Category: spain

Tapas & Sherry

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tapas jerez

Organised by the Regulatory Council of the Denomination of Origin Wines of Jerez and Manzanilla, the first Tapas & Sherry “gastronomic tour” of Sevilla is taking place from today until the 17th of November. 62 select bars in the centre of Sevilla are participating and each establishment has selected its top tapa along with the best sherry to pair with it: fino, manzanilla, oloroso, amontillado, cream or Pedro Ximénez.

You can vote for your favourite bar and sherry pairing at www.tapayjerez.com and also become eligible to win a sherry tasting kit. At the end of the voting period the 20 bars with the most votes will be officially certified CRDDO Sherry and Manzanilla and will be featured in a soon-to-be-published gastronomic guide.

Here is a list of bars (below). As I make my way through the list (with the help of my friend Seville Concierge) I’ll mark them in blue and include my rating from one to five stars *****.

To see which tapa and sherry are being offered at each establishment have a look here.
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Copa Jerez 2013

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copa jerez
A last minute decision found me in Jerez earlier this week to attend the 5th Copa Jerez (Sherry Cup), an international bi-annual competition that aims to demonstrate sherry’s tremendous versatility as a wine to pair with food. It’s organized by the Regulatory Council of the D.O. Jerez-Xérès-Sherry and Manzanilla Sanlúcar de Barrameda, and during the international final chef and sommelier teams compete to create the perfect sherry and food pairing. This year the Danish team from Clou won the coveted prize.

For me it was also an opportunity to meet up with old friends and sample exquisite sherries from 15 select bodegas, along with fabulous jamón Ibérica de bellota and Andalusian cheeses. It also whetted my interest to finish my own sherry education in order to be able to start my Introduction to Sherry tapas tours.

ajo negro

After the competition I was invited by Gonzalez-Byass to a wonderful lunch at Ajo Negro.

Fiesta de Jamón Ibérico

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fiesta jamon vino
Fiesta de Jamón Ibérico de Bellota
Need I say more…?

Well okay, you also get two glasses of fino with each 15€ plate of 5 Jotas jamón ordered (which is a great price even without the free wine) and if you check in on either 4-Square or Yelp during the fiesta you’ll receive a 375 ml. bottle of Osborne fino. See you there!

Flores Jamones y Vinos
San Pablo 24
Sevilla
17 – 20 October

feria del jamon

 

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