Roasted mashwa dish and wheat stew . Black tears and white shoes

Distance means nothing when I hear the word flamenco. I could be miles away from Spain but if I am in a flamenco show, I am at home. 

Last Monday we were invited by a couple of Peruvian friends to a charity event to raise funds for the Mission of Padre Martinho to help children with disabilities. The event consisted in a flamenco dance performed by the group "Por flamenco". I was looking forward to it.

The audience was waiting for something to happen. In front of a hundred spectators there were three men, one with a guitar, the other with the cajon or box and the third one...with a deep voice that took our breath away, or at least mine. At the same time,  three gorgeous women, wearing beautiful spotty dresses, black and red, started to move arms, hips, legs and feet rhythmically. The echoing sound of their black heels knocking on the wooden floor gave me goose bumps.

And I thought of my dad.

Mi nina Esther, you really have to be in love with Flamenco to be able feel it, my dad whispered in my ear. But that girl of eight years old didn't understand it yet. Not until she grew up, left Spain and lived around the world those words became her anchor. However, despite what many think, not all Flamenco dancing is worth seeing it. It is sometimes poorly made for foreigners to fit into the Spanish stereotype - I made sure that my husband appreciates the difference! If you watch a good one, where the music and the dance play in unison with your heart, well, you will be able to feel Flamenco, as my dad said.

The spectacle had begun... "black tears were running on her pretty face .." sung the Andalusian man. His solea song - solea is one of the most basic forms of Flamenco music - was accompanied by a soft hand- clapping (palmas in Spanish). Instinctively, I started to copy him.

Watching the beautiful show, I continued to think of my beloved father. A man from the South of Spain who would have loved to be there with me, smiling. If only this happy image was real, I would  give anything to have it, even if it was just for one second.

I was born in Madrid, back when my father was still living with us. In those days, my parents used to spend summer, together, with us. Our holiday destination was a fishing village called Punta Umbria, one of the most beautiful beaches of Huelva, where my dad was born. Truth be told, I am not being objective and I love Punta Umbria because I have special childhood memories. and great stories that I can tell my children now...did you know that I used to walk in bare feet on a street called La Calle Ancha to buy my favourite soft nougat ice cream in the shop La Ibense? 

I went back to Punta Umbria twice since I left Spain in 2003. Once for my dad's funeral in November of 2006 and the second time with Nick and my daughter Aurelia when she was nine months old, in 2008. The day that all my siblings - plus the in laws and my step mother Inmaculada - and I threw the ashes of my father to the sea of Punta Umbria, as he wished, my world was turned upside down. I didn't know what emotional pain meant until that day.

Tomorrow is 20th of December and eight years since the lung cancer took my father away to a better, and less suffering, place.  

I had black tears last Monday night - mainly because the rimmed for the eye lashes was NOT water proof - during the Flamenco show, but I didn't care what my neighbour could think of this perhaps too sensitive woman. He didn't understand that I was missing my father. 

Distance means a lot when you miss the people you love and you cannot make them appear when you want.

At least I will always have Flamenco...

My white flamenco shoes with my grandma's manton

... and cooking.

I used to think that I would be a better cook if I had lots of cookbooks. I was wrong although I am a self taught cook thanks to them, reading and practicing the recipes, and making mistakes, lots of them. I still make them, but not the same ones.

You are a better cook when you take the challenge to cook with new ingredients. They don't have to be exotic, a simple artichoke is already a test for me. However, now that I am lucky to live in a country like Peru, where the produce is so diverse, from three different areas, desert coast, mountains and Amazon, the range of possibilities is big. No excuses.

This week I wanted to cook with mashwa and wheat. The mashwa is a papa amarga from the Andes Central. It reminds me of the parsnip, but without the nutty flavour.

I used the recipe of Ottolenghi for roasted parsnips with sweet potatoes with caper vinaigrette. It was really good. I served it as a side dish with a delicious roast chicken. This roast vegetable is one of my favourites from now on, with parsnips or mashwas.

• 4 mashwas
• 4 medium red onions
• 2/3 cup olive oil
• 4 thyme sprigs
• 2 rosemary sprigs
• a head of garlic, halved horizontally
• salt and black pepper
• 2 medium sweet potatoes
• 30 cherres tomatoes, halved
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 4 tbsp capers
• 1/2 maple syrup (I used honey)
• 1/2 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds

1. Preheat the oven to 375 F. Peel the mashwas and cut in three segments, and then into two or four. Peel the onions and cut each into six wedges.
2. Place the mashwas and onions in a large mixing bowl and add 1/2 cup olive oil, the thyme, rosemary, garlic, salt and some pepper. Mix well and spread out in a large roasting pan. Roast for 20 minutes.
3. Repeat the peopling and cutting process with the sweet potatoes. Add them to the pan. Return the pan to the oven for a further 40 to 50 minutes.
4. When all the vegetables are golden colour, stir in the halved tomatoes. Roast for 10 minutes more. Meanwhile, whisk together the lemon juice, capers, honey, mustard and the remanning two tablespoons of olive oil and some salt.
5. Pour the dressing over the roasted vegetables as soon as you take them out of the oven. Scatter the sesame seeds over the vegetables and serve.

The trigo perlado or whole wheat is cooked like chickpeas, soaked in water for at least 10 hours (or using the press cooker for 10 minutes, as I do). We made this little dish for the children and they loved it. It is soft and I think perfect as a baby food.

1. Fry half of a chopped onion and one crushed garlic in a sauce pan with a tablespoon of olive oil. Add one piece of peeled ginger, chopped.
2. Add one zucchini , chopped and unpeeled. Stir well until cooked.
3. Add the already 1 cup of cooked wheat, cilantro if you have, and chicken stock to cover. Season with salt and pepper. Cook it for 10 minutes or until the water has been absorbed.
4. Mix some chopped fresh feta cheese in cubes.