Koupas from Cyprus

                                                                                Receta en Español

Koupas are a kind of 'croquettes' very typical from Cyprus and Greece. They are also known als Kibe or kibbeh at Libano, they are made using bulgur, it is, wheat that they let dry after cooked.

You can find bulgur in different sizes; whole, half grain or thin , you must use this last one to prepare the koupas.

The filling of the koupas is also very important, you must use ground pork or beef.

This recipe shows the influence of Middle East into the Greek and Cypriot cuisine, at the same time, is shows the culture of these countries because they use pork meat, something that Middle East people would not dare.

Ingredients for the dough:

- 300 grams bulgur.
- 525 ml water.

- 80 grams flour.

- Salt.

- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon.

- 1/2 teaspoon white pepper.

Ingredients for the filling:

- 400 grams ground pork or beef.

- Olive oil.

- 1 finely chopped onion.

- 2 tablespoon mint.

- 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon.

- 1/2 teaspoon cumin.

- 2 tablespoon pine nuts.

- Salt.

- Black pepper.

- Parsley.

Method:

1- This is the  bulgur that we are gooing to use:

2- We first prepare the dough, put the bulgur and salt in a bowl, add flour, cinnamon and white pepper, mix well and add boiling water, stir and let stand for 2 hours until all the water has been absorbed. To let stand you should cover it with cling film.

3- For the filling, first toast pine nuts.

4- Chop the onion and sauté it.

5- Add the meat and stir well, then cook until the meat has changed its colour. Add pine nuts, parseley, mint, cumin, cinnamon, salt and black pepper. Stir well and cook for more few minutes.

6- Soak your hands in water to prevent the bulgur to stick to your hands, take some bulgur and put it on your hand palm, smash it:

7- Place a little portion of meat over the bulgur.

8- Take other portion of wheat to cover the meat, use your hands to help you to wrap all the meat, and make koupas the same shape you see at the following pictures:

9- Fry koupas in hot oil until they change its colour to slightly brown. Place them on paper towel to absorb the excess of oil.

10 - Serve them with some parseley.

Where to find the ingredients

You can find bulgur near Madrid mosque, at Antonio Calvo street. El Carmen metro station.

Cyprus

 

De <a href="//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:NuclearVacuum" title="User:NuclearVacuum">NuclearVacuum</a> - <a href="//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Location_European_nation_states.svg" title="File:Location European nation states.svg">File:Location European nation states.svg</a>, CC BY-SA 3.0, Enlace

Recipes from Cypruss that I cooked:

 

  Kleftiko

  Koupas

   Shamali 

Chipre in Internet

https://afroditeskitchen.com/

http://cyprusfortravellers.net/en/

De <a href="//commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Vzb83&amp;action=edit&amp;redlink=1" class="new" title="User:Vzb83 (page does not exist)">User:Vzb83</a> - <span class="int-own-work" lang="es">Trabajo propio</span>, Dominio público, Enlace

Arroz con costra (arròs amb costra)

  Arroz con costra (arròs amb costra) is considered the most ancient recipe of rice from Spain. This recipe appeared in 1490 at the book 'Lybre de doctrina per ben servir, de tallar y el art de coch' from Ruperto Nola ,the cook of the king of Naples, this book was so successful that it was translated into spanish some years later.

This rice is typical from Elche and the regions of Vega Baja, Bajo Vinalopó. 

This is a strong dish, with chicken, rabbit, sausages, rice and chickpeas.

The costra is made from a layer of beaten eggs over the rice cooked in oven , it provides the rice with softeness and a special taste.

Dependig on the region the ingredients vary a little, the recipe I bring today is the variety from Elche.

It is better and traditional if you use a clay cooking pot.

Ingredients:

• A clay pot (I used one with 30 cm of diameter).
• 4 or 5 ripe tomatos.
• 6 or 7 litle white sausages.
• Red sausige.
• 1/2 blanquet (or white butifarra).
• 1/2 black butifarra.
• 5 or 6 tablespoons of cooked chickpeas.
• 250 grams of  chicken meat in little pieces and without the skin.
• 250 grams of rabbit meat in little pieces and without the skin.
• 2 and a half  cups of rice.
• Some saffron threads.
• 2 eggs per person plus one additional egg.
• Salt.
• Sugar.

 

Method:

 

1-  Put the tomatoes, oil, salt and sugar in a frying pan. Put the fire on a low heat and cook until the tomatoes are soft and the meat is clearly separated from the meat.

Pass the tomato through a ricer to gt rid of the skin and seeds.

 

2- Cut into slices black and white butifarras.

 

 

3- Put some oil in a large clay cooking pot, fry at medium heat the white butifarra 1 minute by every side, put aside.

 

 

4 - Fry at medium heat the black butifarra 1 minute by every side, put aside.

 

 

5- Cut white sausages in little pieces , add some salt and fry with the same oil until the meat is done.

Put aside.

 

 

6 - Cut red sausage in litle pieces, add salt and fry until the meat is done.

Put aside.

 

 

 

7 - Add salt to the chicken and rabbit, and fry until the meat is done.

 

 

8 - Add the tomato you made at step 1, add chickpeas and safron threads. Cook at medium heat for 2 or 3 minutes.

 

 

9 - Add water until de chicken and rabbit are covered, bear in mind that the quantity of rice that you will add later should be half of the quantity of water that you are adding now, cook at medium heat for half an hour.

 

 

10 - Add the rice, put on a high heat, once it reaches boiling point , put on a low heat and add all the sausages well spread all over the surface. Cook 12-13 minutes until there is no water and the rice is well done.

 

 

11- Meanwhile add salt to the eggs , beat them. Preheat oven at 220 ºC heat over and below.

 

 

 

 

 

12- Once the rice is done, add the eggs over the rice. Put the pot inside the oven at the same temperature for some minutes until you see the 'costra' , it is the eggs are done.

 

Where to buy the ingredients:

The white and black sausages can be bought at the butcher shop.

The blanquet, white and black butifarra from Alicante you can buy them in Madrid at Mantequería La Gloria , plaza Prosperidad 5. 

You can also use catalan butifarra , maybe it is easier to find out of Cataluña, in Madrid I found it at La Garriga, en Serrano 93 http://www.lagarrigacharcuteria.com/

 

 

 



Alicante

«Alicante (provincia)» de Ulaidh & HansenBCN - Trabajo propio. Disponible bajo la licencia GFDL vía Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Alicante_(provincia).svg#mediaviewer/File:Alicante_(provincia).svg

 

Asturias

 

De Mutxamel, subido por Rastrojo (D•ES) - File:EspañaLoc.svg, de HansenBCN. Modificada por User:Mutxamel., GFDL, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3354011

Recipes from Asturias that I cooked:

Clams à la marinière

Verdinas with cuttlefish and clams

Carbayones

Asturias

Dominio público, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=442212

Ávila

De Rastrojo (D•ES) - trabajo propio a partir de: Image:Provincias de España centrado.svg, GFDL, Enlace

 

Recipes from Ávila that I cooked:

      

Patatas Revolconas

Lent Potage

Yolks from Ávila

Ávila

                     De Rastrojo (D•ES) - trabajo propio, el escudo fue realizado por User:HansenBCN, GFDL, Enlace