Printable Version

Story originally printed in the La Crosse Tribune or online at www.lacrossetribune.com

Published - Saturday, August 02, 2008

Reader Exchange: Summer is the perfect season to try tapas, salad recipes

By Alice P. Clark | La Crosse Tribune

Today’s recipes should please Alice Svec of La Crosse, who requested both categories. We have tapas, courtesy of an “avid reader in Norwalk (Wis.)” who found them in one of her cookbooks: “Tapas: A Classic Collection of Spanish-Style Recipes.” If you like these recipes, you might want to consider adding the book to your collection.

We also are serving some summer salad ideas. Rhonda Taylor has (and now, so do we) “a recipe for a black and green olive salad. Every time I make it for a get-together, it goes right away, no matter how many batches I make. It’s also quick and easy.” She hopes this will help us in our summer salad search.

Kathy Karis is a faithful reader who has tried “many new recipes” from the Exchange. Seeing our salad request, she decided a recipe she received last year from a friend was just too good not to share. She makes it often, describing it as “so refreshing and tasty, we always enjoy it.” Those who can’t get enough strawberries will want to give this one a try. It calls for only a few, readily available ingredients and seems to be neither time nor labor intensive. Sadly, it’s not likely to turn up on my menu any time soon because, as I have mentioned before, I don’t like “fruit with food.”

I have a few comments/tips/ suggestions regarding today’s recipes: 1) One of today’s recipes calls for chorizo, which “The Food Lover’s Companion” describes as “a highly seasoned, coarsely ground pork sausage” from which “the casing should be removed and the sausage crumbled before cooking.” It is a popular ingredient in both “Mexican and Spanish cookery.” If you have a touchy digestive system, you might want to use a milder sausage. If you worry about the sausage cooking thoroughly during the allotted baking time, partially cook it before enclosing it in the puff pastry; 2) If a recipe calls for what seems like a lot of a particular ingredient (especially herbs and spices), start with less. You can always add more, but once it has been added, you can’t take it back; and 3) If you are uncomfortable with the length of time a recipe calls for an ingredient or ingredients to be left at room temperature, refrigerate them until you are ready to use them. In your kitchen, you are the boss and can make any changes you want to the recipes and/or their preparation.

In coming weeks we’ll be sharing more Tuscany tomato soups (for Betty M.) and tapas and salads (for Alice Svec). And if we’re patient and a little bit lucky, hopefully we’ll get some New Villa-esque coleslaw recipes and a couple of variations on paella.

Send requests, recipes and/or cooking tips and techniques to Alice P. Clark at: Reader Exchange, c/o La Crosse Tribune, 401 N. Third St., La Crosse, WI 54601; e-mail: exchange@lacrossetribune.com or send a fax to (608) 782-9723.

Chorizo Empanadillas

4.5 ounces chorizo sausage, casing removed

All-purpose flour for dusting

9 ounces ready-made puff pastry sheets, thawed if frozen

1 beaten egg, to glaze

Paprika and fresh basil to garnish

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Cut sausage into 1/4-inch cubes. On lightly floured surface, thinly roll out pastry. Using a biscuit cutter, cut circles about 3 1/2 inches in diameter. Gather trimmings gently; roll dough again, until you have a total of 12 circles. Place about 1 teaspoon chorizo on each circle. Dampen edges of pastry with a little water; fold in half, sealing edges with a fork. Cut a small steam vent in top of each (refrigerate, loosely covered, at this point if you will not be baking them right away). Place empanadillas onto dampened baking sheets; brush with beaten egg. Bake 10 to 15 minutes or until puffed and golden. Dust with paprika and garnish with fresh basil; serve hot or warm.

(Shared by an avid reader in Norwalk)

Spanish Deviled Eggs

8 hard-boiled eggs, halved; yolks removed

2 whole pimientos, from jar or can

8 green olives

5 tablespoons mayonnaise

8 drops Tabasco sauce

1 large pinch cayenne pepper

Salt and pepper to taste

Paprika for garnish

Place egg halves on serving plate. Mash yolks with a fork; drain pimientos on paper toweling, drying well. Finely chop pimientos, reserving some for garnish if desired; finely chop olives (filling will be piped into eggs, so pimiento and olive pieces need to be very fine). Combine pimientos and olives with mashed yolks. Add mayonnaise, Tabasco, cayenne and salt and pepper. Stir well. Transfer mixture to a large Ziploc bag; snip about a 1/2-inch diagonal piece from one corner. Pipe mixture into egg halves and garnish as desired.

(Shared by avid reader in Norwalk)

Italian Olive Salad

1 pound green olives, crushed

1 (6-ounce) can large pitted black olives

2 stalks celery-cut into 1-inch pieces

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 red onion, cut into chunks

1 tablespoon oregano, to taste

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper

Salt to taste

1/2 cup olive oil

Combine ingredients; marinate 2 hours. Refrigerate ( I often make a quadruple batch).

(Shared by Rhonda Taylor, La Crosse)

Tossed Salad with Strawberries

Dressing:

3/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon finely chopped red onion

Salad:

1 bunch green leaf lettuce

1 bunch red leaf lettuce

1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced into rings

1 pint fresh thinly sliced strawberries

1 cup toasted pecan pieces

Mix together dressing ingredients and let sit at room temperature, overnight if possible. Chop green and red leaf lettuce (you also can use spinach leaves). Add red onion rings, fresh strawberries and toasted pecans (see note). Toss all with dressing.

Note: To toast pecans or walnuts, toss 1 cup nuts with a little olive oil and salt. Bake at 400 degrees for 5 to 7 minutes on a cookie sheet. Cool before adding to salad.

(Shared by Kathy Karis)