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

  With Halloween fast approaching, it’s time to cook up a few classic pumpkin recipes.   There’s something deeply reassuring about a pumpkin sitting on the kitchen counter. Round, heavy, and sunlit even on a dull day, it brings a kind of calm. You don’t rush a pumpkin. You cut it slowly, the knife sliding through dense, orange flesh, and the scent is faintly sweet — somewhere between earth and honey.   I like to roast it first. Big wedges, skin left on, brushed with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and a little sea salt. Maybe a scattering of thyme or a touch of chili. In a hot oven, the edges darken, caramelizing into something rich and sticky.   You can eat it just like that, straight from the tray, with a spoon and a little crumble of feta or topped with freshly grated parmesan cheese. When the weather begins to cool, pumpkin becomes the cook’s quiet ally. Puréed into soup, it makes something velvety and soothing. A splash of cream, a hint of ginger, maybe a dr...

    The late Spanish summer brings with it the arrival of quince, fresh figs and pomegranates. Sometimes these delicious fruits often get a little forgotten but for any serious cook, they can be an endless source of inspiration, and I always look forward to having them in season every year. ” Membrillo”( Quince), when fully ripe, can fill a room with the most unbelievable fragrance. It is a rustic cousin to apples and pears with much the same shape as an apple, although a little larger with a harder skin. Quince is often referred to as the cook's fruit as it cannot be eaten raw. It makes exceptionally good jellies and jams as it contains large amounts of pectin, which makes it ideal for preserves. The Spanish serve quince jelly with cheese, but you can also add diced "membrillo" to casseroles and stews or as serve a puree with poultry and game. It is said that quince was sacred to Aphrodite, the goddess of love, as a symbol of happiness, love and f...

    There are nights when supper needs to be nothing more than a bowl of pasta. Something quick, comforting, generous. The sort of food that asks little of you but gives back in spades.   A clove of garlic, sliced thin and left to turn golden in olive oil, is enough. A flicker of chilli, a little cooked spaghetti, and a pinch of chopped parsley. In the time it takes for the pasta to soften, you have dinner. Add a few prawns, perhaps, or a little diced ham, and the bowl feels more complete.   There are literally hundreds of delicious pasta sauces you can try, so it’s time to take a break from the boring Bolognese and broaden your repertoire with a few fresh ideas for the perfect pasta dish. For something a little different, why not try pasta with avocado, basil and lemon sauce?   Just put your spaghetti on to boil, then scoop out the avocado flesh and blend with lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, salt and basil until smooth. Toss t...

  There's something rather impressive about a homemade terrine or pâté - and they can be surprisingly easy, and cheap, to make.   For some reason, they lie just outside the repertoire of a lot of professional cooks these days and very few young chefs have really taken the time to learn the even the basics skills of classic charcuterie.   That’s a real shame as charcuterie is the wonderful art of making pâté, terrines, Rillettes, galantines, sausages and other cured, smoked and preserved meats and we need to get back to those basic skills every now and then. When I first started on my journey to becoming a chef, professional kitchens were divided into sections and the “saucier” was always considered the glamour job, but I was always drawn to the “Garde manger”, occasionally mislabelled as the cold section or the salad station. In reality, this can be the most exciting and skill testing of all the stations in a kitchen. I mean you may not get to prep...

  There are so many great Tapas bars have opened in Palma over the last few years, and to talk about Spanish food without mentioning tapas is almost impossible. These little plates, often no bigger than a handful, carry the weight of an entire culture. Tapas are not just about eating; they are about sharing, socialising, and savouring life in bite-sized moments.   The origins of tapas are steeped in legend. One popular story claims that tapas began in Andalusia, when bartenders placed slices of bread or ham over glasses of sherry to keep the flies out. The word tapa literally means “lid.” Another tale suggests that King Alfonso X, recovering from illness, ordered that food always be served with wine to prevent the effects of drinking on an empty stomach. Whatever the truth, tapas quickly became a ritual: food served not in courses, but in conversation.   At their heart, tapas reflect Spain’s diverse landscapes and traditions. Along the coast,...