Spiced Spanish Mackerel

This recipe for mackerel uses Spanish canary island sauce, there are two types of “mojo” sauce, one for meat and one for fish. The mackerel is cut on both sides before the mixture being rubbed in and the fish left to marinate for an hour. The addition of chili and lemon juice adds a great summer flavour to fish which can be oven roasted or cooked on the barbeque.

You will need: (serves 4)

4 Large whole mackerel, cleaned
Juice of 1 lemon
2 Tablespoons Mojo Canario 
1 Teaspoon chili powder
Olive oil
Lemon wedges
Parsley

Method:

1.    Make four diagonal cuts into each side of the mackerel.

2.    Mix together the mojo sauce with the lemon juice and chili powder adding a splash of olive oil.

3.    Rub the mixture over the fish making sure plenty goes into the cuts on the fish.

4.    Cover the fish with kitchen foil and leave to marinade for 1 hour.

5.    Bake in the oven for 20 minutes on 180 degrees. If barbequing place the fish onto a griddle or double hinged grill and cook for 6 – 8 minutes each side.

6.    Serve with salad and garnish with parsley and lemon wedges.

Kids Tapas

Kids tapas... tapas are great for kids, its the kind of finger food that even us adults love even to the extent that classy Spanish restaurants and tapas bars take the whole tapas culture way further and begin to dress up their tapas dishes, make them as fancy as can be and, dare I say it charge a fortune... This is not the way the tapas culture was expected to go, after all, in Spain tapas are just tapas but with the advent of celebrity chefs, modern times and the constant strive to make restaurants different with usp's, menu strategy, approaches to eating and all that stuff in this day and age could we expect any different? perhaps the whole 'tapas' culture is beginning to get a little lost in whole gastronomic scheme of things...

Of course our little feller Nico (18 months) pictured on the left doesn't understand any of that, he's just content with a plate jamon, a few crisps and an orange juice! The kind of simplicity kids love...and lets face so do the grown ups. Tapas are great for kids, an introduction to good food, a Spanish culture and in most cases healthy eating although I doubt Nico would be bothered about any of that either!

Getting kids in the kitchen always provides entertainment, its messy, challenging on occasion but always great fun. Spanish tapas are a great way of introducing non complicated but delicious food to the kids menu and us adults always know its better when you've cooked it yourself!

If you have any great tapas ideas for kids we would love to hear them or if your looking for a kids party menu with a Spanish twist take a look at some ideas here

Inside Serrano Ham

Choosing a Serrano ham can be somewhat of a time consuming process, which is the right Spanish ham to buy? How long will it last? What will it taste like? There are also some differences between the various grades such a milder and younger 'bodega' jamones and an older more intensely flavoured 'gran reserva'. In most cases price will reflect how long the ham has been cured for and it is also worth noting that some Spanish curing houses regard any ham cured for over 16 months as a gran reserva where as a top of the range gran reserva will have been hanging for upwards of 20 months - the differences are quite telling. In a nutshell it is simply a case of you get what you pay for...

We are not talking about Iberico hams here, a different product altogether and a whole other aspect of Spanish gastronomy, leaving the Iberico ham to one side the humble Serrano ham can still deliver plenty and in some cases more depending on your taste buds, a good Serrano will also make less of a dent in your wallet... So, tapas for Summer then and which ham to choose?

Spanish Serrano Ham

There are various hams available, do get one though that has been tested - a process that involves puncturing the ham with a long thin bone and then smelt for its aroma, in the hands of the expert this will determine a good ham or perhaps one that needs another month or so left hanging to mature just a little bit more. Buying direct from Spain may take longer for your ham to be delivered but you will at least be safe in the knowledge that your ham should have come directly from the environment in which it has been curing for many months earlier.

For flavour, food pairings, tapas suggestions and further information why not pay a visit to the ham pages on our Spanish deli where you will find each grade of ham with concise and informative information detailing everything from curing times, care, gastromic notes, origin and other useful information all designed to make your buying process that much more informed.

See inside the ham...
You can also 'see' inside each Serrano ham with photographs of the ham cut and served and/or curing in its natural environment. A marathon ham tasting task has been taking place over the past few months as well as many visits to Spanish curing houses. We hope you find the information useful.

www.orceserranohams.com

Tapas and Chorizo

This month our 9 year old son Josh was itching to go out around the village with the video camera, the long summer holidays in Spain mean filling nearly three months with things to do and as the little guy has a healthy interest in our online deli he said he would ask the locals about their favourite tapas and chorizo. Great stuff! This is what happened.... Enjoy the video, mostly in Spanish with an English, Italian and French twist..!

Hake Steaks with Garlic

Pan fried Hake

Easy Andalucian recipe for hake steaks. Hake is very popular in southern Spain and there are many recipes available for this flavoursome fish. Pan frying hake steaks with garlic and lemon is one simple and easy way to add flavour to the fish and makes a wonderful summer lunch served with fresh salad.

You will need: (serves 4)

4 Hake steaks

3 Garlic cloves, thinly sliced

Juice of half a lemon

Olive oil 

Sea salt

Ground black pepper

Broadleaf parsley

Method:

1. Add a splash of olive oil to a frying pan and heat until almost smoking.

2. Season the hake with salt and pepper and fry on one side along with the garlic for 2 minutes.

3. Turn and fry for another 2 minutes taking care that the garlic doesn’t burn.

4. Arrange the fish on plates.

5. Remove the pan from the heat and add a good slug of olive oil to the pan and stir in any remaining cooked garlic.

6. Squeeze over the lemon juice and add the parsley, stir and then serve over the fish immediately.

Ceramic Tapas Bowls

Spanish ceramics are bright, colourful and beautifully designed, Spanish tapas really do need to be served in typically Spanish Tapas Bowls so a few days ago we paid a visit to a town called Purullena about an hours drive East of Granada. To say that the selection of Spanish ceramics was extensive is an understatement!

Every shape, every size, every colour from Granada and also other regions of Spain, each with their own regional influence and design. Good job we emptied the boot of the car before leaving... The village itself is famous for its ceramics and when you drive through you are met by ceramic shops on both sides of the road, open shops displaying every colour of Spain imaginable.

The day turned out to be very productive learning about different ceramic pieces and forging a few new business relationships with some small family operations who had been in the ceramic game for decades.

Next day was the photo shoot outside on the patio, following the visit to Purullena we have introduced 18 new ceramic lines, from regions including Granada, Jaen and Navarra. With worldwide shipping these ceramics are available to all so why not pop into the Spanish and take a look HERE