Small and Mighty - Small Plates

In Spring, we’re getting outdoors, working in the garden or meeting friends in the backyard. In our gardens and at the market, new produce is arriving and we want to make the most of all of it. Small plates can satisfy us in a way that large meals don’t. Easily prepared, and packed with flavour, they give us a chance to combine flavours, try new things and maybe enjoy a drink or two.

Spring tapas
These tiny one-plate wonders make the most of spring’s bounty of fresh herbs and produce. Almost anything can be a tapa. And looking first at what is right in front of you is an excellent place to start. Your imagination is the only limit. Here are a few ideas to get you started.

º Top slices of baguette with luscious jamón serrano, charred asparagus and a fried quail’s egg.

º To fry an egg Spanish style, use plenty of hot olive oil, and spoon it over the egg as you fry.

º Combine bright fresh tarragon with a dollop of mayonnaise and the hard-boiled yolks of an egg and stuff back into their hard-boiled whites.

º For an instant sauce, look no further than your cupboard. Blitz a jar of piquillo peppers in the blender, drizzle a bit on bread and top with white anchovies and a fried quail’s egg.

º Add a bit of dried bread and some hazelnuts to half of the piquillo sauce for a quick romesco that will sit perfectly under a charred green onion.

º Purée tender, young, green radish tops with chives, almonds, garlic and olive oil. Spread on toast and top with radishes that have been sautéed in butter.

º Combine mashed potatoes, goat cheese and chives, shape into small torpedos and coat with flour, egg and breadcrumbs before deep frying for a spring version of a Spanish croqueta.

º Combine yogurt or labneh with fresh mint or chives and top with more sautéed radishes.