Category: food & drink

Ensaladilla

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ensaladillas

Ensaladilla de gambas at Puracepa and Petit Comite

Most people who know me also know that I don’t much like ensaladilla (aka ensaladilla rusa). To me it tastes like bland over-cooked potato chunks slathered in cheap mayo, which is supposed to be enhanced by the flavours of either gambas or tuna. Usually it just tastes like a gloopy mess of tired potatoes and commercial mayo that maybe – just maybe! – spent a short amount of time in the same room as a gamba. So yeah, why eat this calorie-laden mess when I could eat other delicious tapas that are totally worth it? And why is it considered to be one of Sevilla’s most prized tapas to the extent that there are competitions to find the Very Best ensaladilla in town? Well, the mind reels.

Happily I have discovered two – and so far only two – ensaladillas in Sevilla that pass muster, which are also featured on the front page of Sevilla Tapas this month. One has been my favourite since I first discovered Puracepa back in 2009, and it has remained my favourite until just very recently. Why? Because it has chunks of nicely cooked potato mixed with a good mayo and an absurd amount of juicy plump cooked prawns, and then it’s topped with hard-boiled quail eggs and strips of roasted red pepper. Heaven.

Then back in June I tasted the fab ensaladilla at Petit Comite with gambones and basil oil. The potatoes are cooked in the water used to boil the king prawns, which adds amazing flavour and is enhanced by the touch of basil. Loved it at first bite.

I can’t say one is better than the other because I actually love both of them – go and try them yourself and let me know what you think. What I can say is that these two ensaladillas are the only ones that have ever made me want to finish the entire dish and to hell with the calories. But I’d be interested to know what ensaladilla is your favourite and where it can be found.

Croqueta Week at Becerrita

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croqueta week
Yesterday my friend Saray and I headed over to Becerrita to sample the seven different croquetas they have on offer during their Semana de la Croqueta. You can order them separately as tapas but we shared a media-ración with 14 croquetas (two of each), which were very prettily presented. Tasted good too, our favourites being the jamón and the bulltail ones. The chistorra croquetas needed to be a bit spicier, the beef & gorgonzola and the mussel croquetas were of the “tastes like chicken” variety, and the condensed milk & anchovy ones were frankly a bit weird – clearly an acquired taste. You still have until Sunday to sample these crispy fried delights, either the entire selection as we did or you can mix & match your chosen croquetas with other tapas.

Semana de la Croqueta
23-29 September
Restaurante Becerrita
Recaredo 9, Sevilla

Horse Racing in Sanlúcar de Barrameda

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I have ALWAYS wanted to do this. And now I have. For years I’ve heard about the wonderful sounding horse races on the beach in Sanlúcar de Barrameda and every August I have somehow never managed to make it. In part I blame the very shoddy public transport between Sevilla and Sanlúcar… nothing, and I mean NOTHING, is going to get me to sit on a bus for over two hours for a journey that normally takes just over an hour by car. But I digress. Because yesterday I did have the chance to go by car with my friends Markus, who runs Veoapartment, and Peter Seville Concierge.

We set off in time to catch the first race (the times announced were vague, we got there for the 6.30 pm race to discover that it didn’t start until 7.00, más o menos.). Eventually we managed to find a spot in the front row and waited for things to get going. I had my camera ready to take some photos but other than a few pics of the horses making their way to the starting gate I got nothing because they ended up whizzing by again in about three seconds flat. So I decided to try Vine for the next one. Six seconds.

beer on the beach sanlucarIn between races we went over to one of the beach restaurants in Bajo de Guia to enjoy a cold beer and the sea breeze. But after the second race we decided that was enough and headed back into town for a bite to eat before heading back home. The obvious choice was Casa Balbino, home of The Very Best tortillitas de camarones, well, anywhere. As usual it was jam-packed but we found a little corner spot in front of the bar and started off with – what else? – a chilled glass of made-in-Sanlúcar manzanilla and some plump and juicy locally caught langoustines. Then the super-crispy tortillitas, some seafood croquetas and gambas pil-pil.

On the large flatscreen above our heads we watched recaps of the races which were quite a bit different from our blink-and-miss-it experiences, as cameramen in cars and at various strategic points along the beach caught the entire races. But I was still glad I went and experienced it for myself, and a day trip to Sanlúcar is always enjoyable. All in all, it was a lovely Sunday.

sanlucar

There will be one more weekend of races 16, 17 and 18 of August.

Jerez en V Cata

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cata jerezenv[click on image to enlarge]

As part of my ongoing sherry education, stemming from my World Sherry Day ephiphany, I was thrilled to be invited to a special sherry tasting hosted by Gonzalez-Byass at Catador Sevilla. And especially as our host was going to be Antonio Flores (@Hacedordevinos), not only head winemaker and master blender for G-B but also one of the most passionate people I’ve ever met when it comes to talking about their work. And as Antonio’s work involves creating some of the most amazing and prestigious wines in the world, well, it was both a pleasure and a privilege to see the master in action.

catador sevillaThis was a wine tasting event organised by Mónica Trujillano from El Comensal to which various bloggers, journalists and hospitality professionals had been invited. I loved the venue, Catador, which is smack in the middle of the Barrio Santa Cruz. It’s an open and minimalist space, with wall murals depicting both the famous Tío Pepe barrels and the vineyards surrounding Jerez. I’ve been to a few sherry tastings over the years, here in Sevilla, but nothing prepared me for how much I would feel engaged and inspired by Mr. Flores. He is both eloquent and passionate, and also quite a showman, knowing how to gently seduce and inspire his audience. With such an excellent product you wouldn’t think this sort of thing would even be necessary, but in fact sherry remains one of the lesser understood Spanish wines. People from abroad often assume that sherry is the sticky sickly sweet stuff their maiden aunt would haul out every Christmas but in fact there many varieties ranging from bone-dry finos to the sweet raisiny Pedro Ximenez, and I want to learn more about all of them.

On this occasion we sampled ten wines including Fino Tío Pepe, Amontillado Viña AB, Alfonso Oloroso, Leonor Palo Cortado (recently chosen one of the top 100 wines in the world by WAWWJ: World Association, Wines & Spirits, Writers and Journalists), Apostoles Palo Cortado, and Noé Pedro Ximénez. As a special treat we finished the evening by sampling Cuatro Cortador & Gonzalez-Romano, both more than 100 years old, while Catador put on a spread of some fab charcuterie and cheeses.

Watch for my Introduction to Sherry Tours, which I hope to start offering in September. Now that I am smitten with this amazing wine I really want to share the love.

Viñafiel Gourmet Wine & Liquor Store

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viña & licor[click on image to enlarge]

There’s a new wine shop in town! Viñafiel opened its doors this past Tuesday and it looks great, with a minimalist clean interior featuring wooden shelving and floors. Aside from an excellent selection of wines, there’s also a wide variety of gins, whiskys, etc and a small section of gourmet food items. Look for tastings and other events coming up soon. A nice addition to the Arenal neighbourhood.

Viñafiel Gourmet Wine & Liquor
Arfe 20
Tel 955 038 522
Open: 10.00 – 15.00 / 18.00 – 21.00 Monday to Friday
10.30 – 14.30 Saturday
Viñafiel Website