T is for Tapas

These are four easy-peasy tapas dishes for supper.

Gather:

• A pack of thin chorizo slices (around 30 slices)
• One jar Pimento stuffed olives
• 30 cocktail sticks (one per chorizo slice)
• Some black olives (preferably pre-marinated in garlic & herbs)

• A pack of manchego cheese  (approx. 200 grms)
• A bottle of balsamic glaze (get one that has a little nozzle like the M&S one so it's easy to direct)

• One whole chorizo sausage (or four of the little ones M&S sells)
• 1½-2 cups red wine

• One pack of 6-8 slices of Serrano ham

• Two types of bread (can be kept frozen) and a pack of breadsticks
• Tomatoes on the vine
• S&P

Then...

1. Preheat the fan oven to 165°C (180°C if not)
2. Cut off the ends off the whole chorizo u-shaped sausage bound together by string, and peel off all the papery skin 
3. Slice the sausage into coins and put in a layer in an ovenproof dish
4. Slosh over the red wine up to half way of the sausage disks and season well
5. Pop in the oven for 20-25 minutes until the chorizo has rendered some of its oil
6. Decant into a small white bowl with a bit of the liquid (not all) and leave to cool slightly; garnish with a couple of flat parsley leaves


7. Meanwhile, cut the rind off both ends of your triangle of cheese and then slice your cheese into wedges the width of a pound coin


  


8. Fan out the cheese pieces on a plate and drizzle with the balsamic glaze





9. For the olive flowers (shown above), cut a slit from the centre of each of the pre-sliced chorizo to the edge (i.e. along a radius) and then form a cone with each slice


  


10. Pop an olive in the middle (pepper bit up) and skewer the edge of the wrapped chorizo with a cocktail stick through the olive and through the other side to secure





11. Pile all the chorizo flowers into a bowl with the flower bit facing upwards


12. Remove more of the remaining green olives from the jar/liquid, and toss with the black olives until they're all coated in oil and the garlic/herb mix; serve in a small bowl


13. Last, but not least, peal off the ham from the separating plastic and (if you haven't already) tear each slice in half. Twirl the strand loosely around a finger and place each 'ball' on a plate next to each other.  Once you filled the corner of your plate, pile on top.  This shouldn't be neat.
14. Serve the ham with some fresh (preferably on the vine) tomatoes and the olives.





15. Serve everything at once with the breadsticks stuck vertically into a glass to add height, and the other dishes clustered around

If you want to do slightly more, you can easily wrap the ham around short sticks of cucumber, honeydew melon, or a pear (peeled, de-cored and tossed in a bit of lemon juice to stop it discoloring).

Serves four or eight-to-ten when served with the other tapas dishes.