by Sandra Piddock

Created on: October 25, 2010

Assuming that this means the last meal before death, and that, although I am so close to departing this life my appetite and taste buds are still in good working order, my last meal would have to be paella.

I've lived in Spain for three years now, and I've embraced Spanish food with a passion, so there's only one possible choice for my last meal. I'd start in the traditional Spanish way, with a basket of warm crusty bread served with ali oli (garlic mayonnaise) and tomato salsa (grated tomato with olive oil, pepper and garlic). This would be followed by a huge salad, comprising of lettuce, tomatoes, grated carrots, sweetcorn, onions, hard-boiled eggs and olives.

What would I drink with this last meal? Why, cava of course! Cava is the Spanish version of Champagne, and I'd have my favourite brand of semi-seco (medium sweet) white cava. And I'd want the cava to keep coming all through the meal. What's the point in watching alcohol units if you're about to expire?

As for the paella itself, although I enjoy seafood paella - in fact I enjoy any kind of paella - it's not really traditionally Spanish. My favourite paella is made with rabbit and chicken, just as the Valencian rice workers used to make it back in the day. A really great paella relies on a few good quality ingredients. Some people make the mistake of assuming you can throw anything into a paella, but that's just not the case.

Rabbit, chicken, peppers and onions are all that is needed to make a tasty paella - and rice, of course. The thing is, if you include too many ingredients, the flavours will fight with each other. Keep it simple to get the best tasting paella ever. Garnish with parsley and wedges of lemon. Squeezing lemon juice over the paella brings out all the flavours.

I'd finish off this great meal with Crema Catalina - a light dessert that is similar to creme caramel. I don't do coffee - although I'm reliably informed that the Spanish make wonderful coffee - so instead, I'd enjoy a generous glass of Osborne 103 Spanish brandy, with lots of ice.

If you've ever been to Spain, you'll have noticed the huge black bulls on the hillsides. These were originally brightly painted advertising boards for Osborne brandy, but the powers that be decided that they were too distracting for drivers, and they ordered them to be destroyed. There was such an outcry that the government relented, and said the bulls could stay, as long as they were painted black. Okay, it's nothing to do with my last meal, but I thought I'd pass on that little bit of useless information before I die.

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