Eat Like a Local in Spain with Fat Hen Cookery School

Spanish food is sublime. We love it so much, in fact, that we’ve dedicated our latest project to learning how to really Eat Like a Local in Spain. With a little help from some of the UK’s best cookery schools, we’ve covered the ins and outs of the countries cuisine in a series of recipe posts. Next, we’ve got Fat Hen Cookery School…

Established in 2007, Fat Hen Cookery School combines founder Caroline Davey’s two great loves – food and nature. As well as teaching budding chefs how to cook and prepare regional delicacies from around the world, the school offers children’s cookery classes.

If you want to learn to Eat Like a Local in Spain with Fat Hen Cookery School, though, you can do no wrong by digging into this chosen dish – crispy squid with garlic aioli. Squid is a Spanish staple and the aioli dipping sauce is often seen alongside it. Whip up a bowl before chopping and frying some of the squid before enjoying a truly appetizing starter.

Crispy squid with wild garlic aioli

Crispy squid – ingredients

Vegetable oil, for deep frying
250g plain flour
½ tsp cayenne pepper
½ tsp smoked Spanish paprika
½ tsp salt
500g squid cut into 5mm rings
1 egg beaten

Method – crispy squid

1. Put enough oil in a saucepan or deep fat fryer to come halfway up the pan and place over a medium heat.  If you’re using a deep fat fryer (or have a thermometer), heat the oil to 180˚C.  If not, to check the oil is at the right temperature you can drop a 2-3cm cube of bread into the hot oil. It should become golden and crispy in one minute.
2. While the oil is heating, place the flour, cayenne, paprika and salt in a large sandwich bag.  Drop in the squid and shake around to coat evenly.  This may need to be done in two batches, depending on the size of the bag.
3. Dip the floured squid into the beaten egg and then carefully drop into the hot oil.  Fry for 2-3 minutes until golden brown.  Remove from the oil and briefly drain on kitchen paper before serving with the garlic aioli.

Wild garlic aioli – ingredients

2 egg yolks (by hand) or 1 egg (liquidizer)
300ml/7fl oz olive oil
2 tsps white wine vinegar
½ tsp salt
Good handful of washed and finely chopped wild garlic

Method – garlic aioli

1. Before starting, make sure all the ingredients are at room temperature. Put the egg yolks, vinegar and salt into a mixing bowl, resting it on a cloth to stop it from slipping. Lightly whisk to break the yolks.
2. Using a wire whisk, beat the boil into the egg mixture a few drops at a time. Once you have added the same volume of oil as the original mixture of yolks and vinegar, you can add the oil a little quicker.

To make the mayonnaise in a machine:

1. Put the whole egg, vinegar and salt into a liquidiser. Turn on the machine and slowly add the oil through the hole in the lid until you have a thick emulsion.

The aioli will keep for a round one week – serve the dip and squid together for lunch, adding a glass of Albarino to really help you live like a local.

Keep up to date with Fat Hen on the school’s website, or browse our villas in Spain and set your holiday plans in motion.