Post image for Product Feature: Horchata (Part 1 – Etymology)

Product Feature: Horchata (Part 1 – Etymology)

by Jonathan on January 26, 2010

Ever wondered where the word ‘horchata’ comes from?  Read on to find out…

Legend has is that a young girl once offered a sweet, white drink to the King of Aragon, Jaime I.  ”What is that?” he asked the young girl, pleasantly surprised by its flavour.  ”It’s tigernut milk” she responded, to which he replied “Aixo no es llet, aixo es or xata” (”That is not milk, that is gold, my pretty one”).  Many attribute the word ‘horchata’ to this appraisal of the drink by the King.

Legend or reality, ‘horchata’ is a drink made from the ‘chufa’ (tigernut), a typical Valencian product.  Jaime I was not the only one to be fascinated by the drink – Valencian horchata, traditionally considered as a refreshing beverage, is actually much more than that.  Nowadays it is an indispensable part of the mediterranean diet due its innumerable health benefits.

We’re pleased to help you extend your Spanish food knowledge with this information. Of course, we’d love to welcome you at the online store where you can buy horchata from Valencia and hundreds of other tasty Spanish treats.

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Bacalao con Patatas

by Jonathan on January 19, 2010

Check out this fantastic illustrated ‘Bacalao con Patatas’ recipe from ireallylikefood.com.  The opening lines from the article give you some idea of the author’s panache:

I’ve always wanted to do a bacalao dish for the longest time.  Of course, given that I’m also the type extremely comfortable with desires percolating somewhere in the back of my mind, I’ve never actually done anything concrete to realize my bacalao dreams.  One day, however, some bacalao just happened to fall into our shopping baskets when we were out shopping for mascarpone cheese.

[click to continue…]

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How to Make Churros

January 14, 2010
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I had the pleasure of having churros made for me by a real expert yesterday.  Despite what many people say, there really is no grand secret to making great churros.  My host followed this simple recipe and the churros were absolutely the best I’ve ever tasted anywhere.

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50% off at Tapas Tapas Liverpool

January 13, 2010
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Our friends at Tapas Tapas in Liverpool are running a fantastic 50% offer. Read on for full details…
¡Feliz año nuevo / Happy New Year from everybody here at Tapas Tapas! Although we can´t help you to get rid of the ice in your driveway, or transport you to Spain, we think that we [...]

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Albondigas (Spanish Meatballs)

January 12, 2010
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Ingredients for 4:
225 g ( 8 oz) minced beef or lamb
1 onion finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp dry sherry
250 g tin of chopped tomatoes
1 tbs pimenton picante (Spanish spicy paprika)
pinch of sugar
salt and freshly ground black pepper
fresh thyme, to garnish

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Patatas a lo Pobre (Poor Man’s Potatoes)

January 12, 2010
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Ingredients for 4:
300ml olive oil
3 Spanish onions, thinly sliced
5 garlic cloves, thickly sliced
1 kg potatoes, peeled and cut into large cubes
3 green peppers, seeded and roughly chopped
4 bay leaves
Salt, pepper

Heat 5 tablespoons of oil in a large sauté pan or a wok, when hot add the onions, lower the heat and cook the onions slowly [...]

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Turkey and chorizo casserole with beans

January 12, 2010
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This is one way of using up the Christmas turkey and also any odd vegetables you may have. You can use this recipe any time of year using chicken instead of turkey.
Ingredients for 4:
600gm of cooked turkey (or chicken) cut into one to two inch pieces
500gm of cooking chorizo sliced
2 large flat mushrooms
4 cloves of [...]

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Scallops with chorizo and lardons

January 12, 2010

This recipe was inspired by a lunchtime meal of scallops on a sunny afternoon by the beach in Burton Bradstock on the Dorset coast.
Ingredients for 2:
8 scallops (with coral – optional)
100 g bacon lardons (you could use pancetta) cut into quarter- inch cubes
100 g cooking chorizo, cut into quarter-inch cubes
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove garlic, [...]

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Spanish Olive Oil Used in Soap

January 7, 2010
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We are extremely pleased to announce that experts in pure handmade soaps and lotions, Born to be Natural, have selected our Spanish Extra Virgin Olive Oil ‘Codegenil’ from Cordoba as the base for their exclusive natural soaps.
According to founder Malcolm Pascoe, “the higher quality the olive oil, the better the resulting soap”, and Born to [...]

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Tapas Tapas (Liverpool)

December 21, 2009

Check out this review of Tapas Tapas in Liverpool City Centre by Dawn Collinson. “It’s hard to imagine that you could replicate a Spanish tapas bar on a freezing wet winter’s night in Liverpool city centre. Impossible, in fact,” says Dawn. “But somehow that’s exactly what Tapas Tapas does with the absolute minimum of fuss [...]

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