James Martin: the Spain attraction

Valencia Beans and Red Prawns

Located on the east coast, the 2,000-year-old city of Valencia boasts wide sandy beaches, striking architecture, a buzzing food scene and culture. It has its own language (a dialect of Catalan) and unique cuisine, with a focus on rice, seafood and meat. This dish showcases red prawns on a bed of white beans and vegetables.

Serves 2

75ml olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 onion, diced
¼ leek, diced
½ carrot, peeled and diced
¼ green pepper, cored, deseeded and diced
3 bay leaves
2 whole smoked chilli peppers (or a pinch of chilli flakes)
300g cooked butter beans
splash of white wine
small bunch of flat-leaf parsley, chopped
8 red prawns, split lengthways
sea salt

If you want to use a barbecue, heat a barbecue until hot and the coals are white.

Heat a medium paella pan and, when hot, add the oil, then add the garlic, all the vegetables, the bay leaves and the smoked peppers. Cook for 2-3 minutes, then stir in the beans, 50ml water and the wine and cook for 3-4 minutes. Season with salt and finish with the parsley.
Meanwhile, pop the prawns on to the barbecue, drizzle with oil and season with salt, then cook for 2-3 minutes until charred, turning once or twice. Alternatively, grill on high for 3-4 minutes.
To serve, remove the smoked peppers (if using) from the beans and then pile the prawns on top of the beans and drizzle with extra olive oil if desired.

Creme brulee on a plate with slices of orange all covered in a caramel sauce — Image credit: Dan Jones

Spiced Seville Oranges with Crème Caramel

A pudding that makes the most of Seville’s famous citrus export. The crème caramels are flavoured with orange as well as the vanilla and served alongside sticky caramelised slices of orange.

Serves 4

For the caramel

150g caster sugar
squeeze of orange juice

For the filling

500ml full-fat milk
zest of 1 Seville orange
1 vanilla pod, seeds removed
3 large eggs, plus 2 egg yolks
100g caster sugar

For the orange

1 Seville orange, peeled
2 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
3 cloves
2 bay leaves
100g caster sugar
100ml water

Heat a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat and, when hot, add the sugar, 2 tablespoons of water and the orange juice. Do not stir but carefully swirl in the pan until the sugar is brown and caramelised. This should take about 3-4 minutes. Once the sugar has caramelised, spoon into four ramekins and set aside.
Preheat the oven to 130°C/ fan 110°C/265°F/gas 3 ⁄4. Heat the milk, orange zest and the vanilla in a medium saucepan over a medium heat. In a bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar until combined. Pour over the warm milk mixture and whisk again. Then ladle the mixture onto the caramel. Place the ramekins into a bain-marie and bake for 45 minutes. Transfer to the fridge to chill overnight.
For the orange, pop all the ingredients into the caramel pan and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and leave to cool and infuse. To turn the caramels out, loosen the edges with a sharp knife onto plates, then spoon the oranges on the side.

Book cover for James Martin's Spanish Adventure recipe book