Stein on Spain and the art of great tapas

“I’ve been going to Spain all my life, but for many years the word tapas in Britain didn’t refer to anything remotely Spanish,” he explains, as he talks about his latest series and book, Rick Stein’s Spain.

“In this country you’ll be in for a wait, whereas in Spain, the prep’s done beforehand and the actual service is like lightning. But proper tapas is appearing in Britain at long last.”

To make his four-part series, Stein left his famous Cornish seafood restaurants behind and travelled across Spain, from Galicia round to the Basque Country, and on to Catalonia and Andalusia, to find the heart of Spain’s rustic, ingredient-led cuisine – fuelled by plenty of white Ribeiro wine, of course.

“The food relies on very fresh fish or excellent meat, and in that way it’s similar to British food, which is far too much maligned,” says Stein.

“The way to spot a great tapas bar is to check out the menu. It’s got to have Iberico ham.

“When I was in Seville, in allegedly the oldest tapas bar there, El Rinconcillo, I met a Welsh guy who made me eat jamon iberico de bellota [acorn ham].

“For the last five months of their life, the pigs this comes from are fed exclusively on acorns, and you drink it with a cold glass of Fino sherry.

“That’s absolutely the centre of any tapas, you’ve got to have good ham.”

Stein also insists that you shouldn’t be afraid to try out new recipes.

Here are three recipes from Rick Stein’s book to get your teeth into.

FRESH BROAD BEANS WITH BLACK SAUSAGE AND GARLIC SHOOTS

Serves six as a starter

225g rindless streaky bacon or pancetta, in one piece, 2-3 salad onions or 12 spring onions, 100ml olive oil, 20g garlic, finely chopped, 625g fresh broad beans, shelled, 2 fresh bay leaves,1 small handful mint leaves, chopped, 2tbsp Pernod, 225ml chicken stock, 150g black pudding, salt, crusty fresh bread to serve

Cut the bacon or pancetta into 7mm-thick slices, then again into small dice. Trim the salad or spring onions, cutting the white parts in half, then across into thick slices, and thinly slice the green.

Gently heat the olive oil in a shallow flameproof casserole dish over a medium heat. Add the diced pancetta and fry until lightly golden. Add the white part of the salad or spring onions and the garlic and fry until the onion is soft.

Add the broad beans and cook gently for two to three minutes. Add the bay leaves, mint, Pernod, chicken stock and a little salt to taste. Add the black pudding and push down into the beans, then cover and leave to simmer for four minutes. Uncover and continue to simmer until the liquid has reduced and almost disappeared. Lift out the black pudding and place on a board. Stir the green part of the onions into the pan and cook for a minute until just wilted. Thickly slice the black pudding, lay them on top of the beans and serve straight away with the obligatory crusty fresh bread.

WHITE GAZPACHO WITH GARLIC, SPRINKLED WITH GRAPES

Serves six

200g slightly stale, crustless white bread, 800-900ml ice-cold water,15g garlic, thinly sliced, 100g blanched almonds, 150ml good quality olive oil, plus extra to serve, 4tbsp sherry vinegar, 24 seedless white grapes, halved, salt

Break the bread into a bowl and sprinkle with 400ml of the ice-cold water. Set aside to soak for at least 30 minutes.

Put the bread into a liquidizer with the garlic and almonds, and blend to a smooth paste.

Then, with the motor still running, gradually add the olive oil, followed by the vinegar, one teaspoon of salt and enough of the ice-cold water to give the soup a good texture, neither too thick, nor too watery.

Tip the soup into a large mixing bowl and add more vinegar if necessary and seasoning to taste. Chill for at least two hours.

To serve, ladle the soup into small, chilled bowls and sprinkle grapes into the centre of each. Drizzle over a little more olive oil and serve straight away.

LAMB-STUFFED AUBERGINES WITH MOORISH SPICES AND MANCHEGO CHEESE

Serves four

4 aubergines, each weighing about 275g, 6tbsp olive oil, 1 medium onion, chopped, 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped, 1 large red pepper, seeded and chopped, 1½ tsp freshly ground cumin seeds, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, ½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg, 1 tsp pimenton dulce (Spanish paprika), A large pinch of crushed dried chillies, 500g minced lamb,6 tbsp tomato-based sauce, 100g Manchego cheese, coarsely grated, salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 200C/Gas 6. Cut each aubergine lengthways through the stalk, then score the flesh in a tight criss-cross pattern, taking the knife right through the flesh, but taking care not to cut through the skin. Place them side by side on a baking tray and drizzle each half with one-and-a-half teaspoons of the oil, season with salt and bake for about 30 minutes or until the flesh is soft and tender but not browned.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining two tablespoons of oil in a large non-stick frying pan.

Add the onion, garlic, red pepper and spices and fry gently for 10 minutes. Add the minced lamb and fry for three to four minutes or until all the meat is lightly browned. Stir in the tomato sauce and leave to simmer for five minutes.

Remove the aubergines from the oven and increase the temperature to 220C/Gas 7.

Using a dessert spoon, carefully scoop most of the flesh out of the baked aubergine halves, leaving the skins with a layer of flesh about 1cm thick.

Stir the flesh into the lamb mixture with half a teaspoon of salt and some pepper to taste.

Spoon the mixture into each aubergine shell and sprinkle with the grated cheese. Bake for 10 minutes until golden brown.

Rick Stein’s Spain begins on BBC Two tomorrow. The book is published by BBC Books, priced £25.