Almeria

This Month in Almeria:

Shopping: Try the street market (in Plaza del Mercado) in the wonderful coastal hilltop town of Salobreña on Friday mornings.

Sightseeing: The SOS.48 festival just up the road in Murcia city is a must-see event for music fans. Running from 3-6 May, the festival features top bands such as Pulp, Mogwai and The Flaming Lips along with many others, as well as a rich art and culture programme. Full details at sos48.com.

Almeria News & Gossip

Spanish Tapas

There's just one thing you need to know about ordering tapas, says Madrid-born chef Omar Allibhoy. "In Spain, when we go for tapas, we eat the best tapa of each bar and move on. You go to one bar and you have croquetas. In another it'll be the pork cheeks, in another it might be the pan-fried sardines. You only need one phrase: "La especialidad de la casa, por favor." And if you're not planning a tour of Spain any time soon, you can try the lot at Allibhoy's new restaurant, Tapas Revolution at London's Westfield centre.

1. Migas Murcíanas
Murcían Breadcrumbs
MURCIA

"Murcía is one of Spain's richest provinces for produce. Migas Murcíanas is a dish of fried bread with garlic and other ingredients; I find it works best with slices of pork. You can find migas in other provinces, but in Murcía the recipe changes from village to village. Bread is always the common ingredient but some villages serve it with melon and ham; in others with grapes. And yes, it's still very garlicky even when made with fruit." TRY IT AT Venta el Peretón, 135 Ctra Lorca, Sangonera La Seca, tel: +34 968 802 701

2. Pichón al Chocolate
Pigeon in Chocolate Sauce
IBIZA

"Game is popular in Spain and we love to use chocolate when cooking it. Chocolate gives the rich meat a little bitterness and makes the sauce even stronger. We use a lot of clove in the sauce as well, along with the roasting juices of the wood pigeon. This dish is in season in early autumn, when Ibiza is quiet again after the tourist season." TRY IT AT La Oliva, 2 Calle Santa Cruz, Ibiza Old Town, tel: +34 971 305 752, www.ibiza-restaurants.com/laoliva

3. Huevos Rotos
"Broken" Eggs
MADRID

"Huevos rotos is a mix of sautéed chorizo, garlic and prawns, cooked with egg. Instead of scrambling the eggs, we crash them into the pan from a great height. It's a warming dish for the freezing Madrid winter, where it can get down as low as -5°C. Casa Lucio is the place to eat huevos rotos. I absolutely love it there. It's an old-fashioned restaurant that very few tourists know about. My grandparents used to have a house just next door, so I visit every time I go home." TRY IT AT Casa Lucio, 35 Cava Baja, Madrid, tel: +34 91 365 8217, www.casalucio.es

4. Salmonetes en Escabeche
Red Mullet in Escabeche
ALMERIA

"The red mullet fillets are cooked in the oven and served with a light escabeche (sherry vinegar sauce). Marinating fish in escabeche was a way of conserving food before fridges - in Spain we also make escabeche with tuna and mackerel. For me, this dish is the Mediterranean on a plate. I used to spend summers in the natural park of Cabo de Gata in Almería - an amazing place as it's been protected from over- construction. If you go diving there you'll see some of the best underwater landscapes; volcanic rock formations are part of the geology. The fishing village of Carboneras is a good place for fresh fish dishes like this." TRY IT AT Bar Felipe, 11 Calle de San Antonio, Carboneras, tel: +34 950 454 565

5. Sepia con Alioli
Cuttlefish with Aioli
BARCELONA

"Rustic, traditional Catalan food is some of the best in Spain. Boiled cuttlefish is extremely tender if well cooked. With alioli [garlic mayonnaise] and boiled potatoes it becomes a simple yet tasty dish. A good alioli needs to be silky smooth and made with olive oil that has low acidity. It shouldn't be bitter or astringent - that's the key. You don't want to feel it in your throat afterwards." TRY IT AT El Quim de la Boqueria, La Boqueria market stalls 584-585 & 606-609, 91 Rambles, Barcelona, tel: +34 933 019 810, www.elquimdelaboqueria.cat

6. Croquetas de Cabrales
Cabrales Cheese Croquettes
ASTURIAS

"Cabrales is a strong, blue cheese made from a mix of sheep's, goat's and cow's milk. It comes from the mountains of Asturias and León and is very piquant. To make these croquetas you mix the strong Cabrales with a delicate béchamel sauce, and the two ingredients become a perfect match. Asturias is the kind of province where you'll find super-traditional dishes wherever you go. The people there are known for being straightforward and not so interested in trends. One of my chefs recommends the seaside town of Llanes in Asturias for great tapas." TRY IT AT Casa Poli sidreria, Puertas de Vidiago, near Llanes, Asturias, tel: +34 985 411 217, www.casapoli.es

Almeria Trivia

• May: The Roquetas del Mar authorities recently revealed that the number of abandoned animals has soared. Last year, they picked up 691 dogs and cats, and found new homes for nearly half these animals - mostly in northern Europe.

• April: The AVE high-speed train is arriving in southeast Spain. The Spanish government is predicting that the line to link Madrid with Alicante will open by the end of this year. It will continue on to Murcia and then Almería, with an estimated finishing date for Murcia of 2014.

• March: Rugby is growing in popularity in Spain, with new clubs springing up on the coast, where the expat influence is strong. One of these flourishing clubs is Albox Rugby Club, with the team playing regular matches and training on Sundays from 11.30am-1.30pm at the sports pavilion in Albox. Check them out on their Facebook page.

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