Eggplant & goat's cheese pinchos with balsamic raisin & pumpkinseed pesto

This cute little thing is one of thye most requested items in my menus.
It's a great addition to any cocktail party or tapas spread.

Start by slicing the eggplants lenghtwise and placing them on an oiled baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle the slices with S&P.
Roast in a medium hot oven until the edges start getting some colour and the eggplant turns tender.
Delicately remove the slices from the baking sheet whilst still warm and let them cool off.

While the eggplant cools, work on the pesto.
In a blender, or robot, place Italian parsley, fresh mint,pumpkinseed, raisin, a bit of chili flakes, garlic to taste, 1 part of balsamic vinegar, 3 parts of the best olive oil and blend/pulse until you'll have a quite coarse but fluid product. Season with salt and pepper and adjust with a bit of sugar and more vinegar as needed.
You'll want to achieve a balance between the herbs and the sweetness of the raisin ... you'll know whn you'll get it right.

Next, smear a bit of room temperature goat's cheese( a soft one, like a Montrachet...) and a tiny bit of the pesto on the eggplant slices; roll'em up and secure with a skewer ( or, if you feel really fancy, with a thime sprig...) and place on serving plate. Make the pinchos look nice and drizzle liberally with the pesto.
Enjoy your success!

Chickpeas and chorizo stew

One of my favorite legume dishes...  and a great complimentary tapa at the restaurant.

You'll need chickpeas (that you'll have soaked overnight and boiled with a few bay leaves, garlic cloves and a dry chilli), the reserved cooking liquid and aromatics from the chickpeas ( or chicken stock...),  the Holy Trinity of onion, carrot and celery, garlic, a few tomatoes and a good Spanish chorizo.

Chop all the aromatics and the chorizo; because this is a truly rustic dish, do not go crazy fancy when you chop but aim for a chunkier cut.

Saute everything until it looks like this:

Season with S&P and add the chickpeas, the grated tomatoes

 and enough reserved cooking liquid to top off the garbanzos and let simmer until ready.

Done!

Easy, no?  Got to admit I am no expert in Spanish wines, but I am quite sure that a younger Tempranillo would cut it more than "OK" with this....   Buen Provecho!