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Al Fresco Buffet

Poster: Gillaine Hathaway 01/08/2006

AS GILLAINE HATHAWAY NOTES... WHAT BETTER PLACE TO ENJOY THE PLEASURES OF SUMMER THAN BESIDE THE MEDITERRANEAN.

The delights of entertaining friends and family in the open air continue this month. And why not, as the wonderful weather is there for all of us to enjoy. Last month we sampled gazpacho and freshly grilled prawns accompanied by salads, all prepared so easily for a lunch or dinner party on your terrace or in your garden. But how about adding to these dishes and creating a Mediterranean buffet?
There is nothing more delicious than a table full of different dishes so people can fill their plates and come back for more. Tapas are such a great Spanish tradition and provide a wonderful welcome and start to any meal. How about laying out a selection of olives, sliced chorizo (Spain's sumptuous spicy sausage), sliced Jabugo ham and cheese. All easily bought in all supermarkets.
Prawns and other fish and meats can be quickly prepared on the griddle or barbecue but, like gazpacho and salads, there are many more dishes that can be prepared in advance. Dishes inspired by the Mediterranean such as stuffed eggs and stuffed courgettes. Add to that chicken in tomato sauce, fresh seasonal fruits and a wicked chocolate cake made with almonds - another Mediterranean housewife's staple - then all you have to do is enjoy the appreciative "oohs and achs" from your guests, which will more than reward your efforts.

Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons oil
2 medium onions and 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1 kg fresh tomatoes, skinned and finely chopped
Large tin (800 g) of tomato "triturado"
1 teaspoon sweet paprika (pimenton dulce)
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon fresh basil
1 beef stock cube

• Cover the bottom of a heavy pan with oil, heat it up and add the onions.
• Sprinkle on the salt and stir in the garlic.
• When transparent add the fresh tomatoes, paprika and sugar. 
• Stir in well and cook until soft.
• Add the tin of tomatoes, stock cube and basil, and simmer for at least an hour until the sauce has reduced by nearly half.
• "Finish" by adding freshly ground black pepper and more salt (if required), a generous tablespoon of virgin olive oil, two or three crushed garlic cloves and six torn basil leaves.
• Stir in well and cook for a further 10 minutes.

This sauce is used for both the stuffed eggs and chicken in tomato, but if there is any left over it freezes well for future use. In fact, may I suggest that you double up the quantities, as the long, slow cooking takes time and this way you will have plenty to store in the freezer.

Stuffed Eggs

Ingredients:
12 eggs
Some of the tomato sauce
1 small lettuce
"Virgen" olive oil and vinegar
Lemons

• Cook the eggs in boiling water for eight minutes. 
• Remove and cool, then remove the shells and cut in half. 
• Scoop out the cooked yolks into a bowl and mash with a fork. 
• Add six or seven spoons of the cooled tomato sauce and mix well. 
• Taste and season with more salt and pepper if necessary. 
• Pile the mixture back into the egg halves and place on a large dish covered with the chopped lettuce leaves. 
• Before serving sprinkle over plenty of olive oil and a good squeeze of lemon juice.

Chicken in Tomato Sauce
Ingredients:
1 chicken cut into pieces
2 red peppers. sliced
3 tablespoons olive oil.
2 tablespoons flour
Salt and pepper to taste
Rest of the tomato sauce

• In a large pan heat the oil.
• Dust the chicken pieces in flour, seal in the pan until golden and remove.
• Add the peppers to the pan and cook, stirring well as they begin to soften.
• Add in the tomato sauce and stir well.
• Return the chicken pieces to the pan.
• Cook, stirring occasionally for around 20 minutes until the chicken is cooked.
• Season with salt and pepper.

This is a dish that can be made in advance, as it improves if it is kept for a day in the fridge.

Stuffed Courgettes

Ingredients (serves 4):
12 small white courgettes
50 gr breadcrumbs (freshly prepared if possible)
100 gr grated hard cheese (Manchego, cheddar of similar)
4 finely chopped garlics
4 eggs
I tablespoon finely chopped parsley, fresh marjoram (or oregano)
1 teaspoon salt and freshly ground black pepper

• Mix the breadcrumbs, cheese, garlic and herbs in a bowl
• Remove the ends from the courgettes and wash well in cold water.
• Bring water to a boil in a large saucepan and cook the courgettes for approximately 15 minutes, until they are slightly soft when pricked with a skewer.
• Turn into a sieve and leave until cool enough to handle.
• Cut each courgette in half and, with a teaspoon, scoop out the centre into a clean, dry tea-towel and squeeze out as much liquid as possible. 
• Chop up what is left in the tea-towel, scrape off into the dry stuffing and mix in well.
• Incorporate four eggs, stirring in one at a time until you end up with a fairly runny paste.  
• Leave this to stand for at least 30 minutes to stiffen.
• Fill the courgette shells using your teaspoon to level off.
• Place batches of the courgettes, stuffing side down, into hot sunflower oil in a frying pan and prick the skin of the courgette with a fork. 
• Gently fry until golden brown, turn over and brown on the other side.
• Remove to a serving dish and repeat the process until all the courgettes are cooked. 

This dish can be eaten when hot accompanied by a nice bean stew, but when served cold makes a really good buffet dish. Any left-over stuffing can be double-wrapped in kitchen foil and kept in the freezer to be used as stuffing for a chicken or the all-important Christmas turkey

Chocolate Cake Pudding

Ingredients. (serves 8):
6 eggs
400 gr dark chocolate
180 gr saltless butter
100 gr brown sugar
1/4 kg ground almonds
1 coffee spoon instant coffee
dash of brandy
1 carton natural yoghourt
25 cm buttered springform cake tin

• Heat the oven to 400F or 200C.
• Separate the yolks from the whites of the eggs and beat up the yolks, yoghourt, ground almonds and sugar.
• Melt 300 grams of the chocolate in a glass bowl over a sauce of hot water and mix in the butter.
• Add the chocolate mixture to the egg mixture.
• Beat the egg white until stiff and gently stir in.
• Transfer to the buttered cake time and cook in the oven for 10 minute.
• Lower the heat to 325F/170C and bake for a further 30 minutes.
• Remove and allow to cool in the tin.
• Turn onto a rack.
• When completely cold, melt the remaining chocolate and spread over the top.

This a very rich pudding which is ideal served with whipped cream. It keeps well in a tin so it can be made well in advance of the party.

The recipe for this decadent chocolate pudding comes from Laila Bourquin, a Gibraltar-born lady who lived much of her youth in La Linea de la Concepcion. Gibraltarian cuisine is an Italian-based Mediterranean cuisine, and a very fine one at that - even though a trip up Main Street full of bars and fish and chip shops seems to belie this fact. 
Laila's love of her cuisine was mixed with a knowledge of Andalucian dishes, thanks to the staff working in their home. Her cooking knowledge has grown and grown over the years, as has the variety of her dishes, in part due to her living in various European countries. This dedicated cook has worked for many years as a Horizonte volunteer, the Marbella-based charity which does so much to help local youngsters fight drug addiction. Anyone who has sampled her delicious dishes and jams, which she prepares in abundance for the Horizonte bazaars, can vouch for her expertise.

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