The Food That Takes Me Home | Summer Days in the English Countryside

Join me for two meaningful summer days here in England, filled with history, family memories and the flavours of my Galician roots in north-west Spain.

We begin at the beautiful Hospital of St Cross in Winchester, a historic place surrounded by peaceful English countryside. For centuries, pilgrims travelling towards Santiago de Compostela stopped here to rest and receive bread and ale before continuing their journey along St James’ Way.

Back at home, I prepare a traditional Galician meal inspired by the recipes passed down through generations in my family: a Galician-style beef empanada made with my grandmother’s dough recipe, Tarta de Santiago, Galician-style octopus and Padrón peppers.

British cooking and my culinary discoveries are at the heart of this channel, but our family table has always brought British and Spanish traditions together. In this video, I wanted to share another side of Spain — the green, Atlantic land of Galicia, where bagpipes are heard, food is deeply rooted in family life and Santiago de Compostela marks the end of the Camino.

These days, I have been feeling a quiet longing for home, so this meal felt especially meaningful.

Happy St James’s Day to all my Galician and Spanish viewers, and especially to those of us celebrating far from home.

Thank you for joining us for another peaceful moment of slow living, traditional cooking and life in the English countryside. 🌿

GALICIAN-STYLE BEEF EMPANADA
Traditional Spanish Savoury Pie

For the meat filling:

• 700g braising beef or beef chuck, cut into small pieces
• 5 onions, finely chopped
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 1 leek, chopped — optional
• 1 courgette, chopped — optional
• 5–6 ripe tomatoes, or passata if preferred
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
• 1 small sachet of saffron threads — optional
• Olive oil
• Coarse sea salt, to taste

Cook the onions and peppers gently in a generous amount of olive oil before adding the beef. Add the remaining vegetables, tomatoes, bay leaves and seasonings, then cook slowly until the meat is tender and pulls apart easily.

Reserve approximately 170g of the flavoured oil from the filling for the dough.

For the dough:

• 450g plain flour
• 100g strong white bread flour
• 20g fresh yeast or 7g dried yeast
• 100ml water
• 50ml white wine
Or use 150ml water, as I did
• Approximately 170g reserved oil from the filling
Top up with olive oil if needed
• 1 egg
• 8–10g salt

Mix the ingredients until the dough comes together. It does not require intensive kneading. Leave it covered until doubled in size, then divide it into two pieces.

Roll out one piece for the base, add the cooled filling and cover with the remaining dough. Seal the edges and make a small steam vent in the centre.

Bake at 180°C / 350°F / Gas Mark 4 for approximately 30 minutes, until beautifully golden.

TARTA DE SANTIAGO
Traditional Galician Almond Cake

• 5 eggs
• 240g caster sugar
• 270g ground almonds
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Finely grated zest of ½ lemon
• Icing sugar, for decorating

Whisk the eggs and sugar until pale and slightly fluffy. Fold in the ground almonds, cinnamon and lemon zest, then pour into a prepared cake tin.

Bake at 170°C / 340°F / Gas Mark 3 for approximately 20–30 minutes, until lightly golden.

A 25cm cake tin is ideal for the traditional thin texture, although I used a 20cm tin.

Leave the cake to cool completely before decorating it with icing sugar and the traditional Cross of St James.

PULPO A LA GALLEGA
Galician-Style Octopus

• 1 octopus, previously frozen and fully defrosted
• 1 onion
• 2 bay leaves
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Coarse sea salt
• Sweet paprika
• Hot paprika, to taste

Cook the octopus in a large pan of boiling water with the onion and bay leaves until tender.

Once cooked, cut it into bite-sized pieces and serve with a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, coarse sea salt and a mixture of sweet and hot paprika to taste.

PIMIENTOS DE PADRÓN
Padrón Peppers

• Padrón peppers
• Olive oil
• Coarse sea salt

Fry the peppers in a generous amount of olive oil until softened and lightly blistered.

Drain briefly, sprinkle generously with coarse sea salt and serve immediately.

Please remember that cooking times and quantities may need adjusting depending on your ingredients, oven and the size of your tins or baking trays.

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