Christmas is a very religious time in Spain. It officially begins December 8, with the feast of the Immaculate Conception, which is celebrated each year in front of the great Gothic cathedral in Seville with a ceremony called Los Seises or the “dance of six”.

A very important Christmas symbol in Spain is the Nativity scene.  They are exposed in plazas in cities and small towns throughout the country, and can also be seen in the doorways and entrances of many Spanish homes, as well as in storefront windows.  In many small towns, plazas might even have a live Nativity scene, with actors and actresses playing the parts of Mary and Joseph and the three wise men as well as live animals. Continue Reading »

Ingredients

• 1 cup orange blossom honey
• 1 cup finely ground almonds
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
• 1/8 teaspoon lemon zest (optional)
• 1 egg whites, beaten stiff

Directions

1. Pour the honey into a saucepan and warm over medium-low heat to 140 degrees F (60 degrees C). Stir the almonds into the warm honey and remove from heat. Mix the egg yolks, cinnamon, and lemon zest into the almonds. Fold the egg whites into the mixture.
2. Line a dish with parchment paper. Pour the mixture onto the parchment paper and smooth to a 1/2-inch layer. Place a sheet of parchment paper atop the mixture and then place a cutting board over the paper; place a few items on top of the cutting board to give it some weight.
3. Allow the turron to dry for 3 days. Cut into 1-inch squares to serve.

Ingredients

1 ½ chicken quartered
2 young fresh onions, grated
3 ripe but firm tomatoes, grated
150 gr dried stoned plums
75 gr sultanas
25 gr peeled and toasted almonds
2 biscuit rusks
A little glass of white wine
300 ml water
8 tbs extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper

Soak the plums and sultanas in warm water for about 20 minutes; after this period squeeze them very well from their soaking water and put apart.
Prepare the onions and tomatoes without removing the peel and seeds of the tomatoes.
Wash the chicken quarters under cold running water, pat dry with absorbent kitchen paper, season to taste with salt and pepper and brown them on both sides in the olive oil in a large pan. Once you’ve browned the chicken quarters, remove them from the pan and put apart.
Now add the plums, sultanas and 40 g (1 1/4 oz) pine nuts in the same olive oil. Let them fry lightly for some minutes; at this point remove the dried fruit from the pan and put apart. Now add the onions and tomatoes; let them fry lightly for some minutes and then add the water, the chicken and fruit you’ve put apart. Keep on cooking for about 30-40 minutes, half-covered, stirring now and then, until the chicken is tender and the cooking juice is well retired.
15 minutes before the end of cooking make this mixture: chop finely the almonds, the remaining pine nuts and the biscuit rusks and dilute this mixture with the wine. Add this mixture to the chicken, stir and let the cooking juice retire very well.
Serve hot.

Approx. 20 squares of cannelloni pasta
2 tablespoons salted butter
¼ lb ground veal
½ lb ground pork
3 oz. Jamon Serrano or prosciutto, finely chopped
1 cup whole milk
1 tablespoon flour
½ cup grated parmesan cheese plus ¼ cup for topping
½ oz. black truffle, very finely chopped
Pinch of salt
Dash of pepper
Pinch of nutmeg
1 egg, beaten

Béchamel sauce
4 cups of milk
5 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons flour
½ tsp. nutmeg
2 tsp. kosher salt

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add salt to the boiling water. One by one, add the pasta to the water, cooking until al dente, about 12-14 minutes. Drain the water, and move the pasta to a cheese cloth to cool off. Set aside.

In a large pan, heat the butter on high flame until it melts and becomes foamy. Add the veal and pork and cook on high until it is completely browned. Add the jamon, cooking it until it softens. Drain the fat from the pan. Add the milk, flour and parmesan, combine well. Add the truffles, salt, pepper, nutmeg, combine and bring to a simmer. Cook 10-12 minutes, stirring often. Take the pan off the heat, and let it cool. Stir in the egg.

Once the meat is cool enough to handle, evenly divide the mixture among the pasta. Put the mixture at one end, and roll the pasta up. (If you are using the pasta tubes, simply stuff them with the mixture.) Place the rolls in a 9 inch square baking dish, in a single layer. Cover with the Béchamel, and top with the remaining parmesan cheese. Bake 25 minutes, until bubbling and the cheese is crispy and golden brown.

Béchamel sauce:

Heat milk in a medium pan until almost boiling, being careful not to scorch the bottom.
Melt butter in another medium saucepan. Add flour slowly, stirring out any lumps, until it is smooth. Cook until it is a light golden color, about 5-6 minutes. Add the hot milk to the butter pan, very slowly, rapidly whisking until smooth. Add the salt pepper and nutmeg, continuing to whisk until it comes to a boil. Remove from heat.

Ingredients:

400 gr. chickpeas
1 piece beef bone
200 gr. bacon
1 pig ear
300 gr. beef
1 black sausage
10 garlics
1 cabbage
Celery
1 turnip
4 carrots
1 onion
Rice
Salt

Directions:
Lave the chickpeas to soak for 24 h.
In a large pot heat the chickpeas together with the bones, pig ear, bacon, unpealed garlics, carrots,  turnip, celery, onion and beaf meat.
Carefully add salt taking into account that some of the ingredients like bacon are salty.
Cover the pot and bring to a boil. Lower heat and allow to slowly cook for 2 hours.
Cook the black sausage on a separate pot for approximately 15 minutes. Once cooked add the cabbage and heat for 10 minutes.
Once the vegetables and meat are cooked, place in a container. Bring the soup to boil and add the rice. Cook for 10 minutes.
Serve all ingredients together.