June 2008 - tapas, mezze and antojitos for summer

A light and refreshing recipe for gazpacho with added strawberries, from chef Anton Canelles at Restaurant Senzone in the Hotel Palau de la Mar in Valencia. Serve the gazpacho in glasses.

• Remove cores, roughly chop the tomatoes and put them in the blender
• Hull and rinse the strawberries under running water and add to the blender
• Remove seeds and cores from both kinds of pepper and chop the flesh roughly
• Peel the cucumber and remove seeds
• Add peppers and cucumber to the blender along with the crushed garlic
• Blend till very smooth, then add the oil in a steady stream through the hole in the blender lid (you’ll need to do this in two batches, unless your blender is very large)
• Season with salt and pepper
• Add 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar and taste for sharpness, then add more if you like
• Chill the gazpacho, spoon into small glasses, garnish with mint sprigs to serve

A green, pink and white salad for spring. Broad (fava) beans can be found at this time of the year in the markets – better still, if you live (or can shop) in France, Picard has them ready-shelled.

• Put all ingredients for the dressing in a small jug and blend with a hand-held blender till smooth and emulsified
• Put the potatoes in a pan, cover with water, salt lightly and cook for 20 minutes or until just tender when pierced with a fork. Add the beans and cook 5-10 minutes more or until just tender
• Drain the vegetables, tip into a serving dish or platter and mix them while still hot with 2 tbsp dressing and the chopped red onion
• Dry-fry the pumpkin seeds (i.e. no added fat) in a frying pan – keep them moving & don’t let them burn
• Arrange feta on top of salad and sprinkle pumpkin seeds over
• Chill the salad

My daughter, who's married to a Catalan and lives on the Costa Brava, confessed recently that it's taken four years to perfect her tortilla technique and that now even her mother-in-law (her original teacher) has approved the result. The trick is not to overcook the tortilla once the eggs are added - a few minutes on each side until just set and lightly golden is enough. Any longer, and you'll make it leathery and tough.

• Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a non-stick frying pan

• Fry the onions till golden, stirring occasionally
• Lift them out with a slotted spoon and put them on a plate
• Peel, quarter and slice the potatoes
• Add the rest of the oil to the pan and tip in the potatoes
• Season with salt and pepper, cover the pan and fry potatoes over gentle heat till tender (about 15 minutes) – stir from time to time to make sure they don’t burn
• Crack the eggs into a mixing bowl with salt and pepper and beat well till frothy
• When the potatoes are done, lift them out with a slotted spoon and add to the eggs, along with the onions
• Put the pan back on the heat (there should only be a thin film of oil in the bottom, if not tip some into a dish and reserve it to cook the second side) - shake the pan to distribute the oil evenly and get it good and hot again
• Tip in the egg mixture and cook till the underside is done and the sides start to get frilly – barely 5 minutes – you can tell when the bottom is ready when the tortilla will move about in the pan if you shake it vigorously
• Invert a flat lid or plate on top of the tortilla and turn it out
• Return the pan to the heat, add a little more oil if necessary to film the bottom, slide/shunt the tortilla back into the pan
• Cook till the second side is done – about 3-4 minutes only - slide the tortilla out onto a plate or board and let cool
• Cut in wedges or squares and serve warm or at room temperature

There are flatbreads all around the Mediterranean (coca, focaccia, pizza, pita etc.). Here’s a basic recipe that’s quick and easy to prepare. Use ready-made pizza dough from the baker’s if you don’t want to make your own.

• Mix together the flour, salt and yeast in a large bowl (of electric mixer with dough hook fitted, if you have one)
• Add the water and oil and work up to a smooth dough
• Knead well till smooth and springy – it should not stick unduly to your hands or to the bowl  – if it does, add more flour as necessary
• Encase the whole bowl in a large plastic bag and leave dough to rise at room temperature for 1½- 2 hours or until doubled in bulk
• Line a baking sheet with baking paper, tip out the dough with a dough scraper, sprinkle with olive oil and pat and coax it out to a rough rectangle about the same size as the baking sheet
• Leave it to rest at room temperature while you heat the oven to 200oC
• When the oven is good and hot, bake the flatbread for about 10-15 minutes or until pale golden
• Cut in strips and serve immediately – it stales quickly, but makes good toast if stale

If you’re lighting the barbecue anyway, put some aubergines/eggplant on to roast too and make this savoury Middle East spread or salad – the bbq gives it a super smoky flavour. If you’re not barbecuing, no matter – it will be tasty even if you do the aubergines in the oven. Serve with crudités or fingers of homemade flatbread, or toasted pita triangles.

• Heat the oven to 220C (or light the barbecue)
• Prick the aubergines with a skewer in several places, brush with oil and roast in the oven (or on the BBQ) till they look a bit deflated and the flesh is soft – 30-40 minutes depending on your heat source
• Open up aubergines, scrape flesh out of skins with a teaspoon and put into the blender (discard skins)
• Add garlic, cumin, salt, pepper, chilli flakes and        tahini/mayonnaise and blend till smooth
• Add lemon juice to taste
• Put the baba ghanoush in a little bowl and sprinkle with chosen herb
• Serve with strips of flatbread

Chunky salmon kebabs are cooked briefly on the bbq or under a grill/broiler, then served inside pita bread, toasted and split, with guacamole. The trick is not to overcook the salmon - 5 minutes should be more than enough – and don’t try to turn the kebabs or they will break. Tzatziki (cucumber and yogurt salad) makes a fab alternative to guacamole.

• Cut the salmon in 2-3 cm square chunks, put them in a shallow dish, season with salt, pepper, dill, lemon juice and olive oil and leave to marinate for a few hours
• For the guacamole, mash together the garlic, salt, chiles and cilantro in a pestle and mortar till in a smooth paste (or chop finely together); mash in the avocados with a fork, stir in the tomatoes, season with salt and pepper and lime juice
• Light the barbecue and brush bars with oil; or heat the grill/broiler to maximum
• Thread the salmon chunks onto skewers and grill for 5 minutes or until salmon is just opaque – no need to turn them
• Toast some pita breads and split each one in half to make two pockets
• Slide salmon chunks off the skewers into the pita pockets, top with a splodge of guacamole and serve