Maui Beach bar, Mojacar

6 Jun

It’s that time of year when by now all the beach bars are opening up again – I love sitting by the sea having lunch and there are not that many places that open during the winter and many don’t open until Easter time. Maui on Mojacar beach is one of the few that open even earlier in March time and we went there on a blowy, but sunny day.  You can tell when it is early in the season as the bars on the beach that are open have protective covers, a bit like being in a marquee.  But we don’t mind as we are still in the fresh air, being waited on by friendly staff and being served lovely fresh food, watching the waves roll in.

Maui is always good whatever the weather and you can pretty much find something for everyone on their menu, from fresh fish to hamburgers and pizzas if your lot really won’t eat anything else, to fantastic meats and, of course, paella.  Like most of the beach bars here, their prices are very reasonable and you can linger as long as you like, whilst watching your children play on the sand or in the surf.  Another thing we like aboutMauiis that you can hire beds and umbrellas for not very much, if like me, you are no longer keen on lying in sand and burning to a crisp.

On Saturday afternoons in the summer, it is a great spot for older teenagers to party – there are hundreds of kids, really loud music and it will give you a bit of peace and quiet if you go and lay further up the beach!

They open early and stay open pretty much all day, late into the night up until early autumn.  I am looking forward to spending the odd afternoon down here or dropping in for a sundowner before dinner.  Bliss.

Lemon Meringue Pie Italian style

21 May

I don’t know where the time goes – I have been busy again this week with guests and as of yesterday morning, the place is eerily quiet – no baby Carmen to grin at me having her breakfast before I have even got up!  I would have been very happy for her to have been left behind.  We have got behind with other friends who live here too and so last night was our first get together in a while.  I always try to start making at least one dish the day before friends come to dinner – one always runs out of time otherwise, particularly after a busy period.

I don’t think I have ever met anyone who doesn’t like lemon meringue pie, and it has to be said, it is a tiny bit fiddly (because of the three components) but is made less so if you make at least the pastry case the day before.  If you have time, then also make the lemon part and then it really is a breeze to finish.  I normally make the crispy kind of meringue but thought for a change I would make the Italian which you can pipe onto the pie in peaks – it looks a bit more special (although maybe a bit like you might buy from a shop ironically!).  Anyhow this pie is sufficient for 8 decent slices and is really fun to make.

You will need a fluted flan tin with a loose bottom, slightly smaller than a large dinner plate.

Preheat the oven to 180/350/gas mark 4

For the pastry

225 g plain flour

pinch of salt

150 g butter cut into pieces

75 g of caster or icing sugar (I use icing in this one, it seems to make the pastry

crisper)

1 whole egg

1 egg yolk

Put the flour, salt and butter into your magimix and whiz up into breadcrumbs (I can’t do this by hand, my hands are too warm and so it is always a disaster)

Add the sugar and whiz again

Add the eggs and pulse until it leaves the bowl clean

Put in the fridge for at least an hour – I think the colder the better.

Lightly grease the tin, roll out the pastry (top tip, roll out between two pieces of clingfilm – it stops it cracking and splitting – also, I cut the pasty in half and roll in two pieces to make it more manageable for this type of pastry.  Then just join by gently pressing together with your fingers in the tin.  I leave the pasty overlapping the sides too to stop it shrinking – I have never been able to prevent this happening even if I put the pastry in the tin in the freezer!  So after it is cooked, I take a sharp knife and carefully cut off the excess.  Then put some baking parchment in your pie and cover with dried beans.

Bake for 15-20 mins – then I always remove the paper and beans, and pop back in for 5 or so minutes to cook the bottom a little more.

If you are making the day before, just wrap carefully in foil after cutting off the excess pastry.

For the lemon bit

175 ml water

140 g caster sugar (or I just use normal granulated as I always run out of caster, it makes not a lot of difference)

35 g cornflour

35 g butter

2 lemons, grate the rind and then juice them

3 egg yolks

Boil the water, lemon juice and zest and then add the butter and stir in.  Cream the eggs yolks, sugar and cornflour together.  Pour the lemon mix on the eggs and return to the pan and continue to cook gently on a low heat until thickened.  Spoon into the pastry case and leave to cool.

At this point pre heat the oven to 220/425/gas mark 7

Now you are going to make the meringue

350 g caster sugar (again I used granulated)

180 ml water

4 large egg whites or 5 normal

Whisk up the egg whites in a roomy bowl

Boil the water and sugar together to 129 degrees – yes I know, but if you don’t have a thermometer then just let it boil away for a couple of minutes after boiling point!

Turn on the whisk again, and pour on the boiling sugar, whisking all the time until thick and creamy – it does need to be reasonably firm, so if it isn’t just continue whisking for another couple of minutes – you will see it start to thicken up – it should be able to stand up on its own.  Don’t be tempted to leave it too soon or it will just be a big mess on the top of your pie!

Now if you have a piping bag you can have fun piping it on in spikes or if you simply can’t be bothered, just swirl it on with a spoon and spike it up a bit.

Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden and cooked.  It will not be crispy, rather marshmallowy but is fun for a change and looks good too.

Cartagena

9 May

When my family were here recently, we headed off to Cartagena one day – it is an easy drive from here, under an hour (so well within my 1 and a half hour boredom threshold in the car!).  You take the toll road and it really is a gorgeous route and you only see a car every 10 minutes or so – I don’t think the Spaniards like paying 13 euros to use this route!

Cartagena is an interesting place – it has been the capital of the Spanish Navy’s Maritime Department of the Mediterraneansince the arrival of the Spanish Bourbons in the 18th Century.  It is still an important naval seaport today.  It was the first of a number of cities called Cartagena and has much to see if you are interested in Roman ruins such as the Theatre of Carthago and the cathedral which was destroyed in the Spanish Civil War and which dates back from the 13th Century to name a couple.

Cartagena has the Peral submarine here that was built by Isaac Peral and was launched in 1888 as one of the first U-Boats.

It holds the distinction of being the Spanish city with the most beaches, i.e. 10!  Like most Spanish cities wandering around the old town behind the port affords pretty good shopping and many places to stop off for a drink and tapa, or a decent lunch to linger over.  All our trips seem to centre on some kind of eating activity, a favourite pastime among the Spanish, and those of us who live here!

Non-scary Paella

30 Apr

It is a while since I have posted anything so for all of you who follow our blog, sorry but we were so busy over Easter with 11 guests here!  So it has taken a while to catch up.

One day last week, our friends Rob and Nevenka invited us over for Paella – I said to Rob that although I had made it before a few times, I always got into a bit of a tiz as obviously I am not used to cooking it very often and it does have quite a few ingredients.  Anyhow, Rob said I could watch him make his and that way I would see that it was not something to be frightened of and great fun to boot.   One of the great things about Paella is that is wonderful for a crowd and is made in one pan.  I was very happy to be going out and being cooked for – such a treat when I do so much of it here.  So here is Rob’s very non-scary version – I think what I took from him is that much of it is in the preparation, like many things in life, and if you take the time to get all of your ingredients ready, then it makes the cooking of it much more simple and takes all the stress out of it.   Rob was very relaxed and made it look so easy that I felt like I was on a cookery show!

For Rob’s meat paella, you will need:-

A very large frying pan, or preferably a paella pan

A gas hob (or some Spanish do cook it on the barbeque grill)

8 Chicken legs (drumsticks)

3 Chorizo sausages (the raw kind)

A good handful or two of pork ribs (easy to get here, but you may need to order them

From your butcher – they need to be in small bite-size pieces if possible)

Rabbit cut into small pieces – a good couple of handfuls (omit if this is not up your street – again you may have to order especially

16 large prawns with their shells – I am adding these because they look beautiful in a mixed paella or meat only as we are making here

An onion

A good few cloves of garlic

1 teaspoon of saffron

1 and a half cups of fat rice (Arborio)

4 cups of good fresh chicken stock

1 red and green pepper chopped into smallish pieces

So, put a little pork fat or sausage fat into your pan and heat through

Firstly cook the chorizo and then add the pork and brown.  You will have quite a bit of oil in the pan to cook the rest of the meat.  Remove chorizo and pork, and add the chicken.  Keep it on the move in order not to burn, you want colour but not char-grilled!  Then add the rabbit and brown too.  Remove onto a plate and add you’re chopped up peppers and onion and cover with a large lid or even a baking sheet to steam the peppers a little.  Then add the garlic and fry off too.  Rob has a good tip of cooking the garlic later otherwise it colours too much and disappears!  Then add your rice and stir in.    Keep stirring for a few minutes and then add the hot chicken stock and sprinkle in the saffron – exactly how much you use is up to you – we don’t like it too bright in colour or too strong in taste so easy does it – you can always add more.  Then put all the meat back and gently cook until the rice has absorbed nearly all the liquid, stirring from time to time.  Continue to cook until the rice is ready – you can add some peas if you wish, they look lovely but just add at the last minute so they keep their beautiful green colour.  Baby broad beans work fantastically too.  And there you have an entire meal for a large family or friends all in one pan.  Put the whole thing on the table and serve with absolutely nothing else other than some lemon wedges – you won’t need it!

Garrucha fish market

14 Apr

As you will know if you read my blog, Garrucha is a lovely fishing port about 15 minutes away from us.  As you would expect there are dozens of fish restaurants around the harbour and along the whole stretch of beach towards Mojacar.

But if you are out earlier in the day, in the late afternoon, it is worth looking in on the fish market where every day after the boats come in at 5 ish, they auction off the day’s catch for restaurants, fishmongers and supermarkets.

There is a proper viewing gallery but we always just stick our heads in and watch from outside. Only the buyers seem to know what on earth is going on but I don’t think you have to worry about scratching your nose here!

There is a bar called the Clam (The Almeja) just in the port where you can sit outside and have a drink and see the boats come in– the restaurant is also very good for later on – no-where really gets going for food until 8.30 or 9 o’clock though.  At this time of year, when the light is beautiful at dusk, it is the perfect place for a sundowner.

 

 

 

Playa de la Carolina – San Juan

11 Apr

I have written about San Juan beach before and we love it there, but today (Friday) we decided to explore the little coves beyond San Juan.  We found one tiny little bay in the shape of a horse shoe – I must admit we did a few three point turns before finding it – to get to it you have to drive down some narrow streets where there are some lovely holiday homes, obviously built long before the developers moved in.  They are that lovely kind of old fashioned, unflashy type of home that I remember in Cornwall from childhood holidays, with buckets and spades dropped outside the back door and airers with beach towels drying in the late afternoon sun.  Beyond these, is this unnamed beach, a tiny stretch of sand, one chiringuito slap bang on the beach and as it is still spring and term time, no-one there but us!  I imagine from July it won’t be quite like this, but for now we are enjoying the solitude and so stop and have a coffee and just, well, be!

Afterwards we head a little further up the beach to Carolina Playa – another quite unspoilt and deserted beach and except for a couple of dog walkers, again it is just us! There are no facilities here, so you need to be prepared with chairs, brolleys, cushions and a picnic and frankly you don’t need anything else.  Or you can drive back to San Juan and have lunch at La Isla, a great restaurant in the little town.

These beaches and coves are the complete opposite of, say, Mojacar Beach, which we still love, but are for those looking for something very much more tranquil and untouristy.  I like both types at different times, depending on my mood – it is perfect for today.

 

 

 

Californian Grilled Fish with Coriander and Lime Tartare sauce

7 Apr

This recipe is really lovely and even people who claim not to be too keen on fish seem to love it – you can use any type of white fish – I like to use hake as it is plentiful here and what I would call unfishy in taste.  It is from my Delia Smith summer collection.

When I cooked it for my friend Annie Hibbert, she said ‘this is River Café standard, only it hasn’t cost me 50 quid!’.  So thank you Delia and Annie!

 

The recipe is in two parts – I make the mayonnaise first and forget about it until later otherwise it is all a bit last minute preparation for my taste – I like to be organised and not have too much to do at the end – that way you don’t get flustered when cooking for 6 or 8 people.

 

Anyhow, first the mayonnaise.  You do need a food processor for this – I can’t see how else you can do it , but if pushed you could use Hellmann’s and then add the rest of the ingredients to it – it would still work (obviously leave out the egg and the oil!).

 

 

1 large egg

6 fl oz of light olive oil

1 small clove garlic, peeled

1 dessertspoon fresh lime juice

1 heaped tablespoon small capers, drained

3 or 4 small gherkins chopped

1 tablespoon fresh coriander

Half teaspoon mustard powder

Half teaspoon salt

Black pepper

 

Break the egg into the bowl of the processor and add the salt, pepper, garlic and mustard.  Switch on the machine and through the top very slowly pour the oil – it must be a slow steady trickle.  Once the oil is all in, you will get a mayonnaise type sauce – add the rest of the ingredients and check the seasoning.  Put in a jar in the fridge till you are ready (you probably won’t use it all up in this dish, so make a Caesar salad the next day as I am doing today).  It will keep for a week anyway.

 

For the Fish

 

Two or more fillets – actually if you double the quantities, it will be sufficient topping for 6 fillets).

Two tablespoons of your mayonnaise as above

Grated zest of a lime

3 tablespoons of grated cheddar cheese

Two tablespoons of white or brown breadcrumbs

1 dessertspoon chopped coriander

Pinch of cayenne pepper – don’t go too mad or it will mask all the other flavours

Butter

Salt and pepper

 

Line a baking tray with foil and butter it.

 

Pre-heat the grill to its highest setting

 

Once you are ready to prepare your fish, (and I recommend you buy fillets ready done so it is dead simple once you come to make the dish) dry off the fillets (you can make as many as you like – this recipe is for two/three people).

 

Spread the fillets with the mayonnaise

Mix all your ingredients together apart from the butter and then sprinkle all over the fish – the mayonnaise will hold it on – don’t worry if some of it falls off, it does not need to be perfect! Dot each one with a little butter.  Now place on the bottom of your oven, as far away from the grill as possible for 10 minutes or so, or until the breadcrumbs are golden.  Do keep an eye on it though, and if your grill is separate from your oven, it will need only 5 or 6 minutes at a slightly lower setting.  You can serve this with pretty much anything – vegetables or a green salad, new potatoes or little sautéed ones.

 

 

 

 

The Hottentot Fig

4 Apr

The end of March is probably one of the prettiest times of year here – you can be a bit unlucky if you get 4 crummy days on the trot, and of course we do have rainy days during January and March. Now we can see the benefit of a few cold rainy days in the sudden sprouting of green and yellow carpets everywhere you look and the hills look as lush as they ever do in the region.

The weather has changed in the last week – today is like a hot summer’s day and we will see less and less rain now, making planting difficult unless you have lots of time to tend and water plants in.

The Hottentot Fig or Cat’s Claw (so called because that’s what each plant head resembles) is out in force – you see it growing all over the place and it has the most stunning bright pink flowers – and I have been transplanting it again in front of the house.

We had such a hot summer last year that it suffered a little but so hardy is it that you just snip a piece of another healthy plant in the ground and water it in.  Within a year, it should be lush again and is just no bother. So having lived here now for almost 7 years I have learned what is happy growing here and what isn’t. From now on I’m looking to achieve a low maintenance ‘garden’ that will survive the heat of the late spring and summer in the desert.  This is a good start.

Turre

3 Apr



I have the family with me for a couple of weeks so today we planned a morning at the market at Turre, a lovely little town about twenty minutes away from here.  It is the most fantastic day – and could be summer time already.  Turre is bustling today – full of atmosphere and everyone is out enjoying the sunshine.  The market itself is set around a pretty town square and there is something of a French rather than Spanish feeling about it – I don’t really know why.  I like the market here – it is less frantic than the one at the larger town of Vera on a Saturday and also there is a brilliant second-hand book stall – if you return your book in good condition you only have to pay 1 euro 50 cents or something like that.  They have a great selection too of the kind of books I like to read (i.e. not all holiday books!).

 

We wander through the market at our leisure, stopping to make a few purchases and just soaking up the morning.  We pop into my friend, Beth, the hairdresser and make appointments for all the girls on Tuesday – we will go for lunch at Adelina’s at the top of the main street afterwards.

 

When we have had enough of a mooch,  we pop into one of the many bar’s on the main street for coffee and tostadas and orange juice as we set off from home this morning without any breakfast.  It is magic and reminds me again why I love living here – it has been quite a long winter for us too and now we can look forward to endless sunny days.

 

It is well worth visiting Turre for a relaxed and enjoyable morning if you are staying here – it is 10 minutes from the beach at Mojacar and so you can combine doing both without having to drive for too long or even make the 10 minute drive up from Turre to Sierra Cabrera to one of the fantastic restaurants up there for lunch.

 

Horse Riding in Almeria

23 Mar

When I was young I used to go horse riding quite often over a period of a few years, summer and winter.  I loved it and my sister and I would go together – she was always much better than me but it was something we loved doing.  The summer evening rides were the best ones – when the sun was setting over the lush, green fields and then towards September, still warm enough to ride in the evenings, seeing all the bales of hay in the fields.

Second best to that (and only because of lovely memories of my sister)is to go down to Mojacar beach and have a lesson at the riding school, Cueva del Lobo,  which is bang on the beach – there is something about being on a horse and being able to hear the waves rolling in, and feeling a warm, salty breeze on your face.

Last time I went out for a ride, we went up into the hills behind Mojacar and just trekked for an hour in the peace and quiet, in and out of the narrow little streets and then onto the rough tracks and paths through the hills themselves.  It is a great thing to do and you don’t have to be a particularly confident rider to enjoy it as on this particular ride, there was no galloping, just a bit of trotting and the odd canter.  I have not ridden for years and years and I really enjoyed it and if you are holidaying here, it is something different to do one day.

Also close by is Rancho Luz del Sol who have a selection of beautiful horses available to ride in a rural setting.

There are several other places to go riding, a little further afield, where you can go for a trek and have lunch before coming back, but that is for the more serious riders among you.

Cueva del Lob Riding Center (Mojacar) 950 478 991

Rancho Luz del Sol (Partaloa) 678 838 547

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