If you love tapas, as I do, you must have encountered this ubiquitous shrimp and garlic dish at some point.  Known usually as Gambas al Ajillo, it is a wonderful first course or accompaniment to almost any meal.  Tonight we made a quick journey to Spain for supper, starting with the Gambas, and making the rest of the meal from an outrageously simple vegetable dish of Potatoes and Green Beans Extremadura Style.  Here’s how they looked on the plate:

Here are the recipes and associated cookbooks.  Intriguingly, both were cooked in clay pots, and I think they are partially-responsible for the pleasing flavors and textures of the resulting dishes.

I already had a white wine open, so I finished it with this supper.  It was a Garganega from the Veneto; not a perfect match but certainly acceptable.