April Fools' Dinner
"Maltesers" for Dinner
Tuesday, April 2, 2024
By The “Guiri” Gourmet
No, not a feast of Mars bars! We invited our friends from Malta round for an evening meal!
People from this Mediterranean island that lies between Italy and North Africa are called “Maltesers”, aren’t they?
The “Maltesers”
John and Lorraine are the latest guiris (foreigners) to buy a house in Montejaque. Their house is just 50 metres from Casa Rita, my wife’s place there.
Montejaque [Photo courtesy of Karl Smallman]
I bumped into them last year when they were house-hunting and several times since, and The Meter Maid has met them a couple of times independently of me.
We get on very well.
John is an avid reader of my website, www.help-me-ronda.com, so he must be OK!
So, on the evening of April Fools’ Day, we invited them to our home in Fuente de la Higuera for a meal.
Arrival, aperitif and starter
They got to us at 6.00 pm. The weather had fortunately improved; instead of the rain and wind of the last week or so, we had bright sunshine, and plenty of daylight, as we’d moved the clocks forward the previous day.
So we sat on the front terrace as the sun went down and had our aperitifs and the first course, spicy Maissuppe, sopa de maiz, sweetcorn soup.
Spicy sweetcorn soup [Photo courtesy of Chefkoch]
That went down a treat.
As we drained the last drops from our bowls, it suddenly went cool as the setting sun disappeared behind a cloud. So, we adjourned to the dining room indoors.
Main course and dessert
Next up it was a speciality of Rita’s: paella de mariscos, seafood paella.
Paella de mariscos [Photo courtesy of Mundo deportivo]
Accompanied by a choice of wines, namely a refreshing bone-dry verdejo from Rueda and a young red from Utiel-Requeña, a tempranillo.
Our preference went along gender lines, oddly. White for the ladies and red for the men.
Perfect.
After a short break, it was pudding time. Rita had conjured up a zabaglione, which was amazing!
Conversation
We chatted non-stop the whole time, except while we were eating our dessert, which took our breath away.
We covered many topics, but mainly we talked about Malta, where I had been three times many years ago, including for my first honeymoon in 1975.
Valletta, Malta [Photo courtesy of La Vanguardia]
We also talked about our guests’ plans for the future. They want to move to Spain, to this area, and upgrade to a larger house with a garden and pool.
Lorraine is really keen and John has had enough of his home country, which he feels has been overrun with refugees and other incomers in recent years.
We also talked about practicalities, such as writing a Spanish Will, and buying a car.
They both like the variety of Spain, the cuisine, the landscapes and the architecture, as well as the friendliness of the local people.
Coffee and farewells
After an espresso and more chat we parted company, with a tentative agreement to do a tapeo in Ronda, when they return to Spain in a couple of months time.
© The “Guiri” Gourmet
Further links:
DE TAPEO IN RONDA (eyeonspain.com)
N.B. Notary Bene (eyeonspain.com)
Where there’s a WILL … the process in Spain - Secret Serrania de Ronda
Acknowledgements:
Chefkoch
Karl Smallman (Secret Serrania)
La Vanguardia
Mars confectionery
Mundo deportivo
Shutterstock
Tags:
aperitif, April Fools’ Day, arrival, buying a car, Casa Rita, dessert, Fuente de la Higuera, “Guiri” Gourmet, Karl Smallman, La Vanguardia, main course, Maissuppe, Malta, maltesers, Mars, Mediterranean island, Montejaque, Mundo deportivo, paella de mariscos, pudding, Ronda, Rueda, seafood paella, Shutterstock, sopa de maiz, starter, sweetcorn soup, tapeo, tempranillo, The Meter Maid, Utiel-Requeña, verdejo, writing a Spanish Will, zabaglione
