Spanish recipes

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Bocadillo de calamaresFried squid sandwich

Madrid sits hundreds of kilometres from the sea, yet its most famous snack is a crusty roll stuffed with hot fried squid rings, eaten standing at the bars around the Plaza Mayor at any hour. Locals order one with a cold drink at the counter and squeeze over a little lemon; some add a smear of mayonnaise. Chef's tip: fry the squid in very hot oil and for barely a minute, so it stays tender inside a crisp coat.

25 min

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Borraja con patatasBorage and potatoes with garlic oil

Borage grows all along the Ebro valley, and in Zaragoza it is almost a point of pride: markets sell bundles of the thick, hairy stalks from autumn to spring, and borraja con patatas is a weeknight supper in thousands of Aragonese homes. Boiled until tender, the stalks taste mild and green, a little like a cross between cucumber and chard, and the floury potatoes soak up a simple dressing of olive oil and fried garlic. It is vegan and gluten free. A common mistake is skipping the cleaning: the fine hairs and stringy outer fibres must come off, or the dish feels prickly. If you can't get borage, chard stalks are the closest stand-in. Chef's tip: fry the garlic in the oil slowly, off a high flame, and pour it over sizzling hot so it sings when it hits the vegetables.

55 min

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Botifarra amb mongetesPork sausage with white beans

This contains pork (botifarra sausage). Ask in any Barcelona neighbourhood restaurant for the most Catalan plate on the menu and you will probably get this: a coil of grilled botifarra, a fresh pork sausage seasoned with little more than salt and pepper, beside white beans sautéed with garlic and parsley until crisp at the edges. It is everyday lunch food, and often comes with allioli. If you cannot find botifarra, use coarse, plain fresh pork sausages. Chef's tip: let the beans sit untouched in the hot pan for a minute between stirs, so some of them catch and crisp.

30 min

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Bullit de peixFish and potatoes in saffron broth

Bullit de peix is Ibiza's two-course fishermen's lunch, still served at the beach restaurants of Cala Mastella and the fishing ports on long Sundays. First comes rockfish such as grouper, scorpionfish and John Dory, simmered with potatoes in a saffron broth and eaten with allioli; then the same broth cooks a second course, arròs a banda, rice served on its own. Use firm white fish that holds together. Chef's tip: keep the pot at a bare simmer once the fish goes in, so the pieces stay whole for the platter.

90 min

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Buñuelos de calabazaPumpkin doughnuts

When the Fallas bonfires go up in Valencia each March, every other street corner has a stall frying bunyols de carabassa: rough, ring-shaped pumpkin doughnuts pulled from the oil by the dozen and eaten standing up, usually with a cup of thick hot chocolate. The dough is little more than yeasted flour and cooked pumpkin, which keeps the inside soft and faintly orange and the outside crisp and blistered. They contain no egg, milk or butter, so they are suitable for vegans. A common mistake is adding flour until the dough feels like bread dough; it should be sticky and slack, almost a thick batter, or the doughnuts come out heavy. Chef's tip: keep a bowl of water beside the pan and wet your hands before shaping each one; the dough then slides off your fingers into the oil instead of clinging to them.

65 min

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Bunyols de l'EmpordàAnise fritters

During Lent, bakeries and grandmothers across the Empordà in Girona fry bunyols: light, irregular rings of enriched yeast dough flavoured with anise and lemon, dusted with sugar while hot. Families make them together, poking a hole in each ball with wet fingers as it goes into the oil. The dough traditionally takes a splash of anise liqueur; the alcohol-free option, milk infused with aniseed, is in the ingredient list. Chef's tip: keep a bowl of water by the pan and wet your fingers before shaping each one; the dough then stretches cleanly instead of sticking.

70 min

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CachuelaSpiced pork liver spread

Cachuela belongs to the matanza, the winter pig slaughter that once filled every village in Extremadura with family and neighbours for several days. The fresh liver was cooked straight away with lard, onion, garlic and plenty of pimentón, then mashed into a coarse, spicy spread for breakfast on toast. People still make it in Badajoz and Cáceres homes through the cold months, and it keeps for a few days in the fridge. This contains pork (pork liver and pork lard). Chef's tip: cook the liver through but not a minute longer; overcooked liver turns grainy and bitter.

45 min

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CachelosBoiled potatoes with paprika oil

At Galician fairs, and above all at O Carballiño's octopus festival every August, octopus is served on wooden plates with cachelos: potatoes boiled in their skins, cut into chunks and splashed with olive oil, coarse salt and paprika. They are just as good on their own, as a side for grilled fish or meat. A common mistake is adding paprika to sizzling oil, where it burns in seconds and turns bitter; warm the oil, take it off the heat, then stir it in. Chef's tip: boil the potatoes with a bay leaf and plenty of salt, and leave the skins on, so they stay whole and full of flavour.

30 min

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CachopoBreaded veal with ham and cheese

Asturias takes cachopo so seriously that Oviedo holds an annual contest for the best one, and some restaurants serve versions big enough to hang off the plate. At home it is a Friday-night or Sunday treat: two thin veal steaks enclosing serrano ham and a good melting cheese, breaded and fried, then cut at the table so the cheese oozes. This contains pork (serrano ham). Serve with chips and roasted green peppers. Chef's tip: chill the assembled cachopo for 20 minutes before frying so the crumb sets and the edges stay sealed.

45 min

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Caldeirada galegaWhite fish and potato stew

In fishing towns like Ribeira, Bueu and Muxía, caldeirada was the fishermen's way of cooking whatever the boat brought in, and it is still served at seaside restaurants and at the July fiestas of the Virgen del Carmen, patron of sailors. Unlike merluza á galega, it uses several kinds of fish, such as monkfish, ray, conger or hake, layered with potatoes and onion and cooked in very little water, then finished with plenty of ajada. A common mistake is stirring the pot, which breaks the fish into flakes; shake it gently instead. Chef's tip: put the firmest fish at the bottom and the most delicate on top, so everything finishes cooking together.

60 min

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Calçots amb salvitxadaGrilled onions with nut sauce

From January to April, the town of Valls near Tarragona and half of Catalonia go to calçotades: long country lunches where calçots, a tall, sweet onion grown banked up with earth, are flame-grilled until black, wrapped in newspaper to steam, then peeled by hand and dipped in salvitxada. Everyone wears a bib. This salvitxada leans on almonds, roasted tomato and garlic, with ñora peppers for colour and sweetness. If you cannot get calçots, use thick spring onions or slim young leeks. Chef's tip: hold a calçot by the green top, pull the charred outer layer off downwards in one go, then dip and lower it into your mouth from above.

70 min

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Caldereta de llagostaSpiny lobster stew

In the fishing village of Fornells, on Menorca's north coast, caldereta de llagosta is the summer splurge people plan a whole holiday around, ladled from a clay pot onto plates lined with thin slices of dry bread. Spiny lobster is cut into pieces and simmered in a deep, tomato-rich sofrito with onion, green pepper and garlic, then thickened with a picada of the lobster's own liver, almonds and parsley. A splash of brandy is common; it is optional here, and the stew is just as good without. Chef's tip: let the sofrito cook until dark and jammy before the lobster goes in, because that slow base is where the broth gets its depth.

90 min

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Caldereta extremeñaLamb stew with liver sauce

Caldereta is the feast dish of Extremadura's shepherds, cooked in a big iron pot at romerías, weddings and village fiestas, and in many homes for Sunday lunch. Pieces of lamb are browned and stewed with peppers, bay and smoky pimentón de la Vera, then the sauce is thickened with lamb's liver fried with garlic and bread and pounded to a paste, which gives it a deep, rich flavour. Chef's tip: make it a day ahead if you can; like most stews, it tastes better reheated.

125 min

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Calderete de la RiberaLamb, potato and artichoke stew

In the Ribera of Navarre, calderete is the dish of fiestas and riverside gatherings: groups of friends, the cuadrillas, set an iron cauldron over vine cuttings and spend a long afternoon stewing lamb with peppers, potatoes and whatever the market gardens have that week. Artichokes are a Ribera signature. At home the same dish works on the stove in a heavy casserole and is just as good the next day. Chef's tip: snap the potatoes into chunks with the knife instead of slicing cleanly, so the rough edges release starch and thicken the sauce.

125 min

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Caldero del Mar MenorFish rice with allioli

Fishermen on the Mar Menor lagoon and at Cabo de Palos cooked caldero on board in a black iron pot: the catch of rockfish and grey mullet made a broth red with fried ñora peppers, the rice was cooked in it, and the fish was eaten separately with garlicky allioli. Restaurants along the lagoon at San Pedro del Pinatar and Los Alcázares still serve it in two courses, and Calasparra rice from inland Murcia is the classic choice. Chef's tip: ask the fishmonger for the heads and bones of the fish too; they make the broth.

115 min

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Caldo gallegoGreens, white bean and pork soup

On cold, rainy days in Santiago, Lugo or any village in between, a bowl of caldo starts lunch: a light broth with white beans, potatoes and turnip greens (grelos) or cabbage, flavoured with pork. This contains pork (cured rib and unto, Galician cured pork fat; bacon fat works in its place). The pork is cooked with the beans first, then the potatoes and greens go in. A common mistake is adding the greens too early, so they turn grey; they need only the last 15–20 minutes. Chef's tip: caldo tastes better reheated the next day, so make a big pot.

140 min

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Callos a la madrileñaTripe stew with chorizo and morcilla

In old Madrid taverns around La Latina and Lavapiés, callos come in little clay dishes, sticky and brick-red, on winter Sundays and as a weekday tapa with bread. The tripe is cooked for hours with a pig's trotter until the sauce sets like gelatin when cold, then finished with chorizo, morcilla and paprika. This contains pork (chorizo, morcilla, ham and pig's trotter). Buy beef tripe that the butcher has already cleaned and blanched. Chef's tip: make it a day ahead; callos taste better reheated and the sauce thickens beautifully overnight.

270 min

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CarquinyolisTwice-baked almond biscuits

Catalan bakeries sell carquinyolis in paper bags, especially around Christmas and village festivals, and grandparents keep a tin of them to dunk in coffee, milk or, after a big lunch, a glass of sweet wine. They are cousins of Italian cantucci, but often rougher, with whole unpeeled almonds and a hint of lemon and cinnamon. Baked once as a log, sliced, then baked again, they keep for weeks. Chef's tip: slice the logs while still warm with a serrated knife and a single firm cut; cold logs crumble and the almonds shatter.

60 min

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Canelons de Sant EsteveCannelloni with roast meat and béchamel

This contains pork (pork shoulder). On 26 December, Sant Esteve, Catalan families gather again and eat canelons, made from the meats left over from Christmas Day's carn d'olla or the roast. Rolled in pasta sheets, covered in béchamel and grated cheese and baked until bubbling, they are the reason many people say Sant Esteve is the better of the two feasts. This version cooks the meats from scratch, so you can make it any time. Cheeses like parmesan use animal rennet. Chef's tip: mince the meat finely and cook it down until it is moist but not wet, or the canelons go soggy.

150 min

Spanish Pasta & Noodles

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Canutillos de BergaraCustard-filled puff pastry horns

In Bergara, a market town in the Deba valley of Gipuzkoa, pastry shops have sold canutillos since the nineteenth century, and locals buy them by the tray for saints' days and family visits. Puff pastry is wound around metal cones, baked until crisp and caramelised, then piped full of custard scented with lemon and cinnamon. A common mistake is filling them too early: the pastry softens within a few hours, so fill them close to serving. Chef's tip: overlap the pastry strip by a third as you wind it, so the horns don't unravel in the oven.

65 min

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Carajitos del profesorCrisp hazelnut biscuits

Salas, a small town on the old pilgrim road through western Asturias, is known for these cracked, chewy mounds of toasted hazelnut and sugar. Local lore says they were first baked for a teacher at the town's school, and the pastry shops still sell them by the bag to travellers and to families heading home from Sunday market. They need only three ingredients and no flour, so they suit anyone avoiding gluten. Chef's tip: toast the hazelnuts until they smell like praline before grinding them; it is what gives the biscuits their deep flavour.

35 min

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Cardo con almendrasCardoon in almond sauce

On Christmas Eve in Aragon and neighbouring Navarre, a dish of cardoon is as certain as turrón: the long, pale stalks are boiled until tender and served in a velvety sauce of ground almonds, garlic and the cooking water, often as the first course before fish or lamb. The flavour is like artichoke, gentle and slightly bitter, softened by the nutty sauce. It contains no animal products. A common mistake is leaving cut cardoon in the air; it blackens within minutes, so drop each piece into lemon water as you go. Ready-cleaned jars of cardoon are sold in Spain and work well if you skip the first two steps. Chef's tip: whisk a spoonful of flour into the cooking water; it keeps the stalks white and gives you a ready-thickened broth for the sauce.

95 min

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Carne de fiestaMarinated fried pork

The smell of carne de fiesta, cubes of pork sizzling in a huge pan, drifts over every romería and village saint's day in Tenerife and Gran Canaria, where it is sold piled into bread rolls or with chips. This contains pork. The meat sits for a day in a deep red marinade of garlic, paprika, thyme, oregano, vinegar and white wine before it is fried until crusty. The wine can be swapped for water with an extra spoon of vinegar for an alcohol-free version. Chef's tip: fry in batches with plenty of space, so the meat sizzles and caramelises instead of boiling in its own juices.

50 min

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CasadiellesWalnut-filled fried pastries

Look in the window of any confitería in Oviedo or Gijón and you will find casadielles, plump little pastry rolls stuffed with ground walnuts and sugar, fried until blistered and rolled in more sugar. Village bakers turn out trays of them for patron-saint fiestas and for Antroxu, and they keep for days in a tin. The traditional dough is moistened with dry white wine and the filling scented with anise liqueur; both are given alcohol-free swaps below. Chef's tip: roll the dough very thin, about 2 mm, because thick dough stays doughy inside before the outside browns.

70 min

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Cazón en adoboMarinated fried dogfish

In Cádiz, the tapa that sells out first in the fried-fish shops around La Viña is cazón en adobo: bite-sized cubes of dogfish soaked overnight in a sharp marinade of vinegar, garlic, cumin, oregano and paprika, then floured and fried. The marinade seasons the fish right through and gives it a tang that needs no sauce. If you cannot find dogfish, monkfish or any firm white fish works. A common mistake is a short marinade; the fish needs at least 8 hours in the fridge, for the vinegar and cumin to soak in. Chef's tip: marinate for at least 8 hours but no more than 24; past that, the vinegar starts to firm and 'cook' the fish and it goes dry.

35 min

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Coca de llandaLemon and olive oil sponge

Every Valencian grandmother has a coca de llanda, a plain, fluffy sponge named after the shallow metal tray (llanda) it is baked in, and it turns up at breakfast, at afternoon merienda and in lunchboxes all over the Comunitat Valenciana. Sunflower oil and milk keep it moist for days, lemon zest perfumes it, and a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar on top bakes into a crackly crust. A common mistake is opening the oven in the first 25 minutes, which makes the middle sink. Chef's tip: let the batter rest for 10 minutes in the tin before it goes into the oven; the cinnamon sugar then sits on the surface instead of sinking in.

50 min

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Coca de recapteFlatbread with roasted vegetables

In Lleida and the farmland of inland Catalonia, the coca de recapte was once baked in the village oven on bread day, topped with whatever was in the larder; recapte means provisions. Today bakeries sell long trays of it, and families take slices on Sunday outings. The topping is essentially escalivada: aubergine, red pepper and onion, roasted then laid raw-side-up on the dough. Bakeries often add salted sardines or anchovies; this version is vegetarian. Chef's tip: roast the vegetables only until soft, not falling apart; they cook a second time on the coca.

120 min

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Coca de Sant JoanCandied fruit and pine nut brioche

On the night of 23 June, the Revetlla de Sant Joan, Catalonia lights bonfires, sets off firecrackers on every beach and street, and shares a long oval coca: a soft, lemony brioche topped with candied fruit, pine nuts and crunchy sugar. Bakeries sell thousands, but a homemade one, still slightly warm, is something else. Some recipes add a splash of anise liqueur; this one uses aniseed instead. Chef's tip: give the shaped dough a long, slow second rise; a well-proved coca bakes up light, an under-proved one dense.

65 min

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Coca de tomacaRoasted tomato and pepper flatbread

On the night of Sant Joan in late June, Alicante's beaches fill with people eating cocas while the bonfires burn, and coca de tomaca is the plainest and best loved: a thin, olive-oil dough baked under a layer of tomato, red pepper and onion that roasts down to something sweet and jammy. Bakeries in towns like Alcoy and Elche sell it by the slab all year round, and it is just as good cold the next day at a picnic. Many versions add tinned tuna or sardines; this one keeps it vegetable-only, so it is vegan. A common mistake is piling the vegetables on raw and wet, which leaves the base soggy; salt and drain the tomato first. Chef's tip: bake on the lowest shelf so the base crisps before the topping colours.

65 min

Spanish Breads & Parathas

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Coca de trempóPepper, tomato and onion flatbread

Bakeries across Mallorca sell coca de trempó by the slab from June to September, and it travels to every beach and village fiesta wrapped in paper. Trempó is the island's summer salad of green pepper, tomato and sweet onion; here it is chopped, drained and baked over a thin, crisp olive-oil dough until the edges of the vegetables just catch. Some bakers work lard into the dough; this version uses olive oil only, so it is vegan. Cut it into squares and eat it warm or cold. Chef's tip: salt and drain the chopped vegetables for 20 minutes before topping, so the base bakes crisp instead of soggy.

60 min

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CocarroisVegetable, raisin and pine nut pasties

Cocarrois are the half-moon pasties that fill Mallorcan bakery windows in the weeks of Lent, when bakers in Palma and the inland towns made a meatless filling from what the garden gave: chard or spinach, cauliflower, spring onion, raisins and pine nuts, spiced with paprika. The crimped crust, made with olive oil and a little orange juice, bakes crisp and flaky. Many bakeries still use lard; this version is olive oil only and vegan. They are eaten warm or cold, as a snack or a light lunch. Chef's tip: squeeze the raw greens hard after salting, because dry filling is what keeps the bottom crust crisp.

85 min

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Cochinillo asadoRoast suckling pig

In Segovia, in the shadow of the Roman aqueduct, restaurants bring out the roast suckling pig whole and carve it with the edge of a plate to show how tender it is, then smash the plate for luck. It is the great Castilian Sunday and celebration lunch, served with a plain lettuce salad and nothing else. This contains pork (suckling pig and lard). At home, half a pig fits in most ovens; ask your butcher to split it. Chef's tip: roast it skin-side down in water first, then flip it, so the meat steams tender before the skin turns to glass.

170 min

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Codornices en hoja de parraQuail in vine leaves

When the grapes are picked in the vineyards of Olite and the Ribera in September, quail are fat from the stubble fields and the vines still have their leaves, so Navarrese cooks bring the two together. Each bird is wrapped in a vine leaf and a strip of bacon and roasted fast; the leaf keeps the lean meat moist and adds a gentle, lemony tang. This contains pork (streaky bacon). Serve with fried potatoes or bread and, in season, a bunch of grapes. Chef's tip: taste before salting, because brined vine leaves and bacon already bring plenty.

45 min

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Cogollos de Tudela con ajosLettuce hearts with garlic oil

The lettuce hearts grown around Tudela in the Ribera of Navarre are small, tight and sweet, and they carry their own protected name. In the bars of Tudela and Pamplona they come to the table split lengthwise, still cold, with olive oil poured over them straight from the pan where garlic has just turned golden. Many places lay an anchovy on each quarter; this version leaves the fish out and is vegan. Chef's tip: dry the lettuce really well, because water left between the leaves makes the hot oil spit and leaves the dressing watery.

15 min

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Conejo a la aragonesaRabbit braised with garlic and wine

Rabbit has always been the everyday meat of rural Aragon, and in the farmhouses of the Somontano and the Cinco Villas it is braised slowly in a clay pot with lots of garlic, thyme and rosemary from the hillside, and a glass of the local white wine. The result is lean, tender meat in a small amount of rich, garlicky sauce, served with fried potatoes or bread. The wine can be replaced with chicken stock and a spoonful of vinegar if you prefer no alcohol. A common mistake is boiling the rabbit hard; the lean meat tightens and goes stringy, so keep it at the gentlest simmer. Chef's tip: mash a few of the soft braised garlic cloves into the sauce at the end; they thicken it and make it sweeter.

90 min

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Conejo en salmorejoMarinated rabbit with garlic and peppers

Nothing to do with the cold tomato soup of Córdoba: in the Canaries salmorejo is a punchy marinade of garlic, red pepper, paprika, thyme, oregano, vinegar and wine, and rabbit cooked in it is the star of Tenerife's hillside guachinches and Sunday family lunches. The rabbit soaks overnight, then is fried and simmered in the marinade until tender, and served with papas arrugadas to mop up the sauce. The marinade uses white wine; for an alcohol-free version, swap it for water with an extra spoon of vinegar. Chef's tip: dry the rabbit pieces well before frying, so they brown properly rather than stew grey in the marinade.

75 min

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CordialesAlmond and candied pumpkin cakes

Murcian Christmas tables always have a plate of cordiales, small domed cakes of ground almond and egg with a spoonful of cabello de ángel, the stringy candied squash jam, hidden in the middle. They are sold in every pastry shop in Murcia from December and baked at home in the weeks before Christmas, traditionally on a round of edible wafer so they lift cleanly off the tray. They should be crisp at the very tips and soft and moist inside. Chef's tip: make them a day ahead; the almond paste firms up and the flavour deepens.

43 min

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Crespillos de borrajaSugared borage leaf fritters

In the villages around Zaragoza and Huesca, the large, soft leaves of the borage plant become a sweet in spring: each leaf is dipped in a light batter, fried until it puffs and crackles, and dusted with sugar and cinnamon. Crespillos are made for Holy Week and for the Easter Monday picnics, and the leaf inside stays green and tender, with a fresh taste that cuts the richness of the frying. Some families add a splash of anise liqueur to the batter; this version leaves it out and uses lemon zest and a pinch of ground anise instead. A common mistake is using wet leaves, which make the oil spit and the batter slide off. Spinach or chard leaves work if borage isn't available. Chef's tip: hold each leaf by its stalk and let the extra batter drip off for a few seconds; a thin coat fries lacier and crisper.

35 min

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CuajadaSheep's milk junket with honey

In the green valleys of northern Navarre, Ultzama and Roncal above all, sheep's milk is set into cuajada, a wobbly, faintly tangy junket that is eaten as dessert in village restaurants and sold in little clay pots at Pamplona's markets. Shepherds once warmed the milk by dropping a red-hot stone into a wooden pot, which is why some cuajadas taste lightly smoky. It is always eaten cold, with honey and walnuts. Most rennet is made from calves' stomachs; for a vegetarian cuajada use a microbial or vegetable rennet. Chef's tip: once the rennet is in, don't move the pots at all until they have set, or they turn grainy and weep.

20 min

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Dorada a la salSalt-baked sea bream

Around the salt flats of San Pedro del Pinatar, at the northern tip of the Mar Menor, baking fish under a crust of coarse salt is the obvious way to cook a fresh bream, and lagoon-side restaurants crack the crust open at the table for long summer lunches. The salt hardens into a shell that steams the fish in its own juices, so the flesh is moist and lightly seasoned rather than salty. Serve it with a drizzle of good olive oil, boiled potatoes or allioli. Chef's tip: leave the scales on; they stop the salt from reaching the flesh and make the skin peel away cleanly.

45 min

Spanish Breakfast & Brunch

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Duelos y quebrantosScrambled eggs with chorizo and bacon

Cervantes names this dish in the first lines of Don Quixote as the knight's Saturday supper, and in La Mancha it is still a quick, filling plate of soft eggs scrambled into fried chorizo and streaky bacon. It turns up for a late breakfast in roadside inns near Campo de Criptana, or for supper on a busy weeknight with bread and a salad. This contains pork (chorizo and bacon). Chef's tip: take the pan off the heat while the eggs still look slightly wet; they finish cooking on the plate.

17 min

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EnsaïmadaSpiral sweet breakfast pastry

This contains pork: the name comes from saïm, the pork lard brushed over the dough before it is coiled, and it is what gives an ensaïmada its shattering, flaky layers. Mallorcans eat them for breakfast with hot chocolate or coffee, and at Palma airport you will see travellers carrying flat hexagonal boxes of large ones home as gifts. The dough is enriched with egg and sugar, stretched until thin enough to see through, rolled into a rope and wound into a loose spiral, then proved overnight. Chef's tip: oil your hands and the worktop generously before stretching, so the dough slides rather than sticks and tears.

78 min

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Ensalada murcianaTomato, onion, olive and egg salad

This is Murcia's summer salad, and it surprises visitors because it is built on tinned peeled tomatoes rather than fresh ones. Murcia has long been a canning region, and the sweet, soft preserved tomatoes give a juicy base that is mopped up with bread in bars and on terraces from the city to the Mar Menor. Black olives, onion and hard-boiled egg go on top; bars very often add tinned tuna, which this vegetarian version leaves out. Chef's tip: dress it at least 20 minutes before serving so the onion softens in the tomato juice.

25 min

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Ensalada valencianaLettuce, tomato and onion salad

Before the paella pan reaches the table at a Valencian Sunday lunch, a big shared bowl of ensalada valenciana goes round: crisp lettuce, thick wedges of summer tomato, sweet onion and black olives, dressed at the table with olive oil, a little vinegar and salt. Restaurants in the Huerta often add hard-boiled egg and tinned tuna; here the tuna is left out and the egg is optional, so without it the salad is vegan. A common mistake is dressing it in advance; the salt pulls water from the tomatoes and the lettuce goes limp within minutes. Chef's tip: soak the onion slices in iced water for 10 minutes, which takes the sharp edge off and keeps them crunchy.

15 min

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Espárragos de Navarra con vinagretaWhite asparagus with vinaigrette

White asparagus grows under mounded earth in the sandy fields along the Ebro and its tributaries, and the Espárrago de Navarra label covers the spears picked there from April to June. In spring, restaurants from Pamplona to Tudela serve them freshly boiled, still warm or just cool, as a starter on their own or with a sharp vinaigrette full of finely diced peppers and egg. The rest of the year the jarred ones are a pantry staple. Chef's tip: add a teaspoon of sugar to the cooking water; it softens the faint bitterness of the stems.

45 min

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EscalivadaRoasted aubergine, pepper and onion

The name comes from the Catalan escalivar, to cook in the embers, and in country masies across Catalonia the vegetables still go straight into the dying fire after a Sunday grill. Aubergines, red peppers and onions char black outside and turn smoky and soft within, then are peeled, torn into strips and dressed with nothing but olive oil, salt and a little garlic. Serve it warm or at room temperature with bread, beside grilled meat, or on toast. Chef's tip: wrap the roasted vegetables in a cloth or put them in a covered bowl for 15 minutes; the steam lifts the skins clean off.

80 min

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EsgarraetRoast pepper and salt cod salad

Esgarraet means "torn", and that is the whole technique: red peppers are roasted until soft and sweet, then pulled into strips by hand and layered with shredded salt cod, garlic and plenty of olive oil. Valencia's bars put it out as a tapa with crusty bread, and families make a big dish of it to pick at before a summer paella. Traditionally the cod is only desalted, not cooked, which means it is raw cured fish. That version is not for pregnant women, young children or anyone with a weakened immune system; this recipe gently poaches the cod first, which keeps it tender and makes it safe for everyone. A common mistake is rinsing the roast peppers under the tap to peel them; you wash away the sweet juices. Chef's tip: make it a day ahead; the peppers and cod drink up the garlicky oil overnight.

70 min

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Espárragos trigueros esparragadosWild asparagus with fried bread

From March to May, families around Granada and Córdoba walk the field edges gathering thin, bitter wild asparagus, and the classic way to cook the haul is esparragados: simmered in a sauce of pounded fried bread, garlic, cumin and paprika, with an egg poached on top. Thin green asparagus from the shop works well too. The sauce should be thick enough to hold the egg. Chef's tip: pound the bread and garlic while still warm from the pan; they break down into a smooth paste far more easily.

40 min

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Espinacs a la catalanaSpinach with raisins and pine nuts

This dish carries the sweet-and-savoury taste of medieval Catalan cooking: spinach wilted with plump raisins and toasted pine nuts, sometimes with a little pork fat or anchovy, though olive oil is just as traditional. Families cook it in spring and autumn as a side for fish or chicken, or as a light first course before the main. It takes ten minutes. Chef's tip: soak the raisins in warm water first so they swell and burst sweetly, instead of turning hard in the hot pan.

20 min

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EsqueixadaShredded salt cod salad

Esqueixada, from esqueixar, to tear, is the summer starter of Barcelona's old taverns: salt cod that has been soaked, shredded by hand and dressed with tomato, peppers, onion and black olives. Traditionally the cod is never cooked, only desalted, so it stays translucent and firm; raw cured fish is not for pregnant women, young children or anyone with a weakened immune system. The safer version, given in the steps, poaches the cod gently first, and this is the one to choose whenever in doubt. Chef's tip: tear the cod with your fingers along its natural flakes; a knife makes it mushy and you lose the pleasing chew.

30 min

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Fabes con almejasWhite beans with clams

Along the coast, from Lastres to Ribadesella, fabes are cooked not with sausage but with clams, in a pale, saffron-tinted broth that tastes of the sea. It is a dish for a long weekend lunch in a seaside restaurant, eaten slowly with a spoon and bread. The broth uses a glass of dry white wine; an alcohol-free swap is given. Chef's tip: "scare" the beans by adding a splash of cold water whenever the pot boils up during cooking; it keeps the skins whole and the insides creamy.

175 min

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FartonsSweet glazed buns for dipping

In Alboraya, just north of Valencia, the horchaterías that serve cold tiger-nut horchata in summer put a plate of fartons beside every glass: long, slim, soft buns with a shiny sugar glaze, designed to be dunked and to soak up the milky drink without falling apart. The dough is enriched with egg, milk and sunflower oil rather than butter, which gives them their light, cottony crumb. They are just as good with coffee or cold milk. A common mistake is rushing the second rise; under-proved fartons stay tight and bready instead of airy. Chef's tip: roll each strip a little thinner than you think, about as thick as your finger, because they almost double in the oven.

45 min

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FideuàSeafood noodle paella

Gandia, on the coast south of Valencia, claims fideuà as its own and holds a contest for it every summer: a paella pan of short, thin noodles toasted in oil and cooked in a deep seafood stock with monkfish, squid and prawns until the liquid has gone and the tips of the noodles curl upwards. It is served straight from the pan with a bowl of allioli to stir in. A common mistake is stirring once the stock is in; the noodles release starch and turn sticky instead of separate and slightly crisp. Use a well-flavoured fish stock, as it is the backbone of the dish. Chef's tip: finish the pan for a few minutes under a hot grill, the trick that makes the noodles stand up like little hooks.

55 min

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FilloasThin Galician crêpes

When Entroido, the Galician carnival, comes round in February, kitchens in Lugo and Ourense fill with stacks of filloas, paper-thin pancakes cooked on a hot iron pan. In the countryside the pan was greased with a piece of pork fat and some villages still make a version with pig's blood at slaughter time; this sweet version uses butter and is vegetarian. They are rolled or folded and eaten with sugar, honey or a spoon of cream. A common mistake is a batter that is too thick: it should be as thin as single cream, so it runs across the pan in a lacy sheet. Chef's tip: rest the batter in the fridge for at least 30 minutes so the flour relaxes and the filloas don't tear.

40 min

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Flamenquín cordobésCrumbed pork and ham rolls

This contains pork (pork loin and serrano ham). In Córdoba, flamenquín is the bar food of choice: a long roll of thin pork loin wrapped around cured ham, crumbed and fried, then sliced and served with chips and mayonnaise. Locals argue over the name, but agree on the order: plenty of chips and something cold to drink, usually at lunch. Chef's tip: chill the crumbed rolls for 30 minutes before frying; the coating sets and stays on in the oil.

50 min

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FlaóFresh cheese and mint pie

Flaó is what Ibiza and Formentera bake for Easter Sunday: a shallow pie whose filling of fresh sheep's or goat's cheese, eggs and sugar is perfumed with spearmint (hierbabuena), set in a crust flavoured with anise. Families still take theirs to the village baker to be fired, and it appears on café counters in Sant Antoni and Eivissa town through spring. Traditional island fresh cheese is made with animal rennet; look for a vegetarian fresh goat's cheese or use ricotta made with a vegetarian coagulant. Many cooks add a splash of anise liqueur to the dough; this version uses crushed anise seed and water, so it has no alcohol. Chef's tip: tear the mint leaves rather than chop them, and press half into the filling and lay half on top, so every bite gets it.

85 min

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FrangolloCornmeal and milk pudding

Frangollo was once poor people's food on Lanzarote and La Palma, coarse cornmeal (millo) cooked in milk to stretch a meal; now it is the pudding grandmothers make for Carnival and Christmas, sold in slabs at village fiestas. The cornmeal is cooked slowly with milk, sugar, lemon peel and cinnamon, then enriched with butter, egg, raisins and almonds, left to set and cut into squares. It is often finished with a drizzle of palm honey from La Gomera. Chef's tip: stir constantly and use a heavy pan, because thick cornmeal catches on the bottom in seconds.

45 min

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FricandóBraised veal with mushrooms

Fricandó is the dish that Barcelona grandmothers cook for a family Sunday or a saint's day: thin slices of veal, floured and browned, then braised slowly in a dark sofrito with dried moixernons, the spring St George's mushroom, and finished with a picada of almonds and hazelnuts. It is better reheated the next day. Dried porcini or mixed wild mushrooms work if you cannot find moixernons. The recipe uses wine; the alcohol-free option is in the ingredient list. Chef's tip: cook the onions until truly dark, almost jammy; that deep brown sofrito is where the sauce gets its colour and sweetness.

130 min

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Frit mallorquíLamb, liver and potato fry-up

Frit is the hearty dish of Mallorcan country festivals and pig-killing days, and the version made at Easter uses young lamb: diced meat and liver fried with tiny cubes of potato, red pepper, spring onion and wild fennel, all in one big pan. Bars in Inca and Sóller serve it as a tapa on market mornings. This recipe uses lamb shoulder and lamb's liver; the pork version, frit de porc, follows the same method. Chef's tip: fry the potatoes, peppers and meat separately and combine them at the end, or the potatoes stew and lose their crisp edges.

65 min

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Frite extremeñoFried lamb with garlic and paprika

Frite is the simpler, drier cousin of caldereta and is especially loved around the sheep country of the Sierra de Gata and the Cáceres plains. Small pieces of lamb are fried in olive oil with lots of garlic, then cooked with bay, pimentón and a splash of vinegar until tender and coated in a dark red, clinging sauce. It is the dish people cook outdoors at the spring romerías and eat with bread straight from the pan. Chef's tip: ask the butcher to chop the lamb small, bones and all, so every piece gets crisp edges.

75 min

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FrixuelosThin crêpes with sugar or honey

When Antroxu, the Asturian Carnival, comes round in February, kitchens from Avilés to the Oriente villages fill with the smell of butter and batter, and plates of frixuelos stack up for anyone who calls in. They are thinner and lighter than a pancake, flavoured with lemon zest, and are rolled or folded while warm with a dusting of sugar, a drizzle of honey or a spoon of rice-pudding cream. Grandmothers also make them on cold Sunday afternoons, so they are hardly kept for Carnival alone. Chef's tip: rest the batter for at least 30 minutes so the flour softens and the frixuelos turn out lacy and tender instead of rubbery.

35 min

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Garroticos de TudelaChocolate puff pastry sticks

Walk past any bakery in Tudela on a weekend morning and the window will be full of garroticos, puff pastry rolls with a bar of dark chocolate baked inside and a crackly sugar top. The name means little sticks, after their shape, and they are eaten warm with coffee or bought by the half-dozen for an afternoon snack. Some bakers add a line of pastry cream next to the chocolate; this home version keeps it simple. Chef's tip: work with the pastry straight from the fridge, because cold butter layers are what make the pastry puff into flaky leaves.

35 min

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Gató d'ametllaFlourless almond sponge cake

Every Mallorcan pastry shop sells gató, a light, moist sponge made with ground almonds instead of flour, and the classic way to eat it is a wedge beside a scoop of gelat d'ametlla, the island's almond ice. The almond groves that bloom white across the island in February give both. It is the cake for saint's days and Sunday visits, and it happens to be gluten free. The ice here is made the old way, with almonds, sugar, water and lemon peel, no cream. Chef's tip: fold the whipped egg whites in with a big metal spoon and stop as soon as no white streaks remain, because the air is all that lifts the cake.

70 min

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GildaOlive, anchovy and pepper skewer

The gilda was born in a San Sebastián bar in the late 1940s and named after the screen heroine of the film of the same name: green, salty and a little spicy, as the regulars put it. Every Basque bar counter still has a plate of them, eaten in one bite with a glass of something cold before lunch. Salted anchovies in oil are cured, not cooked, so they are not for pregnant women, young children or anyone with a weakened immune system; for a safer version use good tinned tuna in oil instead. A common mistake is using fresh anchovies marinated in vinegar (boquerones), which are raw and too soft for the stick. Chef's tip: thread the anchovy in a wave between the olives so each bite gets a bit of everything.

15 min

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Gofio escaldadoToasted grain flour paste in broth

Gofio, flour ground from toasted maize or wheat, has fed the Canary Islands since before the Spanish arrived, and a bowl of escaldado is its simplest, most comforting form. Hot broth is beaten into the gofio until it turns into a soft, savoury paste flecked with mint, eaten by scooping it up on chunks of raw red onion. In fishing towns the broth is usually fish stock left from a sancocho; this version uses vegetable broth so it is vegan. Pure maize gofio is gluten free, but most blends contain wheat, so check the bag. Chef's tip: add the broth gradually while you beat, as dumping it in at once makes stubborn lumps.

25 min

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GoxuaLayered cream, sponge and custard dessert

The name means 'sweet' or 'delicious' in Basque, and goxua was created in Vitoria-Gasteiz in the 1970s, where cafés still serve it in small glasses or terracotta pots. From the bottom up you get whipped cream, a disc of sponge soaked in syrup, thick vanilla pastry cream and a crackling layer of burnt sugar. It is a make-ahead dessert for a Sunday lunch, since the layers need to chill. A common mistake is spooning in custard that is still warm, which melts the cream into a puddle. Chef's tip: caramelise the top just before serving, so the sugar crust is still glassy when the spoon goes in.

70 min

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GuirlacheAlmond brittle

Every December, the old confectioners of Zaragoza stack trays of guirlache in their windows: snapped slabs of toasted almonds held in a dark, glassy caramel, sometimes speckled with tiny coloured sugar sprinkles on top. It is eaten after Christmas dinner alongside turrón and dried fruit, and it keeps for weeks in a tin. Made only from almonds, sugar and a few drops of lemon, it is vegan and gluten free. A common mistake is stirring the caramel while the sugar melts, which makes it crystallise into grainy lumps; swirl the pan instead. Chef's tip: warm the almonds in the oven before they go into the caramel; cold nuts make it seize and set before you can spread it.

35 min

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Hornazo de SalamancaPork, chorizo and egg pie

Salamanca's students and families picnic by the river Tormes on Lunes de Aguas, the Monday after Easter Monday, and the hornazo is what they unwrap: a golden pie with a bread-like crust, packed with layers of marinated pork loin, chorizo, cured ham and hard-boiled egg. It is eaten cold, in thick slices, and bakeries sell it all through spring. This contains pork (loin, chorizo and ham). The dough traditionally includes white wine; use water with a little lemon juice to keep it alcohol-free. Chef's tip: fry the loin slices first so they are cooked through before they go into the pie.

100 min

Spanish Breakfast & Brunch

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Huevos a la flamencaBaked eggs with chorizo and peas

This contains pork (chorizo and serrano ham). Seville has served huevos a la flamenca since at least the nineteenth century, and its old taverns still bring it to the table in individual clay dishes: eggs baked on a tomato sofrito, ringed with peas, asparagus tips, slices of chorizo and ham and strips of red pepper, as colourful as a flamenco dress. It makes a fine lunch with crusty bread. Chef's tip: warm the dishes with the sofrito before adding the eggs, so the whites set quickly from below while the yolks stay soft.

45 min

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IntxaursaltsaWalnut cream with milk and cinnamon

On Christmas Eve in Gipuzkoa farmhouses, after the sea bream and before midnight, a pot of intxaursaltsa appears: walnuts slowly simmered in milk with sugar and cinnamon until thick and creamy. It was the sweet of the caseríos, made with walnuts from the farm's own trees, and it is eaten warm or cold from small bowls. A common mistake is letting it boil hard, which makes the milk catch and taste scorched; it should only murmur. Chef's tip: grind the walnuts in short pulses so they stay like coarse sand and don't turn into an oily paste.

70 min

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Judiones de La GranjaButter beans with chorizo and pork

In La Granja de San Ildefonso, the royal summer palace in the hills above Segovia, local farmers grow judiones, enormous flat white beans with skin so thin they melt on the tongue. Restaurants in the town and in Segovia stew them with chorizo, morcilla and pork for cold-weather lunches, followed by a roast. This contains pork (chorizo, morcilla and pork rib or ear). Large butter beans or Greek gigantes work well elsewhere. Chef's tip: never stir the beans; shake the pot instead, so they stay whole.

170 min

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KalimotxoRed wine and cola

Kalimotxo contains alcohol (red wine), so the classic version is for adults only; an alcohol-free version is given below. The story goes that it was mixed in 1972 at a fiesta in Algorta, near Bilbao, when the wine bought for the stall turned out to be poor and cola was added to save it. Today it is the drink of every Basque summer fiesta, from Bilbao's Aste Nagusia to village squares, poured into big plastic cups. A common mistake is mixing warm wine and flat cola, which tastes heavy and sweet: both should be fridge-cold and the cola freshly opened. Chef's tip: pour the cola slowly down the side of the glass so it keeps its fizz.

5 min

Spanish Drinks

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Lacón con grelosCured pork shoulder with turnip tops

Lacón con grelos is the great dish of Entroido, the Galician carnival, when restaurants in Lugo and A Coruña serve platters of it to tables of friends. This contains pork (cured pork shoulder and chorizo). The lacón is soaked, then simmered with chorizo, and turnip tops and potatoes are cooked in the same rich broth. It's served with olive oil and a sprinkle of paprika. A common mistake is skipping the soaking, which leaves the meat far too salty to eat. Chef's tip: save the cooking liquid, as it makes the base for a caldo the next day.

170 min

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Lechazo asadoRoast milk-fed lamb

Along the Duero valley, in towns like Aranda de Duero, Sepúlveda and Peñafiel, wood-fired asadores roast quarters of lechazo, lamb fed only on its mother's milk, in clay dishes with nothing but water and salt. Families drive out for it on a Sunday and eat it with bread and a salad of lettuce and onion. A little lard is rubbed on in some asadores; this contains pork (lard), or use olive oil. Milk-fed lamb is small and pale; spring lamb works but needs longer. Chef's tip: don't add herbs or garlic; the delicate flavour is the point.

130 min

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Magras con tomateCured ham in tomato sauce

Teruel is famous for its cured hams, and magras con tomate is how Aragonese home cooks have long turned a few thick slices into supper: the ham is fried briefly, then simmered in a homemade tomato sauce and served with fried eggs and bread for dipping. It is a typical dinner in the Bajo Aragón and at bar counters in Zaragoza's old Tubo district. This contains pork (cured ham). A common mistake is frying the ham too long; it hardens and turns very salty, so give it barely a minute a side. Use hand-cut slices about 5 mm thick if you can. If you serve the eggs with runny yolks, they are not for pregnant women, young children or anyone with a weakened immune system; fry them until the yolks are firm for those diners. Chef's tip: don't salt the sauce until the ham has been in it for a few minutes.

50 min

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MarinerasRussian salad and anchovy bread rings

No pre-lunch drink in Murcia is complete without a marinera: a crunchy ring-shaped breadstick, the rosquilla, piled with ensaladilla rusa (potato, carrot and peas in mayonnaise) and crowned with an anchovy. Bar counters in the city line them up from midday, alongside the marinero, topped with a vinegar-cured fresh anchovy, and the bicicleta, which has no fish at all. This version uses salted anchovy fillets in oil and shop-bought mayonnaise, which is made with pasteurised egg. If you use vinegar-cured fresh anchovies instead, they are raw fish: buy them frozen first, and they are not for pregnant women, young children or anyone with a weakened immune system. Chef's tip: assemble them at the last moment so the rings stay crunchy.

45 min

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MarmitakoBonito and potato stew

Marmitako takes its name from the marmita, the iron pot that fishermen out of Bermeo and Ondarroa kept on board during the summer bonito season, from June to September. Potatoes simmer in a peppery broth made red with choricero pepper, and chunks of fresh bonito go in only at the very end. Along the coast it is still the summer lunch of fishing towns, eaten from deep plates. A common mistake is boiling the fish with the potatoes, which turns it dry and stringy; it needs just a few minutes of gentle heat. Chef's tip: snap the potatoes rather than cut them, so their starch thickens the broth.

60 min

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Mexillóns en escabechePickled mussels

Galicia's estuaries are lined with the wooden rafts (bateas) where mussels grow on ropes, and the region's canneries have long sold them in escabeche: steamed, shelled and kept in a warm-spiced marinade of oil, vinegar and paprika. Made at home, they're a tapa for an aperitif with crisps and cold drinks, and they keep for several days. Throw away any mussels with cracked shells, and any open ones that don't close when tapped, before cooking. A common mistake is pouring the marinade over cold mussels straight from the fridge: mix while both are warm so the flavours soak in, then chill. Chef's tip: they taste best after a full day in the fridge.

40 min

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Mel i matóCurd cheese with honey and walnuts

On the road up to Montserrat, farm women once sat at stalls selling fresh mató, a soft, mild, unsalted curd cheese, and the dessert of mató drizzled with honey became a fixture of Catalan restaurants. It is as simple as dessert gets, and best with the freshest cheese. Shop-bought mató and some ricottas are set with animal rennet; this home version is set with lemon juice instead, so it is vegetarian. If you buy cheese, check the label for a vegetarian or microbial rennet. Chef's tip: heat the milk gently and stop at 90 °C; boiling makes the curds tough and grainy.

30 min

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Menestra de TudelaSpring vegetable stew

In Tudela, at the southern tip of Navarre, the market gardens along the Ebro send out artichokes, peas, broad beans and asparagus all at once in April and May, and the town celebrates with its Jornadas de Exaltación de la Verdura. Menestra is how those vegetables reach the table: every one is cooked on its own, the artichokes and chard stalks are dipped in flour and egg and fried, and everything is brought together at the end in a little garlic and onion sauce. Local cooks often add cured ham; this version leaves it out and is fully vegetarian. Chef's tip: save a cupful of the water the vegetables were boiled in, because it gives the final sauce far more flavour than plain water or stock.

95 min

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Merluza en salsa verdeHake and clams in parsley sauce

Bilbao families have cooked merluza en salsa verde in a shallow clay cazuela for generations, and it still turns up at Sunday lunch and on Christmas Eve. The sauce is just olive oil, garlic, parsley and the fish's own juices, thickened by gently shaking the dish so the gelatine from the hake binds it, much like a pil-pil. Clams open on top at the end. A common mistake is stirring with a spoon, which breaks the fish; swirl the dish instead. Chef's tip: keep the heat low once the hake goes in, because the sauce only comes together when it barely simmers.

40 min

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Merluza á galegaPoached hake with paprika garlic oil

This is the Friday supper of Galician homes and the plain, honest plate you find in harbour restaurants from A Coruña to Vigo: thick hake steaks poached with potatoes, onion and bay, then drizzled with ajada, hot olive oil with garlic and paprika. It relies on very fresh fish and good oil. A common mistake is boiling the hake hard, which breaks it apart; it should poach gently in water that barely shivers. Chef's tip: lift out the fish with a slotted spatula and let it drain well, so the ajada sits on top instead of sliding into a watery puddle.

45 min

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MichironesBroad beans with chorizo and ham

Michirones are dried broad beans slowly simmered with pork, bay and hot chilli until soft and spicy, and in Murcia they are the tapa of cold months, ladled into small bowls in the city's bars with a spoon stuck in. The beans need a long soak and a long cook, so bars make a big pot in the morning that lasts all day. This contains pork (chorizo, panceta and a cured ham bone). Chef's tip: wait until the end to add salt, because the ham bone and chorizo season the broth as they cook.

195 min

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Migas a la aragonesaFried breadcrumbs with sausage and bacon

Shepherds in the Aragonese uplands made migas from yesterday's bread, a little water, garlic and whatever pork was hanging in the larder, and it is still a cold-weather breakfast, a hunters' lunch and a fiesta dish in villages from the Pyrenees to the Maestrazgo. Fried slowly in a wide pan, the dampened crumbs turn golden and crisp on the outside and stay soft inside, flecked with fried longaniza and bacon. Fresh green grapes or a fried egg on the side are the classic way to serve them. This contains pork (longaniza sausage and bacon). A common mistake is soaking the bread: sprinkle the water on and leave it overnight, or the migas turn to paste. Chef's tip: keep turning the crumbs with the edge of a spatula, chopping as you go; it is the long, patient stirring that makes them loose and crisp.

55 min

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Migas extremeñasFried breadcrumbs with chorizo

Migas were the breakfast of Extremaduran shepherds, made from the hard bread they carried, and they are still what families cook on a rainy winter day or at a village fiesta, often in a huge pan stirred with a long spoon. The bread is cut tiny, dampened and left overnight, then fried slowly in garlicky oil with panceta and chorizo until loose, golden and crunchy at the edges. They are served with grapes or melon on the side, and sometimes a fried egg. This contains pork (panceta and chorizo). Chef's tip: keep turning the crumbs with a spatula the whole time; this constant movement is what makes them loose.

55 min

Spanish Breads & Parathas

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Mojo verdeGreen coriander and garlic sauce

Green mojo is the cooler partner to red mojo picón on every Canarian table, the sauce that goes with grilled fish at harbour restaurants in Puerto de Mogán and La Restinga, with papas arrugadas, and with fried goat cheese. Fresh coriander and green pepper are pounded with garlic and cumin, then sharpened with vinegar and loosened with olive oil into a bright, grassy sauce. Some islands use parsley instead of coriander. It keeps for three or four days in the fridge. Chef's tip: add the oil slowly while you stir, so the sauce emulsifies into a thick, creamy green rather than splitting into herbs floating in oil.

15 min

Spanish Chutneys & Dips

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Molletes de AntequeraSoft flat breakfast rolls

Ask for breakfast in any café between Málaga and Seville and someone will offer you a mollete: a flat, pale, floury roll from Antequera, split, toasted and spread with olive oil and crushed tomato. Bakers there bake them hot and fast so the crust stays thin and soft and the crumb is open and moist. They freeze well, so it is worth making a batch on a slow weekend morning. A common mistake is baking them until golden; molletes should come out pale and soft, with only a faint blush of colour. Chef's tip: bake them at the very top heat for only about 10 minutes; if they brown, they have gone too long and will be crusty rather than soft.

42 min

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Mona de PascuaEaster brioche with egg

On Easter Monday, families across the Valencian Community head out to the countryside or the beach to "menjar-se la mona": they eat an orange-scented sweet brioche, often with a whole egg baked on top, and children crack the egg on a friend's forehead. The bun is soft and fluffy, glazed and sprinkled with sugar or coloured aniseed sprinkles. Here the eggs are hard-boiled first, so they are cooked through whatever the size of your bun. A common mistake is adding all the flour at once to a sticky dough; it softens as you knead, so hold back the last 50 g until you've kneaded for a few minutes. Chef's tip: make the starter the evening before and the dough on the day; the slow start gives a lighter crumb that stays soft for two days.

70 min

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Navajas á pranchaGriddled razor clams

Razor clams are pulled from the sandy beds of the Galician rías, and in the seafood bars of Vigo and A Coruña they arrive straight from the griddle, opened up and glistening with garlic oil. They take two minutes to cook and are eaten with the fingers. Live razor clams twitch or pull in when touched: throw away any with cracked or broken shells, or that don't react at all. A common mistake is leaving them on the heat after they open, which turns the meat rubbery. Chef's tip: lay them all hinge side down in the same direction so they open evenly and the juices stay in the shells.

20 min

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OliaiguaOnion, pepper and tomato soup

The name is simply oli i aigua, oil and water, and that is how Menorcan farm workers started it: a pan of olive oil, a little water and whatever the vegetable patch offered, poured over slices of hard bread. Today oliaigua amb tomàtigues is a July and August supper all over the island, from Ciutadella to Maó, slow-cooked onion, green pepper and ripe tomato in a light broth. Menorcans eat it with fresh figs or grapes on the side, which sounds odd and works beautifully. Chef's tip: the bread must be stale and sliced paper-thin, so it softens in the broth without dissolving into paste.

60 min

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Olla gitanaChickpea, pumpkin and green bean stew

The name means gypsy pot, and in Murcia and the neighbouring Vega del Segura it is the stew of autumn and Lent: chickpeas cooked with pumpkin, green beans and potato, perfumed with saffron and mint, and finished with a crushed paste of fried almonds, garlic and bread. What makes the Murcian version stand out is the pear, added near the end so its sweetness comes through the broth. It has no meat at all and is vegan as written. Chef's tip: choose firm pears, such as Conference, that keep their shape in the pot.

145 min

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Orellas de EntroidoCrisp sugared carnival pastries

Orellas, 'ears' in Galician, are fried for Entroido in villages across Ourense and Lugo, from Laza to Xinzo de Limia, and handed round in big baskets during the carnival days. The thin dough blisters and turns crisp in hot oil, and the pastries are finished with sugar or honey. This version uses a little aniseed spirit (aguardiente), as is traditional, so it contains alcohol; for an alcohol-free version use orange juice with a pinch of ground anise. Old recipes use pork fat; this one uses butter, so it is vegetarian. A common mistake is rolling the dough too thick, which gives chewy, greasy pastries instead of crisp ones. Chef's tip: roll until you can almost see the worktop through the dough.

70 min

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Pa amb oli mallorquíTomato olive oil bread

In Mallorca pa amb oli is supper on a hot evening, the snack in every village bar and the picnic on a boat. Slices of dense, unsalted brown country bread are rubbed with the island's tomàtigues de ramellet, small tomatoes kept hanging in bunches through winter, then soaked with olive oil and salted. On the side go green olives, capers, pickled sea fennel and slices of Mahón cheese; this vegetarian plate leaves out the usual cured ham. Mahón is normally made with animal rennet, so pick a vegetarian semi-cured cow's milk cheese if that matters to you. Chef's tip: toast the bread only lightly, or not at all, so it stays soft enough to drink up the tomato.

15 min

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Pan de CalatravaCaramel bread pudding

Pan de Calatrava is Murcia's thrifty Sunday dessert, a flan thickened with yesterday's bread or leftover sponge and baked over a layer of dark caramel. Murcian grandmothers made it to use up the end of a loaf, and it is still on the menu at family-run restaurants across the region, cut into slices and served cold with the caramel running down. The milk is infused first with lemon peel and cinnamon. Chef's tip: let it chill overnight before turning it out, so it slices cleanly and the caramel turns to syrup.

80 min

Spanish Breads & Parathas

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Pan de milloGalician cornbread

In the inland villages of Lugo and Ourense, and in the Deza area of Pontevedra, pan de millo, also called broa, was the everyday bread before wheat became common, baked in wood ovens and sometimes on a cabbage leaf. It is heavy, moist and slightly sweet inside, with a thick, cracked crust, and it is eaten with caldo, cheese or simply olive oil. Maize flour has no gluten of its own, so this version mixes in some wheat flour to help it rise; it is vegan. A common mistake is expecting a light loaf: it should feel heavy and close-textured. Chef's tip: scald the maize flour with boiling water first, which makes the crumb tender and stops it crumbling.

80 min

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PanadesLamb and pea pies

On Easter Saturday, Mallorcan kitchens turn into pie workshops: whole families shape panades, small upright pies with pinched rims and a pastry lid, filled with raw diced lamb, peas and a little pork belly, then bake them to eat on Easter Sunday and the picnics of the days after. This contains pork (lard in the pastry and pork belly in the filling); butter can replace the lard and the belly can be left out. The meat cooks inside the pastry, staying juicy. Chef's tip: cut the lamb small, no bigger than 1.5 cm, so it cooks right through in the time the pastry takes to brown.

120 min

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PanelletsPine nut marzipan sweets

For the Castanyada on 31 October and All Saints' Day, Catalan families roast chestnuts, eat sweet potatoes and make panellets: little balls of almond marzipan, bound with a spoonful of cooked potato, then rolled in pine nuts, glazed with egg and baked until golden. The pine-nut ones are the classic, and children often help roll them. They are eaten with a glass of sweet wine or a cup of coffee. Chef's tip: wet the marzipan balls lightly with egg white before rolling; it is the glue that holds the pine nuts on.

57 min

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PantxinetaCustard and almond puff pastry tart

Pantxineta was first baked in a pastry shop in San Sebastián's old town in the early twentieth century, and Donostiarras still buy it on Sunday mornings to take to family lunch. Two layers of buttery puff pastry enclose vanilla pastry cream, and the top is covered with flaked almonds and icing sugar. It is best eaten warm on the day it is made, while the pastry shatters. A common mistake is filling the pastry with warm custard, which melts the butter layers and stops them rising. Chef's tip: chill the assembled tart for 20 minutes before baking so the pastry keeps sharp edges.

70 min

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PaparajotesLemon leaf fritters with cinnamon sugar

Paparajotes are the sweet of the Murcian huerta's spring festivals, above all the Bando de la Huerta, when the city fills with people in traditional dress and stalls fry them by the hundred. A lemon tree leaf is dipped in a light batter, fried and dusted with cinnamon sugar; you hold it by the stalk, pull off the crisp coating with your teeth and leave the leaf, which flavours the batter but is not food. Newcomers who try to eat the whole thing are a long-standing local joke. Chef's tip: use only leaves from an unsprayed lemon tree, washed and dried.

30 min

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Papas aliñásPotato salad with sherry vinegar

Every tapas bar around the Plaza de Abastos in Cádiz keeps a tray of papas aliñás on the counter, and gaditanos eat them as a cold tapa on summer evenings with a glass of something cold. The potatoes are dressed while still warm, so they drink up the sherry vinegar and oil, then rest until they taste sharp, green and soft. Bars usually lay tuna and boiled egg on top; this version is fully plant-based and keeps all the flavour in the dressing. Chef's tip: choose waxy potatoes and cut them only after cooking, so they keep their shape when you toss them.

40 min

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Papas arrugadas con mojo picónWrinkled potatoes with red pepper sauce

No meal in the Canary Islands seems complete without a bowl of papas arrugadas, small potatoes boiled in water as salty as the Atlantic until their skins wrinkle and frost over with white salt. In every guachinche, the pop-up wine-farm eateries in the hills of northern Tenerife, they arrive with a pot of mojo picón, a thick, garlicky sauce of dried red peppers, cumin, paprika and vinegar. Eat them skin and all, dragged through the mojo. Chef's tip: once drained, put the pot back on a low heat and shake it for a minute or two, as that drying is what forms the wrinkles and the salt crust.

45 min

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Pastel de carne murcianoMinced beef and chorizo pie

Murcia's bakeries sell pastel de carne from first thing in the morning: a round pie with a crisp, coiled puff pastry lid, filled with spiced minced meat, chorizo and hard-boiled egg. People eat one standing at the counter with coffee, or buy a big one for Sunday lunch. Bakers make the coiled lid from a long rope of pastry; at home a scored spiral on a puff pastry lid gives the same look. This contains pork (chorizo). Chef's tip: let the filling cool completely before it goes into the pastry, otherwise the base melts and turns soggy.

85 min

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Pastel vascoAlmond cake with pastry cream

Bakeries across the French Basque province of Labourd, from Cambo-les-Bains to Saint-Jean-de-Luz, sell this round cake by the slice, and the village of Itxassou has long filled it with black cherry jam instead of cream. The dough sits between a biscuit and a shortcake, rich with butter and ground almonds, and it hides a thick layer of vanilla pastry cream. Some bakers add a spoon of rum to the cream; this one leaves it out. A common mistake is baking it too pale, so the crust stays soft: wait for a deep golden top. Chef's tip: chill the dough well, as it is very soft and much easier to roll when cold.

85 min

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Pastissets de moniatoSweet potato pastry half-moons

As Christmas nears, bakeries and home kitchens from Valencia to Alicante turn out trays of pastissets, little half-moon pies of crumbly olive-oil pastry wrapped around a filling of sweet potato cooked with sugar, lemon and cinnamon, finished with a snowy dusting of sugar. They are eaten with coffee or a glass of mistela after the big family meals, and also for All Saints in November. The pastry traditionally includes a splash of sweet mistela wine; orange juice works just as well for an alcohol-free version. A common mistake is overfilling, which splits the seams in the oven; a heaped teaspoon is enough. Chef's tip: chill the filling until firm before you shape, so it sits neatly in the centre and is easy to seal.

95 min

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Patatas al cabralesFried potatoes with blue cheese sauce

Cabrales is ripened in limestone caves in the Picos de Europa, and the bars of Arenas de Cabrales and Cangas de Onís pour it, melted into cream, over hot chips as a ración to share with a bottle of cider. The sauce is sharp, salty and very rich, so a little goes a long way. Most cabrales is made with animal rennet; for a strictly vegetarian dish, choose a blue cheese labelled vegetarian. Chef's tip: keep the sauce below a boil once the cheese goes in, or it splits and turns grainy.

45 min

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Patatas revolconasPaprika mashed potatoes with crisp pork

Shepherds in the Gredos mountains of Ávila once lived on these "tumbled" potatoes, roughly mashed with garlicky paprika oil and topped with crunchy fried pork belly, called torreznos. Bars in Ávila, Salamanca and Béjar now serve them on the house as a tapa, or as a starter before a steak on a chilly evening. This contains pork (pork belly). Chef's tip: save the potato cooking water; a splash makes the mash loose and spoonable without milk or butter.

55 min

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Perdiz al modo de AlcántaraStuffed partridge braised in port

This is the famous dish of the monastery of San Benito at Alcántara, near the Portuguese border. The story goes that French troops looted the library in 1807, and its recipe for partridges stuffed with liver and truffle, marinated for days in port, ended up in French cookbooks, which is why Escoffier listed it. Today it is a dish for autumn hunting-season dinners in Extremadura. Our home version uses chicken livers, mushrooms and an overnight marinade. The dish uses port; for an alcohol-free version, use red grape juice with 1 tbsp of red wine vinegar. Chef's tip: a few slices of black truffle in the stuffing make it truly special, but well-browned mushrooms are a fine everyday substitute.

110 min

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PerrunillasCinnamon and lemon lard cookies

Perrunillas are the cookies of Extremaduran grandmothers, baked in village ovens for Christmas, weddings and the days after the matanza, when fresh lard was plentiful. They are thick, pale and so short they crumble the moment you bite, with a crackly sugar top, and they are eaten with coffee or a glass of milk in the afternoon. This contains pork (pork lard), so they are not vegetarian. Chef's tip: beat the lard and sugar for a good few minutes until very pale and fluffy; that air is what makes them light.

38 min

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Pescaíto fritoMixed fried fish

On the beaches of Pedregalejo and El Palo in Málaga, chiringuito cooks shake small fish in flour and fry them by the basketful: whole fresh anchovies (boquerones), rings of squid, strips of dogfish and little red mullet, served piled on paper with lemon. The secret is a coarse frying flour, partly durum semolina, and very clean, hot oil, so each piece comes out crisp and dry. Eat it at once, at the table, with a cold drink and a salad. Chef's tip: shake off every bit of loose flour in a sieve before frying; excess flour burns and makes the oil dark and bitter.

50 min

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PestiñosAnise fritters in honey

When Holy Week and Christmas come round, convent turnstiles and village kitchens from Cádiz to Granada fill trays with pestiños: little folded parcels of dough flavoured with sesame, anise and orange, fried until crisp and blistered and then dipped in honey. The dough traditionally takes a splash of white wine, which makes it bubble and crunch; orange juice works too, and is the alcohol-free option in the list. A common mistake is frying them in oil that is too hot, which browns the outside before the folds of dough cook through and crisp. Chef's tip: roll the dough really thin; thick pestiños stay doughy in the middle and soak up oil.

70 min

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Piononos de Santa FeSponge rolls with toasted cream

The pionono was invented in Santa Fe, on the plain outside Granada, in the late nineteenth century by a local pastry maker who named it after Pope Pius IX, Pío Nono in Spanish. The town still sells them by the dozen from its bakeries, and granadinos carry boxes home for Sunday coffee. Each one is a little standing roll of thin sponge soaked in cinnamon syrup, filled with custard and capped with a dome of custard burnt under a hot iron or torch. Chef's tip: roll the sponge while it is still warm and pliable; once cool it cracks instead of curling.

75 min

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PiperradaPeppers and tomato with eggs

Piperrada belongs to late summer on both sides of the Pyrenees, when the market stalls of Bayonne, Gernika and Pamplona are piled with green and red peppers. The vegetables are stewed slowly in olive oil until sweet and jammy, and in many Basque homes beaten eggs are stirred in at the end for a light supper. It is often served with cured ham alongside; this version is vegetarian. A common mistake is rushing the peppers over a high heat: they should collapse slowly, or the dish tastes raw and sharp. Chef's tip: take the pan off the heat while the eggs still look slightly wet, because they keep cooking on the way to the table.

55 min

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Pipirrana jaeneraTomato pepper salad with egg yolk

Olive pickers in the province of Jaén used to carry the makings of pipirrana into the groves, and in the city it is still the salad people set out on a hot July evening, with bread for the juices. What sets the Jaén version apart is the dressing: garlic, salt and boiled egg yolk are pounded together, then loosened with the province's own peppery oil until it turns creamy. Some cooks add tinned tuna; this one stays vegetarian. The usual mistake is chopping the vegetables in large chunks; everything should be cut small enough to fit a fork. Chef's tip: peel the tomatoes before dicing, so the dressing clings to soft flesh instead of slipping off tough skin.

30 min

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Piquillos rellenos de setasPeppers stuffed with mushrooms

Lodosa, on the Ebro in southern Navarre, roasts its little pointed piquillo peppers over wood, peels them by hand and jars them under its own protected name. When the autumn rains bring mushrooms up in the Navarrese hills, the peppers get stuffed with a thick mushroom béchamel, coated and fried, and served as a starter at family lunches or as a pintxo in the old town of Pamplona. A smooth sauce made from a few extra peppers goes underneath. Chef's tip: chill the filling until it is firm enough to scoop, which makes filling the soft peppers far easier.

75 min

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Pochas a la navarraFresh white beans with vegetables

Pochas are white beans picked in late summer before they dry, when the pods have gone soft and yellowish, and in Navarre September means bowls of them in every village from Sangüesa to the Ribera. Because they are fresh they need no soaking and cook in about 40 minutes into something creamy, sweet and gentle. Many homes add chorizo or quail; this version keeps to the vegetables and is vegan. Pickled guindilla chillies on the side are the usual partner. Chef's tip: if you can't find fresh pochas, frozen ones are sold in Spanish shops and are very good.

60 min

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Pollo al chilindrónChicken with pepper, tomato and ham

Chilindrón is the red sauce that Aragon is known for across Spain: sweet red peppers, onion and tomato cooked down slowly with serrano ham until thick and glossy. Chicken is the most common partner (lamb is the other), and a big pot of it is a typical dish at summer village fiestas in the Pyrenees foothills and at family meals all year. This contains pork (cured serrano ham). The recipe uses a little white wine; use chicken stock instead for no alcohol. A common mistake is hurrying the sofrito: the peppers need a slow 20 minutes to soften and sweeten before the chicken goes back in. Chef's tip: if you have roasted red peppers or a spoonful of choricero pepper paste, stir some in for a deeper, smokier colour.

90 min

Spanish Chicken

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Porra antequeranaThick chilled tomato and bread soup

In Antequera, north of Málaga, porra comes to the table so thick that a spoon stands up in it, and bars in the old town serve it from May until the first autumn rains as a starter or a light supper. It is a cousin of salmorejo, but with green pepper and more garlic, and the town tops it with chopped egg and a thread of oil. Locally the garnish also includes tuna and cured ham; this version keeps it vegetarian with egg and diced pepper. A common mistake is thinning it with water to make it go further: porra should be spooned, never sipped. Chef's tip: use only the reddest, softest tomatoes of the summer, because a pale tomato makes a pink, flat-tasting porra however much oil you add.

20 min

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PorrusaldaLeek, potato and carrot soup

In Basque kitchens from Bilbao to Tolosa, porrusalda (literally 'leek broth') is what families cook in the quiet days after Christmas, when everyone wants something plain and warming. Leeks are the star, simmered with potatoes and carrots until the broth turns pale gold and slightly thick. Many households flake in desalted salt cod at the end; this version keeps it vegetarian with water or vegetable stock, so it is also vegan. A common mistake is slicing the potatoes neatly: snap them into rough chunks instead, so they release starch and give the broth body. Chef's tip: cook the leeks slowly in the oil before any liquid goes in, until they smell sweet, because that is where the flavour comes from.

60 min

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Potaje de berrosWatercress and bean stew

Watercress grows wild in the irrigation channels and ravines of Tenerife and La Palma, and in the cool months it goes into potaje de berros, a thick, green, cumin-scented stew that islanders eat by the bowlful with a spoon of gofio stirred in. It is a cheap, filling family supper, and a good one to make ahead. Pork ribs or belly often go in for flavour; this version leaves them out and is vegan, relying on garlic, cumin and paprika instead. Chef's tip: cook the watercress for most of the time, not just at the end, so it collapses into the broth and gives the stew its earthy depth.

80 min