I often sing the praises of almonds grown in Spain. They grow in vast numbers, including in the La Alpujarra mountain range. Almonds are used in so much Spanish cooking and in so many different ways.
Here they are the core ingredient behind a very good Spanish pudding, almond cake. The almonds are best prepared by soaking in boiling water until the skins loosen and can be popped off with ease. Prepared in this manner, the almonds produce more flavour.
It is in the hills and country lanes of La Alpujarra that you will see people picking wild asparagus, often by the roadside.
Likewise the wild garlic that is used in preparing so many Spanish meals.
I once came across a man armed with a penknife but its sole use was to prize free the small white bulb that looks like a fat spring onion.
Santiago de Compostela in Galicia is famous for being an important destination for religious pilgrims. Most recently actor Martin Sheen made a film called "The Way" in which the stunning architecture of Santiago, and the sheer beauty of Galicia, is there for all to see.
But Galicia does not just specialise in empanadas, seafood, white wine, cheese or tasty meat. It also has its own pudding.
We've been featuring the Sobrasada sausage recently. So popular on the Balearic Islands and in Catalonia.
Majorcan restaurants and cafes serve it up in a variety of ways. As a spreadable sausage on bread, as a main meal with chicken (see earlier recipe) and, here, fried with eggs.
Many a local worker will eat this for breakfast, particularly in Soller (pronounced Soyer) in the north west of the Island.
What did you have for Sunday lunch this past weekend?
I enjoyed fried eggs with peppers. If that sounds strange to you, then you will just have to take my word for it that it was a splendid meal for a long Spanish lunchtime (there is no other kind of Sunday lunch in Spain).
I have written previously about Padron Peppers on this site. They are a bit special. And never more so than when served alongside a real favourite for the Spanish, good old fried eggs.
Here's a recipe that combines two Spanish foods that I've written about recently in our articles section.
You can already purchase chorizo and a selection of cold Iberico meats via the website of The Tapas Lunch Company.
Soon you'll be able to order tortilla.
In the meantime, here is a recipe for a refreshing but filling omelette that combines two of the finest exports of Spain. Chorizo sausage and cheese.
Of all the scrambled egg dishes that the Spanish love, I think the most original is when they serve it with fresh asparagus. This is a joy. I'm writing elsewhere on this site about asparagus itself. Some people can find it dull, but it doesn't have to be that way. And most certainly not when served with this very traditional Revuelto. I'm told that, in Spain at least, making perfect scrambled egg is an art form in itself. It can't be that difficult. Can it?
There are some superb Spanish dishes that are so very much better when made freshly in the kitchen, rather than bought in frozen form from a Spanish supermarket. Perhaps never more so than with a real favourite of mine, croquettes. You can make them using cheese, fish, mushrooms or, as is the case here, Serrano ham.
It's one of those Spanish meals you might think is difficult to make. They are not. You can serve them as a tapas or as a main course.
My Alicante born and bred friend Esteban knocked me up a paella with a difference recently. Being a Valenciano he's rightly proud of what they can achieve with rice in that part of Spain. So it was that he cooked for me, and served in his coastal garden, a crusty paella or - as they call it in Valencia - Paella con Costra.
So much Spanish food is tied to a particular date in the calendar or cooked up only for a religious festival. Torrijas are eaten most often at Easter, but I’ve always been one for enjoying the Spanish food I like at any time of the year,
After all, once you have discovered a culinary delight such as this, why wait another 12 months for a repeat tasting?
