Basque Solomo Food

BASQUE STYLE PORK CHOPS

Steps:

• 1. Sprinkle pork chops with salt and pepper. Dedge chops in the flour, and shake off excess.
• 2. Heat vegetable oil in skillet; add chops and cook about 3 to 5 minutes each side, or just until browned on both sides. Transfer chops to a platter.
• 3. Drain vegetable oil from skillet, and wipe skillet clean with a paper towel. Add olive oil to the skillet. Add the garlic, onion, green (or yellow) pepper and red pepper, and cook about 1 minute, stirring frequently. Add wine, and cook 1 more minute. Add tomatoes, chicken broth, olives, and thyme to the skillet. Seasone with salt and pepper, if desired. Bring mixture to a low boil. Place chops on top. Cover the skillet, and simmer over low heat for 25 minutes or until tender.
• 4. Transfer chops to a platter, and cover with foil to keep warm. Bring the mixture in the skillet to a boil, and cook for about 3 minutes or until slightly reduced to about 2 1/4 cups.
• 5. Ladle pan sauce over chops, and serve.

BASQUE-STYLE SALMON STEW

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large pan and add the peppers, onion and potatoes. Cook, stirring regularly for 5-8 mins until golden. Then add the paprika, garlic, thyme and tomatoes. Bring to the boil, stir and cover, then turn down heat and simmer for 12 mins. Add a splash of water if the sauce becomes too thick.
• Season the stew and lay the salmon on top, skin side down. Place the lid back on and simmer for another 8 mins until the salmon is cooked through. Scatter with parsley, if you like, and serve.

SMOKED SALMON QUICHE WITH KALE AND BASIL, AND SESAME SEED CRUST

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Toast the sesame seeds in a small dry frying pan over medium heat until fragrant and golden. Tip onto a plate and leave to cool.
• Meanwhile, grease an 8-inch straight-sided, loose-bottomed flan or cake tin (1-inch deep) and set it on a baking tray.
• Once the sesame seeds are cool, tip them and the remaining pastry ingredients, along with 3 tablespoons of water, into a food processor. Whiz together until they form damp crumbs.
• Alternatively, to make by hand, put the flour and butter into a large bowl. Pick up bits of the mixture with the tips of your fingers and rub your thumb into your fingers to blend the ingredients together, allowing it to fall back into the bowl. Keep doing this until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir the sesame seeds through. Lightly beat the egg in a small bowl and stir into the crumbs really well with a small knife until it starts to form lumps.
• Add 3 tablespoons of water to bring it together.
• Dust a clean work surface with a little flour and tip the dough out onto it. Bring it together into a smooth ball then roll it out to the thickness of that of a nickel (about 2mm) to give a roughly 8 2/3-inch circle (slightly larger than the diameter of the tin).
• Carefully lower the pastry into the prepared tin, easing it against the bottom and edges. Use a small, sharp knife to trim the excess pastry off the top rim, using bits of the excess to seal up holes or cracks if necessary. Scrunch up a circular piece of baking parchment a little larger than the tin, then unscrunch and sit it in the pastry crust. Tip in ceramic baking beans or dried beans and bake for 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, make the filling. Heat the oil or butter in a medium pan over a low-medium heat. Add the onion and cook down for about 10 minutes or until soft, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, beat the crème fraîche, yogurt, and eggs together in a large bowl until combined. Stir in the kale, season, and set aside.
• After the pastry has been cooking for 20 minutes, remove the paper and beans and return the pastry crust to the oven for a further 5 minutes or until the pastry is cooked, the base is sandy to the touch, and it looks lightly golden brown.
• Once softened, remove the onion from the heat and leave to cool. Once cool, stir into the kale mix.
• Once the pastry crust is cooked, remove from the oven and pour in the kale mixture. Arrange the smoked salmon on top. Bake for 35 minutes, or until the salmon is catching colour and the quiche cooked through to the centre. Remove and allow to cool a little. Carefully remove from the tin, cut into quarters and top with freshly torn basil.