Tuesday Spanish

We needed to use the green beans and potatoes from the biokiste, so last night I started to plan an improv meal involving those and some chicken. Then I remembered all those new cookbooks that are begging to be used. A couple of minutes looking in La Cocina de Mama yielded two recipes that provided the core of last night's dinner.

The green beans were prepared in "Caceres style" by boiling them until tender, then sauteeing them with some smoked bacon, paprika (smoked and sweet), and red wine vinegar.

For the chicken I made "Pollo al Jerez" by browning a chicken (cut-up into serving-sized pieces, breasts halved) in garlic-flavored oil then finishing it in a mixture of stock, sherry, garlic, and saffron. My only deviation from the recipe was to pour off the fat before adding the liquid to the chicken (not at all clear to me why Casas doesn't call for this, it seems automatic). I also thickened the sauce a bit before serving.

We did the potatoes by peeling them, cutting them into chunks, then boiling them. Once cooked and drained, I added salt, butter, and parsley.

With the required green salad, this was quite a nice meal.