Something Fishy with Simon Rhodes of the Lobster Pot Fishmongers, Wood Street Food Hall, Swindon

AS WE know tapas is traditionally a Spanish cuisine consisting of small dishes of delicious food served in a café/bar environment and is as much a social event as an eating experience.

Here are some ideas for seafood tapas which are inspirational and not too difficult to make:

SARDINES Heat some olive oil in a pan and add some fillets of sardines which have been dusted with seasoned flour. Once cooked, place on kitchen towel to drain.

In a pestle and mortar crush some garlic, pinch of salt, and the oil into a paste. Then add a little cumin, saffron and ginger. Then add some vinegar.

Arrange the fish in a shallow dish and then add a little water to the paste and pour over the fish so they are covered. Add a few slices of lemon and a couple of bay leaves. This can then be chilled and eaten cold for up to a week.

CEVICHE Ceviche is a method of cooking fish in the juice of a lemon or lime; the acid cooks the raw fish.

Try using a firm white fish such as turbot, sea bass fillets, or even monkfish, cover with the juice of a lemon or lime and sliced red chillies, olive oil and salt. Leave the fish for a few hours so it ‘cooks’ in the lemon or lime juice.

Accompany with an avocado salsa diced and chopped with some seeded tomatoes and olive oil and garnished with coriander.

Finally invite some amigos over and serve your tapas with some Spanish wine or beer to complete your Spanish evening…Olé!