A Night at the Tapas Bar

 

Mushroom Tostada 

Ingredients:

8 to 10 ounces mixed mushrooms, stems removed and sliced thin

2 tbsp Olive Oil

A pinch of sea salt

2 tsp sherry wine

Aioli- recipe follows

French bread, sliced into rounds

Preparation:

Heat the olive oil in a pan that has a cover. When the oil is hot, add the mushrooms, salt and sherry. Cover, and lower heat. Cook until liquid is released from the mushrooms, about 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Toast bread slightly, just to dry it out a bit. Spread with aioli and top with mushrooms. Broil for about 30 seconds or until alioli starts to bubble.

Garlic Aioli 

Use for both tostada and reserve some for fritters

Ingredients:

1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic 

1 egg, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups fruity olive oil

1 -1 1/2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, to taste

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon fresh ground white pepper

Directions:

1.  In a blender or a food processor, puree garlic with egg.

2.  Mix oil with lemon juice in a glass measuring cup with a spout. 

3.  With motor running, add oil mixture slowly in a thin stream. Add salt and pepper and whirl an additional 10 seconds.

4.  Taste for seasoning. Transfer to a bowl, cover, and refrigerate.

** If the mixture separates or does not thicken, correct it as follows: Pour all but 1 tablespoon of separated mayonnaise into another container. Add 1 tablespoon water to the remaining tablespoon of mayonnaise in the food processor. With motor running, add separated mayonnaise slowly; mixture should regain right consistency- if not, try again.

Tortillitas de Camarones (Shrimp Fritters)

makes 12

Ingredients

1⁄3 cup olive oil

1⁄2 small yellow onion, finely chopped

12 oz. raw medium shrimp, peeled, deveined, and finely chopped

1⁄4 cup chickpea flour

2 tbsp. all-purpose flour

2 tbsp. roughly chopped parsley

1 tsp. baking powder

1⁄2 tsp. hot paprika

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Lemon wedges, for serving

Instructions

Heat 2 tbsp. of the oil in a 12" skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions, and cook, stirring, until soft, about 6 minutes. Transfer onions to a bowl, allow to cool slightly. To the bowl add the raw shrimp, both flours, parsley, baking powder, paprika, salt, and 5 tbsp. water; stir to combine thoroughly. Set batter aside for 10 minutes.

Heat remaining oil in a skillet over medium-high heat, and working in batches, add 2 tbsp. batter, and cook, flipping once, until golden brown and crisp at the edges, about 3 minutes. Using a spatula, transfer to paper towels to drain; season with salt and pepper. Serve with lemon wedges and garlic aioli.

Chorizo-Filled Dates Wrapped in Bacon

Ingredients

1  dry chorizo sausage (2oz)

12 pitted dried dates

6 slices of thick bacon, cut in 1/2

Olive oil 

Toothpicks

Directions

Cut the ends off the sausage, remove casing and slice crosswise into 3 equal pieces, about ¾ inch each in length. Cut each of these in half lengthwise and in half again to make a total of 12 thin sticks. Insert each piece into a date and wrap the date around it. Wrap a strip of bacon around each date. 

Heat a skillet on medium heat. Add enough oil to the pan to coat. Place the wrapped dates in a skillet with the seam side of the bacon down and saute until the bacon is golden. Turn and brown on the other side. Drain on paper towels. Serve warm.