Spanish Recipes

Here are two of my favorite Spanish recipes that I make all the time:

Lentejas

17 oz. of lentils, the brownish green kind, soaked in water overnight

2 tomatoes

1 red or green pepper, diced

1 onion, chopped

1/2 head of garlic, sliced thin

3 bay leaves

3 carrots, peeled and sliced

1 potato, peeled and diced

1 T olive oil

2 chicken or vegetable stock cubes

Drain the lentils. Heat up the olive oil in a large saucepan, add the lentils and stir around for 5 minutes. Add everything else (except for the potato) and stir everything around for a 5 more minutes. Add enough water to the saucepan to cover up the lentils and vegetables. Cook over medium-high heat for at least half and hour or until the lentils and carrots are soft. Add the potatoes and continue cooking until they are fork tender. Stir in the stock cubes until dissolved. Serve with bread.

Pisto (the Spaniards answer to Ratatouille)

2 T olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 lbs. zucchini diced

2 lbs. tomatoes, peeled and chopped

1/4 t sugar

1 t

lots of fresh ground pepper

6 eggs (optional)

Heat oil in a skillet over medium-heat, add onion and cook 5 minutes stirring, add garlic, stir 1 minute. Stir in squash and 1/2 t salt and toss 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and sugar and 1 t. Turn the heat to medium-high. Stir after 5 minutes. Add juice from tomatoes and 1/4 c water, stir together and turn heat down to medium-low and cook uncovered for 30-35 minutes until the vegetables are soft. Stir often, add water as needed every 10 minutes or until the mixture starts to stick. Taste and adjust the seasonings. Make six wells in the pisto and break an egg carefully into each well and season with salt and pepper. Cover the pan and cook 6-8 minutes more.