PATRICK MORCAS

The recipes in this cookbook are inspired by the menu at the El Parador restaurant in London. He believes that the best tapas dishes should marry simple, fresh ingredients in an uncomplicated way. The family sit round the table and discuss new recipes, deconstructing them if they have too many steps or ingredients and then rebuilding them with the main ingredient first, then adding only what is essential, stopping when 'the dish feels like it has enough strength of flavour and can stand on its own.' And the recipes aren't classically Spanish - he often borrows ingredients and combinations from other parts of the Mediterranean to create that perfect flavour. Divided simply into fish, meat and vegetables, the book offers dishes like Slow Roast Belly of Pork with Fennel Seeds and Garlic and Chargrilled Roasted Courgettes and Squash with Oregano, Chilli Oil and Goat's Cheese - tapas that you can recreate simply and quickly at home.