DIY continental food and drink at home in the UK

If you want to bring a little bit of relaxed, continental retirement lifestyle into your own home there’s no better way to do it than through the delicious options you have when it comes to food and drink. People living overseas, especially in Europe, often remark on the wonderful variety of foodstuffs they can enjoy; however, the same ingredients are available to you here in the UK if you only know where to look for them and how to put them together. Here are a few top class ideas for creating some of the delights of continental offerings.

Spanish tapas

Tapas are appetizers or snacks and an essential part of the Spanish cuisine. Often served in bars as a pre-dinner treat, they can be hot or cold and frequently include ingredients such as cheese or olives, slices of bread with a variety of toppings, cold meats or chorizo sausage. These are easy to assemble at home as you can cook your favourite omelette, for example, containing lots of interesting vegetables (potatoes, peppers) or seafood (anchovies, mackerel, sardines) and when cold slice it up into wedges or smaller, bite size pieces and serve it as a tortilla – part of your special tapas presentation.

We love Olives, hummus and tapas style food

French coffee

Traditional tea and your favourite hot chocolate drinks are all very well; however, the variety of continental coffees you will find in France and Italy, for example, is stunning and very, very tasty. One of the most popular drinks in the world, coffee makes a great start to the day as the caffeine it contains gives you a real lift. Whether you’re a cappuccino convert, an espresso enthusiast or a latte lover, the range of coffee machines at Tassimo will deliver a superb morning coffee to get your day off to just the right start, or to round off your evening meal.

My coffee at a French style cafe in Soho London 

Greek delights

The Mediterranean dishes of Greece are said to be among the healthiest foods in the world – think Greek salads with feta cheese or lamb kleftiko – a lean roast with garlic, herbs and lemon juice. Avocado and lean chicken are also wonderful ingredients to use if you want to create a different kind of Greek island salad, while honey and yogurt provide a healthy dessert. Check out your local shops for the necessary ingredients to have a great Greek night in.

I love a good salad

Italy

We all know that Italy is famous for its pasta and pizza, but it also has a gorgeous range of Italian breads, which you can recreate at home by adding olives, sundried tomatoes, pesto and lots of other ingredients to classic ciabatta dough, which uses olive oil in addition to traditional bread ingredients.

We love eating world food and trying new things in the home

Finally, a drop of wine with your evening meal, no matter which country you decide to adopt as part of your continental lifestyle, will not go amiss: think dry whites for seafood, full-bodied reds for Spanish and Italian meat dishes and anything you fancy for everything in between.

This is a contributed post