El Barrio & Mreek

Bare Essentials

Kidneys with Sherry (Riñones al Jerez)

I really love the idea of this dish (Kidney based)
but not so much the taste
So I had it with chips
And I have to admits
That none of it went to waste.

San Fernando to Cádiz

Chickpeas with Chorizo

Spicy Spanish Sausage
vigorously simmering
in chickpeas and wine
into a bowl with
a quartered boiled egg
and it's
mine
mine
mine.

Clams with ham and sherry

Frying onions, garlic and serrano ham, poured in the sherry, threw in the clams, turned up the heat and upward rose, the smells that set me on this prose.  Amongst the mahogany and velvety sea, the clams fell open seductively, the salty, nutty aromas, they said, 'Make sure you mop up this sauce with bread.'

Albóndigas

I have been recently enthused to take my cooking to another level and great inspiration has come in the form of Rick Stein and his recipe book on Spain that was given to me at Christmas.  I expect to share a few photos and words on them here this year.

In the photo below we have Rick's meatball recipe that includes green olives and Jamon Serrano.  I made so many meatballs that I decided to make two sauces, so for the second I used Almonds - my sauce of the moment - using Janet Mendal's recipe.

San Fernando Birds

2012: The Video

2012: Day 4

Deliver Rob and Ang through the green hills and early morning mist to Gibraltar airport. AB and I trundle home gently by the coast roads stopping for a moment in the still heat and golden sunhine of El Palmar.

Back in Cádiz we take a post trip jug of glowing golden beer on the paseo before we batten down the hatches back in the flat for a night of fish fingers chips and beans and dirty rotten scoundrels.