I Gin Tonic route in Triball District, Madrid

There is no doubt it is the most trendy cocktail in Spain by the moment, reason why Spain is in the podium of Gin consumption around the world...

Where?
Triball District, Madrid

When?
27 to 29 of November

How much ?
The prices are attractive for premium Gins (5-10€)

More Info:
Triball Madrid

Vegetables Soup with peas

A slight variation to the typical vegetable soup, especially thinking who loves peas ...

You will need:
2 medium potatoes, sliced
2 medium carrots, sliced
1 large onion, sliced
1 turnip
2 thinly sliced leeks 
extra virgin olive oil
chicken or beef
salt
Parmesan for grating

Sauté the onion, carrots turnips and potatoes with a splash of extra virgin olive oil . Add water and let it cook. Mince and let it boil again adding the sliced ​​leeks and peas until they are cooked. Add one or two cubes of chicken or beef stock and rectify the salt. Before serving add a bit of grated cheese.

Note: If you have time use homemade stock of beef or chicken, and you will clearly notice the difference ...

Monk fish Soup...

For yesterday dinner and to celebrate the visit of a friend i've cooked ​​this monk fish soup , with some variations on the original recipe of José Avillez.

Ingredients (3 people):

750 gr tomato

Approx 500 gr of flaps or tails of monk fish

1 red pepper

1 large onion or 2 medium

5 cloves of garlic

coriander

mint

white wine

extra virgin olive oil, salt & pepper

Start by cutting the monk fish loins, cut it into parallelepiped and reserve it in the fridge, save the rest of the fish for the soup. Cut the onion, tomato and garlic into slices and pepper on strips, (previously removing the seeds), place in a pan, by layers, the onion, garlic, peppers, tomatoes and the rest of the fish  repeating this step until you have finished the ingredients.

Add the coriander a good splash of extra virgin olive oil, salt & pepper, and a bit of white wine. wait it to start boiling and and lower the heat let it to cook slowly.

Meanwhile, cut the parallelepipeds of monk fish into very thin slices and place in  each dish, season with salt and a splash of extra virgin olive oil.

When cooked, add some mint leaves and grind it. heat it again  adding a few more mint leaves and a splash of olive oil.

For a more spectacular effect do not serve this dish in the kitchen ... Serve the hot soup over his monk fish adding a splash of extra virgin olive oil!

If your guests get scared by the raw fish, take a moment to explain that monk fish is cut into very thin slices so that it cooks in the moment ...

For Gin and cocktails lovers of here is a classic cocktail to finish the weekend, especially dedicated to Bulldog fans:

In a shaker with ice add 1 1/2 oz. of Bulldog Gin, 1 oz. fresh lime juice and 1/2 oz. sugar syrup, stir well.

Serve in a frozen Martini glass.

Note: 1 oz. = 1 ounce = approx. 30 ml

Grilled squid with potatoes salad

In the middle of one of my Saturday morning's ritual, going to the market to buy some fresh fish or meat, yesterday I was looking for a fish to cook in the oven when I stood completely frozen watching the freshness and size of squids that were being put one by one on the stand. There was no doubt, the fish would have to wait for a next time...

And because of a great quality raw material, just a few of seasoning to allow the flavours of this meal to explode...

Ingredients:
squids
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt & pepper
parsley
potatoes

Clean the squid, separating the body from the tentacles, wash and drain the water. Brush with extra virgin olive oil, dredge with salt and pepper and grill  the "body"separately from the tentacles. 
At the same time bake the potatoes to steam or boiling water.
Prepare the sauce of olive oil and lemon, placing in a glass 3 parts of extra virgin olive oil, 1 of lemon juice, salt and pepper and mix well.

To serve put the tentacles inside the body, add the potatoes and, season with the olive oil and lemon sauce and dredge the whole dish with chopped parsley.

Tomato in the oven salad with pesto

After the last post dedicated to meat lovers, today I bring you another recipe from the Chef José Avillez, this time a salad...

As always I use the ingredients I have at home, this time although I had to do some last minute changes it worked pretty well as the salad disapeared in a few minutes and the pesto gave a very interesting to the john dory fillets.
Nevertheless I'll tell you the original recipe and let it up to you to adapt it to your own preferences...


Ingredients (4 pax):

500g of cherry tomatoes
basil leaves (aprox. 60 gr)
120 gr of parmesan cheese, (half for the pesto and the rest to grate)
3 tablespoons pine nuts
2 cloves garlic, peeled removing the germ (the center of the garlic clove)
60 ml to 120 ml of extra virgin olive oil
Salt & Pepper

Wash the tomatoes and place in a baking dish and pierce it with a fork, add a bit of salt and a splash of extra virgin olive oil and take it to the pre-heated oven at 160 º C for 10-15 minutes.

For the pesto, place in a blender jar, the basil leaves washed and dried, the pine nuts, garlic, parmesan cheese and a bit of salt and mash. If you prefer you can go adding the oil little by little until you get the consistency of a sauce, I prefer to do this step in a mortar and correcting the seasoning and tasting till I get the flavour and consistency I am looking for... Put the pesto to a bowl.

Remove the tomatoes from the oven, add a couple tablespoons of pesto and mix it. Serve with grated Parmesan and you can add some basil leaves to enhance the flavor...

Beef Tataki... for meat lovers!

we decided to come back writing today with a recipe of one of my favourite Chefs Jose Avillez, Beef tataki, a recipe specially dedicated to the addicted & lovers of the good meat...

Specially on this dish one of the major secrets of success is the quality of the meat you are able to find... ask the butcher for the best sirloin he can get!

Especially in this dish one of the greatest secrets of success is greater than the quality of the meat, the butcher clean empty piece of meat or sirloin, summarizing an early there ...

Cut the meat in parallelepiped pieces and season with salt. In a frying pan with a splash of extra virgin olive oil slightly fry it leaving it cooked in the outside and completely raw inside

Serve with the following salad:

Start by cutting 2 tomatoes into small cubes, (first cut into quarters to remove the seeds), add some chopped red onion, chopped chive, approximately 60g Roquefort smashed (like I didn't have Roquefort at home I grated some Parmesan cheese that matched perfectly), a grated boiled egg, two avocados cut in cubes, lemon juice, olive oil, pepper and correct the seasoning with a bit of salt. Mix everything well.

Cut of Beef Tataki into slices approximately 1 cm and finish with a bit of salt  on top of the meat and a drizzle of olive oil. Serve immediately with the salad...