.
Me, I'm a lucky girl to have two older brothers whom I love very much...the seriously brilliant one (IBBBH*) and the stunningly genius one (IBBBJ**).
And, heck yes, I'm bragging.
Me, I'm a lucky girl to have two older brothers whom I love very much...the seriously brilliant one (IBBBH*) and the stunningly genius one (IBBBJ**).And, heck yes, I'm bragging.
Both of my brothers are tall and handsome, hard working and goodhearted. (Frankly, I find it altogether shocking we all come from the same gene-pool. I can barely balance my checkbook half the time! So really, I got nothin' on um. Plus the really disconcerting part is that our sister is actually the smart one. Scary...innit?)
The younger (I'm the youngest) is the one who makes me laugh, he is the political one, with a serious penchant for quality foods, and the older one (well, also political) is the one who challenges me to be a better person, who sits up straight, and is infinitely patient.
IBBBJ lives in NYC. Making the world a better place. IBBBH resides in Southern Spain...making the world a better place too.
I love visiting NYC to hang out with my IBBBJ. I am always beyond excited to see him and go out do dinner, so he "can show off by getting (me) something fancy."
It takes a bit more to get organized enough to haul myself across two continents. But when I do I bask in the warmth of IBBBH's wonderfulness (no, not a word...) where the main focus is always family (and, flamenco, or so it seems. Lots of Flamenco.) and eating. This is me after all. While UBBBH is not exactly a foodie - he likes his brown bread and herring more than most things - he is indulgent (if not bemused) by my obsession.
What both of these boys (okay, fine, they are men) can agree on, food wise, is this extremely classic tapas, inspired by the bounty of Andalusia.
So easy to make, so deliciously tempting. It will make your head spin for a moment. In Spain, or New York, or where ever your family happens to be.
So try it my dears, and taste the joy.
8oz - 10 oz. salt cod
2 medium (Yukon Gold is best) potatoes, peeled and cut
3 cloves garlic
3 T Spanish olive oil
12 roasted piquillo peppers
Soak the salt cod over night in cold water. Change the water at least twice.
When it is softened, rinse the cod and flake.
In a medium sauce pan of cold water, add the cod, garlic cloves and potatoes. Bring to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are soft, then drain.
Add that mix to your food processor and puree, along with half the oil. Add more oil if it is still chunky, otherwise, use it all.
Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
Fill peppers with the puree and serve on a bed of the extra puree (if there is any)
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*How smart? He once co-authored a paper entitled: The Quantum Vacuum and the Cosmological Constant Problem
**How smart? He earned his masters degree at age 19.
Locally, piquillo peppers can be purchased at Surfas in Culver City, La Española in Harbor City and Nicole's in Pasadena. I have also seen them at Cost Plus, Whole Foods and Bristol Farms.
The name piquillo means "little beak". Traditionally piquillo peppers are grown in Northern Spain - GourmetSleuth.com
