RECIPES: Comfort Food With a Spanish Twist

Aug. 11, 2008— -- Chef José Andrés' show on PBS, "Jose Made in Spain," explores "every corner of the country," from markets and vineyards to restaurants and artisans. A companion book, due out this summer, highlights several of his innovative recipes. Below, find a sampling of his favorites: a high-class Philly Cheesesteak, Fried Eggs with Sausage (on page 2) and Gazpacho (on page 3).

To see all of the recipes at once, click on the "print" button at the right and all three will appear on the same page.

PHILLY CHEESESTEAK

Recipe courtesy José Andrés

For the Cheese Espuma

Ingredients:

300 g Cheddar Cheese, Grated

175 g Heavy Cream

3 Egg Whites

Salt

Instructions:

1) Over high heat, bring the heavy cream to a boil in a saucepot. Remove the pot from the heat.

2) Add the cheddar cheese to the pot and stir to melt. Cover the pot and allow the mixture to infuse at room temperature for 30 minutes.

3) Strain the cheese mixture through at least 4 layers of cheesecloth.

4) In a mixing bowl, whisk the cheese infused cream and egg whites together. Season the mixture with salt to taste.

5) Put the mixture into an ISI bottle and charge with one nitrous cartridge. Shake well and hold at 145° F.

For the Onion Jam

Ingredients:

1 large yellow onion, chopped

1 cup olive oil

1 cup water

2 tablespoons salt

Instructions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a heavy duty pot

2. Simmer until the onions are very tender

3. Remove the onions from the oil and puree until smooth

4. Season with salt

5. Reserve ¼ cup of the cooking oil for garnish and put the rest aside for the next onion batch

For the Meat

8 ounces of Kobe beef tenderloin (or good quality tenderloin)

Instructions:

1. Season the tenderloin with salt and pepper

2. Sear all sides very quickly

3. Wrap the tenderloin tightly in plastic wrap

4. Drop in an ice bath

5. Put in freezer

6. Once frozen, peel off the plastic and slice into thin pieces. Place onto an oiled piece of parchment paper

7. Cover with parchment paper, wrap with plastic, and reserve

8. If serving later, keep in the refrigerator and pull out about five minutes before serving

HUEVO FRITO CON CHORIZO (Fried Eggs with Chorizo Sausage)

Recipe courtesy José Andrés

Everybody loves a good fried egg. It is a classic. Much harder to master than it seems. Here the yolk become a sauce for the whites and the sausage.

Ingredients:

3 eggs

1 link of fresh chorizo, Spanish sausage flavored with pimenton

3 tablespoons of Spanish olive oil

Salt

Instructions:

1) Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.

2) Separate the eggs and reserve the yolks. When the oil begins to smoke slightly, add the egg whites to the pan. Shake the pan so the whites don't stick.

3) Cook until the edges get crispy and browned, about two minutes. Flip and cook for another minute or so. You want the white to get a bit browned. Remove from the pan.

4) Remove the sausage from its casing and press into a patty. Add to the pan and cook for a few minutes on each side. Remove from the pan.

5) To finish: Place the cooked egg white and sausage on the serving plate. Whisk together the egg yolks and pour over top. Add salt.

GAZOPACHO AL ESTILO DE PATRICIA (Patricia's Gazpacho)

Recipe courtesy José Andrés

Serves 4

My wife Patricia is from Andalucia in the south of Spain, a region known for sherry and hams. But not many people know that Andalucia is the cold-soup capital of the world, thanks to gazpacho. Every summer, when you open the refrigerator in my house, you'll see a big glass pitcher right in the middle with this rich, creamy red liquid inside. It's always ready to refresh you on a hot day. My wife doesn't like to cook, and she always tries hard to change the menu at home. But one thing she cooks like the gods is gazpacho. This is her recipe. It's also one of the reasons I married her.

For the Gazpacho

Ingredients:

2 pounds ripe red tomatoes (about 10 plum tomatoes)

8 ounces cucumber (about 1 cucumber)

3 ounces green pepper (about ½ bell pepper)

1 tablespoon sherry vinegar

1 garlic clove, peeled

¾ cup Spanish extra-virgin olive oil

Salt to taste

For the garnish:

1 tablespoon Spanish extra-virgin olive oil

1 slice rustic white bread

8 plum tomatoes, with the seeds prepared as "fillets"

12 cherry tomatoes, halved

1 cucumber, peeled and cut into ½-inch cubes

4 pearl onions, pulled apart into segments

2 tablespoons Spanish extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon sherry vinegar

Sea salt to taste

4 chives, cut into 1-inch long pieces

Instructions:

1) Cut out and discard the core at the top of the tomatoes, and chop the tomatoes roughly into quarters. Place in the blender.

2) Peel the cucumber and cut into chunks. Add to the tomatoes in the blender. Cut the pepper in half, and remove the core along with the seeds. Again, chop into large pieces and place in the blender.

3) Add the garlic and sherry vinegar to the vegetables and blend until the mixture becomes a thick liquid. At this point the red tomatoes will turn a wonderful pink color. Taste for acidity. This will vary with the sweetness of the tomatoes. If it's not balanced enough, add a little more vinegar. Add the olive oil and season with salt to taste. Re-blend, then pour the gazpacho through a strainer into a pitcher. Place in the fridge to cool for at least half an hour.

4) While the gazpacho is chilling, prepare the garnish. In a small pan, heat the olive oil over a medium-high flame and fry the bread until golden, about 2 minutes. Break into small pieces to form croutons and set aside.

5) To serve, place in each bowl 4 croutons, 2 "fillets" of tomato seeds, 4 cherry tomato halves, 3 cucumber cubes, and 3 onion segments. Add a few drops of olive oil to each onion segment and drizzle a little more oil around the bowl. Add a few drops of vinegar to each cucumber cube and drizzle a little more around the bowl. Sprinkle sea salt on the tomatoes, and sprinkle the chives across the bowl. Serve when the gazpacho is refreshingly chilled.

José's tipsIf you want to be original, buy yellow or even green tomatoes. You'll surprise your guests. Also, if you want to save time, you can simplify the garnish immensely: just use a few cubes of cucumber, tomato, and green pepper.