Art Lecture Lunches

In October 2014 the DCA hosted three Art Lectures focusing on the works of El Greco, Goya and Sorolla. The committee and I thought it might be fun to theme the food and offer Traditional Spanish dishes. The food proved to be a big hit and I was proud of how adventurous everyone was with some of the more unusual offerings. I am reprinting the menus and clicking on the highlighted items will lead you to that particular recipe. I shall be updating the recipe list as quickly as I can so check back or subscribe.

Spanish Art Lecture Lunches Menus

Menu for October 9th

Bread, Olives and Olivetti Spanish Olive Oil

Chicken Basque*

Patatas Bravas with Roasted Tomato Aioli

Traditional Catalan Fish Stew

(Zarzuela de Mariscos a la Catalana)

Traditional Spanish Lentils

(Lenteja Caseras)

Mixed Salad with Orange segments, Beets, Goats Cheese and Marconi Almonds with Olivetti Orange Balsamic Dressing

Sticky Toffee Pudding

Menu for October 16th

Bread, Olives and Olivetti Spanish Olive Oli

Spanish Tortilla

Chorizo and Figs

Selection of Spanish Cured Meats and Cheeses

Shrimp in Garlic and Herb Butter

Roasted Stuffed Peppers

Calamari

Spanish Meatballs in Tomato Sauce

Creme Brûlée

White Chocolate Bread Pudding

Menu for October 30th

Gazpacho Shots

Selection of Spanish Cured Meats and Cheeses

Traditional Catalan Fish Stew

(Zarzuela de Mariscos a la Catalana)

Seafood Paella

Chicken and Chorizo Paella

Mixed Salad with Oranges, Beets, Goats Cheese and Marconi Almonds with Olivetti Orange Balsamic Dressing

Flan, pecan bars, chocolate bread pudding

* Recipe from the excellent Queen of British cooking Delia Smith

I grew up with good old fashioned ounces and to be honest cannot get my head around grams, they will forever be a mystery to me. Having spent 15 years in America I can see the attraction of cups. Certain recipes just work in their original system of measurement, I would not dream of making scones in anything but cups, the beauty being that being a recipe based totally on cups works with any cup. I also found a great shortbread recipe which was something like 1 cup of flour, 1/2 cup of butter and a 1/4 cup of sugar, how beautiful is that.? A basic cake on the other hand should be made with imperial measures. The Victoria sandwich is based on the measurement of an egg, which just happens to be around 2 ounces, and for every egg you add the same amount of butter, sugar and self raising flour. Any self respecting eight year old can remember that recipe! My advice to any bakers would be to invest in a set of scales which converts from ounces to grams and have a set of cups handy as well.