Hello loyal readers! I’m still standing, and so is our building. Unlike the rest of Western Europe notably the UK and France, Portugal has only suffered some crazy downpours and heavy wind, nothing more to report. My mother and grandparents however were on the path of storm Ciaran as they live in Alderney, one of the smallest Channel Islands, nestled off the coast of France. Thankfully no serious damage has been caused to the island or the islanders.
The small island of Alderney also happens to be my favourite place on earth, it is where I feel connected: connected to people, connected to nature, connected to myself. I love it and always shed a tear when I leave. Our childhood summers there were wild and free, what more could you want as a kid. We had no TV, no internet, lots of friends and family and never ending bunkers and caves to explore.
When I think of Alderney, amongst may other things, I think of seafood. My grandpa used to fish everyday there until he got too old for it. I remember eating fish for breakfast, lunch and dinner back in the days. Still now we have many friends who fish and are always drop something off at the house, crabs, lobster, fish or squid.
Alderney is where I first started cooking my squid, chorizo and chickpea stew, the main headline of this week’s dinner party menu. I am little rigid when it comes to menus so the stew being of Spanish origin I couldn’t help myself but include some other Spanish inspired dishes.
Let’s go!
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Menu for 4
Gildas, finely sliced Iberico ham & Dirty Martinis
Chorizo, chickpea & squid stew
Stewed plums with whipped yoghurt and almonds
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Gildas, finely sliced Iberico ham & extra dirty martinis
Probably my favourite aperitivo of all times, it’s on my deathrow dinner menu. For those who love briny, salty flavours, then you’re sure to love the Basque gilda – it’s absolutely delicious and so so simple to throw together. Paired with ham and a dirty martini, I am in heaven.
Ingredients:
Fresh anchovies (boquerones)
Salted anchovies (the ones you find in tins)
Green pitted olives in their brine
Guindilla peppers (you can find in most supermarkets in Uk & France, or Spanish deli)
500gr Iberico finely sliced
Good quality gin or vodka
Dry vermouth
Tooth picks
Instructions
Gildas. On a toothpick, spear one green olive and slide it to the top of the skewer. Fold a salt-packed anchovy in half and spear that, followed by a folded pepper and a marinated anchovy, another pepper and a final olive.
Iberico ham. Buy some good quality finely sliced Iberico ham and serve it ‘en chiffonade’ on a plate with some almonds like they do in Spain. Don’t put the slices flat on a plate, it looks sad, add some volume by crunching up the slices a little.
Dirty Martini. My cocktail of choice, it makes me feel invincible (dangerous I know). There’s also nothing more chic than a dirty martini served in a nick and Nora glass (see photo). Forget about the V shaped glass, that’s totally has been. I like mine extra dirty/ filthy, meaning with lots of olive brine. Bartenders tend to be a little shy with the olive brine, don’t be when you’re at home.
My ratio goes as follow 4 portions of gin or vodka, for 1 of dry vermouth and 2 of olive brine.
Add the gin or vodka, vermouth and olive brine to a shaker filled with ice. Shake for 15–20 seconds until well chilled, strain through fine mesh strainer into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a skewer of olives.
If I went for dinner at someone’s and they served me the above, I would never leave.
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Squid, chickpea and chorizo stew
Cooking time: 20mins
Ingredients
400gr tinned tomatoes
400gr medium squid cleaned
400g chickpeas, drained
Splash of olive oil
1 lemon, zest
120g cooking chorizo sausage, cut in 2cm rounds
1 onion chopped
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
pinch of dried chilli flakes
1 tsp sweet paprika
50ml of white wine
250ml fish stock
A big handful of greens (chard, spinach or kale)
small handful parsley, roughly chopped
salt and pepper to season
Instructions
Heat the oil in a small sauté pan over a medium-high heat. Add the chorizo and cook until the chorizo releases its oils and begins to turn crisp (2-3 mins)
Add the onion, sauté for 2–3 minutes, then add the garlic, Add chilli flakes and paprika cook for 3–4 minutes, adding a splash of water if the mixture starts to stick.
Increase the heat to high, add the wine and let it bubble until it has reduced by half. Add the chopped tomatoes and stock, bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.
In the meantime, prepare your squid. Cut the pouches into 4cm, scoring the inner surface, or slice into thick rounds. Cut any long tentacles in half.
If you are prepping in advance, you can leave this mixture sit until you are ready to finish the dish.
10 minutes before serving, add the chickpeas to the pan and cook for 3–4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the squid, stir gently to submerge, and put a lid on the pan. Leave the squid to cook gently for 3–4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, remove from the heat and stir through the greens and half of the parsley.
Ladle into bowls, grate over a little lemon zest and sprinkle with the remaining parsley before serving. Serve with chunky buttered slices of bread.
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Stewed plums with whipped yoghurt and almonds
Cooking time 15mins
Ingredients
40gr butter
4 plums
Almonds, chopped roughly
Greek yoghurt
Double cream
Honey
Brown sugar
A drop of armagnac
Mint to garnish
Instructions
In a pan (where the plums can fit snuggly), melt the butter on medium heat until it bubbles.
Add the plums cut side down and sprinkle with the sugar, cook for 5-8 mins (until they’ve softened up but still have a bite). Add a drop of armagnac and give it a swirl to mix all those beautiful juices.
In the meantime whip the cream in a bowl until stiff, then add the yoghurt and drop of honey.
If you are prepping this in advance, get the plums ready but prepare the yoghurt mixture last minute.
To serve, spoon the yoghurt on a plate, place two plum halves and spoon over some of the juice. Garnish with roughly chopped almonds and mint leaves.
Enjoy the feast !