the richness of the butter and olive oil. It’s also quite versatile. In many tapas bars they also serve it over warm tortilla de patatas, and of course in a mantecaíto, which is basically a solomillo al whisky tapa (sauce, chips and all) in a bun.

Ingredients and instructions below…
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espinacas con garbanzos 2

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This is an update of a previous update of this very nice recipe for espinacas con garbanzos, a very traditional version, which is delicious. But it turns out that I almost never make this dish the same way twice and so I’ve been tweaking it, looking up a few more recipes, got confounded by some that add tomato (wut) and then kind of settled on this version, which is what I’ve been doing for a while, except now with added chopped toasted almonds (game changer!).

So here it is. I like using baby spinach that I wilt in the microwave because then you don’t have to boil anything and the spinach comes out much brighter, more tender, and (I think) has more flavour.

Ingredients and instructions below…
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air fryer roasties

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Okay, this recipe has been a long time coming… so long in fact that I’d forgotten I hadn’t posted it until someone asked me on Instagram the other day. Let’s just say I’ve been attempting to perfect air fryer roasties ever since I first got the beast almost three years ago. The main way these differ from their oven-roasted counterparts is that it’s not really convenient to heat up the oil (or goose fat) until almost spitting before adding the potatoes because I’ve found these turn out better in the air fryer by putting them directly in the hot basket (no pan). So what I do is douse the potatoes in lovely evoo (or sometimes a combo of evoo and melted butter), quickly toss them and throw them into the pre-heated basket, giving them a shake every ten minutes and squirting them with a bit more evoo if they look like they need it.

As I say, I’ve tried several variations and they were all good, but not quite “there” yet, if you know what I mean. And then I came across Nigella’s recipe for Perfect Roast Potatoes which included a dredging in semolina after par-boiling and just before hitting the hot goose fat. So two things… I couldn’t find semolina anywhere here and wasn’t using spitting hot oil. And so instead I threw a handful of panko crumbs over the hot and freshly evoo-doused par-boiled potatoes, gave that a toss, and then right into the hot basket. And hey… success.

Ingredients and instructions below…
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cauliflower and broccoli soup

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I have kind of a sweet deal with my flatmate Peter. I do all the cooking, he does all the washing up. But this also means that, as we mostly eat our main meal together at home I have to eschew a few ingredients that Peter can’t abide: brussel sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli and cucumber. And I LOVE all of those things. Anyhow, yesterday I cooked up a whack of fabada for him to, well eat, and also freeze for future solo lunches. So that was his cosy winter lunch sussed for today and I decided to give in to two of my favourite veg: cauliflower and broccoli.

I first made this soup during lockdown and found it sooo comforting but forgot to write it down. It’s simple and with very few ingredients, but today I also forgot (because it’s been so long!) that I used to add a small diced cooked potato to the mix to give it a bit of texture, so I steamed that separately after everything else was ready to go and added it. I also used these cute mini broccoli and cauliflower as it’s just for me. I reckon it’s no more expensive than having most of a massive and cheaper cauliflower rot in the fridge. ANYHOW. To make it totally vegetarian swap chicken broth for veggie broth, for vegans just omit the yoghurt topping. The sourdough croutons add great crunchy texture.

Ingredients and instructions below…

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beer batter prawns

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I’ve made these a few times now so it’s time to share them with you. Beer batter prawns! I have to say the first time I ever saw beer batter in action was when I was working at the (in)famous Rocinante tapas bar in Bristol (early 90s). Chef Chris would bring his bowl of flour-n-stuff from the kitchen over to the beer tap and then whisk it all up for his beautifully battered calamares. Trying this out on my own – putting together a few different recipes I found online – I have come to these main conclusions. Make sure your prawns (or fish, squid, etc) are nice and dry before commencing. Make sure your beer is COLD. And always “dust” your prawns before placing them in the batter.

I first used frozen peeled prawns because… easy. But they have to be thoroughly thawed and patted dry first. Another time I used big gambones with the tail left on, which you can see below. Also I shallow fry in a large frying pan using extra virgin olive oil.

Ingredients and instructions below…

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crispy af chicken drumsticks

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The “AF” stands for air fryer, btw, though you could also go with a fan oven. But yes, they do actually turn out crispy AF. It was ages ago (well, 2020) when I first made baked chicken wings using my friend Lizzie’s invaluable tip of adding a bit of baking soda to some flour and giving the wings a light dusting of that before baking to really bring out the CRISP. No frying required And goddam it worked!

A year later I got an air fryer and, well, there was no going back. Since then I’ve done almost every version of skin-on chicken pieces in the “fryer” always dusting them first with the magic flour/baking powder mix. It really makes a huge difference in terms of getting the skin to crisp up using its natural fats, not needing anything else. Why? Hecked if I know. Science?? Anyhow, these are some free-range chicken drumsticks, simply cooked in the air fryer, just to show you how easy this is. You can use drumsticks, thighs, or wings of course.

You can also finish the chicken pieces by brushing them with whatever sauce you like (bbq, hoisin, sweet chilli) and putting them back in for another minute or two. As mentioned before, if you don’t have an air fryer you can also use a fan oven. Because as we all know an air fryer doesn’t actually fry anything, it’s really just a small convection oven. It’s important not to overcrowd the pieces and remember to always flip them half-way through cooking if you want them crispy.

Ingredients and instructions below…
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cheesy artichoke & spinach bake

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I was going to make my creamy cheesey spinach srtichoke chicken stew then realised I didn’t have the right chicken in the freezer (it works best with boneless thighs, not breasts). So then I thought… what else can I do with spinach and artichokes? Found a few recipes online for artichoke & spinach dip, but I didn’t really want a dip. Then I wasn’t sure if I wanted something to serve on crusty bread, or over roasted potatoes… in the end toasted ciabatta won because I had some on hand that needed using up today. Done. I also wanted a version I could bake in the air fryer. Also… done. And so this “not a dip kinda sauce” happened and it turned out great.

The second time I made it I added some chopped toasted marcona almonds for some crunch… also great!

Ingredients and instructions below…
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tortilla de patatas revisited

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I had a surplus of free-range eggs today and decided to do something about it. The first thing that came to mind was to make a tortilla de patatas, which is something I don’t make often enough. So I went ahead with making one and suddenly realised… hey, this is way different to how I used to make them. A quick check on the first tortilla recipe I posted here in 2010 proved the point. I mean, both recipes are valid, but my love (and knowledge) of extra virgin olive oil has steadily increased over the years and this latest tortilla recipe shows that. My experience of other tortillas from different parts of Spain has also increased and so, without noticing, I had been adapting my tortillas at home based on different ones I’ve tried and enjoyed and I have discovered that, frankly, there are a gazillion ways of making this “simple” potato omelette.

Today’s tortilla was a bit more elaborate, mostly in the time involved. Caramalised onions, potatoes slowly “poached” in evoo… but you could also just sautée some onions and cook the potatoes more quickly in less oil by covering them with a lid. Up to you. Unlike some tortilla purists out there, I really don’t think there is a “wrong” way of making a tortilla de patatas other than it MUST be flipped. If you finish it in the oven or under a grill it’s a frittata. Sorry, them’s the rules. Anyhow this is how I did it today and omg it was so good.

Update: I’ve added an extra “trick” of using extra yolks. Apparently it’s what all the bars and restaurants in Santiago do.

Ingredients and instructions below…
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