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Three ingredients atop the toasted bread of your choosing, that's all you need for this tantalizing tapa.
Total Time: toasting, warming... that's it.
1. Warm the razor clams lightly in a pan if you'd like. Is it required? No. But, why not, right? A little warmth with the heat makes it all the better.
2. A razor clam per small slice of toast will do.
3. Drizzle the chili crisp as you desire. It's got a good amount of heat, so gauge the tolerance of those you serve.
4. Sesame seeds to finish.
There you have it. A tongue-tingling tapa in no time at all.
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Provisions running low means making the most of what you have on hand. In this instance, that means lunch is a tin of sardinillas with piquillo pepper on a proper Chicago-style, poppyseed coated hot dog bun, with wasabi mayo, sesame seeds, and a crispy seaweed snack chip type thing.
Total Time: 3 minutes.
1. Put all of the things above together. Add whatever else you'd like. Make it your own.
2. Enjoy.
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Dare we attempt a variation of arguably the most famous pintxo? Yes. It's not that much of a risk. Worst case, we have all the ingredients to scrap it and simply make the classic. No harm done.
The Gilda pintxo is well known, and the ingredients are featured here: Cantabrian anchovies, guindilla peppers, manzanilla olives. Where we've gone mad with experimentation? Instead of skewering the three with a toothpick we piled them atop olive oil drenched toast slathered with a lemon-garlic sauce and topped it all with a pinch of sweet smoked paprika. Worth it.
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Regular ground black pepper is great. An old standby. But... is it the preeminent pepper of Basque Country? Does it add a pop of color to your morning? Is it hung from the facades of a quaint French village then dried in wood-burning ovens? No.
This is why, at least on occasion, you should use piment d'Espelette. Add some pizazz to your breakfast plate.
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We like to keep things simple here, and this is no exception. When you have superb ingredients sometimes it's best just to let them complement each other and enjoy the tapa that you've created in seconds. What's included here?: Bonito del Norte tuna, Turtle Rock Farm Garlic Scape Relish, piment d'Espelette. And bread. Toasted. Obviously.
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Breakfast doesn't need to be difficult to be delicious. Slices of a freshly baked loaf of challah, a generous lathering of Confiture Parisienne Fig Jam, a Cantabrian anchovy fillet or two. Fin.
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Eggs on the Plate without the Plate.1932. ©Salvador Dalí Museum, Inc.
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The Salvador Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida is worth a visit whenever it's safe to travel. Home to the largest collection of the artist's work outside of Europe, you'll find yourself enthralled with his mind-bending work. And hungry. Luckily, Café Gala, named for Salvador's wife, is there to provide a menu of light, delectable fare made all the more flavorful by the surrounding feast for the eyes.
Until we can travel more freely, you can visit virtually; see the museum's collection, download activities and lesson plans for kids (and non-kids), and even enter Dreams of Dalí, a virtual reality experience, where you can immerse yourself in Dali’s painting Archaeological Reminiscence of Millet’s “Angelus” .
With all that other-worldly exploration you'll undoubtedly be famished upon your return to this mortal realm. Try your own version of the lightly charred Caesar salad with our cantabrian anchovies and extra virgin olive oil from the cafe, shown below. Refortified, you'll be ready to return once again to the surreal and boundless dreams of Dalí.
photo and recipe by Chuck Bandel
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To support the museum please donate or become a sponsor while planning your future visit.
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There's a tower of mystery tinned fish in the cupboard, the boxes with necessary description of contents discarded, for whatever reason. So... mystery lunch time with whatever else happens to be on hand.
The mystery tin selected today turned out to be: Sardines in Spiced Sauce (Sardinas Picantonas). Said sauce is a blend of tomato, olive oil, carrot, cucumber, red pepper, onion, and secret spice, quite suitable for a myriad of lunchtime complements. Available as complements? A nice, perfectly ripe avocado and a baguette. Thus, lunch turned out to be what you see: toasted baguette, avocado smash (with a touch of sherry vinegar), and sardinas picantonas. Mystery solved quite satisfactorily.
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No need to complicate things when you have the best ingredients. Donostia Foods Extra Virgin Olive Oil, tomato, pickled red onions. Will a slices of a nice, crusty country bread be used to soak up every last drop of oil? Yes.
Total Time: If you've made the pickled red onions ahead of time, which you should have as you should always have some available for topping anything and everything, the only time it will take you is the time it takes to slice a tomato. If you have a proper knife? Seconds. If you do not have a proper knife? Get a proper knife.
1. The photo says it all. Do what you have to do to get there. Pretty straightforward.
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You'll never go wrong with a classic take on pan con tomate. It's a staple for a reason. Deliciousness. But, adaptation is key to life, and trying new and different variations of anything can stimulate the senses and bring fresh perspective. And also be delicious.
A tribute to the original, in a different key, this pan con tomate eschews tomato pulp and garlic for a seasonal, spreadable preserve of tomato, chili pepper, lemon, sugar, and salt. The subtle heat of the chili and touch of sweetness from the organic cane sugar are a superb complement to a Cantabrian anchovy fillet or three, if you so choose.
Total Time: Absolutely none, cosmically speaking.
1. Heat a generous pour of olive oil in a pan, then add slices of a fresh loaf of hearty, crusty bread. Keep heating until you have a nice, crispy golden brown side, then flip and repeat.
2. Spread the spreadable tomato chili.
3. Top with anchovies, if you wish.
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Tinned seafood can come in quite handy when you'd like to make an incarnation of a typical tapa from Spain. Have a jar of salsa verde, as well? Then all it'll take is a few minutes heating up a grill pan and you'll be on your way to establishing an at-home tapas bar that will be revered by family and friends.
Total Time: However many minutes it takes to achieve the browning you seek for the squid.
Servings: You'll get six to eight squid per tin, and you should figure all of your seafood-loving guests will enjoy one, then several more because that first one was so good, so adjust quantities accordingly.
1. Open a tin of small squid and warm the olive oil from said tin in a grill pan. Beware of splatter.
2. Once heated, add the squid, turning occasionally to achieve that desired browning. Again, the threat of oil splatter here is high. Aprons and other protective measures are recommended, particularly if you're making this just before the arrival of guests. No need for that additional stress of having to quickly change into a new outfit. Unless you thrive under such pressure.
3. At the very end of the chipirones browning experience, add a bit of the salsa verde to the pan to get it nice and warm before plating. All it'll take is a moment or two.
4. Enjoy with a well-chilled white wine.
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As part of our Fine Foods from Across the Blue Planet series, where we'll be featuring a selection of some things we think work well with what we offer, or that we just plain enjoy, we'll also be providing recipes and serving suggestions. This is one of them.
This particular serving suggestion came to be after making sardine dumplings, and having quite a bit of the sardine concoction leftover. So, an unusual burger patty was formed, thrown onto a hot skillet, and a whole new culinary universe came to be. Behold, the...
Total Time: If you have leftover patty mixture from a previous meal, all you have to do is the aforementioned patty forming and hot skillet tossing.
1. If you haven't already done it, get a nice big bowl and mix together everything above except for the bravas sauce and bread, obviously. In what quantities? That's up to you and what you desire.
2. Once you have your sardine mix, form your patty. It's fun.
3. Heat your skillet on a medium heat, probably. Throw that patty on there.
4. Toast your bread or bun.
5. Flip your patty and top with cheese to get that nice melting action.
6. Prep your bread or bun with slaw and bravas sauce then add the finished to perfection patty and you have your sardine burger ready for the splendid lunch you've made for yourself.
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