Spanish Flavours

Homemade – Mix Fix

5 Hassle-Free Meals to Enjoy Tradition at Home

by Silvia Sanz Linares

If you love to eat and try different flavours but don’t really have a knack for cooking, this article is for you. Here you’ll find five budget-friendly, easy-to-cook Spanish recipes to comfort your belly and spirit with authentic traditional food.

When thinking of Spanish meals, you probably can’t help to stumble upon paella, churros or potato omelette. Those are, inarguably, insignia meals of Spanish cuisine loved by both locals and outlanders. But there is much more to this Mediterranean country’s gastronomy!

For that reason, today, I want to introduce you to five traditional everyday meals that will delight the traveller inside you without having to leave home. All the recipes you’ll find here are vegan (you can find non-vegan versions on the Internet if you like), affordable and easy to prepare; some might take longer than others, but none require technical skills or crazy kitchen gadgets. So, I hope you give them a try and enjoy them.

Olla gitana

Olla gitana (meaning ‘gipsy pot’) is a dish from the region of Murcia in the southeast of Spain, an area known for its fertile gardens. So, as you’ll see, this stew recipe is packed with fresh vegetables that simply taste like tradition.

• Recipe type: Main

• Preparation time: 20 minutes

• Cooking time: 2 hours

• Difficulty: Easy

Source: 2013, Mariluz Piñeiro, Cuchillo y Tenedor

INGREDIENTS (SERVES 4)

•250g chickpeas

• 400g potatoes

• 150g green beans

• 150g pumpkin

• 1 tomato

• 1 onion

• 1 garlic

• ½ tsp paprika

• ½ tsp peppermint

• saffron

• 2 tbsp almonds

• 1 tbsp vinegar

• 1 bread slice

• 3 tbsp olive oil

• pepper

• salt

PREPARATION

Step 1

Soak the chickpeas overnight (you can use canned chickpeas for convenience, in that case, skip this step).

Step 2

Peel and chop the potatoes and pumpkin. Then, wash the green beans, string them and chop. Next, peel and chop the tomato, onion and garlic.

Step 3

Cook the chickpeas until they are tender. Once the chickpeas are soft, add the vegetables and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook everything for 20 minutes.

Step 4

Prepare the ‘majado’. Heat the olive oil in a pan and toast the slice of bread until golden brown. Then toast the garlic and almonds in the same pan. Remove from the pan and crush everything in a mortar with vinegar, saffron and peppermint (alternatively, you can use a blender to mash the ingredients).

Step 5

Make the soffrito. Using the same oil, prepare the sofrito by sautéing the onion over low heat until soft. Add the tomato and paprika, season and cook for 10 more minutes.

Step 6

Add the soffrito and ‘majado’ to the pot containing the chickpeas and vegetables to boil everything together. After 20 minutes, your meal will be ready; enjoy it hot!

Fideuá

Fideuá is the most Mediterranean meal you’ll find in this mini cookbook. The traditional dish from Alicante uses seafood, but we will prepare the veggie version of this paella look alike.

• Recipe type: Main

• Preparation time: 20 minutes

• Cooking time: 1 hour

• Difficulty: Easy

Source: 2022, Héctor Medina, Bon Viveur

INGREDIENTS (SERVES 4)

• 250g short pasta noodles

• ½ courgette

• ½ red bell pepper

• ½ yellow bell pepper

• ½ aubergine

• 5 asparagus

• ½ onion

• 2 large garlic cloves

• 2 tbsp tomato, grated

• 1l vegetable stock

• 3 bay leaves

• paprika

• rosemary

• olive oil

• salt

PREPARATION

Step 1

Dice the onion and mince the garlic. In a frying pan, cook the onion until golden brown, then add the garlic. Clean and chop the peppers, asparagus, aubergine and courgette. Add them to the pan and sauté until soft.

Step 2

Heat the vegetable stock.

Step 3

When the vegetables are ready, add the paprika, bay leaves, rosemary and salt to taste. Mix well all the ingredients. After a minute, add the tomato and stir until everything is evenly integrated.

Step 4

Add the noodles to the pan and toast them for about 3 minutes.

Step 5

Cover with the vegetable stock and simmer for about 5 minutes. Then, place the pan in the oven and grill until the noodles are toasted. You’re Fideuá is ready to be eaten!

Suggestion: serve the fideuá with aioli.

Ajoblanco

Ajoblanco (meaning white garlic) is the gastronomic cousin of gazpacho and salmorejo. This Andalusian soup is rich and silky, perfect for a healthy starter —especially during the hot summer days.

• Recipe type: Starter

• Preparation time: 15 minutes

• Cooking time: 0 minutes

Source: 2012, Sonali Aka, The Foodie Physician

INGREDIENTS (SERVES 4)

• 150g breadcrumbs (preferably a day old)

• 500ml cold water

• 100ml extra virgin olive oil

• 100g raw almonds

• 1 garlic clove

• 2 tbsp vinegar

• Salt

PREPARATION

Step 1

Soak the breadcrumbs in cold water for a few minutes.

Step 2

Place the soaked breadcrumbs in a jar blender with the water, the almonds, the clove of garlic, the vinegar, and the salt. Blend for 1 minute at high speed.

Step 3

Reduce the blender’s speed and add the olive oil little by little, emulsifying well.

Step 4

Transfer the soup to a container and refrigerate for 4 hours or until chilled.

Suggestion: when serving, garnish with melon or white grapes.

Pisto manchego

Pisto manchego is a traditional farmers’ meal from La Mancha. Due to its humble origins, the recipe can vary depending on the season. Regardless, tomato and pepper always make it the base for this recipe that can be consumed as a main, side or pie filling.

• Recipe type: Side | Main

• Preparation time: 20 minutes

• Cooking time: 2.5 hours

• Difficulty: Easy

Source: 2018, Pedroches Gastronomía

INGREDIENTS (SERVES 4)

• 2 garlic cloves

• 250g onion

• 200g green pepper

• 200g red pepper

• 4 tomatoes

• 300g courgette

• salt

• black pepper

• extra virgin olive oil

PREPARATION

Step 1

Boil water in a large saucepan. Grab the tomatoes and make a cross-cut at their base. Then, blanch the tomatoes for about 20 seconds and place them in a bowl with ice water. Peel the tomatoes and crush them.

Step 2

Finely dice the garlic and onions. Wash and chop all the vegetables, making all pieces the same size. Then set aside separately.

Step 3

Heat a generous amount of olive oil in a casserole and fry the garlic and onion for 15 minutes over low heat. Next, add the green and red pepper and fry for another 15 minutes. Finally, add the courgette and crushed tomato, season to taste, cover and cook for at least an hour and a half.

Step 4

Once this time has elapsed, remove the lid, turn up the heat and cook for 15 minutes or until the tomato water has evaporated. We want to remove the excess water released by the vegetables, but the dish to still be juicy. Once all the ingredients are well blended, serve or use as you desire.

Patatas a lo pobre

Patatas a lo pobre (poor man’s potatoes) is a medieval dish from the country’s south. As its name indicates, it traditionally was peasants’ food. However, this rustic meal with simple ingredients can lift anyone’s spirit.

• Recipe type: Side

• Preparation time: 10 minutes

• Cooking time: 30 minutes

• Difficulty: Easy

Source: 2020, Mark Brancatisano, Torello Farm

INGREDIENTS (SERVES 4)

• 4 potatoes

• 1 onion

• 3 garlic cloves

• 1 Italian green pepper

• ½ red pepper

• parsley

• extra virgin olive oil

• salt

• pepper

PREPARATION

Step 1

Peel the potatoes and finely slice them. Chop the peppers into medium-sized pieces and the onions into fine julienne strips.

Step 2

Add plenty of oil into a frying pan and pour all the ingredients with the oil still cold. Then confit the ingredients over low heat.

Step 3

After 15-20 minutes, the oil should begin to bubble. At this point, season to taste and slightly increase the heat to brown the potatoes.

Step 4

After 5 to 10 minutes, the potatoes will be ready. To make them extra crispy, increase the heat to the maximum and cook for a minute.

Step 5

Strain the potatoes and remove the excess oil with an absorption paper. This scrumptious side is ready!