Spanish Chorizo in Cider: Chorizo a la Sidra

This is a great and simple tapas dish. Tapas are snacks or appetizer type foods that comprise a whole segment of the Spanish food and beverage business. Spain is famous for its tapas bars; that is, bars that serve these snacks and appetizers to accompany your beverages.

Spanish hard cider (sidra) is a common drink in the Asturias region of northwest Spain, where apples are grown in an abundance of varieties.

 

Serve with crusty bread ...

Ingredients:

1 pound Spanish chorizo (preferably semi-cured)

1 1/2 cups Spanish hard cider

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 clove of garlic, very thinly sliced

(optional) parsley for garnish

Cut the chorizo into about 1 inch pieces, heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Fry the chorizo pieces 5 to 6 minutes, turning the pieces often, then add the cider and the sliced garlic and bring it to a simmer and cook the chorizo until the cider begins to cook down, about 6 to 8 minutes (it may thicken up).

 

WORD HISTORY:

Cider-This word for "apple juice, both fermented and non fermented" (see further, below), goes back to transliterated Hebrew "sekar/sekhar," which meant "strong (that is, alcoholic) drink." Ancient Greek borrowed the word as transliterated "sikera," also meaning "strong drink." Latin borrowed this as "sicera," and Old French took this, seemingly initially as "cisdre," then as "cidre," which continued with the "strong drink" meaning, but also with the meaning "fermented apple or pear juice." English borrowed the word circa 1300, initially as "cidre," meaning "strong drink," but by the mid 1300s the "fermented fruit juice" meaning had also become more common, eventually becoming exclusive to "fermented apple juice." In England and Britain, carbonation was later often added, but in the U.S., the 1800s saw the "fermented apple juice" meaning also expanded to "non-fermented apple juice with some of the apple pulp." Also in the U.S., carbonated cider isn't as common as in the UK, and fermented apple cider is called "hard cider," with the non-fermented type simply called "apple cider." 

Spicy Spanish Potatoes: Patatas Bravas

This dish is common for "tapas" in Spain, especially in Madrid and Barcelona, and there are variations in recipes. "Tapas" are "snacks," which in Spain are something of a whole segment of the Spanish food and beverage business, as tapas bars specialize in the serving of a variety of snacks, or "appetizers," if you prefer another word for this type of food. "Patatas Bravas" are crispy fried potato pieces served with a spicy tomato sauce (salsa brava); and in Barcelona, they are served with aioli (garlic mayonnaise). In Spain, the potatoes are most often fried in extra virgin olive oil. 

Ingredients:

2 pounds potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 1/2 cups olive oil + 2 tablespoons
2 teaspoons salt (divided use)  
1 teaspoon mild smoked Spanish paprika
1 teaspoon hot smoked Spanish paprika
2 tablespoons chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 small fresh red chili, or 1/2 teaspoon chili flakes or 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1  14.5 ounce can tomatoes, drained
aioli* 

Simmer cubed potatoes in salted water until just beginning to soften. The potatoes should not be cooked through; thus, they will still be relatively firm. Drain and put the potatoes on some paper towels to help dry them. Fry potatoes in 1 1/2 cups of olive oil over medium heat until browned and crispy (the inside should still be sort of creamy), which will finish cooking them through. Remove potatoes to paper towels and season with one teaspoon of salt. In the meantime, in a saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and saute for about a minute. Add the garlic, the chili (or chili flakes or cayenne pepper), saute for another minute. Add the sweet and hot paprika, one teaspoon of salt and the tomatoes. Cook for about 2 to 3 minutes, stirring. Add all to a blender or food processor; combine until it's a relatively smooth sauce. Serve the potatoes with some of the tomato sauce poured over it, and then with some dabs or streaks of aioli on top.  

* Aioli is essentially a garlicky mayonnaise, although in some parts of Spain it is more olive oil, garlic, lemon juice and salt. Here's the link to the article for "aioli:" http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2017/10/aioli-is-it-garlic-mayonnaise.html
  

WORD HISTORY: 
Brave-For what is a pretty common word today, the history of "brave" is more than a little shaky, and, to be totally honest about it, I must say the word's overall history is "uncertain," if not "unknown." One theory, which I like, has it going back to Ancient Greek "barbaros," which meant "not of Greek background;" that is, "foreign," and further, "uncivilized, wild." There is a theory that this may go back to an Indo European form "bar bar" or, "barbar," with the notion of being "unintelligible, incapable of being understood." Anyway, the Greek form, also the basis of "barbarian" and "barbarous," two other words borrowed by English, was borrowed by Latin as "barbarus," also meaning, "foreign, uncivilized, wild;" thus also, "fierce." This then produced Latin "brabus," then the altered, "bravus," meaning, "wild, fierce," and where "barbarus" was not only contracted, but where the "ar" reversed to "ra," a process called metathesis, a linguistic change that is not totally uncommon.^ This then gave Italian "bravo," where the "wild, fierce" meaning was coming to indicate "bold;" thus, "courageous (brave)." This was borrowed by French as "brave" (pronounced "brahv") and this then was borrowed by English in the late 1400s. 

^ For example, "bird" was once "brid/bridd," in English.