From bold and flavourful bites to fresh, fruity salads. Gail Damon shares her party spread for the perfect fiesta.

Grilled gildas

Makes about 10-12

We’ve given this famous bar snack from the Basque country in the north of Spain some South African flare by lightly charring the olives and peppers over the braai.

Toss about ½ packet (100g) green olives (we used pimento stuffed olives) and 10-12 guindilla peppers with olive oil. Char in a pan over medium coals or under the oven grill for 8-10 minutes. Thread one olive, an anchovy fillet and charred pepper onto a bamboo skewer or rosemary stalk. Repeat process until you have 10-12 skewers. Served drizzled with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt flakes.

Cook’s note

Guindilla peppers or Piparras are pickled Spanish chillies with a sweet and medium hot flavour. Swap them out for pickled jalapenos, shishitos or padron chilli peppers (see here for more on a range of peppers).

Garlic prawn & chorizo pincho

Makes about 10-12

Peel off the outer casing of ½ (about 110g) smoked Spanish chorizo. Slice into medium-thick rounds and fry over medium heat for about 5-8 minutes until crispy and oils have been released. Remove and set aside to keep warm. Add 1 packet (350g) prawn tails to the same pan and sauté for about 3 minutes. Add 3 cloves chopped garlic, ½ tsp chilli flakes and the zest and juice of 2 lemons. Cook for another 3-5 minutes until fragrant and prawns are cooked. Season. To assemble, stack chorizo and prawns onto toasted baguette slices and secure with a bamboo skewer. Drizzle with pan juices and serve scattered with fresh parsley and lemon wedges on the side.

Pork bombas with fresh tomato & garlic

Makes 16-18

Tasty little stuffed mashed potato balls that are a guaranteed crowd-pleaser. Make them in advance and freeze before frying to get ahead of the prep for your next fiesta. 

Ingredients

Glug olive oil
1/2 (about 110g) smoked Spanish chorizo, cubed
1 small onion, finely chopped
½ packet (375g) frozen pork bangers, defrosted
1½ tsp smoked paprika
Salt and milled pepper
½ cup sherry or balsamic vinegar

4 large potatoes, peeled and quartered
1½ Tbsp olive oil
Oil for deep frying
Flour
2-3 eggs, whisked
Breadcrumbs (or panko crumbs), for coating

For the tomato garlic

3-4 tomatoes, grated
Glug olive oil
2 cloves garlic, grated
Salt and milled pepper

Method

1. Heat oil in a pan over medium heat.
2. Fry chorizo cubes until crispy and oils are released. Remove and set aside.
3. Add onion and fry for 5-8 minutes until soft.
4. Remove pork sausages from casing and fry with onion, breaking up with a wooden spoon as it cooks, until browned.
5. Add paprika and sherry or balsamic vinegar and allow to simmer for 15-20 minutes.
6. Add cooked pork mince and chorizo to a food processor and pulse to a course texture. Cool completely.
7. Boil potatoes until fork tender and pass through a sieve, or mash using a potato ricer.
8. Add olive oil, season and roll into balls (about 20-30g each).
9. Using your index finger make an indent halfway through the centre of each potato ball.
10. Fill with about 2 tsp pork and chorizo filling and close potato around filling smoothing into a ball. Allow to set in the fridge for 20 minutes.
11. Combine tomato and garlic ingredients, season well and set aside to infuse.
12. Dredge each ball in flour, egg and breadcrumbs.
13. Heat oil until shimmering hot and deep fry until golden brown and crispy. Drain on kitchen paper and season.
14. Serve hot with tomato and garlic dipping sauce.

Pincho party

A pincho, pintxo or pinchu is a small tapas-like snack typically eaten in bars and is popular in northern Spain. Pinchos are usually skewered or “spiked” with a toothpick as is or to a piece of bread.

Recipes and styling: Gail Damon

Photographs: Zhann Solomons