8 Recipes Showcasing the Finest Spanish Ingredients (2024)

If you have a tin of beautiful anchovies at home that you're not sure what to do with, or a tub of fragrant pimentón you're looking to make the most of, these recipes can help. All eight recipes will help you make the most of Spain's most delicious ingredients, from chorizo and manchego, to olive oil and sobrasada. And, if you're out of stock of any of them, check out Brindisa's online shop which stocks all of these ingredients and so much more.

Chorizo, Iberico ham and tarragon linguine

This creamy pasta dish for two uses both Iberico ham and chorizo, and is a delicious way to show off Spanish charcuterie. It’s made with cime di rapa, but you could substitute another flavourful green like kale or beetroot tops.

Croquetas de sobrasada

These rich croquetas de sobrasada are the perfect showcase for sobrasada, as Kate Doran notes in her recipe. The sobrasada is melted into a béchamel base, and the croquettes are tossed in breadcrumbs mixed with manchego. A super indulgent delight – perfect for enjoying with a glass of sherry.

Confit fennel with saffron and harissa

This simple fennel dish from Helen Graham is a wonderful way to enjoy both fennel and saffron. The fennel is slowly cooked in saffron-infused butter until all of the aggressive anise flavour has been tamped down, and you’re left with something unbelievably soft, sweet and rich.

Ratte potatoes with Iberico ham and piquillo peppers

Jun Tanaka lets the flavours of piquillo peppers and Iberico ham speak for themselves in this easy potato side dish. Both ingredients are added at the last minute, so the peppers retain their sweet freshness and the ham stays soft and tender.

Octopus with baby potatoes, pimentón and olive oil

This octopus recipe from José Pizarro uses a whole tablespoon of pimemtón on the octopus, and is one of the chef’s favourite recipes. The octopus is cooked until tender, thinly sliced and tossed with pimentón-infused olive oil and chives. A truly show-stopping appetiser.

Slow-roasted tomatoes with anchovies, capers and marjoram

High quality anchovies - Lucy Timm recommends Ortiz anchovies - are draped over delicious slow-roasted tomatoes in this simple side dish. Sweet tomatoes form a perfect backdrop to the briny capers and anchovies.

Tomato tonnato sandwich

Tonnato, an Italian sauce made from tuna and anchovies, is often paired with tomatoes and capers. Juicy ripe tomatoes, salty capers and herby tomato sauce are such a perfect combination of acidic, briny sweet and creamy it’s not hard to understand why. This is the sort of sandwich you eat and think “why don’t I make this every day?”

Almond tart with medlar jam, caramelised apples and Jersey cream

If there is any chef who could persuade you to part with 500g Marcona almonds, it would be Jeremy Lee. This almond frangipane tart is an autumnal delight, filled with homemade medlar and Armagnac jam and caramelised English apples.