Category: gastronomy

Gourmet Club Sherry & Food Pairing

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hidalgo

Another day, another sherry tasting. Which is not a bad thing, of course. This one was held last week at the Gourmet Experience Duque in El Corte Inglés, which has become an important venue for such events since opening in December 2013 . The featured bodega was family-run Emilio Hidalgo, with three of its special aged dry sherries, in pairings with Riofrio Caviar, mojama (cured tuna) and melva canutera (frigate tuna) from quality fish processors Herpac, and hand-made Zamorano cheese from Vicente Pastor.

hidalgo collageFirst up was La Panesa, a fino from a solera that is bottled sparingly, and has consequently aged longer than a standard fino, paired with two varieties of caviar. Both of these had a delicate, subtle buttery flavour that worked well, neither masking the other. Next was a pairing of much stronger tastes. El Tresillo 1874 is a well-aged amontillado, complex and full-bodied, with a particularly excellent “nose”, that added its richness to the strong flavours of the fish. The last pairing brought together an aged oloroso sherry, Villapanés, and an artisanal cured Zamorano sheep’s cheese. I think this was my favourite of the three pairings, with an exceptionally rounded, full flavoured sherry that was perfect for the quite chewy, salty cheese.

I have to say that I think this was one of the best tastings I’ve been to, very well organized by sommelier Silvia Flores, with the excellent sherries and exquisite food products introduced and explained by their respective owners. Many thanks for the invitation, Silvia, and I look forward to future Club del Gourmet experiences.

Cata de la Vaca at Milongas

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cata vaca milongas

Last week I was invited to a rather unusual tasting event at Milongas Restaurant in Calle Campo de los Martires. It’s been a while since I was last there, so I was happy to accept, and duly arrived around 9.30 pm.

Milongas is one of Seville’s best Argentinian restaurants, which basically means it specialises in beef, so no prizes for guessing that this was a Cata de la Vaca (literally a cow tasting), supplemented with a wine pairing/tasting organised by Fran León featuring wines from Bodegas Salado in Umbrete, a small town in the Aljarafe to the west of Seville. The invited guests were from the worlds of journalism and social media, and it was nice to spend an evening of wine and food with a few old friends (and put faces to a few names, too) in convivial surroundings.

cata vaca 2The tasting was of five different cuts of beef, ranging from the well-known to the obscure. These were paired with the local Salado wines. I was impressed by the Fina Paloma Blanca, a sherry style wine made from Pedro Ximenez grapes and aged under flor but my favourite of the night was an oak-aged white wine called Astarte.

cata vaca entraña, punta de picaña,
entrecôte, tenderloin, lomo alto

Many thanks to the organisers for a terrific evening. It was great fun and I learned a lot too.

Andalucía Brut

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andalucia brut (1)David de Castro and Faustino Muñoz Soria

Andalucía Brut, the first “salón del cava, champagne y otras perlas”, organized by sommelier and “foodhunter” David de Castro, was held in Sevilla on October 16-17 to promote Spanish sparkling wines as part of the gastronomy of Andalucía.

andalucia brut (4)

The open air venue was Puerto de Cuba, on the bank of the Guadalquivir, with a great view across the river to the Torre del Oro. After the rain of the previous couple of weeks the weather was pleasantly warm and sunny, just perfect for wandering around the exhibitors’ stands which had been set up ready for tastings of the products on offer. These included some of the best known names of the cava world, such as Freixenet, Juvé y Camps and Codorníu, and some that I was unfamiliar with, such as Mestres and Llopart, but which proved to be of top quality. As with other wines, Spain has a great variety of excellent cava, at really very reasonable prices.

andalucia brut (3)

To complement the cava we had some of the accessories of a good tasting to sample. There was a special selection of bottled mineral waters chosen by another sommelier, Faustino Muñoz Soria (find them in his new book Aguas del Mundo), and Castro’s own Don Pelayo regaña flatbread and picos, which were developed especially for wine tastings. We also got to try some Spanish Riofrio caviar and Iberico pork products – a killer caña de lomo and a cooked Iberico ham infused with truffle.

andalucia brut (2)

andalucia brut

Noche en Blanco

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noche en blanca 2014

Sevilla’s third Noche en Blanca is TONIGHT.  Organised by @SevillaSeMueve, the 2014 edition of this all-night cultural event is the most amibitious to date with more than 100 spaces participating, including theatre, music, boutiques, galleries, cinema, gastronomy, walking tours and much more.

Have a great White Night everyone!

Noche en Blanco Programme
Twitter hashtag: #nocheenblancoSEV

Seville Gastronomic Heritage Guide

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sevill gastronomy heritage

Introduing Sevilla’s first Gastronomic Heritage Guide to tapas (and the best places to find them). The first printing of the guide is out and about and you can also download the free APP, which has both Spanish and English versions. It’s a perfect way for both locals and visitors to discover the diverse and delicious gastronomy of Sevilla, one bar at a time. Handy maps and recipes are also included in the APP.

“Establishments suggested come from a popular survey conducted by Tourism Board of City of Seville website between April 15 and September 15, 2013, as well as from a selection prepared by a technical commission of experts composed of Julio Fernández, Chef of the Michelin Star restaurant Abantal, Fernando Huidobro, president of the Andalusian Academy of Gastronomy and Tourism, Javier Compás, wine tasting technician, journalist and gastronomic writer, Shawn Hennessey, best gastronomy Twitter 2013 and author of Sevilla Tapas gastronomy tours, and Paco Sánchez, historic bar-restaurant owner in town, former owner of Bar Giralda and Bar Estrella. As a rule, these establishments are limited to the traditional and touristic heart of the city, although some other establishments are also included beyond that area because of uniqueness, quality and tradition.”
~ Visita Sevilla

I am very pleased and proud to have had a part in the creation of this very special guide.

app sevillaDownload the APP at Visita Sevilla