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Alioli, Corazones De Alcechof As Y Guindillas
Alioli, Artichoke Hearts and Pickled Chillies

By Kay Plunkett-Hogge from ‘A Sherry & A Little Plate of Tapas’ (Mitchell Beazley)

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Apart from the alioli this is all from the store cupboard. ÌýAnd it’s delightful.

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Makes 8

8 slices of baguette, lightly toasted

1 garlic clove, halved

8–10 teaspoons Alioli (see below)

2–4 bottled artichoke hearts, sliced in

half, or quartered if they’re very large

8 guindilla chillies

extra virgin olive oil, to drizzle

chopped chives, to finish

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To make The Alioli

Serves 8 people, easily

5–6 garlic cloves

a good pinch of sea salt flakes

2 large fresh egg yolks

125ml (4fl oz) extra virgin olive oil

125ml (4fl oz) olive oil

1 teaspoon Moscatel vinegar

(Mix all the ingredients together. Taste and adjust the seasoning.)

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Rub the toasted bread with the halved garlic clove. Spread each slice with some alioli, then pile on the artichoke hearts and the

chillies, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and scatter over the chives.

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TIP: Guindillas are traditional Basque pickled chillies. Buy them in jars and enjoy.

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GILDA

By Kay Plunkett-Hogge from ‘A Sherry & A Little Plate of Tapas’ (Mitchell Beazley)

This is probably the most famous pintxo of all: just olives, chillies and anchovies … on a stick. The iconic Rita Hayworth movie Gilda was a huge hit in Spain, having somehow made it through the strict censorship of the post Civil War years. Its saucy lead became a major sex symbol, and this salty and hot snack was named after her fiery character …

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Makes 12

24 pitted green olives – I like manzanilla

olives here, but choose your favourites

12–24 guindilla chillies depending on their size, drained

12 good-quality anchovy fillets, drained

You will also need some pintxo or cocktail sticks

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Start with an olive, then a chilli – bend the larger chillies in half and spear them twice, or put 2 smaller ones on the stick. Add a folded anchovy and finish with a final olive. ¡Evelado!

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TIP: I have sometimes used slices of cured tuna in place of the anchovies.

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Banderillas

By Kay Plunkett-Hogge from ‘A Sherry & A Little Plate of Tapas’ (Mitchell Beazley)

Named after the barbed dart used in bullfights, these are very much a free-form style of pintxos. Make sure you always have some cocktail sticks to hand. And use whatever pickled or tinned goods you like. Here are some of my favourites:

• Pickled silverskin onions

• Pickled gherkins and cornichons

• Cooked quails’ eggs

• Tinned squid and octopus

• Pickled chillies

• Caperberries

• Olives – green, black, stuffed or otherwise

• Piquillo peppers

• Tinned tuna chunks

• Anchovies – salted and smoked

• Artichoke hearts

• Cheese – Manchego’s always a good bet

• Chorizo or fuet

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Chorizo Al Vino
Chorizo Cooked in Red Wine

By Kay Plunkett-Hogge from ‘A Sherry & A Little Plate of Tapas’ (Mitchell Beazley)

It’s a classic, isn’t it? I mean, let’s face it: can you name anyone who doesn’t want to order this from a Spanish menu? It’s also wonderfully simple to do at home. Just make sure you use a COOKING CHORIZO rather than the cooked, nibbling kind. Unearthed do a good one that is available in most supermarkets, or try some of my favoured purveyors of Spanish food listed at the end of this book. You should also use a decent wine. And serve it with PLENTY of crusty bread.

Serves 4–6

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2 tablespoons olive oil

400g (14oz) cooking chorizo, sliced

½ Spanish onion, finely chopped

4 garlic cloves, finely sliced

3 bay leaves

300ml (1/2 pint) red wine

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley, to serve

Heat the olive oil in a cazuela or heavy-based saucepan. Add the chorizo and cook long enough to just crisp it up, and for its oils to start leaching out. Remove the chorizo from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Add the onion and garlic to the pan and cook until just softened, a minute or two. Put the chorizo back into the pan with the bay leaves and the wine. Bring to the boil, then turn down to a simmer until the wine is just caressing the chorizo. Add salt and pepper to taste. Scatter the parsley over the top and serve straight away.

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´¡±ô²úó»å¾±²µ²¹²õ
Meatballs in a Tomato and Rioja Sauce

By Kay Plunkett-Hogge from ‘A Sherry & A Little Plate of Tapas’ (Mitchell Beazley)

Just as every Mediterranean culture seems to have a bread and tomato snack, so I think almost every country on earth has a variation on a meatball. And why not? This Spanish version has a deep, wine-rich sauce. Make sure there’s some bread on the side for mopping it up.

Serves 6–8

300g (10½oz) minced beef

300g (10½oz) minced pork

2 large slices of white bread, crusts

removed, torn roughly

90ml (3floz) milk

2 garlic cloves, crushed

½ onion, finely chopped

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley

1 teaspoon mild paprika

2 tablespoons plain (all-purpose) flour, seasoned

3–4 tablespoons olive oil, for frying sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

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Mix the minced beef and pork together thoroughly to combine.

Set aside.

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Soak the bread in the milk for 5 minutes, making sure you immerse it all. Add the minced meats, garlic, onion, dried oregano, parsley and paprika. Mix and knead with your hands until well combined. Season with salt and pepper and mix again. You want a firm meatball that won’t fall apart, but not TOO close a texture. At this point break off a small piece of the mixture and fry in a little olive oil, then taste to check the seasoning. Adjust if necessary.

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Form the mixture into meatballs – you should get 38–40 from the quantities listed here. Roll them in the seasoned flour. Heat the olive oil in a heavy-based frying pan or skillet. Gently fry the meatballs – you might need to do this in batches – until they are nicely browned all over. You don’t want to cook them all the way through, as they will get another cooking in the tomato sauce and we don’t want them to go tough.

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Ensalada De Tomate El Fogón De San Andrés
Simple Tomato Salad from El Fogón

By Kay Plunkett-Hogge from ‘A Sherry & A Little Plate of Tapas’ (Mitchell Beazley)

In the blistering heat of a Seville August, so many cafés and restaurants close: everyone sensibly heads for the seaside. We didn’t. And we were desperate for something to eat. Then, there – like a mirage – we found El Fogón. In a cool(ish) square, surrounded by fragrant orange trees, it stayed open from 8 a.m. to midnight every day. I think we literally ate everything on their menu. Including this deceptively simple and delicious salad – a lifesaver alongside an icy glass of Manzanilla. You need very ripe and plump tomatoes for this: if yours are even a little anaemic, don’t bother!

Serves 6-8

6 really good, large and ripe tomatoes,thickly sliced, then halved

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

4–6 garlic cloves, quite thickly sliced

sea salt

finely chopped parsley, to serve

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Place the tomatoes in a bowl. Add the olive oil and toss gently.

Sprinkle the garlic over the top of the salad. Season with a little salt and scatter over the parsley. Serve.

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SANGRIA
By Kay Plunkett-Hogge from ‘Make Mine a Martini’ (Mitchell Beazley)

The idea of flavouring wine goes back to the Romans. And since they, allegedly, took vines to Spain, it seems apt that Spain is where this flavoured wine originates. Almost every bar or restaurant has its own version. In southern Spain, they make a variation called zurra, which uses peaches – so feel free to play around with different fruits and different sweetnesses to make the drink your own.

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SERVES 6–8

750 ml (1¼ pints) red wine

2 lemons, cut into wedges

1 orange, cut into wedges

2–3 tbsp caster sugar

30 ml (1 fl oz) Grand Marnier or aged orange Curaçao

75 ml (2½ fl oz) Spanish brandy

500 ml (17 fl oz) chilled soda water

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Mix the wine, fruit, sugar, Grand Marnier or curaçao and brandy together in a jug. Cover and leave to steep for at least an hour, but no more than 6. When you’re ready to serve, add the soda water and pour into ice-filled glasses.

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THREE LEMONADES

ÌýBy Kay Plunkett-Hogge from ‘Make Mine a Martini’ (Mitchell Beazley)

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On a hot summer’s day, there’s nothing more refreshing than a cold glass of lemonade.

So here are three of them – I call that refreshment [ice] cubed!

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CLASSIC LEMONADE

SERVES 8–10

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175 g (6 oz) caster (superfine) sugar

225 ml (8 fl oz) water

350 ml (12 fl oz) fresh lemon juice (about 6–8 lemons)

1 litre (1 ¾ pints) chilled water

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Place the sugar and water in a saucepan over a medium heat and stir until the sugar has completely dissolved. Do not allow to boil. Pour it into a heatproof measuring jug and allow to cool.

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Pour half of the syrup into a jug. Add the lemon juice and water and taste the lemonade, adding more of the syrup if it is too sharp for your taste. Serve over ice in highball glasses.

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BASIL & MINT LEMONADE
SERVES 8–10

1 quantity Classic Lemonade (see above)

20 g (3/4 oz) basil leaves

20 g ( 3/4 oz) mint leaves

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Pour the Classic Lemonade into a blender, then tear in the basil and mint leaves. Blend until almost smooth, then strain through a fi ne sieve into a jug.

Serve over ice in highball glasses.

Note: To balance out the refreshing sour-sweet zing of a lemonade. If you’d like to add more sugar, it’s entirely up to you.

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RASPBERRY LEMONADE
SERVES 10

300 g (10 oz) raspberries

175 g (6 oz) caster (superfine) sugar

225 ml (8 fl oz) water

350 ml (12 fl oz) fresh lemon juice (about 6–8 lemons)

1 litre (1¾ pints) chilled water

Rub the raspberries through a sieve using a wooden spoon, then discard the pips.

Follow the method for Classic Lemonade (above) to make a sugar syrup.

When the syrup has cooled, mix it with the raspberry purée and the lemon juice, then top up with the chilled water. Serve over ice in highball glasses.