I love the month of June in Vejer. June and September are probably my favourite months. The weather is glorious: brilliant bright sunshine, the bluest of skies and a cooling breeze. There’s always a cooling breeze high on the hilltop. Guests often walk into the coolness of Casa Alegre and say, “Thank goodness you have air con!” But I don’t. It’s just the cooling breeze and the fact that the walls of the house are two feet thick. It was built to withstand the heat, as air con wasn’t an option hundreds of years ago.
Every house on the hill used to have a donkey. I have a shopping trolley! The hard-working donkeys needed a cool shelter, out of the sun, so the donkey stable was probably the coolest spot in the ancient Andalucían patio home. Here, the donkey stable is now the store room. Thankfully, the teaching kitchen is always cool, even at the height of summer. It’s incredible, but it’s true!
Another wonderful thing about June is the abundance of yummy local produce. Actually, without sounding too smug I hope, we have something yummy happening every month here: 12 months of changing food seasons. If it’s not grown locally or in Spain, you won’t find it in the market here. There are a few exceptions, though. Grapes come from South America and oranges from South Africa when they’re not in season here. Our strawberry season is about to come to an end, and that will be it. No more strawberries until next January or February, when the season begins again. But the cherries have arrived. Something wonderful goes, but there’s always something just as good arriving to take away the pain.
So, lunch today. No class, home alone, I indulged in a plate of paradise. It was so simple and made with the freshest local goodies: tomatoes and new season’s sweet onion from Conil, dried oregano from La Muela, organic lettuce and beans from Santa Lucía, gently toasted pine nuts from the forests around Barbate, jamón de recebo bought in Palomita, sherry vinegar from Barbadillo and extra virgin olive oil from Ronda. I finished it with salt, Maldon sea salt. It’s all I use, apart from cooking salt.
I often wonder, when people think about coming to cook in Spain, whether they have any idea just how spectacular the local produce is going to be. It is the very best, and it will leave you brimming with contentment, from spectacular breakfasts of tostada con tomate to a simple tomato salad at lunchtime. Ode to a Tomato will follow…
