Having looked after more than 5,000 guests over the last 12 years and received such praise for the food produced in our kitchens, we decided that it was time to produce a cookery book of typical Andalucian food because almost without exception our guests ask for the recipes for the meals they experience whilst staying with us.

The recipes are a selection of the wonderful meals created by

Maria, our "Queen of the Kitchen" at Cortijo Rosario in Algámitas.

We included a small travelogue and history of the area and the wonderful Moorish cities that are within 60-90 minutes drive of the Cortijo and also a little more information on Flamenco, Sherry, Tapas etc

Maria's Paella, the staff who produce it and the guests who eat it

Below is an example recipe for the Paella pictured above . There are 120 pages of recipes and information in the cookery book. Click the email link below if you wish to order a copy. Pricing is £10 or 15€ (plus £1.75 postage and packing for UK)

Paella

 

Olive Oil

2 Tomatoes -skinned

½ Green Pepper

½ Red Pepper

3 cloves Garlic

½ Chicken

250g Raw Prawns (Use cooked unpeeled if raw not available)

250g Baby Squid – washed and cleaned

325g Long Grain Rice

1 tsp yellow colouring

Handful of Peas (tinned or frozen)

½ Lemon plus a few wedges for garnish

500g Live Mussels - cleaned

1 Chicken or Vegetable Stock Cube

 Few Strands Saffron

1 tblsp chopped Parsley

 

Pour enough oil into a paella pan to cover the bottom. Chop the tomatoes, peppers, and 2 of the cloves of garlic and fry gently in the oil for 10 minutes.

Chop the chicken into small pieces and fry with the vegetables, adding a pinch of salt, until cooked through (about 10 minutes).

Meanwhile, put 8 of the raw (or cooked) prawns to one side and peel the remainder.

Place the heads, tails & skins in a saucepan with 750ml of water to make stock. Simmer for 15 minutes. If you are using raw prawns, while the stock is simmering, put the 8 prawns in a colander over the saucepan to steam. When they have turned pink, take them off the heat and reserve them for garnish.

Slice the squid and fry with the other ingredients for a few minutes then add the rice and colouring.

Fry for a further 5 minutes then add the strained stock. (As a rule of thumb you need to add twice the volume of stock to rice.)

Stir until it comes to the boil add the peeled prawns and peas then leave it to simmer gently without stirring at all.

In the meantime put an inch of water in the bottom of a large saucepan and bring to the boil. Add the mussels and half a lemon and cook for a few minutes until the shells open. Remove from the pan and reserve the cooking liquid in case you need to add more stock.

Remove the mussels from their shells leaving a few whole to garnish.

Cook the rice until it feels soft when squeezed between the fingers (about half an hour) – you may need to add more stock if it dries out. If there is liquid still in the pan when the rice is cooked, turn the heat up a little until it has all evaporated.

In a pestle and mortar crush the remaining clove of garlic with the stock cube, saffron and a little water. Sprinkle this over the paella, then gently push the mussels into the rice. Finally garnish with the whole prawns, the reserved mussels in their shells and the lemon wedges.