Tapas no.1: Russian Roulette with Movida Rustica

I recently revisited a recipe book that has been sitting on my shelf for over a year but which I have never actually made anything from. This is not unusual; many of my recipe books only serve the purpose of making me hungry every now and then when I am silly enough to flick through them on an empty stomach.

When I started the blog I resolved to try out more new things. Instead of just using my recipe books for inspiration and then going off on my own tangent in the kitchen, I thought I should make an effort to try out the original recipe first time. In the process, I have become more open to new ideas. I have come to respect traditional recipes more, rather than trying to make things more interesting, namely by adding more of the things I like.

So when I flicked through Movida Rustica: Spanish Traditions and Recipes, apart from making myself very hungry – I resolved to make some of the wonderful tapas dishes that Frank Camorra discovered on the year he “travelled around Spain researching recipes from the Spanish people, from the chefs of Madrid to the widows of Galicia”.

Over the next few weeks I will share my favourite of these tapas recipes with you.  In some cases I didn’t have the ingredients specified in the original recipes and in these instances I had to be a bit experimental, but I will explain where this is the case and provide both the original recipe and my changes.  

One of the first dishes that caught my eye was Pimientos del Padrón Rellenos - Padrón peppers stuffed with morcilla (Spanish black pudding),

“Padrón peppers look like baby green capsicums (peppers) – but one in ten have a kick like an angry mule. In the past 20 years they have become increasingly popular in bars, where they are served fried or grilled with plenty of salt. The occasional hot one is the thrill of the chase”

Or the thrill of the plate, if you failed to find Padrón peppers and had to settle for standard chillies like me. The shop attendant promised me they were “spicy, but not too spicy”. He lied.

The chillies I used may not have been hot enough for a Thai curry, but when you are eating the whole thing they need to be fairly mild and these were not. Still my guests were very polite and even said they could actually taste the filling by the third one. Despite this hiccup, I am still sharing the recipe because the potential is there – just make sure you do a trial run before you serve them.

Makes 12.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

500g (1lb 2oz) morcilla, peeled and crumbled

12 padróns, small peppers or zucchini (courgette) flowers, rinsed and patted dry

Seasoned plain (all-purpose) flour, to coat

Olive oil, for deep-frying

Sea salt flakes, to sprinkle

Method

Heat the extra virgin olive oil in a large heavy-based frying pan over medium heat. Add the crumbled morcilla and cook, stirring continuously, for 5 minutes, or until a smooth paste forms. Remove from the heat and leave to cool for 5 minutes.

Cut the tops off the padróns and reserve the tops. Using the end of a teaspoon or a skewer, scrape out and discard the seeds. Stuff the padróns with the morcilla mixture, then replace the tops and secure with a toothpick. Dust with the seasoned flour.

Fill a deep-fryer or large heavy-based saucepan one-third full of oil and heat to 190C (375F), or until a cube of bread dropped into the oil browns in 10 seconds.

Deep-fry the padróns in batches for 2-3 minutes, or until the skin blisters. Drain on a paper towel and sprinkle with sea salt flakes. Serve hot, with cold beer or a Spanish wine such as mencia, a light red wine from the Bierzo region.

Dust with cornflour instead for a gluten-free meal.