If you love Spanish cuisine or are looking to explore traditional Spanish cuisine then Simone and Inés Ortega’s cookbook 1080 Recipes is for you.  1080 Recipes is a translated English version of Spain’s best-selling cookbook for over 30 years.  The hefty tome truly contains 1080 recipes of quintessential Spanish cuisine ranging from sauces to tapas to full entrées to desserts.  The recipes represent simple, everyday food; that is food you would find when visiting a home in Spain, a kin to the type of recipes one finds in cookbooks such as the Joy of Cooking,  Also, similar to the Joy of Cooking, it seems nearly every Spanish home has a well worn copy of this book in their kitchen.  The recipes have been translated with clear instructions and use US units for measurements. For an example, try out the recipe below for  “Artichokes Stuffed with Serrano Ham”. 

Artichokes Stuffed with Serrano Ham

Alcachofas Rellenas de Jamón Serrano

From 1080 Recipes by Simone and Inés Ortega, Phaidon 2007

• 1 lemon, halved
• 12 globe artichokes
• Scant 1 cup finely chopped Serrano ham or proscuitto
• 2 ½ tablespoons bread crumbs
• 1 tablespoon white wine
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
• 1 clove garlic (optional), finely chopped
• 1 chicken bouillon cube
• 2 tablespoons sunflower oil
• Salt

Squeeze the juice from one lemon half and add the juice to a large bowl of water. Break off the artichoke stalks and remove the coarse outer leaves. Cut off the tips of the remaining leaves. Open out the centers of the artichokes and remove the chokes. Rub the artichokes with the remaining lemon half and place in the acidulated water. Combine the ham, 1 ½ tablespoons of the bread crumbs, the wine, parsley and garlic, in a bowl. Drain the artichokes and fill with the ham mixture. Put the artichokes, filling uppermost, into a pan just large enough to hold them in a single layer. Pour in water to cover. Crumble the bouillon cube and dissolve it in a little water, then add it to the pan. Sprinkle the remaining bread crumbs and the oil over the artichokes. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Season with salt if necessary (bearing in mind that the ham and bouillon cube are both salty). Re-cover the pan and cook for 30 minutes more, until the liquid has reduced to a sauce and the artichokes are tender. Serve the artichokes in a dish with a little sauce in the base.  

About 1080 Recipes

1080 RECIPES is the definitive book on traditional and authentic Spanish home cooking, trusted throughout Spain for over thirty years. Written by Spain's best-loved food authorities, it showcases the fastest growing cuisine in popularity, with Spanish restaurants and tapas bars opening in cities all over the world. A bestseller since publication, 1080 RECIPES has sold millions of copies in Spain. It contains 1080 recipes from all Spanish regions, covering everything from appetizers to stews, from vegetables to desserts. 1080 RECIPES is designed by Javier Mariscal, the famous Spanish graphic designer and illustrator, and it includes over 200 illustrations he has created exclusively for this edition along with 100 specially-commissioned photographs.