“I know you little libertine, I know you're a cannonball”

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

In the shade, in the shade
Want you coocoo cannonball
Want you coocoo cannonball
Spitting in a wishing well
Blown to hell
Crash
I'm the last splash


Is it the weekend yet? Time has (on purpose I think) slowed itself down in an attempt to torture us with anticipation for the upcoming very long weekend. I recently found out that we get Dec 24th off as a paid holiday as well…soooooo its going to be a 4 day long weekend! Bhatji and I are going to be in Houston starting this Friday until Dec 25th. I am looking forward to the warm weather (its going to be in the early 60’s to 70’s!!) and quality time with lots of Bhatji’s friends. Also I will be trying my hand at some new dishes once there….probably something in the appetizer genre for an Xmas party.
Speaking of appetizers, have I ever told yall how much I love love love Tapas. I know I have mentioned my love for little things and Tapas fall under this category….that and they are an amazing concept because you get try different dishes and not feel like a fat cow! When I was younger growing up in India, my mom had a bought a mini kitchen set for me and my sister. This kitchen set included a small gas cylinder, little plates and cups, little cooking spoons, spatulas and steel cookware. I was never much into playing with the set because I was such a tom boy. My sister however convinced me a few times to play “house” with her and we would cook real rice with salty water (we would call it daal) and serve dinner to all our friends. When I tried my first Tapas restaurant called Jaleo, all those childhood memories of little plates and food came flooding back. Although the food wasn’t served in plates like the ones we used to play with, the quantity of the food was similar. I managed to get Bhatji hooked on to Tapas as well and we would enjoy a good round of Tapas alongside some Sangria. Our favorite dish at any good Tapas place is Patatas Bravas literally meaning Brave potatoes. It’s a basic recipe of roasted potatoes topped with strong garlic flavored sauce called Allioli. It makes for an amazing appetizer/finger food and recently I tried my hand at making this dish. Bhatji was surprised how close the taste of my version was to that of Jaleo or La Tasca. I think its going to be one of those repeated dishes in our household :o) so this is the recipe for Patatas Bravas adapted from here with a few tweaks:

Ingredients for the roasted potatoes:
3 large potatoes
1 ½ tabl spn olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Ingredients for the Allioli:
1 egg yolk
½ tbl spn vinegar
1/3 cup of olive
¼ cup peanut oil
3 tbl spns garlic paste
Salt and pepper to taste
Warm water as needed

To Make:
Preheat you over to 375°F. Halve and then quarter the potatoes and place them on an aluminum foil sheet in a baking pan. Spread the oil, slat and pepper on the potatoes and mix with hands to make sure that the oil, salt and pepper is evenly covered on all the potatoes. Arrange in a single layer and bake in the oven for 45-50 mins until the potatoes are brown.
Now for the Allioli, add the oils in a bowl and mix well. Separate the yolk from an egg (I saved the white for next day’s breakfast) and add to the bowl. Whisk until the yolk is completely mixed in with the oils. Add the garlic paste, vinegar and salt and pepper and whisk it some more. Add warm water to liquefy but keep in mind this is supposed to be a thick milk shake like consistency.
One the potatoes are done, add them on individual serving plate and drizzle the Allioli on top of the potatoes. Or you can serve the sauce on the side and serve potatoes in small bowl with tooth picks.



It’s a very simple recipe and very popular with most folks who like potatoes and garlic. I was tempted to serve Sangria along with this but didn’t have the right ingredients for it. Bhatji enjoyed the dish with beer and the game while I nibbled away enjoying a good book on a cold Sunday afternoon. Definitely give this recipe a try. Until the next blogging inspiration…..Stay warm :o)
Just entered this in the THINK SPICE - THINK GARLIC event promoted by Sunita :)