I am pretty sure that I fell in love with Spain properly about seven years ago - looking out over the spectacular landscape from the room balcony of a small rural hotel near Ronda. After a dinner in the restaurant, drinking a local tinto and watching the sun disappear.
Mind you, it could have been during an evening stroll along the cobbled streets of Seville, the heat of the day still rising from them. Between tapas of pig's cheeks, slowly cooked in sherry and super crispy, deep-fried baby squids - our palates cleansed by huge goblets of sub-zero gin tonics. It also could have been when we were dining in an over-priced and under-delivering tourist restaurant in the Albaicin of Granada. That disappointment being completely salved by the tableau of the Alhambra in front of me, something that could never fail to transfix any viewer. In reality, it must have been all of these experiences and more. I guess most people reading this will have similar personal memories and emotions of Spain, or perhaps want to have. It seduces you with its open heart, vibrant spirit, generous plates and even more generous measures. I am very excited to have been asked to occasionally share my foodie thoughts, recipes and inspirations with you on Spain In English. I am Alex and I think I have always had food in my veins. My French father came to the UK to further his career as a chef in 1969 and met my mother who was working on reception in the same hotel. Growing up I was fascinated by the noise and heat of the kitchen and - despite warnings about hours and pay – left school to work in a well-regarded local restaurant. Just to keep things in the family, my sister’s partner is also a chef! I worked in and around Manchester and Cheshire until my long-time partner Adrian and I decided to make a move to France 15 years ago. We moved to open our Yoga Holiday retreat centre called ‘Les Passeroses’, which we run during the summer months. We look after the guests and cook all the vegetarian & vegan food, which is perfect for a week of yoga. It is incredibly important to bring everyone together around the dinner to be nourished - not only by the food, but by the social interaction around it. We finally brought out a long-called for cookery ebook this year, featuring some of the most popular recipes which are take inspiration from all over the world, including - of course - Spain. Over the years, several visits to Madrid and Barcelona to stay with friends opened my eyes and belly to how Spain lives through its food and drink culture. Madrid at New Year was the probably coldest I have ever been, but the churros con chocolate was worth braving the icy rain for. The early – OK mid - afternoon recovery from a night’s clubbing in Chueca was helped immeasurably by Huevos Rotos. Chunks of potato baked in olive oil in a deep enamel pan are topped with eggs cracked messily over, liberally strewn with slices of jamón and finished with a bit more olive oil. Crispy, soft, eggy, stodgy, salty and full of Vitamin D - it’s a contender for the world’s most satisfying hangover cure. A rare chance for a holiday in early Summer seven years ago allowed us to discover Andalucia and authentic Spain for the first time. Seville was our starting point and a room in the stunning Hospes Las Casas del Rey de Baeza, a traditional 18th century Sevillian building certainly set the tone. It’s cool cobbled internal patio surrounded by wooden walkways unsurprisingly reminiscent of Moroccan riads. Ronda wowed us with the touristic hordes, dramatic setting and a couple of superb restaurants. The family owned and run ‘Casa Maria’ looks nothing special from the outside, but we have found that often the best things in Spain are the most unassuming or well-hidden. The produce on offer is the very best quality and cooked mainly on the plancha. Ask for ‘un poco de todo’ and just eat what comes. That reminds me - I must write a review. That first holiday finished in Old Town Malaga which was buzzy but the food was way too tourist-oriented for us, with the notable exception of an Argentinian small plates place. I came to realise two things during this trip – I wanted more of this region and Tempranillo is definitely ‘my’ grape! Unable to stay away, we returned in a matter of months, taking in Archidona, Granada and – unsurprisingly - the Alhambra before heading to the seaside towns of the Costa Tropical. Fortune led us to a lesser-known costal town called La Herradura, so named because of its horseshoe shaped bay. Staying at the top of town up a VERY steep slope we had a wonderful view of the town and surrounds. We both agreed something felt ‘right’. It’s a very Spanish town that remains busy throughout the winter, especially with Granadian families, who make the drive down on Sunday afternoons to share paella or wood-cooked fish at the chiringuitos. It’s a long and extremely convoluted story as to how we finally got to own a small house in the lower part of the old town after three years of renting it. Let’s just say deeds and family disputes all played a part, but we got there in the end. Being ensconced for the last three winters has given us a taste of Spanish life that we have become determined to full advantage of by relocating. I spend my time finding new places to visit for their amazing produce, be it the best jamón serrano in the South or a bodega producing starting new wines using old fashioned methods. We love cooking for and sharing with our new friends and neighbours, as well as looking for the best restaurants in the area. We are now married after 28 years together and sitting on the roof terrace, looking at the sea and mountains we feel so lucky to have found Spain and La Herradura. ‘La H’ is where I am already putting down roots, allowing the sun to infuse my body, thoughts and food. When normality returns this will become our home and the starting point of a new journey, travelling deeper into all that Spain can bring to a plate (and to a glass). THIS ARTICLE WAS WRITTEN FOR AND FIRST PUBLISHED ON SPAIN IN ENGLISH https://www.spainenglish.com/2020/06/23/spain-food-love-affair/
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I was already a fan of big, bold red wines - you know, those ones with cojones - but really knew very little about Spanish wine outside of Rioja and Ribera del Duero. That changed when I started looking into the wines of the Granada region. For reasons known only unto myself I presumed that wine production was more limited to the more northerly regions, but I am glad to have proven myself very wrong about that! I will wax lyrical about the Vinos De La Tierra De Granada in further posts. So here is my first foray into wine tasting notes, hoping that I don't sound too up myself! As always, I manage to bring food into it so you get some idea of how well the wines paired. This post and the one following - about another two reds - don't describe a wine selected for the meal or the other way around. These are purely happy coincidences! Senorio de Nevada DOP – Plata 2014 One of the larger and more well-known producers in the region, they bottle just three wines, Bronze, Plata and Oro – bronze, silver and gold. This bodega also has a small hotel and restaurant outside of the city of Granada. Hoping to get there and review it soon! The Plata is a mix of Syrah, Cabernet and Merlot and is aged 10 months in French and American oak. Perhaps surprisingly I found no discernible evidence of woodyness in either nose or mouth. The high alcohol content of 15.5% makes itself known in a very pleasant way. In the glass it’s like Prince - deep purple but thin of leg! It needs plenty of airing and a decent temperature to get anything off the nose, but there is black cherry jam, with note of super-sweetness like candyfloss or a whiff of icing sugar. Fortunately, it is fuller of body in the mouth, where you get smacked with bilberries and blackcurrant, though nothing much more complex than that until you've swallowed. Hints - and I do mean hints - of chocolate just hold their own against a slightly sour liquorice, which is nice on the way down. Tanins are well balanced with no particular dryness in the mouth or finish, which is where you get a cheeky pepper surprise which lingers. We drank it with duck breast and a morel sauce. It was a fine accompaniment to the meal, as you would expect with that dark fruit in the foreground cutting through the richness of the meat. OVERALL - Consistently good, this is a wine - and a bodega - that should be sought out if you visit the region. Wines like this deserve to be at the forefront of a broader recognition and appreciation for Granadian wine. Bodegas Fontadei – Prado Negro VDT de Granada Another of the bigger wineries of the region, Fontadei got my attention initially because of the label – can't lie! Anything that has a lion from the Alhambra or geometrics on it turns me into a magpie - look at it. This Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot mix is aged 11 months in French oak and has 13.5%. Their vineyards sit 1200 meters above sea level, which allows a slower maturation of the grape due to the big change between day and night time temperatures than at lower altitudes. This results in a more complex higher quality wine. The oak drifts up well from the glass with a side order of fresh leather – overall kind of woody. There is a sweet/sour note that reminds me of raspberry vinegar. It’s well bodied and powerful to start. The structure is balance is great, tanins are there but they don’t stick your lips to your teeth! The acidity is fruity, which is just a well, as there is a good whack of (bear with me here) Dandelion and Burdock! Yes, that aniseed/liquorice flavour is robust here but not at all in a sweet way. An aftertaste of warm spices was perfect given that we supped it with lamb leg steaks marinaded in ras-al-hanout & orange zest. Accompanied by cous-cous style veg with chick peas & preserved lemon. It was a match made in heaven – couldn’t have planned it better. Sweetness of the lamb and the spices were complimented but the fattiness cut through by the fruity acidity. Robust enough to cope with that super sharp preserved lemon too. OVERALL - Again another bodega to watch out for. I could easily have polished off another bottle of the Prado Negro A trip into the mountains to view a possible yoga venue turned out to be kismet! This is really a circular yoga story, beginning at Finca Los Pinos near Competa three years ago. We were running one of our retreats there in October and the owners were kind enough to do the cooking for us on the last night and brought out an unusual white wine. Now white is not my usual tipple, but I will try anything. They explained that it was stocked by Gordon Ramsey's restaurants and that piqued my interest a bit more! I will give you my thoughts on that very singular wine a little later. After the retreat was over we got a call from the retreat owners to ask if we wanted to go to the Bodega for a meal with wine, well yes we did! It never came off unfortunately, as there were not enough people to make it worth opening for. We had ideas in our heads of a rustic bodega, traditional Spanish food and tasting more interesting wines, so were obviously disappointed. Life went on, however, and it slipped from our minds, not being white wine consumers. Skip forward to 2019 and we found ourselves in Spain for Christmas for the 1st time. We decided - OK I decided! - to do Christmas dinner for our 4 closest friends in Spain. I shall do a post about this and link it HERE, because as you would expect it was Spanish themed. Not doing thing by halves, I started planning food and thinking about wine pairing for our seven courses, which is obviously nearly as important! My mind flickered back to that wine we tried years before as this would fit perfectly with my mojama and fennel based fish course. After lot of mind straining and internet research I finally found out it was Ariyanas wine. Hurray. Now I know we had seen it at a wine store in the beautiful town of Frigiliana so with a festive gift to pick up there I scheduled a trip around my preparations nearer to the day itself. Bugger! The Frigiliana wine shop was closed and enquiries to other local shops came up with a big fat zero. I knew I didn't have time to visit the bodega, so bought a very dry Rias Baxas from Galicia instead. Despite these 1st world setbacks the meal went really well! Come February 2020 we had made plans to visit a lovely venue that we hoped would be suitable to run more yoga retreats from. The visit went very well apart from getting my car stuck on the corner of their car park! We found out we had loads in common with the owners and that one of them used to live on the next road to me in Manchester. Small world! On the way inland what sign should we pass but that of Bodegas Bentomiz - producer of the now near-mythical (to us at least) Ariyanas wine! We would seek it out on our way back down towards the coast. We were stunned when we got to the end of the lane after taking the turn. Instead of a quaint Spanish bodega with terracotta tiles and rustic touches, we were greeted by stone-clad minimalist oblongs stacked into the terraces. Once we figured out how to get in, we went upstairs, bypassing the lower floors wine making and bottling areas. The dining / events room was enormous with light flooding in from floor to ceiling sliding doors - giving the most spectacular views over the valley and down to the sea in the distance. A small part of the floor is glassed, which gives a view down to the mechanics of the operation - obviously not in use in February! We arrived just in time to be able to tag into lunch with the twelve or so other people who had booked. We opted to share a wine tasting before and have the three course menu - with paired wines of course! Rose led the wine tasting and was wonderful and of course extremely knowledgeable. It was really interesting to hear the tasting notes and read the info. There was no rushing either, but then it is Spain! Our meal was cooked and served by chef and co-owner André. We started with a delicious tartare of avocado and marinated local blue fish, topped with pearls made of seaweed, capers and sauced with ajo blanco (a cold white garlic soup). The dish was paired with the Ariyanas Seco sobre lias finas. Yes, finally we get to the mythical wine! Produced 100% from the Moscatel de Alejandría grape, this wine is unusual because it is left on the 'lees' (that the 'sobre las lias finas' bit) for 8 months when maturing, which imparts really complex background tastes. The most common wines noted for this are French, especially Muscadet-sur-lie. The lees are basically the any bits of the grape that settle to the bottom of the wine and the 'lias finas' specifically are the fine white sediment of the remaining yeast cells. To begin with, this wine has an amazing nose for a white, totally unexpected. Fruity yes, but really complex and fragrant, honey sweet even. In the mouth is a complex explosion of dry flowers, citrus, herbs and really flinty finish, which is typical of grapes grown in this part of the mountainous Malaga region. The taste really lingers too, which makes it perfect for having with complementary food. The fruitiness enhanced the avocado and the dry minerality sets off the cheeky capers burst of acidity. If you get to taste this wine - and I really hope you do - you will want to stick your nose in the glass just as much as drink it. Next were some melt-in-the-mouth 'carrilledas de cerdo', Iberico pigs cheeks, that had been slow cooked, accompanied by some silky sweet potato puree and sautéed mushrooms. The cheeks were cooked in - and paired with - Bentomiz's only dry red, the Petit Verdot. It's a smooth drinking yet spicy, peppery affair, that was just tannic enough to cut through the sweetness on the plate. The whole plate was full of umami too, especially when I ate the mushrooms with the pork, and the wines slightly flowery, fruity notes contrasted really well with it. The chats with Andre were necessarily short but charming and insightful. He presented us with a wonderful chocolate brownie to finish, which was paired with their amazing sweet red from a Merlot grape. Their sweet wines are not fortified - as most are - instead, they allow the grape's natural sugars to develop by sun-drying before pressing. Although the Tinto Dulce is obviously sweet, it is balanced out with a pleasant acidity and light tannins. Despite a short four month ageing in French oak, that flavour is very much in the background, peeking out only with subtle hints of leather. It could be paired with a strong cheese - and I will doubtless try that at some stage - but it certainly went very well with the dark chocolate and fruits.
The service, attention to detail, ambience and quality of everything was truly top class, but really personal too. We long to go back in the Autumn, where the doors are open and you can dine on the panoramic terrace. For the moment we wish André, Rose and the whole team the best in getting through a difficult period, along with everybody in the hospitality industry everywhere. For those lucky enough to live in the surrounding area they offer home-made bread and wine deliveries. For those elsewhere a minimum 6 cases can be ordered for delivery in Europe. When I find out about stockists in the UK I will post it here! As I mentioned, I will be writing more about the fascinating Bentomiz story and further wine tastings in the future. You can find more about them now if you want, by visiting their website BODEGAS BENTOMIZ here. If you liked this post please comment below, join our email newsletter, let your friends know and follow me on Twitter @SpainOnOPlate Welcome to the first in a series of musings on Spain and my love for it’s food. I thought for a while about which subject to begin with, and decided where better to start than with its most popular and most prized protein – the humble pig?
It is impossible to overstate the importance of the pig in the culture and food of Spain. The most well-known breed is the Iberican black footed pig which produces undoubtedly the best ham in the world. But jamón Ibérico, it’s peculiar porcine origins and the Pata Negra’s significance is something which I will be writing about at length in the not too distant future. But this twisty tale concerns Jamón Serrano, the most common cured ham in Spain and one that accounts for over 90% of the county’s production. Only ‘white pigs’ are cured to produce this jamón, the quality of which varies as widely as Spain is long. These pigs are reared on grain and being a different race don’t have the same fat marbling through the meat like it’s venerated cousin. Finding food or drink related trips out from our little place on the Costa Tropical on the southern-most shores of Spain is not difficult. Choosing one is the hard part! I do like driving through the rugged landscapes, so a long drive and potential new gourmet discovery sealed the deal on making this trip. We set off North East to explore the area between the Mediterranean sea and Granada city, where the majestic snow capped Alpujarras mountain range rises, stretching for 80km. The often vertiginous slopes are dotted with towns that are not as famous as the White Villages inland of the Costa Del Sol; the snaking roads there are spectacular and scary in equal measure. Trevélez is the highest constantly inhabited village in Spain at 1476m altitude, perched in the ‘Alpujarras Alto’. Jamón Serrano de Trevélez is of such great quality, that it has been awarded an IGP ‘protected geographical indication’ which means no jamón imposters allowed. Arriving out of the mountain roads after a nearly 2 hour wheel-twirling journey, Trevélez at first appears exactly like any other tiny mountain village in southern Spain. Certainly, the old Alpujarran houses are still whitewashed and still piled, higgledy-piggledy, between narrow steep lanes, yet differ architecturally with their rendered flat roofs and lack of terracotta. They are, in fact, more reminiscent of buildings of Morocco due the influence of the Moors, an influence which permeates the entire region of Granada more than any other in Spain. Notably there were some very large buildings that seemed to have unglazed windows. These of course turned out to be the huge drying houses, where you can just make out hundreds of hams through the fine net covering the openings, protecting the precious meat from insects. Visiting in mid November as we did, finds a quiet time for Trevélez with but a few tourists making the trip up so high. A smattering of ‘jamón and tutt’ shops remained open and we browsed, vaguely tempted by some really quite nice, tightly-knotted rag-rugs, apparently made all over the area. Jamón was available in every shop, unsurprisingly, but we decided to go to a producer. Of course - as always - we had not taken the hour into account, so looked in vain for one of their shops open during siesta time. We eventually find a ‘tienda de jamón’ open just up from the main plaza where we had parked, so had a good look around the tiny salesroom, packed with ham and other foodstuffs. Popping some tasters into our mouths, we finally understood what the fuss was about. This really was the best serrano we had tasted in our several years visiting Spain. Sweet and tender, juicy and pale, we noticed immediately that it was much less salty than usual. The ‘secret’ to this is in the very geography of the place. At this altitude, in the entrance to the valley where the town sits - magic happens! OK so not really magic, more a lucky geographical happenstance! The air purity, humidity level and mountain breeze are such that the jamóns dried here needs much less salt than other serranos. They also use no nitrates and only pure sea salt for the cure. Sliced jamón, a pepper encrusted cured pork loin ‘lomo de cerdo’, locally air-dried pimentos and a chunk of something else cured and piggy made it’s way into our clutches, for devouring at a later date. You can find out loads more about the jamón on the official Trevélez WEBSITE I had - as always – researched the best place to eat lunch! I had setted upon Meson Haraicel as having the best combination of traditional food and being open! We don’t mind rustico when rustico is expected and the tiny, unassuming place could be in literally any town anywhere in Spain. Greetings were typically cheery and we decided to risk eating outside given that the sun was shining. Even though we had taken a 9 degree temp drop from the coast (!) - it was pleasant on the small deck area and I adjusted the blinds hanging off the pergola to ensure full sun coverage as we perused the menu over a small beer. We shared a 'remojon granadino' to start. This Granadian salad of oranges, salt cod flakes, onion and olives, is a not very distant cousin of the salad Malageuña. Hubby chose a large beef chop - chutela de tenera for his main course. To my mind it would have been rude not to eat pork in Trevélez, so I ordered a succulent piece of pressa Iberica which, like the beef, was cooked on a typical charcoal grill or brasa. As usual, both were served simply with some fried potatoes and vegetables. Reader - both meats were delicious. I would regard Spanish beef - or at least beef sold in Spain - as some of the best in the world. Far superior to French beef, a lot to do with how long it is hung - which is not at all long enough in France! But back to the pork. Pressa is a Spanish cut, not really equivalent to any UK cut, from deep inside the shoulder. I can guarantee that Iberico pressa is the finest, most succulent and melt in the mouth pork you will ever eat. The fat marbling rivals the best beef and the taste is unique, made all the more delicious by the smokey crispiness from being over the coals. Keep an eye out for more blogs from me in the future, where I shall wax even more lyrical and at length over this buttery, rich and nutty delight. Bellies full, we explored the small town further and were surprised and delighted to find a door maker in one of the tiny streets. Not just any old doors, but huge solid entrance doors, adorned not only with ornamental black forged rivets, but also with the Islamic motifs so associated with Granada and the Moors. Some must have been destined for churches or grand Haciendas, but their designs gave us plenty of idea for our small refurbishment project. We walked a bit more lunch off around the old town and its seemingly uninhabited houses, their own doors quite plain or hidden as is usual with sun-faded and wind-whipped curtains. Our porky booty safely stowed, we decided to drive back on the only other road out of the mountains. This would take us west via the main villages of Pitres and Pampaneira, to the main town of Orgiva, finally meandering back to the autovia of the coast. The scenery is literally breathtaking up here, you seem to be on top of the world in a seemingly endless valley, where the narrow road clings barely to its rocky sides. We wound round for tens of kilometers behind a bus finally finding room to overtake. Sometime later, we came to a stupendous view and stopped to get some photos. I said we ought to get going again before the bus catches us up the very moment it trundled into view and once again took our lead. Anyway, the view was worth it, even if the photos didn't come out too well as I was shooting into the sun. I consoled myself further with the thought of the following day when we would get to tuck into our porcine prizes. We arrived back the coast happy and tired from the high, clear mountain air, and decided we must go back to Trevélez when we move permanently to Spain. That way we can keep a whole leg of best quality serrano ham in the kitchen and consider ourselves just a little bit Spanish. |
AuthorAlex Gonnord-Luty, chef, aspiring good blog writer, Hispanophile, lives currently in France & Spain. Archives
September 2020
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