Yo quiero Spanish food!

I have never really had a thing for Spain. I realize it's sacrilegious to say so, what with Spain being the de facto cool capitol of the food and wine world these days. But truthfully, the only reason I signed up for a weekend of cooking and drinking España-style was because a good friend invited me when I was drunk.

It's not pretty, but it's true.

I woke up the next morning and realized that I had, in fact, typed in all 16 digits of my credit card number and paid hundreds of dollars for a class about something I have no particular interest in. (Except for chorizo. I love chorizo.) Also, I am a nervous cook. I hate cooking in front of others, especially others who know what they are doing, and I try to avoid it at all costs. I also try to avoid anything complicated, and my repertoire does not include things like deep-frying (too dangerous), cleaning squid (too smelly), or making aioli (too fattening). I figured, if I was to survive the weekend, I needed to go in with a strategy. Mine was simple: pick the easiest recipe and don't screw it up.

Day 1 was a bit like the first day of school, with everybody sizing each other up but trying to look they they weren't. Mother and daughter duo? Check. Girlfriend and boyfriend? Check. Boyfriend and boyfriend? Check. Food and wine know-it-all? Check. Serial student? Check. Our class had a little of everything. When the know-it-all started pontificating about how long a particular Spanish cheese was aged, I shrunk into my seat. Great, I thought to myself, I'm surrounded by freaking experts. I tried hard to keep my blog quiet -- it just piles on the pressure. People think you know how to cook or something.  But then we got going and the mother-daughter duo didn't know how to operate the food processor, which made me feel better. I chose dessert because it's always a crowd pleaser, and besides I figured anything would taste good after 6 hours on our feet and 5 bottles of wine. I was right.

Day 2 was more relaxed. We felt more comfortable as a group, and no one (meaning me) had fucked up too badly the day before. Plus, we started off the class by drinking wine. That never hurts. I wanted to snag the empanadillas recipe but so did everybody else -- seriously, three groups ended up making some -- so I backed off. Who needs the competition? I ended up with roasted beets and goat cheese dressing. It looked fool-proof, and I figured I'd score points for getting my hands purple from peeling off the skins. Then I helped with the caramel ice cream, which sorta sealed the deal.

All in all, I took away a few good lessons from the weekend.

> Spanish food is yummy! There's a lot of ham and sausage, chickpeas and saffron, citrus and seafood.
> What grows together, goes together. Meaning, if foods are raised in the same region they'll probably taste great in a dish together.
> Chorizo makes everything better. Seriously. If something sucks, toss in some sausage and you're good to go.
> Dessert = power.

Roasted beets and goat cheese dressing
Adapted from El Farol

I made this again last night with a few changes, and neither time quite according to the original recipe. Here is the version I think turned out best. 

1 pound fresh beets, trimmed and scrubbed
1/2 cup sherry vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
4 garlic cloves, sliced thin
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

1/4 cup goat cheese
1/4 cup feta cheese (or blue cheese)
1/4 cup milk
1 Serrano chili, chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
1 TBSP orange juice (lime, lemon, grapefruit are okay too)
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
2 cloves garlic, minced
fresh ground black pepper

1 TBSP chopped Italian parsley

Roast the beets: Preheat the oven to 425º. In a baking dish, toss the beets with the vinegar, olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper. Cover with foil and roast until fork tender, about 45 minutes. Cool to room temperature and peel. Cut into quarters, and then again into thirds.

Make the dressing: Combine all the remaining ingredients except the parsley in a food processor and puree. Chill for 1 hour in the fridge to let the flavors come together. Spoon about 1/4 - 1/3 of the dressing over the beets, or to taste. (You will have a lot leftover.) Garnish with parsley, mix well, and serve.

Comments

[foodette]

Yum....I absolutely LOVE beets! This looks like a great recipe to have on hand - especially for a tapas themed party!

Thanks for the tip!

[Pille]

I'm a great beetroot lover as well, and always on the lookout for more beetroot recipes. This is definitely different from what I would usually make, so it's much appreciated!!

[Tiffany]

Those beets look amazing. I think you're inspiring the dormant adventurous cook deep inside of me. Thanks!

[Catherine]

Foodette -- the best thing about it is that it's quick and easy, so if you're serving it at a dinner party, you won't have to spend much time on it. And it's great to make ahead so the flavors develop.

Pille -- definitely pay attention to the amount of chili you use and how hot it is so you can adjust it to your liking.

Tiffany -- I get stuck in my ruts, too, but if you just throw something pretty simple together once in a while, you find yourself enjoying cooking more and more. My supermarket sells pre-cooked baby beets so that's what I'd use if I was in a serious hurry.

And can I just say how surprised I am by how many people are getting excited over beets?! I hated them as a kid.

[sam]

You know - I really liked your beets in class. And I am usually kind of ambivalent about beets. The spicy kick was what did it for me. Plus I actually liked their slight undercookedness. And no one can argue about the pretty colour!

[Freya]

Awesome sounding recipe! I love new ways to cook beets (which are really underrated over here). Thanks for sharing!

[eurofoodie]

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