The potatoes on offer in Spain are great. They lend themselves to delivering good chips, roast potatoes and more.
Of course patatas bravas are now famed worldwide as a spicy Spanish tapas.
Patatas a lo pobre (poor man's potatoes) are a favourite of mine and have been part of the staple diet in Andalucia for decades.
Here is another dish best enjoyed in the warmer confines of a bar or restaurant in Andalucia. Sometimes served to me in a tapas bar, it also lends itself to being presented as a main dish.
I love cuttlefish. They belong to the same family as octopus or squid - the latter of which could be used just as well in this recipe should you not be able to find cuttlefish.
One of the advantages to cooking in Catalunya is the sheer choice of Spanish food on offer. You will likely be able to lay your hands on almost any ingredient you could possibly need to make a classic dish from this culinary region.
That, along with the skills they learn from an early age, is the reason why so many of the best chefs in Spain come from Catalunya.
So what other Spanish meals does the island of Majorca specialise in?
We've had the debate over the origins of Sobrasada sausage (see earlier recipe). But there are many fine ingredients grown and produced on the Balearic Islands and if you are holiday in Majorca for example, the menus you see will offer many delightful meals.
This weekend I am coming up with three easy recipes based around the different sausages you can enjoy in Spain . First up, Morcilla. Not to everyone's taste, I know. But many people love the blood sausage and it is for those people I now provide new ways to enjoy the sausage that is so typically Spanish.
You might have visitors coming. Your children may be bringing home hungry friends. You may just want to treat yourself without taking hours and hours in the kitchen.
I'm off out to a certain Spanish restaurant in Granada at the weekend and I know exactly what I shall be eating. Isn't that great?
To not have to waste time studying a menu is, for me at least, a relief. What is the point when you know exactly what you'll be having? You will order your favourite.
When dining out in Spain I believe in going along with the strengths of a certain tapas bar or restaurant. After all, if it isn't broken, why fix it?
We're going back to the roots of Bacalao (Stockfish) with this recipe. This is a meal that has always been permitted for consumption during lent, as it contains no meat. It became a regular Spanish dish in the days when the ruling Catholic monarchs imposed a fast for the 40 days of Lent. So, at a time when many people survived on water alone; to be allowed to eat a few stockfish dishes provided much needed sustenance. This recipe is a favourite in Extremadura.
I was in a Spanish food market last week when a man pointed a dark green object at me and said: "What do I do with this?" I was tempted to tell him what I truly thought, after he had been so rude in his approach to me. But, in brief, I gave him some ideas for how he might get the best from the aubergine, or eggplant, that he was waving around in such a violent fashion.
Leek and Potato soup has to be one of the most filling and tastiest of all soups. You can have it plain and simple or, as it is here, served with a garnish of cod, chorizo and wild rocket. Porrusalda is a typical dish served in bars and restaurants across Basque country. This recipe serves eight people.
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.
