Serrano ham, chickory salad and sherry vinegar; Chickpeas with spinach, cod, grilled shrimps and aioli; Sherry raspberry and …

Sat Aug 05 2006 - 01:00

Serrano ham, chickory salad and sherry vinegar; Chickpeas with spinach, cod, grilled shrimps and aioli; Sherry raspberry and olive oil cake; Caramelised orange salad with almond cream. Recipes serve four unless otherwise indicated.

SERRANO HAM , CHICORY SALAD AND SHERRY VINEGAR

  • 8 slices Serrano ham
  • 6 heads of chicory, trimmed
  • 300g matured Manchego cheese
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • sherry vinegar
  • juice of one lemon
  • 1 tbsp Dijon mustard

Cut each head of chicory in half lengthways and then cut across into the finest shreds you can achieve using a sharp knife. Mix about 150ml of olive oil with one tablespoon of sherry vinegar, lemon juice to taste, and the mustard. Season with salt and pepper and mix well with the chicory.

Using a potato peeler, shave the Manchego into slivers.Arrange the Serrano ham on four plates. Place a quarter of the salad in the middle of each plate and scatter the cheese over the top. Season well with salt and plenty of pepper.

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CHICKPEAS WITH SPINACH, COD, GRILLED SHRIMPS AND AIOLI

  • 500g cod, cut into 4cm squares
  • plain flour
  • olive oil
  • 2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
  • 1 bunch parsley, finely chopped
  • 2 red chillies, deseeded and finely chopped
  • 1 400g tin tomatoes
  • 1 sprig thyme
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 200ml fino sherry
  • 2 400g tins chickpeas, rinsed and drained
  • 2 garlic cloves, peeled and mashed to a paste with a little salt
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 300ml light olive oil
  • lemon juice to taste
  • 500g spinach, well washed and drained
  • 12 shell-on prawns
  • 1 lemon, quartered

Lightly dust the cod with well-seasoned flour. Heat three tablespoons of olive oil in a large saucepan and when it is hot, lightly saute the cod until it is pale golden. Remove from the pan. Add the garlic and parsley, lower the heat and simmer for two minutes, stirring all the time to ensure the garlic does not brown. Add the chilli and tomatoes, thyme, bay leaf and sherry and continue to simmer for 30 minutes. Add the chickpeas and return to a simmer.

Meanwhile, make the aioli. Place the mashed garlic in a bowl. Whisk in the egg yolks, and while continuing to stir, add the oil drop-by-drop initially, until the mixture emulsifies and forms a thick, heavy paste. At this point you can increase the stream of oil to a steady trickle. About halfway through, when the mixture is quite stiff, add a little of the lemon juice. Finish adding the oil and check the seasoning.

Preheat the grill. Add the spinach to the chickpea mixture, along with the cod. Bring back to the boil and simmer gently until the fish is cooked and the spinach wilted. This should take about five minutes. Season the prawns with plenty of salt and grill for a couple of minutes on each side, or until cooked.

Spoon the chickpeas and cod onto four plates. Top with the grilled prawns, drizzle a little extra oil over the top and serve with a lemon wedge.

SHERRY, RASPBERRY AND OLIVE OIL CAKE

Serves 6-8

  • 275g plain flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • pinch of salt
  • 225ml of olive oil
  • 225g caster sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • 125g ground almonds
  • 200g raspberries
  • grated zest from one orange
  • 40ml of oloroso sherry

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Whisk the olive oil together with the sugar and beat the eggs in, one at a time so you have a thick creamy mixture. Fold in the flour mixture, the almonds, raspberries, orange zest and sherry. Pour into a well-greased and papered eight-inch cake tin. Bake in a preheated oven, 170 degrees/gas three for 75 minutes, or until a skewer comes out dry. Turn out onto a wire rack and allow to cool.

CARAMELISED ORANGE SALAD WITH ALMOND CREAM

  • 5 oranges
  • 125g sugar
  • dash of Cointreau
  • 150g whole blanched almonds
  • 300ml whipped cream
  • dash of Amaretto

Put the sugar in a saucepan with 125ml of water and the juice of one orange and bring to the boil. Simmer over a moderate heat for 10 minutes, or until the syrup starts to take on a light brown, caramel colour. Peel and slice the remaining four oranges (plunging them, whole, into boiling water for two minutes makes this much easier) and put in a bowl with the Cointreau. Pour the syrup over them and allow them to cool.. Grind the almonds as finely as you can and fold into the cream, along with the Amaretto. Serve with the oranges.