Made in Spain: Spanish Dishes for the American Kitchen: A Cookbook

by José Andrés

Americans have fallen in love with Spanish food in recent years, and no one has done more to play matchmaker than the award-winning chef José Andrés.

In this irresistible companion volume to his public television show Made in Spain, José reminds us—in the most alluring and delicious way—that the food of his native Spain is as varied and inventive as any of the world’s great cuisines. To prove it, José takes us on a flavorful tour of his beloved homeland, from Andalucía to Aragón. Along the way, he shares recipes that reflect not just local traditions but also the heart and soul of Spain’s distinctive cooking.

In the Basque Country, we discover great fish dishes and the haute cuisine of some of the finest restaurants in the world. In Cantabria, famous for its dairy products, we find wonderful artisanal cheeses. In Valencia, we learn why the secret to unforgettable paella is all in the rice. And in Castilla La Mancha, José shows us the land of the great Don Quixote, where a magical flower produces precious saffron.

The dishes of Made in Spain show the diversity of Spanish cooking today as it is prepared in homes and restaurants from north to south—from casual soups and sandwiches to soul-warming dishes of long-simmered beans and artfully composed salads. Many dishes showcase the fine Spanish products that are now widely available across America. Many more are prepared with the regular ingredients available in any good supermarket.

With more than one hundred simple, straightforward recipes that beautifully capture the flavors and essence of Spanish cooking, Made in Spain is an indispensable addition to any cookbook collection.

Genres: Cookbooks, Food, Cooking, Nonfiction, Spain

366 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 4, 2008

About the author

José Ramón Andrés Puerta, más conocido como José Andrés, es un cocinero español-estadounidense. Desde 2013 tiene también la nacionalidad estadounidense.

Chef/Owner of ThinkFoodGroup, star of the "Made In Spain" television series, and culinary creator and advocate.

Reviews

[Mairzi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful book filled with interesting recipes and information introductions to Spain’s various regions, cooking styles and products. There could have been more attention to detail in some of the recipes but it was overall an informative good book.

[Yaaresse · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gorgeous photos and delicious-sounding recipes. This is one a rarity for me since I'm rating without having cooked anything from it yet, but my purpose in reading it was to get a better handle on Spanish food in general. While the recipes look solid and sound wonderful, they are only for American kitchens in areas that have lots of access to seafood and specialty meats, cheeses, vinegars, etc. While the chef does make alternate ingredient suggestions, even the alternates are often not available outside major cities. So my rating is based on not only how much I enjoyed reading the book and what I think of the contents, but is heavily slanted toward how practical it would be for me to cook from it and accessibility to ingredients (very little to both). If I were to live in LA, Chicago, NYC or Atlanta, I would rate it much higher.

I have huge respect for Chef Andres' work and dedication to helping others, but maybe before labeling a cookbook 'for American kitchens," he really needs to get out of Miami, Dallas, DC, and Los Angeles, and take an extended tour through the middle of the country and it's mostly smaller towns where access to international or specialty ingredients is often limited. And while, yes, just about anything can be ordered on-line, most people can't justify the cost simply to try a new recipe.

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of those cookbooks where they could offer me "Cat vomit wrapped in used tissues" and the presentation would make me want it. The photography in this book is amazing. The photographer captures a pepper at the exact moment when the cheese is gooing all over the place and still manages to get the most delicate drop of oil dangling from the base of the fork. And, I couldn't help but think of the poor cook who prepared the "The Stuffed Olives with Anchovies" as he or she desperately tried to balance the whole concoction with greasy hands and then had to garnish the mess with just the right amount of orange zest.

I can't see myself running home and whipping up "Scorpion Fish Stew with Clams" and tucking into a big bowl while I watch the American Idol finale, but knowing food like this exists make me happy.

No, I'm off to find a Spanish restaurant.

[Pat · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG! I want to try every recipe. The pictures really make them look scrumptious. His descriptions of all the areas of Spain were enlightening and make me want to return to experience more of the country and especially more of the cuisine.

[Abbe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jose Andres is one of my favorite chefs, and I enjoy this book immensley.

[Paul Cassedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautifully illustrated coffee table cookbook. Mr. Andres has interesting things to say about the regions of Spain. The recipes are set for the American table and palate, as well as commodities available in American supermarkets. They would also appear to be set for American style portions: a few courses of large portions, rather than the multiple courses of small portions I have found more common in Europe and, particularly, Spain.

I am planning a trip to Spain to walk the Camino. This will be my third. I walked the Frances in Northern Spain before COVID. Then I walked from Lisbon earlier this year. The next one will be from Seville to Santiago along the via de la Plata (the route of an old Roman era road).

One of the things I enjoy before going on any trip is doing a bit of 'travel research;' beyond the obvious reading of travel guides, I also enjoy researching the food and wines of the regions I will be traveling through. I then host dinner parties for family and friends in the weeks leading up to my departure so that we can sample the food and wines.

Mr. Andres' book is especially interesting because he has broken it up into chapters based on the regions of Spain. The book is beautifully illustrated and contains interesting regional recipes for me to try.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the regional descriptions, his stories, special combinations of flavors, and photos were lovely on tablets. I tried a couple of his dishes, even ordering new ingredients, with very good results.
Now I'm jumping to his new veggie book.

[Anthony Gonzalez · Rating 5 out of 5]

a wonderful set of meals, deserts, and drinks for the palate

I like it all. It brought together the various regions and islands of Spain. Take your time in creating these cultural meals and ingredients.

[Linda Karlsson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simple and Inspiring

I have the kindle version; short recipes uncomplicated and just waiting to jump off the pages! Can’t wait to create.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book. I love the way he adapts dishes to available ingredients, and I love his desire to share the goodness and history of Spanish cuisine with the world.

[Catherine Woodman]

This says it is for American kitchens, but it is a part of America that has really varied fish markets, serrano ham for the asking, and some specialty food markets that are not found everywhere(like, I could go shopping at Cafe Iberica in Chicago, come home, and really put together some cool food. the appetizers and snacks are the things that look fabulous, are unusually put together, and seem quite managable. The white bean and scallion omelet (which is kind of more of a thin fritata) is very appealing, as is the shaved melon and serrano ham. There are a number of wonderful flavor combination snacks that would be very easy to put together to have with Spanish olives, salted almonds, and some sheeps milk cheeses, and either make a meal of it on the back deck or use as a way to delay the main meal indefinitely if need be. the photography is outstanding and the flavor combinations take me back to Spain.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn't quite what I expected, but I did find a few recipes that I will certainly try. He uses so many specialty ingredients-- they may be "specialty" only to me, but I have a fair handle on food and have never seen some of the cheeses, vinegars, cured meats and fish he calls for. That will make it tough to execute many of the recipes, though I might try some substituting. Overall, the pictures are beautiful and the recipes sound tasty!

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a beautifully written and formatted book, that isn't going to work for me. The ingredients are somewhat exotic and would require me to order or make a trip to a specialty grocer to obtain them. The photographs and history are very interesting. And the recipes are clearly written. But if you don't live in an urban area with abundant, high quality ethnic ingredients, then you may also find yourself reading it for enjoyment only, not practical application.

[Stuart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Promotes Spanish tourism as much as cooking... cross reference to Mario Batali/ Mark Bittman/ Gwneth Paltrow's show/ book. Cut from similar cloth. Part travelog, part excuse to hang in Spain, part food. Of course, every time Jose returns home to cook, he comes back to my neighborhood... which adds a certain local flavor.

[Cory · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure how many of these recipes I'll try, but the photography is gorgeous! Even things I don't like--squid, anchovies, hot peppers--are photographed so lusciously and lovingly that I wanted to eat them right off the page.