Mad About Spanish Food

After three months in the UK, I'm really missing Spain, so our meals are tending to be very much Spanish oriented. Last week I picked up some lovely lean diced pork in Aldi, so I felt a Spanish meal coming on! As it was one of my 'cobbled together' specials, and I cooked it in the slow cooker, because we were out for the day and my brother was turning up to be fed in the evening, I can't give you exact timings and quantities, but then lots of Spanish food is cooked like that, isn't it?

Anyway, this is what I did:

First of all, I tossed the pork in equal quantities of seasoned cornflour and smoked paprika. I just flopped it in the dish, until it looked as if it would coat all the pork - 500 grams. 

Then, I chopped up an onion, one yellow and one green pepper, and sliced a couple of large field mushrooms. I then browned the pork in some olive oil, then added the onions and peppers and cooked until the onions softened. Then it was in with the mushrooms, and a can of chopped tomatoes. If I'd been in Spain, it would have been fresh chopped tomatoes, but they're too expensive here.

I rinsed out the can with hot water, and added that, with a chicken stock cube, to the mix. A (large) glass of red wine, a bay leaf and a handful of fresh thyme completed the seasoning. I transferred the lot to the slow cooker, and cooked it on low for around 6 hours on the low setting. If I'd been at home while it was cooking, I'd have probably given it two hours in the oven, or just over an hour on the hob.

I served it up with English new potatoes and garden peas, but it would go well with rice. It was absolutely fantastic, and very Spanish tasting.

As usual, I forgot to photograph the dish before they all tucked in, so the image is similar, but not quite the same. My version was more red, as there was no cream in it, but you get the idea!

Like many things, fish is so much cheaper in Spain than in England. And there are so many varieties, fresh and frozen, to choose from. All the large supermarkets have an excellent fish counter, and the indoor markets boast several fishmongers.

In addition, the supermarkets sell individually frozen and wrapped whole fish and fillets of all shapes and sizes. You can feast on fish as often as you like without taking out a second mortgage.

Tony and I enjoy fish at least twice a week, either barbecued or pan fried. Oranges and lemons are always cheap on the markets, so you should always have a few around the house.

We love a gin and tonic with ice and lemon, but we’ve now discovered another use for our surplus lemons! While this recipe is not exclusively Spanish – we’ve come across variations of it in France and Italy – it fulfils the Mediterranean requirements of making a meal from good quality ingredients, simply cooked. Buen Provecho!

Ingredients to serve 2 People

·         2 cod fillets (or any firm-fleshed white fish, such as haddock or hake)

·         Seasoned flour

·         1 large lemon, or 2 small ones

·         1 tbsp olive oil

·         1 tbsp fresh or freeze dried parsley

·         Salt and freshly milled pepper

Coat the fish fillets with seasoned flour.

Squeeze juice from lemon. Make sure lemon is at room temperature, as this will give more juice

Heat oil and cook fish for about 5 minutes each side. Now add the lemon juice and seasoning. Allow sauce to bubble and thicken for a minute or two, then stir in the parsley. That’s all, folks!

Serve with new potatoes and peas, green beans or salad. At the moment, there are lots of lovely fresh peas and beans around on the Spanish markets. They may cost a little more than the tinned variety, but it’s worth it for the flavour.

It's as hot in the UK as it is in Spain at the moment, and looking for hot weather foods, I came across this fabulous and unusual dessert recipe. The thin skinned oranges we get on the Costa Blanca are ideal to use for this dessert, as they look really attractive on the plate. As oranges are so expensive here - as indeed is Licor 43 - I'll be saving this until I get home, but I thought you'd all appreciate the share now.

This recipe calls for Licor 43, or as the Spanish know it, ‘Cuaranta y Tres.’ Licor 43 is made in Cartagena to a secret recipe containing 43 ingredients, all originating in the Mediterranean area. According to legend, it has been in existence for almost 2000 years. Since 1924 it has been produced by the Diego Zamora Company.

Licor 43 is a sweet, citrus and vanilla liqueur, and is widely available in Spain. It lends itself to many dessert recipes, and could have even been designed for this one. Frozen oranges with Licor 43 is ideal to round off a special dinner, yet it is deceptively easy to make. If you want to make more than you need, the oranges will keep for several weeks in the freezer. However, if you’re not going to use them within a few days, I suggest you wrap them in cling film to avoid the possibility of freezer burn. Buen Provecho!

Ingredients

• 8 large oranges
• 1 litre approx. vanilla ice cream
• 4 - 6 tablespoons Licor 43 (or Cointreau)
• A few dried apricots, chopped, and a handful of raisins or sultanas
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• fresh mint

Cut a very thin slice from the base of each orange so that it will stand upright. Try not to cut into the pulp.

Cut off the upper third of each orange with a very sharp knife and scoop out the orange pulp.

Remove membranes from the pulp.

Combine orange pulp with ice cream, apricots, raisins and Licor 43.

Fill each orange shell with the mixture and freeze.

Before serving, sprinkle each orange with cinnamon, then garnish with a sprig of mint.