More Summer Nights

With a summer like this one it is hard to imagine anything other that evening after evening spent enjoying drinks and meals outside. The conversations bemoaning an absence of barbecue weather are non existent. Instead we search for alternatives to the tasty but sometimes predicable sausages and meaty fare.

Last night the inspiration came from Spain. One of my very best city breaks was to Seville. This city has it all, old town, river, shops, parks and right in the middle a stunning cathedral and naturally the tapas bars. Barcelona was wonderful too and we returned with cases (pre light weight wheely luggage) heavy with the terracotta dishes I still use all the time.

Tapas was the theme for our outdoor dinner we began with olives, chorizo, ham, bread grilled on the BBQ with garlic and tomato. Plus those delicious padron peppers (a surprise supermarket find) fried for one minute in olive oil and sprinkled with salt flakes. Gazpacho was a two minute blitz of passata, sherry, chilli, red pepper, garlic and plenty of chives.

Tapas

To follow we had Moorish Skewers of pork marinaded with sweet pimenton, cumin, thyme, garlic and olive oil. These were served with mojo picon an improbable sounding sauce made from fried bread, chilli, cumin seeds, more pimenton and sherry vinegar which was a perfect combination. Green beans from the garden mixed with roasted peppers or in Spainish "judias verdes a la castella" went perfectly.

Moorish Skewers & Mojo Picon

As the dusk appeared we lit the chiminea for the first time in weeks a reminder to keep on making the most of this summer while it is here