[Kitchen 143] Spanish cuisine in Manila, rich in traditions

Paella, croquetas and sangria for a beautiful Spanish evening!

Much of my relationship with food has been passed down through generations of men and women who came before me. My Italian and Filipino traditions surrounding holidays and celebrations are rich in memories of my extended family sharing the dishes and recipes passed down to them. The same is true of Nino and how he enjoyed different types of cooking as he shared some of his favorites with me and our kids. Spanish cuisine is something #TeamGellibean favored when we moved to Manila.

Gia started making paella when she was only 12 years old. She claims the cooking classes I enrolled her in really gave her the courage to try new dishes, and even more so when we were cooking together. It shouldn’t surprise me that even when I was abroad and couldn’t spend time with her in the kitchen, she was able to research and come up with her own recipe to showcase beauty and ease with which we can now prepare Spanish food at home. .

With each of the bimonthly episodes of Cuisine 143, I take the opportunity to learn about different dishes, different influences on culture and food, and even the different ways of making simple snacks that I serve for our family. This week, we learned how to make paella with simple ingredients from Oriental Merchants from Chef Jay, while Gia taught viewers how to make chorizo ​​croquetas. We even learned how to make sangria with the help of Señor Alba’s cookbook and our guest Jerome.

Alba

Can’t wait to go back to Manila to try all of these food and drinks!

Gia’s chorizo ​​croquetas

Michelle Aventajado

Chorizo ​​filling:

• 250g of Chorizo ​​La Noreñense, diced
• 60g butter
• 60 ml of Ybarra olive oil
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 125 g all-purpose flour
• 830 ml of milk
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Breadcrumb coating:

• 3 large eggs
• 125 g all-purpose flour
• 125g breadcrumbs
• canola oil for frying

To make the chorizo ​​filling:

1. Brown the diced chorizo ​​in its oil in a pan over medium heat.
2. Transfer the grilled chorizo ​​to a napkin-lined plate to drain.
3. Add the butter and olive oil to the same pan. Then add the diced onions to cook until translucent. Be careful not to brown the onions.
4. Stir in the flour to form a roux and cook until golden brown.
5. Slowly stir in milk, to avoid lumps, until incorporated.
6. Continue to stir and cook the mixture for about 10 minutes.
7. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
8. Stir in the chorizo ​​and cook for another 5 minutes, then remove from the heat.
9. Transfer to a pyrex glass dish, cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours overnight.

To assemble and fry:

1. In a shallow bowl, beat the eggs.
2. Set up your breading station with eggs in one bowl, flowers in another, and breadcrumbs in the last bowl.
3. Fill a saucepan with oil deep enough for your croquettas and heat the oil over medium-high heat.
4. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
5. Using a small cookie spoon, shape 50 grams of the chilled mixture into a cylinder.
6. Coat the croquettes first with flour, then with egg. After that, coat well with breadcrumbs. Place on the baking sheet lined with parchment paper and repeat with the remaining mixture.
7. Heat the oil to 180 ° C to fry the croquetas in batches
8. Do not overcrowd. Fry until golden brown.
9. Use immediately.

Michelle Aventajado

As we’ve learned from Paulo de Alba and Chef Jay, tasting tapas usually involves visiting different bars for their notable food and crowd favorites, while dousing them with sangria. Making tapas and pintxos at home couldn’t be easier with ingredients available from importers and distributors like Oriental Merchants. In fact, I didn’t even realize how many of the products I use actually come from this company!

Alba

Sangria
Recipe credit: Alba’s

Ingredients:
750 ml red wine
500 ml of sparkling water
250 ml orange juice
45 ml of cognac
1 apple, peeled and diced
1 orange pulp only

Directions:

1. Mix the wine, sparkling water, orange juice and brandy. Coldness.
2. Serve with ice cream and fruit as a garnish.
3. Slice the orange wedges and simply add the pulp to the mixture

Whether it’s making your own paella at home with easy-to-use kits or ordering from Alba’s, I continue to look forward to and explore the different ways Gia and I can bring some of our dishes. Spanish favorites at the table. – Rappler.com

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