Tapas Party Menu

After we spent an enjoyable week in Spain last month I really wanted to have a go at making my own homemade tapas and what better way to eat tapas than with friends. Over the holiday period with numerous parties and entertaining then why not try something different and throw a tapas party instead of the normal canapes or as alternative to christmas dinner. Below is my Tapas Menu (click on the links to go to the recipes) which has the benefit that most of the dishes can be prepared in advance leaving you free to mingle with your guests and glug some sangria.

• Bread with Olive Oil & Balsamic Vinegar
• Olives, Toasted Almonds & Cubed Almodovar Cheese
• Platter of Serrano Ham & Chorizo
• Manchego with Tomatoes and Olive Oil
• Garlic Mushrooms
• Spinach & Chickpeas in Tomato Sauce
• Spanish Tortilla
• Patatas Bravas
• Patatas Alioli
• Garlic Prawns & Chorizo (I followed this recipe but added a good squeeze of lemon at the end)
• Pork Meatballs in Tomato Sauce
• Merguez Sausages (from our wonderful local sausage shop)
• Red Wine Sangria with Nectarines
• Dairy-free Egg Custard with Caramel Bananas
• Pine Nut & Almond Cookies

Garlic Mushrooms, Spinach & Chickpeas and Manchego Cheese Tapas

Here are three quick and easy vegetarian tapas dishes. The first is garlic mushrooms or 'Champinones al ajillo', the second is a spinach and chickpeas dish in tomato sauce, in Spanish 'Garbanzos con Espinacas'  and the third is manchego with tomatoes and olive oil which I guess is Spain's most well known cheese. These dishes can be made ahead of time and then reheated as required.

Warming Winter Bean and Cabbage Soup

I am finally back to the blogophere following some nasty computer viruses invading my laptop combined with, on a much nicer note,  a wonderful winter sun holiday in the canary islands. Much tapas was consumed along with  goats cheese, bread, olives and for J at least half a pig in the form of various hams and salamis. This holiday has really endeared me to the Spanish as who couldn't love a culture that has brought such yummy dishes to the wider world. As winter draws on I am looking forward to turning up the heating, shutting the curtains and eating some tapas dishes I have recreated and pretending, if only for a night, that we are back in sunny Fuerteventura. 

In the meantime I will post a couple of recipes that I had ready to publish in November, before my laptop got very sick. The first is this winter soup recipe that really is filling and hearty and makes a great warming lunch or light supper served with bread and or a hunk of cheese. If you want some meat than some thick chunks of Chorizo, added at the same time as the beans would make a great addition although you might want to reduce the amount of smoked paprika.

Aubergine, Chickpea and Harissa

When I first started blogging I wrote down a list of potential recipes that I enjoy and this was one of the first ones that I thought of. We have been making this as a family for at least 15 years after eating a version of it in a Cathedral cafe and recreating it at home. It was one of the earliest times I had harissa, a north african chilli paste, in a dish and it has been part of my pantry ever since. It was a favourite meal of my mum and me for whenever my dad was working away. We used to eat it with cous cous or bulgar wheat and yoghurt but quinoa or millet makes a good alternative if you need it to be wheat or gluten free. I like to make this dish the day before to allow the flavours to develop and it is perfect as a quick winter supper. If you cannot get ready made harissa paste easily then there is great recipe on serious eats.

Smoky Sweet Potato and Black Bean Soft Tacos

I always like to keep a few cans of beans in the cupboard as they have to be one of the best things to have a round for last minute unplanned suppers. This is one such dish that I threw together with the few ingredients that I had to hand. It is great with a salad and it went well with my parsnip and apple slaw that I have also published today. To get the smoky taste I thought I would use some Spanish spicy smoked paprika but I am guessing that chipotle chilli would work just as well but is not easy to get hold of in the UK.

Indian Red Lentil Soup- Dal

Whaaa! I can't believe that I haven't been able to find the time to post something for over a week. I am a bad bad blogger but things have been a bit hectic here. After several months of no movement on  relocating back to the UK it is suddenly all go and we should be back in London by the end of the month. This has meant much running around, organizing things, cleaning, packing and much list making (I do love a good list). I did however find time to make some lentil dal which is one of my favorite comfort foods. Although I normally cook this down to a thicker consistency and have it with rice or indian bread I decided to enjoy it the lighter way and eat it as a soup. Although there are quite a few ingredients you can omit some of the spices if you don't have them. I would say that your would need either onion, garlic or ginger along with yellow curry powder and cumin seeds but that everything else just adds to the dish.

I have to admit that I am not sure I will be posting much for a few weeks. I am intending on using as much of the food in my cupboards as possible before we leave and I not sure how inspiring that will be. We also don't have anywhere to live as such and will be relying on the kindness of friends and family for a while. I am looking forward to eating some good British food (and no that isn't a typo, we really have lifted our game in recent years). I am also thrilled  at the idea of not having to cooking in 30 degree/80F + heat and 80% humidity. So au revoir for a little while.

Huevos Rancheros- Egg with Beans in Tomato Sauce

This used to be a favorite brunch of ours back in the UK. It is filling and relatively healthy and I loved this with potato waffles on the side. However, I haven't had a potato waffle in over 18 months, booo! If you have never had a potato waffle then they are basically mashed potato formed into a waffle lattice shape and deep fried. They are, as the advert says, wafflly versatile and we would often have them with baked beans, embarassingly British, I know. In lieu of potato waffles I used tortillas, much more authentic as I am sure you will agree. There are some gluten free corn tortillas brands around including Mission and Discovery, although a lot of corn tortillas have some wheat flour in, so be sure to check the label.

Tasty Italian Style Beans

It is National Vegetarian Week in the UK (23rd -29th May) and I this got me thinking about recipes that epitomise a healthy and balanced vegetarian diet. I have been vegetarian for 18 years now (wow writing that makes me feel old!) and I am healthy and thoroughly enjoy the food options I eat and very rarely feel that I am missing out. When I first became veggie I was what I would class as an unhealthy vegetarian. I ate exactly what I used to eat except that I substituted real meat with fake meat e.g quorn, fake bacon and textured vegetable protein products. Now, I am not against these products at all, they are tasty, convenient and help ease some vegetarians and vegans into their chosen dietary regimes. In fact, I have had a few mock meat meals in Singapore that have been outstanding in terms of the effort that has gone into making these dishes look like the real thing (I mean who needs their fake prawn to have the exact colouring and pattern of a real prawn!). However, for me personally, my diet improved dramatically when I stopped trying to make my meals like those that I had had as a carnivore and started  using vegetables, beans and lentils as the starting point for dishes. After all, all heavily processed foods should really only feature ocassionally in our diet and fake meats are no exception. What's more lentils and beans are generally low GI, low in fat and a good source of dietary fibre, protein and vitamins and minerals.  Pulses are, for me, an important part of any diet but particularly a vegetarian diet and deserve to be used more and loved a lot. I will be trying to convert everyone to loving lentils and beans with my next few recipes. Have I won you over yet?

If you are not convinced about beans or lentils yet, here is a very easy and tasty recipe to hopefully get you into this wonderful and very useful food group. It is basically a grown up version of baked beans. It can also be used as a canape or appetiser spread on thin toasts or blitzed in the blender to make a tasty dip to serve with veggie crudites. 

Vegetarian Scotch Eggs

The scotch egg, for those who haven't grown up with this snack, is a hard boiled egg wrapped in sausage meat, breadcrumbed and then deep fried. It is traditionally eaten cold at picnics, in a packed lunch or as finger food at parties and I think it is delicious with Heinz salad cream.

In recent history the scotch egg had become a sad orange-crumbed shadow of its former self that could be found in supermarkets, motorway service stations and corner shops to satisfy the hungry & desperate. However, I am glad to report that over the last couple of years there has been something of a renaissance for the lowly scotch egg with artisan varieties to be found at delicatessens, country fairs and food shows. Yippee, is all I can say. It is about time that this dish got a makeover.

This recipe is a basic vegetarian version made with beans instead of sausage meat but once you have mastered the basic technique you can have a go at making some different flavoured ones. How about adding hoisin sauce and spring onions or curry paste and fresh coriander or sundried tomatos and thyme. Or how about changing the standard chicken egg for duck eggs for a real yolky treat or quails eggs for hors d'oeuvre sized scotch eggs. There really is no end to the possibilities for homemade scotch eggs.

This dish can be gluten free by ensuring the seasonings (e.g. stock/boulion & mustard) are gluten free and that the flour and breadcrumbs are substituted for gluten free versions. If you cannot get hold of  gluten free breadcrumbs you can make your own with gluten free bread or rolls blitzed in the food processor and gently baked in the oven until crisp.