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.
With temperatures in my home province reaching 40 celsius, the last thing I want right now is heavy food. It has to be light. It should be refreshing.
So i turn my attention to marvellous Monkfish. In this case a nice salad combining octopus, mussels and shrimp.This salad has lots of ingredients and yet is relatively simple to prepare.
I love the kebabs served all over Spain. But, until recently, I had never thought to have tuna kebabs.
When mixed with the other ingredients outlined here, these really are a delight.
Using only the finest fresh bonito tuna if possible, give these kebabs a try.
I have a Spanish friend who says that his countrymen owe much to the Italians when it comes to what is created in the kitchen.
"What did the Romans ever do for us?" I ask.
"A great deal" he replies. "Especially when it comes to cooking."
Maybe that is why one of the favourite family meals in Majorca is Pizza.
Or, to be more accurate, a savoury pastry called Coca de Trampo.
It never includes cheese and is often cooked outside in a wood fired oven.
There are a variety of things you can do with the famous Spanish salt cod.
The Spanish use it often especially down south in Andalucia.
Here is a recipe that sees it alongside a nice salad using black olives, peppers and tomatoes.
Whenever I visit Bar La Esquinita in the great city of Granada, I always ask for a serving of this house speciality. The bar owner Ricardo loves to top it off with a side order of spicy green peppers and I could eat them all day long. By making this recipe yourself you get to cook the steaks exactly as you like them.
Stuffed peppers are a very satisfying dish. Stuff them with pretty much what you like to suit those you are cooking for. In this case the piquillo peppers are stuffed with succulent cod.
Here Nuria provides a delicious recipe for the dish Squilla Mants. A Mediterranean crustacean that has been rarely used as the star of the dish. If you can find it fresh in your Market, buy some and try this rice or simply grill them and pour some extra virgin olive oil and salt on top.
Basque chefs know how to prepare the very best vegetarian meals. They do imaginative things with mushrooms, tomatoes and peppers. Here is a classic dish from the region, an omelette like no other. Using bell peppers and an aubergine.
I'm a big fan of the Spanish spud. I regularly buy a sack of potatoes. They keep well and for a long time if left in a cool place. Likewise of chorizo and peppers. Here they combine perfectly. Along with eggs and the wonderful serrano ham from Trevelez in La Alpujarra. It's a favourite meal or, as in the case here, a tapas, served in many a bar in the city of Granada.
