Inside PBS Blog

Our latest guest on "Five Good Questions" was Jose Andres, chef, restaurant owner, and host of Made in Spain. Strangely, we all suddenly craved tapas once he agreed to participate.

The Washington, DC based chef took some time out of his busy schedule to answer your questions.

Take a look at his answers below and feel free to keep the delicious conversation going. But I have a feeling you'll head right into your kitchen after reading what Jose Andres had to say.

I am a novice in the kitchen and am just beginning to discover the great things about Spanish cooking. I love the use of fresh ingredients and the goal to keep things simple and flavorful. I'm wondering, do you ever cook with a CrockPot? Or is that something crazy to ask a chef??? Please forgive me if it is. But it seems to me to be a useful cooking tool, especially for busy families, and if you had an idea for a great Spanish stew or something else that might work well in a CrockPot, I would appreciate it! - Lynne

With three little girls and a busy work life, I understand what you are saying. More and more families find their time to prepare meals limited and we need to find strategies to allow us to cook and eat together. Spending time together over a meal is such good way to connect with your children. I have never worked with a crock pot but you might want to try a dish from my new book, Made in Spain, called Pollo en Chilindron. It is a homey slow cooked stew of chicken and red peppers. With a little work you should be able to adapt that recipes to your slow cooker.

What's your favorite vegetarian, Spanish-inspired dish? - Amanda

For a vegetarian Spanish cooking can be a great source of inspiration. In Spain, they grow amazing vegetables and because of this we have developed a whole repetoire of vegetable based dishes. Classic preparations like gazpacho, the classic chilled tomato soup from Andalucia and pisto Manchego, the stew/sauce of eggplant, tomato, onion and zucchini sauteed in olive oil and often serve with a fried egg. You can make a fantastic paella with nothing but fresh vegetables and vegetable stock. I wouldn't say things are vegetarian so much as vegetable focused. It is true we like our meat, pork especially, and dishes that are vegetable focused vegetables are flavored wiht ham but you can omit that. It will be different but still very good. 

What is your personal favorite dish, and how long ago did you start making it? Is it a family recipe, or one that you stumbled onto? - Laurie

That is a hard question to answer. Food is my work, my life, my passion. There are so many things that I enjoy preparing but every day I learn something new or get inspired to try something new. with my girls I love to make Olive Oil pancakes. I am raising them in America, they are American, but we maintain a very strong connection to Spain returning every year for summer or Christmas and they speak fluent Spanish. This dish in some way reflects who we are as a family. It is about taking something very American, pancakes, and adding something very Spanish, olive oil from Spain, and making them new. You can find the recipe in my new cookbook, Made in Spain. Cook with your family! it is the way family stories are passed on!

I've enjoyed both Zaytinya and Oyamel in DC. Both are excellent but I'm curious as to why you chose this city for these two restaurants? - Charles

All my restaurants (Jaleo, Oyamel, Zaytinya, Cafe Atlantico and minibar by jose andres) are in Washington. Washington is my home. I arrived when I was young, I met my wife there, my daughters were born in Washington, it is where my partners and I built our business. Every place has its magic. I think the city gets too little credit for being a food town. We are very educated, many international people, many people who travel, that means diners are very sophisticated and open to new things. I love being in a city where everyone is working to change the world. Politicians, lawyers, NGOs. Changing the world is their main preoccupation. It is a city that looks outward. That said, I am opening a hotel in Los Angeles so soon people will be able to dine with me on the west coast, too.

I am a long-time fan and Jaleo was one of the first restaurants we took my son out to eat in. He was a big fan of the (original) patatas bravas. I know you have young children too so I'm curious what their favorite tapas recipes are? - Colleen

My girls love croquetas! I think all children do. Crisp on the outside and creamy on the inside. They also love pan con tomate, the classic Catalan tomato toast. Many parents tell me that their children love tapas. They love the little plates and the fact that they don't have to make up their mind and can try a little bit of everything. I think it also reflects the pure straightforward nature of Spanish cooking. Children respond to the pure flavors of dishes where ingredients speak for themselves.