From acclaimed tapas bars, to new cookbook Brindisa. Say olé to Monika Linton’s super-tasty small plates
IMPRESS your guests with these mouthwatering tapas dishes
THESE sumptuous Spanish dishes might be small, but they're mighty too.
Seafood salad of monkfish and prawns
Serves 4
Prep time 5 mins,
plus 1 hr chilling
Cooking time 14 mins
Cals 461
Sat fat 5g
*3 eggs
*400g monkfish, cut into pieces about 2cm square
*400g king prawns, peeled
*1/2 green pepper, or to taste, finely chopped
*1/2 red pepper, or to
taste, finely chopped
*1/2 shallot, or to
taste, finely chopped
*150ml extra
virgin olive oil
*50ml sherry vinegar
1 Boil the eggs for 10 minutes until hard, then cool under running water and peel. Leave to cool completely, then cut into thin slices lengthways.
2 Bring some water to the boil in the largest pan you can find and have ready a bowl of iced water. Add the monkfish and boil for 2 minutes, then lift out with a slotted spoon and put into the iced water. Put the prawns into the same boiling water, also for 2 minutes, then lift out and add to the bowl of iced water.
3 Arrange the monkfish, prawns and slices of egg on the plate and mound the chopped peppers and shallot in the centre.
4 Combine the oil and vinegar and season with salt. Drizzle over the dish and put into the fridge to rest for 1 hour before serving, as the salad is at its best when chilled.
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Braised chicken with meatballs
Serves 4
Prep time 20 mins
Cooking time 55 mins
Cals 939
Sat fat 54g
For the meatballs
*170g stale bread
*100ml milk
*100g flour, for coating
*250g minced beef
*250g minced pork
*1 egg
*2 cloves garlic, sliced
*1tbsp chopped parsley
*30g pine nuts
*Pinch nutmeg
*Olive oil, for frying
For the picada
*20g roasted almonds, with skin
*3 cloves garlic, sliced
*1tbsp chopped parsley
*1 ñora pepper (optional), soaked in water for 30 minutes
*Pinch saffron, briefly toasted in a dry pan
*1/2 chicken, cut into 6 pieces (or 2 drumsticks, 2 thighs and 2 wings)
*1 tomato, grated
*400g potatoes, peeled and cut into 2cm cubes
*500ml chicken stock
*Chopped parsley
1 First, make the meatballs. In a bowl, soak the bread in enough milk to cover for at least 10 minutes. Squeeze out the milk and discard it.
2 Have the flour ready on a deep plate. Add the minced meats to the bread, along with the egg, garlic, parsley, pine nuts, nutmeg, some salt and pepper, and mix well. Form into 20 balls and coat in flour.
3 Heat some oil in a frying pan and put in the almonds for the picada. Move around until golden, then lift out and keep to one side. Put in the meatballs and fry until golden.
4 To make the picada, pound the almonds, garlic, parsley and 2tbsp hot stock into a paste with a pestle and mortar. Put to one side. If using the ñora pepper, scrape out the flesh and work into the paste with a little of the soaking water and saffron.
5 Heat 2tbsp oil in a large, deep pan. Season the chicken, add to the pan and sauté for about 10 minutes over a medium heat until browned.
6 Put the tomato and potatoes into the pan and cook for 2 minutes. Put back the chicken, cover with stock and bring to the boil. Turn to a medium heat, simmer for 20 minutes, add the meatballs and stir in the picada. Cook for 10 minutes, until thickened. Take a piece of chicken, pierce and check juices run clear. Serve with chopped parsley.
Recipes from Brindisa: The True Food of Spain by Monika Linton (Fourth Estate, £29.95), out September 8.