Mandarins have just started to make their way back into the shops and markets of Spain and I fell for a special offer to buy 2kg of the things. That´s a kilo more than my husband and I could feasibly eat in a week so I have a search for things to do with them … Continue reading
I recently had the pleasure of meeting Rodrigo de la Calle, a young Michelin-starred chef, as part of a project he has been working on for our Viña Mayor wine range. Not only is he a thoroughly top bloke, he is a very passionate chef, spearheading a movement he calls “gastrobotanica” reviving rare varieties of … Continue reading
This isn’t a traditional Spanish recipe but it uses some of the most widely available Spanish summer ingredients and has become one of my favourite salad recipes as it’s super refreshing. I’ve also added peeled and diced cucumber if I have it on occasion but it’s not essential. Ingredients (serves 2 as a main course … Continue reading
When it´s 35ºC in the shade and your flat features the small, windowless kitchen beloved of Spanish architects, making meals that don´t require you to turn on the oven is not laziness, it´s self preservation. As turning on my oven results in clouds of acrid smoke and beads of perspiration pouring from places in my … Continue reading
Empanadillas are little pastries that are found all over Spain (originally from Galicia) and Latin America. One of the most common fillings is tuna, egg and tomato. I´m often disappointed by them in bars as the filling can be bland and stodgy with too much gloopy tomato sauce – I experimented at home to make … Continue reading
Diverxo was recommended to me by the Spanish wine expert John Radford whose admirable girth speaks of a man to trust in culinary matters. Opened just a few years ago by a young husband and wife team who, moving back from London where the chef worked in several Asian fusion restaurants, had to sell their … Continue reading
Navaja means blade or razor and like the English razor clam, it refers to that most phallic of sand dwelling creatures. My local fish stall was selling them at a special price today so I thought I´d give them a go. They weren´t exactly cheap but 14€ for a kilo of super fresh clams seemed … Continue reading
The Spanish word for olive, aceituna, comes, like many of my favourite Spanish words, from Arabic. Az-Zait, which means the juice of the olive, gave Spanish the word aceite, which now refers to any type of oil, but in Spain, usually olive, used liberally in both sweet and savoury dishes. Aceitunas, or olives themselves, are … Continue reading
Lentils with chorizo Comida de cuchara, or “spoon food” is a collective term for the type of dishes that can literally been eaten with a spoon. Usually eaten as the first course at lunch time, they are based around vegetables, pulses or carbs, frequently with ham or chorizo or other fatty meats used for flavour … Continue reading
My parents visited us recently, and as it was their first time in Madrid, I took it upon myself to take them on a culinary journey from the most traditional to the vanguard of Spanish cuisine. As it seemed to be a roaring success (apart from the fact that they gained several pounds and suffered … Continue reading
Spain is delicious 