Explore the culinary and cultural riches of Spain with Chef José Andrés. The series highlights the extraordinary cooking traditions of a country whose food and wine is capturing the world's imagination. In every episode, José brings the exciting flavors of his native Spain to the American audience with easy and informative recipes created in his Washington, DC kitchen using products found in the U.S.
Jan 12, 2008 - 30m
From his home region of Asturias in northern Spain, José showcases its great cheeses, making a sweet and sour salad of cheese and tomatoes with a honey and vinegar dressing. He fries some golden brown monkfish, and takes to the seas off Asturias to risk his neck while fishing for barnacles.
Feb 7, 2008 - 30m
José explores the food of the magical, mystical region of Galicia where pilgrims have traveled for centuries. He cooks a simple tapa of green Padrón peppers stuffed with cheese, as well as the traditional pilgrim’s meal of a chicken empanada, or turnover. He fishes for octopus off the region’s rocky coast, eats a traditional Galician dish of boiled octopus with Spanish paprika, and drinks a glass of the pilgrims’ flambéed punch
Feb 14, 2008 - 30m
José explains the sweet Spanish tooth, cooking pancakes with chocolate before showing us the wonderfully thick hot chocolate of Spain. Just outside the capital, he takes us to a strawberry farm and returns home to prepare strawberries in a wine syrup. He ends at a traditional bull fight in Madrid, finishing off the evening with a traditional stew of bull’s meat.
Feb 21, 2008 - 30m
Sweet, hand-roasted red piquillo peppers are now sold in jars across the United States. José stuffs some piquillos with cheese, then takes us to Navarra to show how they painstakingly roast and peel the peppers. He returns to his home kitchen to prepare a cheese and white asparagus salad. He ends with a trip to Pamplona, where the young men run with the bulls – while older men try to improve their cooking in culinary societies.
Feb 28, 2008 - 30m
There’s tuna and there’s Spanish tuna. José prepares a classic tuna salad before joining the extraordinary tuna catch off the southern coast of Spain. He returns home to cook seared tuna with sesame seeds and sweet piquillo peppers. He explains the great sherry culture of Andalucía, and goes bar-hopping to eat the region’s great tapas food.
Mar 6, 2008 - 30m
José turns Spain’s sparkling wine, cava, into a light dressing for oysters and a refreshing mimosa cocktail. He goes mushroom hunting in the Catalan mountains, before cooking a crumbled pork sausage with wild mushrooms. Back in Spain, he fishes for shrimp and eats Catalan seafood in traditional and modern ways.
Mar 13, 2008 - 30m
José cooks a cold soup of Basque cheese bought in Manhattan before going to the rustic farms where the cheese-makers live. He introduces us to the great red and white wines of the Basque Country, then returns home to cook a traditional dish of baby squid with caramelized onions. He finishes by eating an extraordinary meal cooked entirely on a charcoal grill.
Mar 20, 2008 - 30m
José uses widely-available Manchego cheese to prepare a salad of cheese, tomato, thyme and walnuts. He shows us the food eaten by the Man from La Mancha – Cervantes’ Don Quixote. And he is witness to the wonder of saffron, when the remarkable crocus emerges from the earth and is turned into the world’s most expensive spice. José cooks a traditional dish of rabbit with saffron rice before returning to Spain to eat a marzipan dessert.
Mar 27, 2008 - 30m
José prepares scallops in their shells with Albariño white wine, and visits the dramatic seafood farms of this northwestern region. Back home, he steams mussels with bay leaf and serves them with potatoes and Spanish smoked paprika. He returns to Galicia to watch the magical cooking of the legendary Spanish potato tortilla, or omelet.
Apr 3, 2008 - 30m
Asturias means family for José, and he prepares a simple apple and cheese salad with his mother’s favorite blue cheese, Cabrales. José shows us the region’s traditional hard cider, and returns home to add cider vinegar to some caramelized onions that he serves with light and fluffy corn cakes. Back in Asturias, he joins his family for a hearty bean stew with sausages.
Apr 10, 2008 - 30m
José cooks a quick tapa of fried eggs and Spanish chorizo sausage before showing us the artistic and food culture of the Spanish capital. He eats a fried squid sandwich on the streets, and sips an elegant cup of consommé in a historic restaurant. He prepares a refreshing salad of clementines, anchovy and olives, and returns to Spain for a huge meal of Madrid stew.
Apr 17, 2008 - 30m
Using a Catalan olive oil bought in the US, José prepares two tapas: marinated olives and toast with cheese and anchovy. He takes us to his beloved market in Barcelona, and gets inspired to cook a creamy rice dish of mushrooms, artichokes and cuttlefish. Back in Spain he shows us two great Catalan artists: Salvador Dali and his own culinary mentor, Ferran Adrià, hailed by critics as the world’s most creative chef.
Apr 24, 2008 - 30m
No Spanish wine is more famous than Rioja, and José starts with a quick tapa of apples in a red wine syrup. He takes us to a great Rioja winemaker before cooking his own version of the region’s classic dish of potato and chorizo sausage. Back in Spain, he shows us Rioja’s superb vegetable market and eats at a special restaurant run by a mother and son who cook their own recipes.
