Tapas

Ingredients

• 1 melon (netted, Cantaloupe or Galia melon)
• 4 Tbsp mayonnaise
• juice of 1 lemon
• Salt
• pepper (ground)
• 0.5 can saffron
• 250 g shrimp (pre-cooked)
• saffron threads for garnish (optional)
• 800 g potatoes (starchy)
• 2 onions
• 5 tbsp olive oil
• 2 Garlic cloves
• 8 eggs
• 50 g Manchego cheese (grated)
• Salt
• pepper (ground)
• 1 onion
• 2 Garlic cloves
• 2 red bell peppers
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 200 g passata tomatoes
• 400 g large dried plums (pitted)
• 200 g Serrano ham (thin slices)
• Salt
• pepper (ground)
• 1 tsp Paprika powder (sweet)
• Cayenne pepper

Instructions

1. 1.

   For the shrimp-melon salad with saffron, halve the melon, remove seeds and scoop out flesh with a melon baller.

2. 2.

   Whisk mayonnaise with lemon juice, salt, pepper and saffron; taste and adjust.

3. 3.

   Combine melon balls and shrimp with sauce and garnish with saffron threads if desired. Serve with baguette slices.

4. 4.

   For the potato tortilla, peel potatoes and slice into rounds. Dice onions. Cook potatoes and onions in 3 tbsp oil in a large pan covered for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally (add water if needed), press garlic in, remove from heat and let cool slightly. Beat eggs with salt and pepper in a large bowl, stir in cheese, then mix with the cooked potato mixture. Add remaining oil to pan, pour in egg-potato blend, cover and cook for about 4 minutes until set. Slide onto a large plate, flip and fry another 2-3 minutes. Serve warm or cold, cut into pieces. For the Serrano plum with tomato dip and sherry: peel and finely chop onion and garlic. Clean, wash, halve bell peppers, remove seeds and membranes, dice small. Heat olive oil in a pot, sauté onion and garlic until translucent, add peppers and fry briefly. Stir in passata tomatoes, cover and simmer for 10 minutes over low heat. Puree sauce, season with salt, pepper, paprika powder and cayenne pepper; let cool. Halve Serrano ham if needed to wrap plums. Wrap each plum with ham slices, secure with toothpicks. Place in a baking dish and bake at 250°C for about 10 minutes until crisp. Serve the wrapped plums with dip and offer dry sherry on the side.