The Cottage Smallholder

I was resigned to the usual two-supermarket shop this weekend; Tesco and Waitrose. Doing both robs 30 minutes from my planned gardening spot. With one day off, I wanted to dig over the vegetable patch and plant our garlic and shallots.

I visited Tesco first and was amazed to find everything that I needed. A few weeks ago I spotted that they have a new range – “Tesco ingredients” (similar to the Waitrose range “Cooks ingredients”) but I hadn’t checked it out until yesterday.

Here was a chunky Le Parfait jar of anchovies (250g for £4.99, by far the cheapest way of buying them. Waitrose has a similar product). If you keep the anchovies covered by the oil, they seem to last for ages in the fridge. There were loads of other goodies but my attention was diverted by the section next door.

This “Speciality Food” section was literally heaving with mouth-watering delights, from tiny jars of Membrillo (quince paste) to pickled lemons. (Hats off to Tesco for setting them side by side). Then I spied this dinky tin of smoked paprika imported direct from Spain. Out in the sticks, it’s hellishly difficult to find and I’m a bit suspicious of own brand products. Recently, a gourmand whispered that they had bought this jewel back from Barcelona. I was envious, I use it a lot and our stocks were depleting. Picanté pimentón has so much more going for it than straight paprika or cayenne. It’s punchy so has to be handled with care. A pinch can lift a sauce or have Danny enthusing over a salad (which is no mean feat to accomplish). And an absolute bargain at £1.49 for 125g.