Salt cod, croquetas and fideuà: the Spanish-inspired recipes of Yotam Ottolenghi

At this time of year, with the longest day of the year earlier this week, thoughts of long evenings eating tapas are rarely far from my culinary thoughts. Making tapas is often time consuming in the kitchen – salt cod, croquetas and allioli take a while to make. But, in my opinion, it's all part of the occasion: tending to the kitchen, slipping in for a nap, and maybe bringing the sunset forward an hour or so to enjoy it while you get ready... ¡Salud!

Salted cod with grated tomatoes and dill oil (top photo)

Salted cod, or bacalao, is one of those things that seems much more difficult to prepare than it actually is. Try it once - especially to show yourself how easy it can be - and you'll soon be doing it again to show your friends. Serve with crusty bread and a large leafy salad.

Preparation 25 minCooking 1 hour+Cooking 15 minFor 4 people

500g skinless cod loin, cut into 4 equal pieces ¾ tsp caster sugar flaked sea salt 160ml olive oil 3 cloves of garlic, peeled - 2 lightly crushed with the side of a large knife, the other crushed 1 lemon - zest finely peeled into 5 strips, then squeezed, to obtain 1½ tablespoons4 Italian tomatoes (400g net)1 shallot, peeled and cut into thin rings (30g net)10g fresh dill leaves½ tablespoon coffee roasted caraway seeds lightly crushed in a mortar½ teaspoon Aleppo pepper

First, cure the cod. Grind the sugar and two teaspoons of salt into flakes in a mortar until almost fine. Dry the pieces of cod and put them on a tray. Coat the fish evenly in the salt mixture and allow to harden at room temperature for an hour or two - don't let it sit longer or it will be too salty.

Once cooked cod, heat oven to 180C (160C fan)/350F/gas 4.

Rinse fish well under cold running water, then pat dry. it and put it in a small ovenproof sauté pan in which it fits perfectly. Pour in 100 ml of oil, add the crushed garlic and the strips of lemon zest and cover with a sheet of parchment paper. Bake for 12 minutes, until cooked through, then remove from the oven, remove and discard the foil and let rest for five minutes.

During Meanwhile, grate the tomatoes into a bowl on the coarse side of a grater and discard the skin. Stir in half a teaspoon of flaked salt, then pour into a small sieve placed over a bowl and allow to drain for five minutes. Discard the tomato water (or keep it for another use), then put the pulp in a bowl and stir in two tablespoons of oil, the crushed garlic and a tablespoon of lemon juice.

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Place the shallots in a small bowl with the remaining half a tablespoon of lemon juice and an eighth of a teaspoon of salt, toss, then set aside to marinate gently.< /p>

To make the dill oil, place the remaining two tablespoons of oil and the dill in the small bowl of a food processor and blend until smooth. until the mixture is green and almost smooth (or do this with a pestle and mortar).

Place the tomato on a rimmed dish, then, using a spatula, gently remove the pieces of cod from the oil (keep the candied oil for frying other seafood) and place on top of the tomato. Drizzle with dill oil, sprinkle with shallots, caraway and chilli and serve.

Goat cheese croquetas with marmalade allioli