A postcard from Spain
As you may have guessed from my Instagram feed, I have spent the past seven days in a gloriously sunny corner of south eastern Spain, just on the edge of Andalucía and the Cabo de Gata national park. This area of Spain has a wild beauty, dusty groves of olive and almond trees crowd the plains beneath mountain ranges that don't hide their volcanic birth. Hidden coves fringed by turquoise sea tempt from view points along the precariously winding roads bordering the small town of Garrucha, famous for it's fishing fleet and gambas rojas, large red prawns fished in the local waters and served a la plancha from the many restaurants lining the harbour.
It's easy to forget the impact of blue skies and sunshine on the soul when you're a Northern European from a rather damp and windy island. A week of relaxing in the Mediterranean warmth is the perfect elixir!
A very noticeable difference between the UK and Spain was the cost of living. Yes, London will always be more expensive but even compared to rural prices, the difference in the price of food was quite staggering. A simple coffee, taken on a sunny terrace with views of the sea came with a glass of orange juice, a glass of water, a plate of sugar encrusted donuts and a dish of small savoury pastries for only one Euro (and the coffee is actually served in a cup, with a biscuit too). Compare this to the half pint of usually rubbish coffee in a paper cup (my personal gripe) for normally well over £2 by some of our high street vendors and you'll get were I'm coming from. Sadly, it was impossible to break from my usual work routine of an early rising (normally 5am) but this did allow for watching the sun rise from the beach and sitting quietly in deserted cafés watching the locals tuck into a simple breakfast. Since our return we have adopted this simple meal as our breakfast of choice.
Pan tostada con tomate y aceite (toasted bread with tomato and oil)
You don't need a recipe for this, it's so simple but what you do need is simple but really good quality ingredients. Decent, proper bread please, your best extra virgin olive oil (from Spain of course) and proper flakes of sea salt. It won't work if you skimp on these basics. These are the amounts we used for two people.
2 slices of crusty bread
4 tomatoes, deseeded and roughly chopped
extra virgin olive oil
sea salt
Toast the bread. We don't own a toaster and our grill hasn't worked for over a year (the clue is in the title of this blog) but we make fantastic toast in a griddle pan. Drizzle each slice of toast with olive oil and spoon over the chopped tomato. Sprinkle with sea salt and devour, and imagine you are somewhere warm in your sandals and your only concerns are what you'll be eating for lunch after your siesta.
It's easy to forget the impact of blue skies and sunshine on the soul when you're a Northern European from a rather damp and windy island. A week of relaxing in the Mediterranean warmth is the perfect elixir!
A very noticeable difference between the UK and Spain was the cost of living. Yes, London will always be more expensive but even compared to rural prices, the difference in the price of food was quite staggering. A simple coffee, taken on a sunny terrace with views of the sea came with a glass of orange juice, a glass of water, a plate of sugar encrusted donuts and a dish of small savoury pastries for only one Euro (and the coffee is actually served in a cup, with a biscuit too). Compare this to the half pint of usually rubbish coffee in a paper cup (my personal gripe) for normally well over £2 by some of our high street vendors and you'll get were I'm coming from. Sadly, it was impossible to break from my usual work routine of an early rising (normally 5am) but this did allow for watching the sun rise from the beach and sitting quietly in deserted cafés watching the locals tuck into a simple breakfast. Since our return we have adopted this simple meal as our breakfast of choice.
Pan tostada con tomate y aceite (toasted bread with tomato and oil)
You don't need a recipe for this, it's so simple but what you do need is simple but really good quality ingredients. Decent, proper bread please, your best extra virgin olive oil (from Spain of course) and proper flakes of sea salt. It won't work if you skimp on these basics. These are the amounts we used for two people.
2 slices of crusty bread
4 tomatoes, deseeded and roughly chopped
extra virgin olive oil
sea salt
Toast the bread. We don't own a toaster and our grill hasn't worked for over a year (the clue is in the title of this blog) but we make fantastic toast in a griddle pan. Drizzle each slice of toast with olive oil and spoon over the chopped tomato. Sprinkle with sea salt and devour, and imagine you are somewhere warm in your sandals and your only concerns are what you'll be eating for lunch after your siesta.
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