WIN! A fabulous picnic hamper for two from hampergifts.co.uk
Okay, so I appreciate that I run the risk of you all beating me to death with your umbrellas, but I want to take a minute to talk about picnics. There’s really nothing better than heading out with a lovely stash of delicious food and unpacking all your goodies on a rug, ready to embrace the great outdoors (and stuff your face too).
To chase the rain clouds away, I’ve got a really lovely Hamper Gifts hamper to give away, including all sorts of yumminess like:
- Cairnsmhor Parmesan & Pepper Oatcakes 150g (which, incidentally won a gold medal at the Great Taste Awards from The Guild of Fine Foods)
- Olives Et Al Smoky Chilli Nuts 90g jar (another gold winner at the Great Taste Awards)
- Olives Et Al Beetroot & Thyme Dressing 100ml (yep, you guessed it, gold medal winner)
- Karyatis Red Pepper & Feta Meze 100g
- The Wooden Spoon Gooseberry & Sloe Gin Jam 42g (a gold Great Taste Award winner from The Guild of Fine Foods)
- Cottage Delight Poachers Pickle 340g (and another gold winner!)
- The Wooden Spoon Wholegrain Mustard & Spitfire Ale 42g
- White Chocolate & Raspberry Cookies in Hessian Bag 100g
- Cherry and Coconut Flapjack 120g
- Moist Sultana Flapjack 120g
- Baronie Belgian White & Milk Chocolate Sticks with Mocha Coffee Filling 75g
Check out Hamper Gifts’ range of delicious food hampers, fabulous for gifts… or alternatively one of these wine gift hampers. I love presents that are stylish but involve little effort on your part (in this case, parting up with your credit card details). They come lovingly hand wrapped with gorgeous ribbons too.
Sadly, with this current monsoon-type weather, your lucky recipient might just end up enjoying it all as a carpet picnic. But hey, what’s the harm in that?
Just comment to enter. The usual banter/what colour your underwear is/anything else thing will be fine. Closing date: midnight, Wednesday 25th July 2012.
The small print: The winner will be selected at random from all entries received. The winner will be notified within 7 days of the closing date. The prize is as stated: no cash alternatives are available. This competition is open to UK entrants only. No persons under 18 years of age may place an order or receive goods from Hamper Gifts if the goods contain alcohol.
***********This competition is now closed – well done to Jayne Howarth who won the hamper! ***************
Spanish omelette with manchego and chorizo, and serrano ham shank with summer haricot beans
There was much excitement at English Towers this weekend, with a delivery of delicious smelling goodies from Lola España, a gorgeous website selling everything Spanish. Our rummage through the MASSIVE box brought all sorts of squeaks of excitement: ‘six month cured manchego cheese!’, hand carved jamón Ibérico Bellota…oooooh!’ and ‘look at this chorizo!’, before leading us off on dreamy plans as to what we’d cook up.
While we were dreaming, we troughed our way through this entire pack of delicious Spanish biscuits too…
Of course, we had to stay slightly traditional and decided to make a proper tortilla de patatas. Purists will blanch slightly at the fact that we added the chorizo and manchego, but hey, you can’t please everyone and I’m delighted to say that it tasted utterly delicious.
Spanish omelette with six month cured manchego cheese and chorizo Ibérico
4 or 5 floury potatoes
2 tablespoons rapeseed oil
1 shallot, finely diced
3 or 4 thick slices of chorizo, cubed
6 large free range eggs, beaten
Large chunk of manchego cheese, cubed
So firstly, peel the potatoes and chop into inch or so dice. Boil in plenty of salted water until tender.
Next, fry the shallot in the oil until translucent, then add in the chorizo – stir it around until it starts to darken and release its oil, then add in the cooked potatoes and stir gently so you don’t break them up too much.
Add in the cubed cheese and pour over the beaten eggs. Cook gently until the bottom is set. If you’re brave, try the traditional method of popping over a large plate, flipping the omelette over and then putting it back in to cook the other side. Otherwise, just pop it under the grill until golden. Serve with a green salad and crusty bread.
Click here for the recipe for the serrano ham shank with summer haricot beans. Mahoosive thanks to Lola Espana for the delicious food and the inspiration.
