Day 43 Spain

Attempting to do Spain in a day is not unlike doing a day tour of Barcelona on a transit visa - there is so much diversity and culture, one can only scratch the surface. In an attempt to make the most of it, I am doing an assortment of Tapas instead of the well known Paella or Gazpacho. Traditionally these small bites were eaten to sustain one between meals, but lately have become so notoriously popular paired with the right wine that they have reached the status of a significant meal in themselves.

I delved into it with great enthusiasm and took on 5 different Tapas:

Stuffed tomatoes, Artichoke Rice cakes with Manchego, Pinchitos Morunos, Barbecued Ribs and Crisp Shrimp Fritters.

The tomatoes were blanched and peeled, insides scooped out and filled with hard boiled eggs, Aioli and parsley.

The artichoke rice cakes were made with artichoke hearts sauteed in butter and cooked down with Arborio rice and broth. Grated Parmesan and parsley were mixed in, shaped into cakes, filled with Manchego cheese and shallow fried in olive oil.

The ribs were marinated overnight in sherry, soy sauce, Tabasco, tomato puree, brown sugar and sea salt before grilling.

The Pinchitos were made from cubed lean pork rubbed with Spanish paprika, thyme, olive oil, lemon juice, ground coriander, salt, freshly ground pepper and a touch of curry powder. These too were marinated overnight, and grilled.

For the shrimp fritters, small shrimp were blanched and diced finely. A paste of scallions, chickpea flour, paprika, parsley and salt was combined with the shrimp and fried in batches to a crisp.

It turned -as you can imagine into a veritable feast. I should also mention that I managed to get grease all over the camera lens so if the picture looks a little foggy- it's not your eyesight - it's my camera skills.

I probably shouldn't eat for at least the next two days but I soldier on ...... Sweden next...