Cookbook Review: A Sherry & A Little Plate of Tapas

Cookbook reviews: A Sherry and a Little Plate of Tapas review

A book titled A Sherry & A Little Plate of Tapas (by Kay Plunkett-Hogge) may not seem the obvious choice for a seafood fan. That’s a shame, because this book contains some super, sunny-day seafood recipes.

Tremendous tapas

Picture the scene. You’ve built up a good appetite after a hard day of doing nothing on the hot sands of some beach somewhere south of Valencia. Of course, you’ve had a few too many chilled red wines at lunch. You’ve slept away the afternoon and it’s now well into the evening. Around the corner from your hotel, down a poorly-lit back street that you’ve accidentally wandered down you chance upon a little bar. You step over the dog asleep on the doorstep and enter the most magical world of cold beer and delightful little tapas dishes.

I’m writing this at the end of January. Yes, we’re still in lockdown, but let’s forget that for a moment. I’m thinking back to my Spanish holiday, and dishes of Anchovies on lightly toasted bread, grilled prawns with garlic, preserved lemon and parsley, razor clams cooked a la plancha, deep-fried squid….

The sheer beauty of A Sherry & A Little Plate of Tapas is that the book allows you to easily recreate those lovely little seafood recipes, turning your kitchen into your favourite Spanish tapas bar. You’re on holiday again – in your own kitchen.

Spanish seafood recipes – from coast to coast

Those looking for slightly more substantial dishes won’t be disappointed. The smell of sardines cooking on a griddle will transport you back to the Mediterranean in seconds.

Alternatively, you can head to the Galician coast for some octopus with potatoes, capers and paprika or a Tuna empanadilla. There are recipes for scallops, prawn fritters, clams, oysters, crab soup, pickled sardines, salt cod – something for all the familia, sorry, family.

Gambas al pil pil
(prawns in spicy oil)

Kay Plunkett-Hogge writes, ‘Probably my favourite tapas. I have been known to hog the whole bowl, much to the consternation of my guests. The dish is such a reflection of Andalucía with its garlic, great olive oil, seafood and, of course, sherry’.

Tinned fish tapas

However, there’s more. Welcome to the world of Tinned Fish Tapas, or as Plunkett-Hogge puts it, ‘things in small tins’, She calls Tinned Fish Tapas ‘genius’. And she’s right. There’s very little work involved. Open some tins, grabs some forks and some pickles and away you go.

Plunkett-Hogge lists her Top Ten Tinned Fish Tapas – with our favourite being tinned Octopus on a stick with roasted red peppers and halved olives.

Aside from the seafood, there are plenty of meat and vegetarian tapas dishes. We also have an interesting chapter on sherry, although I find the cocktails chapter a little random. In truth, it feels like a bit of a filler.

Other than that, A Sherry & A Little Plate of Tapas is a lovely little book, one of great use to seafood lovers – especially those just starting out on their seafood journey. Vamos!