The first rule about tapas

The Spanish summer has definately arrived, after a few weeks of rain the campo was as green as we have ever seen it in seven years. It is said that Andalucia has the greatest fluctuation in yearly temperatures, we can believe it! 50 degrees in the height of summer and a chilly minus 20 degrees during a bad winter.

This time of year of course gives rise to outdoor eating - at every opportunity although given the heat we prefer the late evening affair with a bottle of wine and a meal typically around 9.00pm which incidently is still horrendously early to be having evening meal as far the Orce locals are concerned.

Given the amount of rain Andalucia has had this year and last, our cherry tree seems to have shot up a few feet in the past month. There have been so many cherries on some branches that I have taken on the roll of tree surgeon on the agreement that Gayle makes a cherry crumble (which was enjoyed last night and replaced the usual tostada this morning). Anyway, we thought it better to enjoy the first decent abundance of cherries the tree has produced instead of the local magpies which look like they are going to dive bomb you at any second if you show interest in "their" fruit...

Summer means tapas. A light lunch usualy consisting of whatever is in the fridge tapas are easily knocked up and its great to experiment. Below we have one such experiment with a trio of simple flavours - serrano ham, broad beans and a little bit of mojo..

Mojo sauce is one of those sauces which is a great all rounder, for dips and marinades plus a whole lot more. Sometimes though it just needs a few spoonfulls dropped into a bowl and away you go dipping. Broad beans and Serrano ham or "habas con jamon" are one those famous combinations so adding a little bit of spice made sense and actualy worked very well alond side some olive oil drenched bread and a leftover salad.

The first rule about tapas is that there are no rules!


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