THE SUN-SOAKED PLATE...Mediterranean recipes for family and friends

At the restaurant we always offer a refreshing chilled soup during the summer months, and it’s invariably some form of Gazpacho. They are light and fresh, very healthy and utterly delicious!   From humble beginnings, Gazpacho has gone on to be the most revered and well-travelled chilled soup in the world. This refreshing soup has provided nourishment, quenched thirst, and sustained a body working in the hot sun for centuries. It even got a mention in the classic novel Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes when it was first published in 1605 and Gazpacho has been part of the fabric of Spanish culture ever since. Apparently, Cervantes completed his masterpiece in prison due to irregularities in his accounts while working for the government so he was probably starving at the time and longing for some fresh, tasty food.   Long before tourism, Andalucía was the poorest region of Spain.   Gazpacho, like most of the regions dishes, was considered “food of peasants” and was...

F or me, nothing beats the salivating bouquet of garlic and onions sweating in olive oil. It’s the first easy step of so many recipes, but it’s also the one that so many people seem to get so wrong. Do not brown your garlic as this leaves a strong, slightly bitter aftertaste in the finished dish. Make sure you warm your pan slightly, and then add a little olive oil. This way you will use less oil saving you money, because the oil spreads and thins out in the warm pan. Add the onions and garlic, and then place them over a gentle heat. Let them cook slowly without colour, stirring with a wooden spoon. Don’t fry, but sweat them gently to encourage them to release the heavenly smell that can fill your kitchen with this most amazing, mellow aroma. Long slow cooking of garlic removes most of its pungency and should pacify even the most ardent garlic-haters. Spanish Restaurants are awash with garlic from marinated olives, aioli, chorizo and anchovies. In spring young green garlic shoots ca...