Tapas store cupboard essentials

Tired of serving the same nibbles each time you’re entertaining at home? Avoid spending the evening frantically dashing back and forth checking the stove and instead enjoy a relaxed, stress-free evening with homemade tapas. Plunkett-Hogge, author of A Sherry & A Little Plate of Tapas, shares the store cupboard ingredients essential for anyone interested in hosting a tapas night this autumn.

Although most people go out for tapas, when you think about it, they are brilliant for entertaining at home. First of all, there are so many cold elements you can buy in, and thus don’t have to worry about. Second of all, the very idea of tapas lends itself to a laid-back, convivial evening. I’ve made sure that you don’t have to spend all your time at the stove; and thirdly, who cares if everything hits the table at once? This is tapas: it comes as it comes. It is perfect for entertaining in an eat-in kitchen where you and your chums can (God, I hate this phrase) hang out. And … you don’t really need to make dessert, which suits me fine. The final thing about tapas is this: there is always something for everyone – a little bit of spice, a little bit of seafood, meat for those who like it – we’re all taken care of. So pour yourself a sherry and heat up the plancha: it’s time to cook.

SEA SALT – I favour a good, coarse salt. I always bring local salt back when I travel, and when I run out I use Maldon.

OLIVE OIL AND EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL – yes, you need both. EVOO has a lower smoke point than regular olive oil, and should be reserved for dressings and finishing a dish. Pick a decent regular olive oil for cooking. For a quality Spanish EVOO, I recommend either the Brindisa Extra Virgin Arbequina (which is grassy and leafy) or, for a more peppery, herby oil, Codegenil (made from Hojiblanca olives) from Córdoba. Both are easily available online.

PAPRIKA AND PEPPERS – have a couple of good paprikas, smoked and unsmoked, mild and hot, in your cupboard. I also try to make sure I have a couple of dried ñora peppers in my cupboard for romesco sauce. And I love the soft warmth of piment d’espelette, the star chilli of the Basque country. You can buy it powdered in small jars.

VINEGARS – you really need a good sherry vinegar. If you’re feeling a little fancy, a good Moscatel vinegar is also very handy. White wine vinegar is sometimes required too, but it is NOT a substitute for sherry vinegar in any circumstances.

SAFFRON – I know it’s expensive, but a little goes a long way. And that little can lift a dish (and the heart) to wonderful places.

GARLIC, ONIONS AND HERBS – we really cannot get by without these. I keep a bunch of flat-leaf parsley in a small jug at all times. I use it a lot, but I don’t think I’ve ever come across a cuisine that uses it as much as Spanish. Dried oregano is also essential, and it’s nice to have some fresh rosemary and thyme if you can. If you don’t have a garden, a pot of each will flourish on a windowsill. Unless you have a cat like mine, who will dig them out for unmentionable purposes.

TINS – the Spanish love good-quality tinned goods, especially fish. I always have anchovies and tuna in, as well as tinned tomatoes. Let’s face it, in northern climes, you cannot find a good one outside a tin unless you grow your own.

BREAD – I always have a couple of loaves or baguettes in the freezer for emergency montaditos.

FRYING FLOUR – the Spanish tend to have specific flours for different things. Frying calls for harina para fritos y rebozados. If you can get hold of this, so much the better. If not, use a 50/50 combination of plain (all-purpose) flour and fine polenta or fine, dry breadcrumbs.

SHERRY – well, this is a book about tapas and sherry, so of course sherry is essential.

PLANCHA – or a good heavy-based frying panor skillet. A plancha has a flat cooking surface with a channel all around it, allowing excess fat to drain away from your frying. As I began to cook more and more Spanish food, I found a very good one from Valira, which I adore. Not least because it’s much lighter than the beloved cast-iron skillet I had been using before. I do prefer a pan I can actually lift.

Extracted from A Sherry & A Little Plate of Tapas from Kay Plunkett-Hogge. Available here.