Spanish Tapas Cookbook ~ Chemistry (yet again!)

What's Schoolin'?

I can't believe I had not listed this as a Chemistry resource before!  It's a great resource book (or maybe I did and it didn't show on the search?). Simple Chemistry:



What's Cookin'?

Dd is researching Spain (they each picked 2 different European countries) and I had checked out this book online. When I got it home I realized that it was a cookbook in Spanish - and that it's fabulous! It is loaded with real, traditional, scrumptious appetizers from Spain. If you read Spanish (and use metric measurements), then this is the book for you! Maybe your library has it or you can get it through inter-library loan. Here is the Amazon link and I've posted a translated recipe below.  For those of us who don't use metric here is a great conversion site that I just discovered:  http://www.dianasdesserts.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/tools.measures/Measures.cfm



Fried Goat Cheese with Honey

4 Appetizers

Ingredients:
3 medium red onions (thinly sliced)
Olive Oil (to fry)
50 g sugar
150 g cylinder of goat cheese
1 egg (beaten)
flour
2 tablespoons liquid honey
1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
2 stems green onion for garnish

Directions:
1. Prepare the garnish several hours before serving.  Fry the onion in 3 tablespoons oil on low heat until very soft, about 20 minutes.  Drain excessive oil and add the sugar.  Stir until well blended and the sugar has caramelized. (about 8 minutes).  Let it cool and refrigerate.

2. About 30 minutes before serving, form 4 equal balls with the goat cheese.  Pass them through the beaten egg, then the flour, and fry in a pan with a little olive oil, turning carefully until golden on all sides.  Drain on a paper towel.

3. Plate the caramelized onions in the center of a dish with the goat cheese balls around it.  Drizzle the honey, sprinkle the parsley, and garnish with the onion stems.  Serve immediately.

The notes say that the honey should not be too "aromatic" or it will mask the subtle flavor of the cheese and should be liquid to be able to drizzle easily.  To me this means that if your honey is thick you can put a little in a glass and put it in a bowl of hot water so it's not gloppy.  Also, if your honey is very flavorful you may want to use less or water it just a teeny tiny bit.

This recipe is part of Kelly's Real Food Wednesday:
http://kellythekitchenkop.com/2012/04/real-food-wednesday-4112012.html