Spanish-style tapas plate

Second course for the Valentine's Day dinner was inspired by tapas-style eating from Spain.

I wanted a few little things that we could taste, but I didn't want anything too heavy, as we were having a three-course meal.

So, we had a grilled lamb cutlet, with a tiny splodge of black olive tapenade; a grilled prawn topped with a slice of chorizo sausage and a sprinkle of chilli salt; and zucchini ribbons with lemon and garlic and some steamed asparagus.

Having a few mouthfuls of each taste was lovely, even though the flavours were very different. It was similar to having three entrees at once.

See our Valentine's entree and dessert.

Feliz Día de San Valentín!

What you'll need

Made four individual tapas plates.

4 frenched lamb cutlets
4 green King prawns, peeled but with tail intact
8 think slices Chorizo sausage
8 fresh asparagus spears

For the zucchini
1 medium-sized zucchini, cut into thin ribbons (I used a vegetable peeler to make the ribbons)
Juice and zest of half a lemon
1 French eschallot, finely sliced
1 clove garlic, finely chopped

Salt and pepper
Dried chilli flakes (for the prawns)
Olive oil for grilling
Good quality, shop-bought olive tapenade

What to do

Make the zucchini. Heat a pan over medium heat. Add a little olive oil. Add the eschallot and garlic and sauté for 3 minutes. Add the zucchini and cook for five minutes until it softens. Remove from the heat and season with the lemon juice and zest and salt and pepper. Set aside to keep warm.

Heat two fresh pans over medium heat. Add a little olive oil to both pans.

In one pan, add the lamb cutlets. Cook for about 3 minutes on one side, then turn and cook on the other side. Season well with salt and pepper.

In the other pan add the prawns and sausage and cook for three or four minutes until heated through. Remove from the heat.

Steam the asparagus in a steamer or a little boiling water until just cooked. Drain.

Now plate the dish. Place the lamb cutlet on one side of the plate. Spoon on a little bit of the shop bought tapenade.

In the middle, place one prawn, top with two slices of sausage, then sprinkle over a few dried chilli flakes.

Finally, make a small pile of the zucchini ribbons, and top with the asparagus spears.

Serve with a glass of chilled white wine or Prosecco. Delicious.