Book review: Bar 44 Tapas y Copas by Owen and Tom Morgan

The tapas bar that links Cardiff, Bristol and Spain has released a recipe book to make Spanish treats for yourself

The first Bar 44 – Tapas y Copas opened on the first floor of a run-down social club in the small market town of Cowbridge, South Wales, back in 2002. It was founded by two brothers, Tom and Owen Morgan, who were fresh out of university and wanting to bring the culture of Spanish tapas to the UK. Since then, they have launched another two restaurants in Wales and a fourth in Bristol, each showcasing the very best Spanish produce available, from Galician beef to Manzanilla sherry.

In the introduction of their inaugural book, the brothers describe themselves as “inexplicably linked between Wales, Bristol and Spain – it’s in our blood!”. The brothers first tasted tapas on Spanish holidays and then as adults on road trips around the country, spending time in kitchens across the Basque Country, Asturias, Galicia and Castilla y Leon.

The book is split into bar-top tapas, salads and vegetables, fish and seafood, meat, pulses, rice and raciones, desserts, and stocks, sauces and accompaniments, as well as ‘copas’ (meaning ‘glasses’). There are recipes for tapas staples such as patatas bravas with a sherry aïoli made from Oloroso sherry and sherry vinegar, as well as classic jamón ibérico croquetas, Valencian orange cake and crème Catalana tart. But lesser-known dishes such as seafood fideua – similar to paella but made with angel hair pasta instead of rice – and the oxtail-stuffed piquillo peppers are what really draw readers in. There’s even a little nod to the Morgans’ Celtic heritage with a recipe for Welsh cakes, the only difference is that the raisins are soaked in figgy Pedro Ximénez sherry.

This book is so much more than a souvenir to be sold to fans of the restaurants as they pay their bill. It has depth of knowledge and vibrant recipes that simply jump off the page. Spanish cuisine is still relatively untouched in the UK, when you compare it to our love of French and Italian, but with this 317-page bible in your hand, any chef or home cook will be inspired to bring a little bit of Spanish sunshine onto their menus.

Bar 44 – Tapas y Copas by Owen and Tom Morgan (Seren Books, £25)