MEMBRILLO PASTRIES

I went to Spain last week to vote at the general election (well worth the effort, as we managed to stop the rise of populism there… about the only good effect of Brexit so far!) While in my village I found time to buy some membrillo, much in demand by my children now that we have long exhausted our home made supply - and much cheaper than in the Uk as well. These are really easy pastries that you can make with it.  I do not know anybody who does not like these.

You need: 

- a roll of shop-bought puff pastry

- membrillo (quince paste)

- a packet of grated medium cheddar

- one egg (beaten)

Preheat the oven at 200 degrees. 

Cut the puff pastry into rectangles (4 cms width  and 8 cms length) Put a little square of membrillo on top of the lower part of the rectangle. Cover the membrillo with grated cheese.  Put the upper part of the rectangle on top of the membrillo and cheese so that you end up with a square. Use a fork to press down the sides so that the cheese does not 'escape' when you bake it. Paint the top of the squares with the beaten egg. Bake int the oven for around 22-25 mints until golden.  

PS - you can make membrillo yourself in the Autumn when quinces are in season. This is our recipe:  http://www.mumandsons.com/2011/10/quince-paste-membrillo.html

CHICKEN IN PEPITORIA

In moments of sadness one resorts to comfort food.  This recipe is indeed Spanish comfort food at its very best. Though not even the best food in the world will get rid of the sadness and the feeling of powerlessness that I feel today.

Pepitoria is a really traditional Spanish sauce made with saffron and eggs. My grandma used to make a very light pepitoria for fish (see our salmon in pepitoria recipe) and a thicker one for chicken. In fact, the traditional dish is 'hen in pepitoria' but since hens are very difficult to find nowadays most Spanish who like this dish have turned to chicken instead.

You need:
- a chicken cut in 12 chuncks (2 from each leg, one for each wing and then cut the breast in three). You can also buy just drums or thighs, but if you buy the whole chicken you can also make chicken soup with the carcass and also it is interesting for the older children to see how to cut a chicken)
- three tablespoons of olive oil
- 3 eggs
- a pinch of saffron
- three tablespoons of powdered almonds
- 2 onions ( diced thinly)
- 2 cloves of garlic (diced very thinly)
- half a glass of wine
- 2.5 glasses of water
- salt
- a bay leaf

Boil the three eggs.
Heat the oil in a wide shallow pan. Salt the chicken on both sides and fry it in batches until it is golden (on both sides).
Reserve the chicken. In the same oil where you have fried the chicken fry the onion and garlic for 5-8 minutes (low heat) until they become soft.While they are frying,  toast the powdered almonds by putting them on a frying pan while stirring them a little for a couple of minutes (watch this all the time as it can burn easily). Mix the almonds with the egg yokes (reserve the egg whites) and the wine so that it becomes like a thick paste. Toast the saffron for a few seconds on the pan of the almonds and add it to the almond and egg yokes paste.
Put the chicken back into the roomy pan with the onion and garlic. Pour the egg yokes paste on top of the chicken and add the glasses of wine, a little bit ore salt and the bay leaf. Let it all boil and then lower the heat so that it simmers for 50 minutes to an hour.
Before you are going to serve it get rid of the bay leaf, cut the boiled egg whites into little bits (best way to do this is to smash them with the back of a fork) and sprinkle them on the chicken.
It is just delicious (and improves if you let it rest for a few hours or even a day). We serve it with fried cubed potatoes but you can serve it with plain rice too.