Category: gastronomy

Ensaladilla

azaharLeave a comment

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.

Celebrating San Lorenzo Day

azahar1 Comment

san lorenzo

[click on image to enlarge]

Well, nobody can say my life lacks diversity. The other day I got a newsletter from the Antigua Abacería San Lorenzo saying they would once again be celebrating San Lorenzo day, which made sense given that the bar is named after this saint (as is the barrio). But as I read the newsletter further I was surprised that this celebration would take the form of turning the bar into an “epicentre of roasted and grilled meats”. In case you don’t know, here is a bit of info about San Lorenzo…

Born in Huesca, Spain, San Lorenzo was a Roman deacon who was martyred four days after Pope Saint Sixtus II was put to death. After the pope was killed Lorenzo was instructed by the Prefect to gather all the riches of the church and render them unto Caesar. He had three days to accomplish this and, as the legend goes, he sought out the poor, widows and orphans of Rome and gave them all the money he had, even selling sacred vessels to increase the amount. After three days he gathered a large group of blind, lame, leprous, orphaned and widowed people and presented them to the Prefect saying “these are the treasures of the Church”. For this he was put to a slow and painful death on top of a large gridiron with live coals beneath it and, the legend concludes that, after enduring the pain for a very long time he made his famous cheerful remark, “I’m well done. Turn me over!”

Not surprising I guess, San Lorenzo is the patron saint of cooks and chefs.

And so off I went to take part in this unusual and – um, ironic? – festivity. We were greeted by owners Ramón and Mari Carmen and offered a glass of ponche alosnero (a white wine and peach punch from the village of Alosno in Huelva). Shortly afterwards platters of grilled goodies were passed around to everyone in the bar: sardines, chicken drumsticks, potatoes with mojo picón sauce, strips of “lagarto” Ibérico. Then we were treated to a bit of humourous free-verse from poet and neighbour José Luís Agudo Hill, designated “pregón” for the event, which finished with a flourish as José Luís brandished a small decorated BBQ grill to the delight and applause of the onlookers.  There was still more to come as we were only half-way through the celebrations, but I had Saturday errands to attend to and so I took my leave.

If you don’t know what an abacería is then have a look here. And for more information about upcoming events at the Antigua Abacería check out their website.

Antigua Abacería San Lorenzo
Teodosio 53
Tel. 954 380 067

Sevilla’s Gastronomic Heritage

azahar6 Comments

seville gastronomic heritageWell this came as a pleasant surprise! I have been chosen to be one of the five gastronomy experts to do the final judging for an ambitious new project headed by the Sevilla Tourism Board to promote Sevilla’s Gastronomic Heritage, AKA the tapa, as a tourist attraction.

From today until September 5th, locals and visitors to Sevilla can vote on both their favourite tapa and favourite establishment. The list of tapas on the Visit Sevilla Facebook Page starts with around 18 dishes but voters can also add their choices. After the judging has taken place this will become a list of the top 14 tapas in the city and the best places to try them, which will then be included in a guide book.

The other expert judges chosen are:

  • Julio Fernández, chef of Sevilla’s only Michelin star restaurant Abantal
  • Fernando Huidobro, president of the Acacademy of Gastronomy and Tourism
  • Javier Compass, culinary and tourism specialist
  • Paco Sanchez, hospitality professional and former owner of the Cervecería Giralda and Bar Estrella

So as you can see I am in excellent company. And as you can also see in the photo below taken at this morning’s presentation at City Hall (photo courtesy of Raúl Doblado ABC Sevilla) I’m not only the only non-Spaniard, but also the only woman. One step at a time…

patrimonio gastronomico

Sevilla’s Gastronomic Heritage

Feria de la Manzanilla (in Sevilla)

azahar3 Comments

feria de la manzanilla
The plan for yesterday was to take the bus to Sanlúcar de Barrameda to visit their Feria de la Manzanilla for the first time. Unfortunately the bus service to Sanlúcar was less than feriante friendly with one bus at 10 am and the next not until 2 pm and when I mentioned this on Twitter my friend and sherry expert Annie Manson said that, knowing me, I’d end up creating my own Feria de la Manzanilla here. So that’s what I did.  🙂

Sanlúcar de Barrameda is located at the mouth of the Guadalquivir river where it meets the Altantic and, along with Jerez and El Puerto de Santa María, forms the famous Sherry Triangle in the Cádiz province. It is also home to the oldest horse races in Spain, which take place just before sunset along the beach during the month of August. Another Sanlúcar event I have yet to witness. But I digress…

My companion yesterday was Peter Tatford Seville Concierge and at one stop Eduardo Blanco Different Spain also briefly joined us. Since my idea was to recreate being in Sanlúcar the obvious place to start was Restaurante Barbiana which not only features wines and seafood from there but also makes the best tortillitas de camarones I’ve ever had outside Sanlúcar. We started with a nice plate of jamón Ibérico de Bellota paired with a manzanilla fina from Bodegas Barbiana, served at a perfectly chilled 1ºC. For our tortillita I chose an amontillado to go with it which worked very nicely.

Then we went on to La Moneda, which was where we ment up with Eduardo. There we tried two different manzanillas (Solear and La Gitana) with fried salmonetes (which I was told came from Sanlúcar) and a very nice soupy rice with gambas, clams and monkfish.

For our third stop we taxied over to Taberna Chani in Nervión to try their manzanilla en rama from Bodegas Baron, which we paired with fabulous fried boquerones (also from Sanlúcar) and some grilled Almadraba tuna cheeks.

And then we were done. I have to say that although the food and wine were all very pleasant the whole Feria de la Manzanilla in Sevilla thing didn’t feel as successful as my recent impromptu World Sherry Day event because I didn’t feel like I’d actually learned anything new. Although I asked lots of questions about the different wines, and about which foods they would go best with, the response at these bars wasn’t as friendly or enthusiastic as I found last week. I mean, I know you can get palo cortado from Sanlúcar, and also some good dessert wines, but these weren’t suggested to me even though I’d told everyone I was trying to learn more about Sanlúcar wines. Bit of a shame, but ah well…