Enjoy Life

Spanish Recipes: Small is beautiful

Try these versatile Spanish recipes, perfect for all occasions

Whether you are serving a starter before a meal, enjoying some small bites with drinks, or filling the table with multiple dishes to feast on, there is no bad time to indulge in these flavour-filled recipes, taken from Tapas: and other Spanish plates to share (Ryland Peters & Small, £9.99).

Chorizo in red wine

Spicy fresh chorizo, the size of regular breakfast sausages, works well in this recipe. Large quantities of paprika give the dish a rich colour and a pungent flavour.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil

300g/10z small, spicy fresh chorizo sausages, cut into 1-cml/0.5-inch slices

100ml/0.5 cup red wine

Crusty Bread, to serve

Method:

1) Put the oil in a heavy based pan/skillet and heat until smoking. Add the chorizo and cook for one minute. Reduce the heat, add the wine and cook for five minutes

2) Transfer to a serving dish and set aside to develop the flavours. Serve warm with crusty bread.

Fried squid roman-style

The batter is deliciously light. The way to make the squid tender is to buy them small and not cook them for too long

Serves 4

Ingredients:

500g/1 lb. small squid, or 150g/ 6oz. cleaned squid tubes

2 eggs

Plain/all-purpose flour, for coating sea salt

Olive oil, for frying

1 lemon, cut into wedges, to serve

Method:

1) To clean the squid, pull the head away from the body (tube). Tub you thumb down the length and lever off the wings and discard. Remove the translucent quill inside and rub the pinky skin off the outside. Wash well under cold water. Cut the tubes into 1cm/1.5 inch slices

2) Put the eggs in a bowl, add two tablespoons water and beat well. Put the flour on a plate and sprinkle generously with salt. Working on one at a time, dip the squid rings into the egg mixture, then into the flour, making sure they are well coated. Set aside

3) Fill a saucepan or deep-fryer one-third full of oil or to the manufacturer's recommended level and heat to 195°C. Cook the squid rings in batches until golden brown. Make sure the temperature remains the same for each batch. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Let rest for five minutes, then serve with the lemon wedges.

Lamb with lemon

To use a pineapple for tenderising meat is a technique found in South-east Asia. It perhaps arrived in Spain from the former Spanish colony of the Philippines. Serve this dish with a good Rioja.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

250g/8 oz. lean lamb such as the neck or loin

225g/8 oz. canned pineapple slices, drained

10 cloves

1 lemon, halved

5 garlic cloves, peeled

2 tabespoons olive oil

a sprig of fresh rosemary

0.5 small onion, finely chopped

A pinch of oak-smoked sweet Spanish paprika

Method:

1) Cut the lamb into 2cm cubes. Put them in a bowl, cover with the pineapple slices and let marinate overnight, covered, in the refrigerator

2) Preheat the oven to 150°C. Gas 2. Stick the cloves into the emon and put it in a roasting dish. Add the garlic, oil and rosemary. Remove the pineapple from the lamb and rub in the onion and paprika. Add the lamb to the roasting dish and cook in the oven for 15 minutes. Take out of the oven, cover with foil and set aside for ten minutes before serving.

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