Читать книгу The First-Time Cook - Sophie Grigson, Sophie Grigson - Страница 54

Over recent years we have been introduced to more and more of the excellent cured pork products and cheeses of Spain, via a handful of delicatessens and now the supermarkets. These are usually referred to as ‘chaciñas’, which translates more or less as ‘cold cuts’, but taste a good deal more exciting than that sounds. To make up a Spanish chaciñas plate, take your pick from:

Jamón serrano The Spanish equivalent to Parma ham, cured high in the hills.

Chorizo A spicy salami, with a reddish hue from generous seasoning of paprika. It can either be ‘dulce’ or mild, or ‘piccante’ or chilli-hot.

Manchego cheese Spain’s most renowned cheese with a gorgeous flavour, which can either be mild or mature and is often served with ‘marmelada’ or quince paste.

Caper berries The fruit of the caper plant that grows wild around the rocky shores of the Mediterranean. Capers are the buds, but the berries or seed-pods are like tiny maracas that have been pickled in vinegar – delicious.

Olives Spain specialises in huge ‘gordo’ green olives which are sometimes sold here, but any juicy, plump-looking olive, black or green, will look good on the plate.

Canned ‘pequillo’ peppers Something of a speciality in Spain, you can sometimes find them on supermarket shelves here. Look out too for the small green padron peppers which are just beginning to hit the shops in this country.

Bread Spanish bread hasn’t made much of a mark here, so choose any handsome-looking loaf of bread to accompany your chaciñas. A sourdough pain de campagne or sturdy rye bread, warmed through in the oven, would be a good choice.