There is a new -and longed for- weekend where many will already be enjoying the holidays, while others will continue to count the hours they have left to escape a few days. But the pecking of the end we never forgive, even less if they press the temperatures.
In these cases, it is best to take cold drinks, look for a good shade or the breeze from the terrace, and share a few simple snacks that do not require much work in the kitchen. That’s why the most basic spice recipes never fail us, and we could almost eat based on them.
We are not going to enter here into endless debates about what exactly is a skewer or if it differs in something from a lid. Nowadays the variety is so great in both of them that it does not make much sense to engage in discussions; it is much more rewarding to taste them, whatever they are called.
In this small selection in time for the picot, we have chosen, yes, recipes that really “puncture”, to serve and take with their corresponding stick or small skewer. Because something has skewers that almost taste better than when using a fork or spoon.
Paprika chicken skewers
Ingredients: 2 chicken breasts, 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, 1 teaspoon of lemon juice, 2 teaspoons of sweet paprika, 1/2 teaspoon of spicy paprika, 1 teaspoon of ground cumin, 1/2 teaspoon of granulated garlic, 1 / 2 teaspoon dried thyme, black pepper and salt to taste.
Preparation: Place olive oil, lemon juice, sweet paprika, spicy pepper, ground cumin, granulated garlic and thyme in a bowl. Mix well. Clean the chicken breasts and dry them with paper towels. Chop the chicken meat into pieces of a bite and salt them. Place them in a suitable container, pour the dressing and mix everything very well. Let marinate at least one hour. Heat a pan with oil. Cook the chicken on high heat until golden brown on all sides. Arrange the chicken, on skewers of one or two pieces, in a dish or tray lightly greased with oil and season with a little extra paprika.
Skewer of cod in oil
Ingredients: 300 g of loin of desalted cod, 2 cloves of garlic, 1 chilli pepper, extra virgin olive oil, parsley.
Preparation: Chop some chilli rings and garlic cloves. We take thin slices without spines of cod or small tacos, it depends on how we like it, and we place them in a deep bowl, we water with extra virgin olive oil and let stand 15 minutes before consuming. There are people who prefer to boil the cod, a few seconds, to not take it raw, it is totally valid. This dish can be prepared in advance because in this way the cod is kept several days in the refrigerator and is still richer after a couple of days when it is impregnated with the taste of chilli and garlic.
Gildas
Ingredients: 6 chilli peppers in vinegar, 6 salted anchovies, green olives with or without bone, extra virgin olive oil of good quality.
Preparation: Arrange all the ingredients around a table to work quickly and assemble the gildas without complications. Prepare some skewers or appetizer sticks and a tray or platter to serve the skewers. Drain the chilli peppers and cut the rabito. You can also leave. Cut each unit into two pieces or leave whole, if they are small. Drain the anchovies and clean a little of the canned oil. Assemble each skewer starting with a pitted green olive – it can be stuffed or not. Continue with a portion of piparra and then skewer the anchovy folded on itself. Re-introduce one-half of piparra and finish with another olive. Continue until the skewers are finished and dress to taste with good extra virgin olive oil, trying to be generous.
Quick chicken skewers
Ingredients: 1 chicken breast, the juice of half lemon, lime peel, two tablespoons of spices for adobo (oregano, paprika, salt, black pepper) and 4 tablespoons of soy sauce.
Preparation: In a bowl we mix the spices, the lemon juice and the soybeans, beating a little with a fork, and let stand. Cut the breast into pieces and fry until golden brown, in a casserole with two tablespoons of oil. When the chicken is taking color, add the marinade and let it cook in this sauce for 5 minutes. Once the sauce has reduced and the chicken looks very appetizing, grate the lime peel and sprinkle a spice of spices on top, serving the appetizer with toast bread slices.
Melon and ham skewer
Ingredients: 1/2 ripe Galia melon, 4 or 5 thin slices of ham, chopsticks.
Preparation: One of the important issues is that the melon is mature enough to offer only a slight resistance to biting. It is also important that the ham is cut into very thin slices, because otherwise its flavor and texture will have too much presence. When cutting the melon dice, the size must be such that it can be introduced whole in the mouth, but without overdoing it. Once we have the dice cut and just wrap them with the slices of ham, with half per die is more than enough. The best thing is just to surround it on three sides, leaving the bottom face free. Finally, we puncture each die with a toothpick or, as in my case, a piece of skewer stick, and serve.
