Tapas night & a week off
I had a week off last week. I can’t remember last time I had a whole week off and even the weather agreed. I enjoyed some sunny afternoons on the beach, I ate out, breakfast, sometimes lunch and even dinner. There were whole days when I didn’t cook a thing.
Not cooking didn’t mean I didn’t think about food, there was plenty of time to read recipes, talk to my friends about different foods and foraging.
The beach is full of sea buckthorns. This is the first year I have picked some and they have the most evil spikes but it is worth it as they have over 190 micro nutrients, antioxidants, vitamins & minerals, omega oils, plant sterols and plenty of fibre. I also picked rosehips, they grow in plenty on the beach, right next to the sea buckthorn.
I used the sea buckthorns and the rosehip to make a syrup.
The flavours worked well together and it works with sweet or savoury dishes.
We enjoyed some late mornings, any suggestions of getting out of bed before 9.30 am is simply met with a sigh and a paw over her face.
I couldnt have picked a better week off, the summe arrived at last and the weather was amazing, hot and sunny, nothing to be taken for granted. It was great to just sit on the beach and contemplate life.
I did one of my favourite brunches, baked eggs. To celebrate my staycation I loaded it with trout roe, yum!
We had lunch at Dungeness. It is a truly beautiful place and it has the Dungess Snack Shack that serves up the freshest seafood and delicious lobster rolls! There are also some fantastic looking houses on the beach.
It was such a treat!
One of the things I have been wanting to do for a long time is a tapas night and I finally had time to get stuck in and make it! My problem with tapas is what to make? There are so many options! We had a discussion and picked a couple of tapas each and then added a few new ones.
M picked a Crown prince squash from the garden, they are absolutely amazing and so delicious! I peeled it, de seeded it and roasted it cut it into chunks and served it with aioli. Earth to table in less than two hours!
M’s favourite is gambas pil pil so that was a must. We managed to sneak in some home grown chilli there as well!
I once had this pinxos when in a bar and I can’t believe I have never re created it until now. Dates, stuffed with goats cheese and a Marcona almond, wrapped in pancetta, so simple and such a delicious morsel.
My favourite fishmongers, Jenkins & Son had fresh squid for sale and I decided to pair it with chorizo.
Squid & Chorizo stew
preparation time 10 minutes, buy cleaned squid if you can
cooking time 15 minutes
serves 2
Ingredients
- 4 small squid or 2 larger
- 1/4 Chorizo, cut in to small cubes
- 1 onion, peeled and chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
- 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
- 1 tbsp tomato puree
- 1 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine
- chopped parsley
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- a pinch of sugar
- a pinch or oregano
- salt & pepper to taste
Place the chorizo in a pan and pan fry crispy. Remove from the pan and set saide.
Add the tomato puree and fry for a couple of minutes. Add the tinned tomato, soy sauce, Shaoxing rice wine and spices. Let simmer for 10 minutes.
Score the squid and add to the tomato sauce along with the chorizo and simmer for an additional 5 minutes or until the squid is cooked through. Sprinkle over parsley and serve.
If I would make this dish as a stand alone I would serve it with fresh, chunky bread.
I can never resist a ripe avocado and if you haven’t tried it, use a pomegranate in the guacamole, it is a great flavour combination.
The last dish I wanted to make was a Spanish tortilla. This is a very simple and super delicious dish based on onion, potatoes, olive oil and eggs.
We made our tapas favourites and cracked open a bottle of Rioja. It wasn’t quite like being in a tapas bar but as close as we can come!
What are your favourite tapas dishes?
Food Eat Love 
Thank you for some suggestions for tapas to serve at this coming Monday’s puppy play date. It looks like a wonderful week filled with lots of treats.
hi Liz, a puppy play date sounds irresistable, and food as well! 🙂 Am so glad you liked the selection, tapas is always a deliciously good idea 🙂 And now am off to http://www.fiestafriday.net to co host with you!