Revered or reviled

I received my Bruce Cameron email this morning which always makes me smile. If you would like to know more, visit this site and subscribe by clicking on the link in the top right corner.

***

It was red hot today (26C in the sun) and a bit too warm for working in the garden, but work we did. I had to spend some time improving security on the side gates and Ben had to build an open fire on which to cook 160 calçots, later tonight. The girls meanwhile were doing girly things in the kitchen (that'll rev a few people up! - Ed.) and, amongst other things, made the romesco sauce for tonight. According to the Catalonians in our midst, the key ingredient is the Nyora pepper.

The following makes a sauce for 8:
1 Nyora dried pepper
100g Toasted hazelnuts (not salted)
100g Toasted almonds (not salted)
3 Tomatoes and 1 head garlic (roasted in the oven)
0.5 Clove raw garlic
Olive oil, vinegar, salt, pepper .

Roast the tomatoes and head of garlic in the oven.
Grind the nuts finely.
Put the Nyora pepper in the oven for 1 minute.

Combine all the ingredients in a blender and add vinegar, salt and pepper to taste. There are lots of recipes for this sauce and I have provided what I believe to be the most authentic. Check to see how this compares to link above. Enjoy.

***

So there we were having lunch on the terrace and the conversation meanders around to husbands that are revered. Ben very helpfully suggested that maybe I was less revered and more reviled. He may have a point. Anyway, it's his birthday today so I forgive him. Happy birthday Ben.

***

12 adults and 4 (older) children came for dinner tonight. First, Ben, Paula and Ave, cooked the calçots outside on an open fire, then they cooked 4 different Spanish sausages on the same fire. Eating the calçots is a really messy experience so we spread the table on the kitchen terrace with newspaper and everybody tucked in. Next we moved inside for a couscous and vegetable tagine followed by roast lamb. The Lloyds (Katie and Isabel actually) brought an excellent strawberry pavlova. All this was washed down with bubbly from the cave at Massilargues, white and rosé from Coste Plane and red from Domaine de Baubiac. There was a pudding wine in there somewhere as well. An excellent night and one to remember.