fudge brownies

Ingredients
165g butter, plus extra for greasing
200g dark chocolate, grated or finely chopped
3 free-range eggs
2 free-range egg yolks
1 vanilla pod, seeds only (or alternatively 2 tsp vanilla extract)
165g soft light brown sugar
2 tbsp plain flour
1 tbsp cocoa powder
pinch salt
154g pack chocolate biscuits, such as Oreos, broken into quarters

Preparation method

Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease a 20cm/8in square baking tin with butter, then line with baking paper with the paper overlapping the sides a little.

Melt the butter in a pan over a medium heat. When the butter has melted, remove the pan from the heat and add the grated (or chopped) chocolate. Leave to stand for a few minutes, or until the chocolate melts, and then stir together. Alternatively, you can put the chocolate and butter in a bowl and melt in the microwave in 25-second blasts, stirring well each time.

Whisk the eggs, egg yolks and vanilla together in a large bowl until the eggs begin to get light and fluffy. Add the sugar in two additions, whisking between each. Pour it around the side of the egg mix so as not to knock out the air that has been whisked in. Keep whisking until the mixture becomes stiffer. Once the egg mixture is ready, pour the chocolate into it - again around the sides so as not to knock the air out.

Add the flour, cocoa powder, salt and a third of the biscuits and stir until fully combined, then pour the mixture into the prepared tin. Scatter the remaining biscuits over the top, pressing them in slightly. Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 25–30 minutes. The middle should be very so slightly gooey. Leave the brownies to cool in the tin - the top will sink and crack a little.

Pull the brownies out using the overlapping paper and cut into squares.

Enjoy a taste of Spain - tapas

Tapas are a wide variety of appetizers, or snacks, in Spanish cuisine. They may be cold (such as mixed olives and cheese) or hot (such as chopitos, which are battered, fried baby squid). In select bars in Spain, tapas have evolved into an entire, and sometimes sophisticated, cuisine. In Spain, patrons of tapas can order many different tapas and combine them to make a full meal.

The serving of tapas is designed to encourage conversation because people are not so focused upon eating an entire meal that is set before them. Also, in some countries it is customary for diners to stand and move about while eating tapas.

El tapeo, the art of eating tapas, is a social occasion of which conversation forms as much an integral part as eating and drinking. A tapa and a drink are taken in one bar and then you pass on to another and so on until you are satiated. So you get to eat and drink well, solve the world’s problems and with all the walking burn off lots of calories!

Where to eat?

The Bar Giralda in Seville makes for a wonderful place to dine if you have been busy seeing the sights all day! Located right across the street from the Cathedral or the Alcazar, this is definitely the place to eat. The menus sport a great variety of tapas to choose from at a very reasonable price.

This bar occupies what was once the site of Moorish baths, with the columns and arches still being preserved. Even though the bar is very close to the Giralda after which it obviously takes its name, it is in no way a ‘tourist’ bar, although many tourists eat there. The list of tapas is immense with a recent count coming up with sixty-one! Included are calamares rellenos (stuffed squid), cola de toro (bull’s tail), agaucate con langostinos (avocado with king prawns), pastel de calabacín (courgette pie), jamon iberico (iberian ham), marge de pato sorbe championonese (duck marget on mushrooms slices.

Taste of Portugal- Cataplana Algarvia

For the Cataplana Algarvia

¼pt/½ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 medium cooked potato - peeled and sliced finely
½ small onion, sliced finely
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
2 mackerel cutlets
4 small cuttlefish or squid - opened
½ lobster cut in half lengthways
4 green king prawns - shelled and deveined
4 live black mussels - cleaned
2 tbsp flat leaf parsley - torn
about 1pt/2 cups base stock

Preparation method

• To make the Lisbon paste, place the peppers into a hot char-gril panl and char all over.
• Place in a bowl and cover with cling film and set aside for 10 minutes.
• Remove the cling film, cut the peppers into quarters and remove the skin with a knife.
• Blend the peppers with garlic in a food processor to form a paste.
• Add the olive oil with the motor still running.
• Season, to taste, with salt.

• To make the base stock, heat the oil, onion, garlic and bay leaf over medium heat.
• Add the Lisbon paste and sauté.
• Add the anchovies and sauté for 1 minute.
• Add the tomatoes and cook for a further 3 minutes.
• Add wine, star anise and stock and cook a further 20 minutes.

To make the cataplana of seafood, heat a cataplana (a saucepan with tight fitting lid is a good substitute).
Fry the olive oil, onions, garlic, Lisbon paste and potatoes. Add the fish, mussels, lobster and a ladle of base stock. Close it and partly cook for 2 minutes.
Add the rest of the seafood, cover with the remaining stock and parsley, re-cover with the lid and cook for a further 4 minutes.

To serve, open the cataplana at the table to capture the aromas.