Mad About Spanish Food

There's been a lot of soul searching at Piddock Place over the last few days. It all started when I read about Paul Hollywood's Great British Take Off. He's apparently left his wife for his co-presenter on the American version of the show that catapulted him to fame.

What has this to do with me? Well, as a food blogger whose audience is increasing exponentially, I'm getting a bit worried that fame might turn my head, as it has turned the heads of so many celebrity chefs and food writers. Gordon Ramsay, Rick Stein and several others have been tempted to stray as a result of their new found fame. I don't want to see my name on that list.

You may scoff, but what if a young, fit male reader became so entranced by my preserved lemons that he pursued me shamelessly and remorselessly? Could I trust myself to stay true to myself humble roots - and my long-suffering husband, Tony, who stood by me when I was earning just a few dollars a week writing for content sites?

I'd hate to give up the blog now it's doing so well, so I suppose what I'm saying to my public is this - please restrain your quite understandable impulses to sweep me off my feet and bask in the glow of my new found fame. I'll keep writing if you promise to control yourselves. I can't say fairer than that, can I?

When Tony and I got married 13 years ago, we received a slow cooker as a wedding present. It's big enough to cook food for a small country, and we tend to have a lot of barbecues and salads in Spain, so it's languished on the top shelf in the kitchen for the last five years.

Now we're in the UK, and I'm spending several hours a day at the hospital as my daughter recovers from her stroke. For the first, chaotic week, we survived on takeaways and the kindness of friends who passed in casseroles and curries, but now we have to think long term. I went into Argos last week and paid over £15 for a slow cooker, because that was the easiest way I could see to ensure we had healthy, home cooked meals without the necessity for me to start cooking at 7.30 every evening.

Early results are very successful - I've cooked beef in beer, coq au vin and a slow cooked version of my legendary vegetable soup. One thing that occurs to me is that I can also adapt some of my favourite Spanish recipes to suit slow cooking. After all, many recipes use cheap cuts of meat, and benefit from long, slow cooking. Also, I can turn dried chick peas into wonderful things. I've just found this recipe for Spanish style chicken, and I think I'll get that cooking today. I have all the ingredients on hand, and it will give me a taste of home.

When we eventually get back to Spain, I think I'll dust off our wedding present and try out a few ideas. One thing that strikes me is that it will be less  uncomfortable running the slow cooker in the middle of summer, so when we're tired of salads, I can cook up a chicken casserole without having the oven adding to the already high ambient temperature. It's curious how good ideas come out of bad happenings, isn't it?

If you’re ever in Algorfa on a Sunday, visit Cafe Larralde in the Plaza Espana. Among the tapas on offer will be habas con jamon. This is a delicious broad bean and ham stew, and  Cafe Larralde’s version is the best I’ve tasted up to now. It goes down a treat with a glass of chilled rose. Like many traditional Spanish recipes, it’s simple to make yourself, as it relies on a few good quality ingredients, so why not have a go at making habas con jamon? Although it’s a stew, it’s good for summer eating, as consists of mainly vegetables and the sauce isn’t too rich.

This is a Murcian recipe, and we’re only about 20 minutes from Murcia province, so it’s real local food. These quantities will serve 6 as tapas, or 3 – 4 as a main course. Some recipes include 200g of chorizo, which makes it more substantial and more spicy, but we prefer it without the sausage. If you prefer a spicier version, use chilli flakes or a fresh red chilli instead of paprika. You can also use fresh or frozen broad beans, but the flavour won't be so intense, and you'll need double the quantity of dried beans.

My husband Tony adores broad beans, so when we discovered this dish, he thought he’d died and gone to heaven! We have it as a main meal with a jacket potato. Spanish potatoes have such a rich flavour, you don’t need extra butter with them, so this is a nice healthy meal if you omit the chorizo.

•    2 tbsp olive oil
•    1 small onion, finely chopped
•    2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
•    500g dried broad beans soaked for 24hrs (change water at least twice)
•    100g thickly sliced Serrano ham, or smoked bacon lardons
•    1 tsp paprika
•    1 bay leaf
•    1 litre of water
•    1 chicken stock cube
•    Salt and pepper
•    1tsp tomato puree

Heat the oil in a saucepan. Fry the onion and garlic until soft. Add the ham, bay leaf and paprika. Sauté for 2 minutes and then add the beans, tomato puree, water, stock cube and seasoning.

Bring to the boil, then cover and simmer for about 1½ hours, or until the beans are tender. Top with chopped or freeze dried parsley and serve with crusty bread and/ or bread sticks. Buen Provecho!