Night class at Newlyns entertains without detail of Saturdays

After enjoying two full-day Saturday classes at our local cooking school (Butcher it, Cook it, Carve it and Fabulous Fish), I thought I'd try out Newlyns' weeknight offerings.  Half the time and half the price.  How would it stack up to the more detailed course?


I enjoyed it, but this is definitely a different beast from the Saturday classes.  Our Tapas and Spanish Wine night was less serious instruction, more a bit of cooking followed by a merry meal and a casual wine tasting.  

I loved all the recipes; they're probably my favourite of all the dishes I've cooked at the school.  Prawns with a Romesco sauce, chorizo with chickpeas and tomaca (a type of bruschetta).  Good thing I took the class with my friend Christine rather than my husband, however, as all three recipes were laced with tomato.  With so little time, head chef Hannah can't really demonstrate, so she quickly talks you through the recipes, then leaves you to read and cook with her stopping by to help. The advantage is that you don't have such a long time on your feet, and the self-cooked meal we sat down to was easily the best of the three classes.  There are take-away containers should you have leftovers, but this isn't the multiple meal take-home of the Saturday classes.  We enjoyed our food so much there wasn't much to bring back!


The wine tasting was a great idea, but a bit at odds with the food.  One of the principals of Caviste, the wine shop within Newlyns' bigger store, ran us through a variety of his favourite bottles from Spain.  It was a great selection, comprising a cava and a sherry (both of which were the house wines at world-famous El Bulli, yet were both under £15 a bottle), one white, two reds and a pedro ximenez.  Two problems.  First, because everyone straggled in from the kitchen at different times, the tasting didn't get under way until most people had finished their prawns.  Which, it turns out, was the dish that matched best with most of the wines.  Second, the wines weren't chosen to match the food, but were simply the instructors' six favourites.  Several were so at odds with the food that, to be honest, we would have done better to finish eating completely, and then do the tasting with water biscuits alone.


But, heck, I soldiered through.  And in doing so found that the Vina Sulpicia Tinto 2009 from Castilla y Leon is a complex, deep, full fruit wine that can go head-to-head with really expensive Burgundies or Bordeaux for £10.95.  And the Fernando Classic Pedro Ximenez, from Jerez, Andalucia, which I had never had before, was an eye opener.  Liquid raisins in a glass, with a kick.  A great break from the usual port.


For your at-home discovery, I include the recipe for my favourite dish of the night.  Which you might want to try with a white Rioja called Labastida Tierra Bianco 2010.


CHORIZO WITH CHICKPEAS
2-3 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
250g chorizo, in small, fine slices
150ml sherry
Pinch of dried chillies
100g chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
2 tbs chopped, flat-leaved parsley
3 beefsteak tomatoes, chopped roughly


Place the oil in a frying pan and heat.  Add the chopped onion and garlic and cook on a medium heat until caramelised.


Add the chorizo and cook for another 3 minutes until softened and the oil is released.


Add the sherry and deglaze the pan.


Add the chillies, chickpeas and tomatoes and cook on a low simmer until the tomato has dissolved completely into a sauce, and thickened up.


Serve with flat-leaved parsley sprinkled on top.