In my family we eat this dish of braised red cabbage with apples as a starter on Christmas Eve. I’m a born and bred Madrileño and this is a very traditional Christmas dish; in fact I can’t recall a Christmas without it. My great aunty Tere is always in charge of this dish but I am the one she gives it first to try, to check if it’s missing something. I have learned from the best.

You’ll find this dish in pretty much every tapas bar in every coastal town in Spain, as well as in all the major cities. We love our fish and shellfish so much that the capital Madrid (which is in the middle of mainland Spain) is a major fresh fish importer, second only to Japan.

What a simple thing this is and what a success it has had in Spain. We have this for breakfast, as an accompaniment for charcuteries, we serve it just to nibble on the table and we dress in the same way our sandwiches (in other countries people use butter). Remember garlic wants to be your friend, don’t forget to love him back.