Manzanilla has become a really popular drink with me since I first tasted it in the smashing town of Sanlúcar de Barrameda in the province of Cadiz. It is an acquired taste. A dry sherry for which this location is so famous. The town is full of bodegas producing marvellous manzanilla.
Here is another soup recipe that includes a drop of alcohol. This time fino sherry. The sherry triangle in Spain revolves around places such as Jerez de la Frontera, El Puerto de Santa Maria and Sanlúcar de Barrameda in the province of Cadiz. If you like to taste sherry that is a world away from that which my mother may have consumed each Christmas, then it is this corner of Spain you want to head for. I would never have imagined that I could like sherry but, in Spain, I do.
What do children like to do when on holiday in Spain? It is often their first opportunity to try a little local alcohol. They think they are adult if they can try a drink they wouldn't get at home. Why not try them with Spanish sherry? Not in a glass, you understand. But in their food. Be sure to use a nice sweet Oloroso sherry from Jerez.
Some Spanish food simply has to be cooked in alcohol. Ideally wine or sherry. Many of the very best dishes served all over the country wouldn't be as memorable as they are were they not prepared using the best alcohol from Spain. Be careful when preparing such meals. A slip of the hand cannot only lead to you losing the plot when cooking, but can destroy the taste of the food. We are going to offer you 6 recipes, over three days, all of which benefit from booze.
You know by now that we are fans of the sherry triangle in Spain. This corner of Andalucia includes Jerez de la Frontera and Sanlúcar de Barrameda. Much sherry is produced there. So many Spanish meals can be improved with a drop of sherry. But, crucially, you love sherry in your food. Here's a recipe for Chicken Livers in Sherry.
Here's a recipe using a challenger for my favourite fish. Cuttlefish (sepia) is particularly good in Spain. When served with broad beans, it is a delight. Ingredients:- 1 kilo of whole cuttlefish. 2 tablespoons of olive oil. 2 garlic cloves, finely sliced. 250 grams of shelled and skinned broad beans (fava): 150 mils of dry sherry. 1 teaspoon of fresh marjoram or oregano leaves. Salt and black pepper.
This is the signature dish of Jerez de la Frontera. A fine city located at the heart of the so called 'sherry triangle.' Whether you choose to combine the kidneys with a fine dry wine or, as outlined here, with sherry; be sure either hails from Jerez. To use alcohol from anywhere but the home of this delightful dish would be a crime.
