![\"parma](\"https:\/\/www.jameswhelanbutchers.com\/info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/parma-ham.jpg\" "\\"parma")
<\/a>Countries like Spain that traditionally enjoy high summer temperatures are expert in charcuterie; the art of cured meats.\u00a0 Cured meats in Spain form the basis of traditional tapas.\u00a0 Tapas are the small plates of bites that you are often served with a drink in bars when abroad.\u00a0 You can order a larger portion as a main and generally they arrive on a big plate where the custom is that everyone digs in by selecting what they want onto smaller personal platters.\u00a0 If you are having tapas as your main meal it is usually served with bread or a large bowl of salad.\u00a0 We had our own Irish take on this back in the 70s with the \u2018cold meat salad\u2019.\u00a0 I remember the slices of cold beef, ham and or luncheon with potato salad and the ubiquitous sliced tomato!\u00a0 Today we have much greater choice at our deli counters and a cold meat supper can be very tasty.\u00a0 If you\u2019re watching the calories, though, don\u2019t get caught out on the mayonnaise rich pasta, rice or potato salad, particularly the shop bought ones.<\/p>\nDeep fried fish and calamari, rings of squid, are also very popular in sunnier climes, particularly coastal areas.\u00a0 Luscious king prawns are often served on a skewer and drenched in garlic and chilli.\u00a0 Gazpacho is a summertime chilled soup that is eaten like a soup or sometimes served as a beverage to go with the fried fish.\u00a0 Potatoes in Spain are usually fried in olive oil and eggs are hugely popular.\u00a0 Funnily enough boiled eggs never took off like they did here.\u00a0 In Spain particularly eggs are usually fried or made into an omelette, known as a tortilla.\u00a0 A traditional Spanish omelette will have potatoes and onions and is often served cold.\u00a0 Ham is a delicacy in Spain and very different to what we know as ham.\u00a0 In certain areas it would be similar to Parma Ham.\u00a0 The experts tell me that Spanish ham, ideally, should be more on the sweet side rather than the salty.\u00a0 Chorizo sausage, which can be quite spicy depending on the region, is also popular and will come on many tapas plates as will the Spanish version of salami which is very similar, although a little drier, than its Italian cousin. <\/em><\/p>\n When it comes to beef it is considered a luxury in certain parts of Spain and is often found as rather thin beef steak fried in olive oil.\u00a0 Indeed if you have ever been to Spain you may have noticed that beef is often called veal on the menus; not at all what we in Ireland would consider true veal.<\/p>\n The other interesting thing about Spanish households is that they tend to make their own mayonnaise from scratch, which is great with leftover cold chicken.\u00a0 Believe me it tastes so much better than shop bought, but you do need to use an electric blender.\u00a0 If you have one you\u2019ll be surprised at how quick and easy it is. \u00a0At one time all Spanish restaurants made their own mayonnaise but unfortunately health and safety rules have almost outlawed this completely for fear of a Salmonella outbreak.\u00a0 To make mayonnaise you must use eggs at room temperature.\u00a0 This is necessary to emulsify with the oil.\u00a0 Given the heat in a Spanish summer it would be very easy for a restaurant to get this wrong and for the eggs to overheat and spoil.<\/p>\n However the dish most synonymous with Spain would have to be Paella.\u00a0 It is a fantastic one pot with a rice base that is rich in flavour, colour and texture.<\/p>\n For a true taste of Spain though, it would be hard to beat paella.\u00a0 It\u2019s not the most difficult dish to cook but it can be a little pricey as it uses saffron (the most expensive spice in the world, but available in most supermarkets) and prawns.\u00a0 If you can get fresh ones still in the shell then that will just add to the overall look of the dish.\u00a0 If you get it right though, it is a very tasty dish that is well worth having in your summer repertoire.<\/p>\n This post was written by me, Pat Whelan, owner of James Whelan Butchers and a passionate advocate of local artisan food. My family have been producing quality Irish Angus beef for generations using a traditional dry aging process. This tradition is one that I continue to practice at our abattoir on our family farm in Garrentemple, Clonmel. These posts aim to impart some of the wisdom to readers and help them get the best out of the meat they eat! Our meat is available\u00a0online here!<\/a>\u00a0I welcome your feedback to\u00a0Pat@jwb.ie<\/a><\/p>\n We hope you enjoyed reading this post by Pat Whelan of James Whelan Butchers. Pat is a 5th generation butcher, cook book author and the director of \u00a0James Whelan Butchers with shops in Clonmel, the Avoca Handweavers Rathcoole and Kilmacanogue, Dunnes Stores Cornelscourt, Rathmines and Swords in Dublin.\u00a0Sign up to our newsletter for more updates from James Whelan Butchers<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" If I had a euro for every time a customer in the shop described the last few weeks as just like \u201cbeing in Spain\u201d, I\u2019d have enough for a flight there myself.\u00a0\u00a0 It did indeed feel like the Mediterranean for several days and apparently, the forecasters would have us believe, it\u2019s not over yet.\u00a0 In […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[25,1],"tags":[518,522,520,519,99,521,48,517,47,516,523,125],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n<\/a>Fortunately almost everything they have in Spain is now readily available here.\u00a0 On any given evening we can transport ourselves to the Med, in a culinary fashion, if nothing else. \u00a0To make it easy and authentic I would suggest a mixture of hot and cold foods, the cold being easy to prepare in advance.\u00a0 A nice Spanish omelette made early in the day with potatoes and onions can be cut into wedges and is lovely on a warm evening with some salad and warm crusty bread.\u00a0 Plates of cured meats are easy to arrange and little trays of olives are really just about unscrewing a jar!\u00a0 One thing that\u2019s not so popular in Spain is butter.\u00a0 You\u2019ll find that bread is dipped in olive oil rather than spread with anything.<\/p>\n