Wild mushrooms, Castile-Leon and an edible crush

Wild mushrooms burrow in piney forests

There is something about Castile-Leon that makes my heart pound. Though a cultural and neurological center of Spain for centuries, boasting some of the country's finest universities, palaces, museums, restaurants and cathedrals, I'm drawn to this vast area for its great unknown and the sense of wildness that I feel when I'm here.
I want to get to know its darkest forests and rugged, changing landscapes; the long expanses of green that are interrupted by neither town nor fence - with the exception of a crumbled down wall or stone farmhouse here and there - the idea that you can drive for hours and still discover corners, valleys and rivers that you've never seen before.
And mostly, I want to eat, everything I can - from the more classical slow roasted meats and cured hams and sausages, to gamier meats like boar, venison and partridge; and not forgetting the area's wonderful cheeses, produce and legumes. But what I want most of all are its wild mushrooms - those secrets from the forest that can only be found in the autumn and that for me can't be replicated anywhere else but in this magical place.

Fortunately, I'm a lucky soul. Lucky enough to have just gotten back from the third edition of "Soria Gastronómica", the International Mycology Conference that's held in the Castilian city of Soria every two years. This congress, dedicated to all things relating to gastronomic applications for wild mushrooms, is a feast for the senses and a challenge to the waistline. This year's edition, which was held on October 29-30th, hosted presentations by over 20 chefs - mainly from Castile-Leon, but also representing Madrid, Cantabria and a few far flung countries like Sweden, India and Canada - was no different, featuring cooking demonstrations, round-table discussions, tasting opportunities, and hunger-inducing talks on topics such as: The Sweet World of Wild Mushrooms (Elena Lucas Gonzalo, Restaurante la Lobita in Navaleo, Soria), Sensations: Mycology in its Habitat (Pedro Mario and Óscar Pérez, Restaurante El Ermitaño in Benevente, Zamora), Gastromycology in Bierzo (Lydia Álvarz Marqués, Parador de Turismo in Villafranca de Bierzo, Leon), and Avant-garde Techniques Applied to Wild Mushrooms (Óscar García Marina of Baluarte in Soria), to name just a few.

Elena Lucas of La Lobita

Óscar y Pedro Mario Peréz of Restaurante El Ermitaño

And while I am slowly picking away at my full report on this fascinating conference for Foods From Spain, I will leave you with just a few photos of some of the nibbles I was able to try as part of this amazing trip. Most are from Soria's Restaurante Trashumante or the Convento Espacio Grumer in nearby Almazán. More to come.

Black trumpet mushrooms on seared red tuna. It sounded strange but really worked. At Trashumante.

Wonderfully simple and flavorful, at Trashumante

Boletus carpaccio with pistachios at Trashumante. Delicious and the best wild mushroom carpaccio I've ever had.

Duck ham, strawberries, sprouts and wild mushrooms at Convento Espacio Grumer. I love that succulent leaf in the background.

Broken with all the fixings

I'm back......and I just realized that this was my 100th post, fortuitous for new beginnings I suppose.

For the first time since I broke my leg about six weeks ago, I woke up this morning feeling a little bit like my old self. Without even meaning to, I suddenly started shuffling around my small apartment without the aid of even one crutch, let alone the customary two. And while my mother-in-law might call me RoboCop for my herky-jerkyness, having two hands free to pick up a cup of coffee and a magazine, my computer and the charger, a glass of wine and my cell phone, my socks and my purse - oh my but aren't the possibilities endless - is a source of joy that I have never before fully appreciated.

But for me the true sign that I am starting to get back, even slightly, to my old self is that I actually feel like cooking, and eating for that matter, something more complex than a can of tuna mixed with steamed broccoli. It has been even worse since E left town on a three week trip to South America. My days and nights that I used to spend perusing through cookbooks to relax after a long days work or dreaming up dishes at the market, have been transformed into wondering how I can make myself feel full on a carton of yoghurt, a can of artichokes and a rotten avocado that I bought from a gypsy on the street. I have eaten oodles of noodles, campbell's soup (cream of mushroom, good; tomato, much worse than I remembered), pre-prepared gazpacho and whatever other 'easy' thing I can order from the Corte Inglés supermarket that is literally in the basement of my apartment building, but that charges me eight Euros to deliver it upstairs - oh, to have two hands again! In any case, it is strange to suddenly have to discover ready-to-eat, processed foods that are appealing, healthy and require a minimum of effort, after shunning them for so long.

At least I haven't been feeling sorry for myself (despite what it may seem). If this were the case I would have given up and ordered 50 kilos of fresh pasta and Parmesan cheese to match. Oh, and potato chips, I do love potato chips.

For someone who loves to cook and equates the first chill of the year with a mad dash to go buy things like collard greens, legumes and wild mushrooms, it has been strange to not care about eating, but even stranger, to not care about cooking. So today, on the first day that I have physically felt a little bit like a me again, I also felt like cooking something good again, with my own TWO hands.

A celebratory (huge) tender chunk of solomillo, some asparagus (that accidentally broke in half when I dropped them) and a delicious glass of Malbec that my Argentinean friend Facundo asked me to try from his uncle's winery in Mendoza - fruity at first, and then velvety, smoky and spiced - perfect for a rainy autumn day like today.

Oh, there will be some things I'll miss: being able to turn the TV to the perfect angle with the end of my crutch or catching up on the last ten years of Law & Order; but to feel oneself again is a precious thing and to get my hands back into the kitchen...well, there's just nothing like it.







 

50 Shades of Chicken to Titillate the Culinary World

 

There's no doubting that food has always been erotic, but mystery food porn writer FL Fowler has taken the words right out of my mouth.

Every time over the years that I have stuffed my arm into the cavity of a turkey or chicken, or trussed its limbs together in an elaborate form of poultry bondage, I have felt a tenderness in my loins - which is to say my pork tenderloins - to see if they are done brining so I can put the chicken in.

Published by Clarkson Potter and ready for release this November, according to yesterday's rundown in the Huffington Post and today's review in People, this naughty cookbook features fifty recipes with filthy titles, my personal favorite being Chicken with a Lardon. 

And to think I spent my whole summer coming up with a different parody entitled "Fifty Shades of .....".  I'll never tell. 

 

Restaurante In Situ: in position to succeed.

I feel like it's been a while since I've gotten excited about a restaurant.

I'm not talking about a specialty restaurant, one that costs half your paycheck but creates an experience of a lifetime: eating gambas rojas (red prawns) straight out of the sea on a beach in Denia, or dining under the Michelin starlight; but rather a cozy neighborhood eatery that falls under the triumvirate of Spanish restaurant classification: Bueno, Bonito, Barato (good, pretty, cheap).
In fact, both times that I dined at In Situ, I not only found that prophesy fulfilled, but perhaps even exceeded.

Located on Madrid's Calle Valverde, between Malasaña and Gran Vía, the local itself is welcoming, with high ceilings, mismatched wooden tables and chairs, and a Swedishy, simplicity of lines, funky lamps and calming tones. A highlight is the large mural wall in the front room, painted and drawn over in a way reminiscent of chipping frescoes in Venice where humidity has taken its toll on the paint and imposed its own charming, faded pattern. This sounds strange, I know, but it really is lovely (you can catch a glimpse of it in the background of this photo). I wish I had a wall like that in my house. Up the small staircase, there are two back rooms with more tables. It may be slightly gloomier during the day, when the sun is cheerfully streaming in the restaurant's front window, but it is very cozy and romantic at night.

The food is a mixture of recognizable, international bistro fare, but each dish is prepared with its own arrangement of flavors and ingredients that makes it remarkably surprising: risotto with edamame, artichokes (real ones) and balsamic vinegar; sea bass ceviche with melon, alfalfa sprouts, pumpkin seeds and radish sauce; salmon in papillote with lime, ginger, cilantro and asparagus and raisin couscous; homemade potato gnocchi with sauteed fennel, crispy sage and shaved Idiazabal cheese; and the excellent roasted tomato and mozzarella salad with green olive romesco sauce. The dish in the photo, a creamy and flavorful foie mi-cuit, was accompanied by pumpkin jam preserves, nut bread and ground pistachios. Best of all, most of these carefully thought-out and equally as carefully prepared dishes are priced between 8 and 12 euros apiece - almost unheard of in the city these days. Both times I ate here I walked away paying just under 20 Euros, including wine.

My only complaint the restaurant's insistence in calling the whole thing "Fusion food" - oh for the love of anything sacred, when will that expression just die already?!!!  Your food is better than that, In Situ!

I digress. There is also a brunch menu on Sundays, which I have yet to taste although it looks promising (I am so tired of Madrid restaurants saying that they have brunch when often it is nothing of the kind, and then charging a fortune and serving industrially made muffins), because it opens earlier than most (at 11:30 - don't laugh, Americans), and the food is a la carte, with dishes like pancakes and delicious sounding scrambled eggs for around 4 or 5 Euros.

It's nice to finally have a neighborhood go-to again!

In Situ Restaurante
C/Valverde 40
Madrid
+ 34 915 226 845
www.insiturestaurante.es

Rocambolsec - Ice cream for the last days of summer!

Sheep's milk cheese with guayaba sauce, dulce de leche and cotton candy.

Oh yes, I have been lazy.

I did work through plenty of my summer holidays, but if I didn't necessarily look lazy, then I definitely felt it. But what is summer for if not for banishing feelings of guilt and indulging in a little hedonism?

At least that's what I told myself as i prepared to eat this monster of an ice cream cone from haute-gelatería Rocambolesc, the new ice cream parlor recently opened in the Spanish city of Girona by the three-Michelin star, second-best restaurant in the world, El Celler de Can Roca. 

This cutesy, retro and somewhat whimsical shop offers six flavors of soft-serve style, natural ice cream that is made in the world renowned restaurant and transported to the shop by bicycle. As indecisive as ever, I tasted the sheep's milk cheese flavor (delicious, like a fresh yoghurt), baked apple (uncanny how it exactly recalled the flavor of the fruit), and the rich Tahitian vanilla. The other three flavors were chocolate, apricot and cherries. Decisions, decisions!

The best part of all was in trying to choose three toppings from the massive selection of homemade sauces, cookies, brownies, chocolates, candies and, everybody's favorite, freshly whipped-up cotton candy!

Tahitian vanilla with chocolate sauce, coconut clouds and caramelized hazelnuts.

 
More info about this fun and tasty shop can be found here at The "Sweetest" Roca Unveils Rocambolesc, on Foods From Spain.

Eating in Cadíz / Comer en Cádiz

Over the past year, I've been to Cadíz a handful of times and so I've written about the city's great food before: the sumptuous tapas at favorite El Faro del Puerto, the thin crispy churros and the traditional tortitas de camarones; but given that there are many other fine establishments that warrant mentioning, I thought I would put the information out there in this (mostly) photographic guide to finding good food in Cadíz.

The first stop should definitely be the newly renovated municipal market. It boasts some of the best fish stands that I have ever seen in terms of freshness and price, and the selection of locally caught fish is unbeatable.

Bluefin tuna is everywhere and so CHEAP. Makes me a bit sad, but looks delicious!

These squid look like they're having a conversation

Cazón, or dogfish, is ironically a kind of catshark. It's used to make the typical, spiced Cazón en adobo.

Cigalas, carabineros, gambas and other delicious shellfish.

Moray eels are colorful and kind of spooky looking.

A little old lady outside the market was selling bags of caracoles, or snails.

Everytime I visit the market I curse myself for not renting an apartment with a kitchen here. Fortunately, it is easy to taste these amazing products all over the city.

TAPAS / APERITIVOS / DINING

I love Taberna Casa Manteca for tapas, drinks or a before lunch aperitivo. The old-fashioned decor, plastered with old photos and bullfighting posters, is authentically dusty and charming and complete with antique scales and butcher-paper plates. The menu consists mostly of embutidos (cured meats), pates, conservas (excellent canned fish and shellfish), and some traditional guisos (stews). The guys who work here are also a lot of fun.

One afternoon they were slicing open fresh sea urchins on the outside patio.

Taberna Casa Manteca
Corralón de los Carros, 66
Tel. 956 213 603
www.casamanteca.com

Near Casa Manteca is another favorite, the slightly touristy (in the best sense of the word) but very authentic El Tío de la Tiza, which is located in the plaza of the same name. Most of the tables are outside, but in the winter there are heat lamps and this tiny plaza is as cozy and local as can be. The portions are huge, so it's better to order a couple of media raciones (half-rations - like big tapas) if you're sharing, which cost around 6 euros each. The food is simple and absolutely delicious.

Chocos are fried strips of broad, flat calamari.

Similar to cazón, but a slightly larger type of shark called Marrajo (see below).

The shark (see above).

Langostinos a la plancha (grilled with rock salt).

El Tío de la Tiza
Plaza del Tío de la Tiza

One of my favorite places in Cádiz is one that I've been going to for a before-lunch aperitivo since I was a student in Sevilla, a million years ago, and my program director took me here during Carnival. Taberna la Manzanilla is a traditional, family owned sherry bar that has been open since the turn of the century. The great casks offer a range of different sherries from manzanilla and amontillado to oloroso, and many varieties in between - all with Designation of Origin Jerez-Xérès-Sherry or Manzanilla de Sanlucar de Barrameda. The best thing is to let Pepe, the friendly owner, recommend one for you. Be sure to buy a bottle or two to take back with you to wherever you're going, and also, get a bottle of the incredible and aromatic sherry vinegar that has been aged in amontillado casks. As with other traditional places, your bill is tallied on the bar in chalk.

Not a great photo, but you get the idea.

Taberna La Manzanilla de Cádiz
Feduchy, 19
Tel: 956 285 401
www.lamanzanilladecadiz.com
info@lamanzanilladecadiz.com



Right across from the stunning cathedral there is a tiny restaurant de toda la vida with a big outdoor terrace that is appropriately called, La Terraza. The menu is extensive and slightly pricier than El Tío de la Tiza, for example, but the food is well-prepared, the fish delicious and the view unbeatable.

Delicious almejas (clams) with garlic, parsley and smoky paprika?

Whole, fried boquerones (sardines).

Chopitos fritos (baby squid).

Piononos de Santa Fé, a typical dessert from Santa Fé, Granada. Very tasty.

Bar Terraza Cádiz
Plaza de la Catedral, 3
Tel: 956 265 391

This was a particularly beautiful glass of tricolor salmorejo in Divino Restaurant and wine bar in the Plaza de la Candelaria made with avocado and beet puree.

DiVino Restaurante
Plaza de la Candelaria

I never go to Cádiz without having lunch at La Marea Restaurant in Playa Victoria (although I think there are other locations). Although it's out of the historic city center (just a long walk, quick taxi or city bus ride away), its location right on this broad, sandy beach is a great place to enjoy the cold cold Cruzcampo beers, incredible rice dishes and other seafood and fish dishes. Get there early on weekends to get a prime seat on the outside terrace.

Arroz el Señorito

Almejas "La Marea" with shrimp.

Pulpo a la Gallega

And finally, although there is much more to eat and do in Cádiz, before you go, make sure to enjoy some of the city's special, thin churros on the outdoor terrace at Cafeteria La Marina in the lovely Plaza de las Flores. I like dipping them in coffee and then a bit of sugar.

So sinful, but delicious!

Plaza de las Flores

Cafeteria La Marina
Plaza Topete, 1 (Plaza de las Flores)
Tel: 956 22 23 97

Chocolate Cupcakes

I don't have much of a sweet tooth, space in my kitchen or fridge to store things like cookies and muffins, or much of a desire to ingest all that sugar.

That being said, once and a while the baking vein hits me and I take advantage of an invitation to someone else's house to make something sweet - thus guaranteeing that I don't eat the whole thing myself. I particularly love to make cupcakes - mostly because whenever I go to the States I am uncontrollably drawn to buying huge quantities of those super cute cupcake papers (muffin cups?). This time, I decided to go for chocolate cupcakes, given the massive bar of it that had been sitting in my cupboard for months.

Finding a good cupcake recipe is kind of like deciding which chocolate cake recipe to use. When you try to look up something simple, the variations seem endless: flour, flourless, cream, sour cream, cocoa powder, baking chocolate, etc. After spending a morning browsing recipes, I finally decided on this one featured on the joy of baking website, mostly because I thought the entry was thoughtfully written and informative. I admit, I was too lazy to watch the video, but it looks promising.

For once I followed a recipe to the letter and the cupcakes were scrumptious; moist, tender, chocolatey and not too heavy. The only thing I didn't do that I should have, was follow the suggested times for beating the powdered sugar and butter for the icing and so mine came out kind of grainy - nothing that a few well-placed sprinkles couldn't fix (especially for the two 3 year olds in the audience).

Calçotada!! Sweet Onion Lovers Rejoice!

Some of the 100 kilos of organic calçots awaiting their fate

As my friends, the waiters where I frequently dine and particularly my poor husband know all too well, I am allergic to onions in all of their marvelous forms: onions, scallions, leeks, shallots, chives and of course, calçots.
I love them all, I really do, but I have a genetic allergy that was charmingly passed to me by my mother before I was born. Needless to say, after many years of not being able to eat onions, she was delighted to get rid of it.
In Spain, land of all things onion, this often translates to a having an allergic reaction all the time. Some waiters are convinced that I just don't LIKE onions and so they often LIE to me. Other times I just want to eat something so badly that I pretend I don't see them and save the suffering for later. This makes said husband insane.
So imagine the willpower that it must have taken for me to attend the last two annual calçotadas hosted by some dear friends and gastronomes. These green scallions from Cataluña are considered the best of the best, and their consumption is based around the kind of event that I like the most: an all-day party centered on food!

My sad string of asparagus ready for roasting with delicious butifarra sausage

Last year I tried to make myself a sorry imitation consisting of grilled asparagus, so as not to feel left out. This year I went crazy and tasted the very tip of a calçot. It was as tender, mild and slightly sweet as I had been led to believe. I can see why these seasonal vegetables cause such a gastronomic frenzy.

Read more about these daring adventures with calçots and calçotadas in "Calçots Sweeten Winter Gastronomy" on the Trans-Iberian blog from El País.

Delicious Egyptian Lunch at Samara

Shawarma combination plate. Heart tahine included!

I always turn to local Egyptian restaurant Samara for lunch when my fridge is bare, I can't stand the idea of cooking or I have to get out of the house (working from home syndrome).
Located next to the Glorieta Bilbao, Samara offers a great weekday menu that consists of several different platos combinados for the great price of 8 Euros each (with drink)!
I usually get the delicious charcoal grilled chicken plate, while E always orders the roasted lamb shawarma which is mixed with diced tomatoes, onions and lots of fresh parsley. Both come with Egyptian rice (with tiny brown noodles), salad and tahine, and are wonderful. There is also a kofta plate (minced grilled beef) and a great vegetarian taamella (similar to falafel) option that comes with hummus and Baba ghanoush.

In addition to the combination plates, there are other special dishes that rotate daily.
The most popular by far is the delectable couscous that has people practically lining up outside for a table on Thursdays and Saturdays. I absolutely love the vegetarian version (there is also chicken or lamb), which is piled high with cabbage, roasted pumpkin, carrots and other flavorful root vegetables. The accompanying broth is simply incredible.

The restaurant recently moved to a much larger and brighter corner space. And while the waitstaff can be slow, the owner is charming.

Restaurante Samara
C/ Cardenal Cisnero, 15
Madrid 28010
914 48 80 56

Taberna La Dichosa

Photo of Chupa chups by Javi Martínez

I don't know how it's possible that I haven't written a review of Conde Duque's Taberna La Dichosa before now. This friendly neighborhood restaurant and tapas bar has become one of my go-to places in Madrid for delicious food and a great selection of wines in a relaxing atmosphere. The owner, Eva, exudes a sense of no-nonsense pride and passion for good food that is demonstrated in the traditional, yet innovative dishes on her menu, all of which are prepared with an enormous attention to detail and focus on good quality products and ingredients. The Ventresca (tuna loin) salad has house roasted red peppers; the croquetas change frequently and might have anything from wild mushrooms or artichokes to jamón, among other things; the pulpo (octopus) is grilled to perfection and served with a fresh mango puree; the chupa chups (named after the lollypops) are in fact quail drumsticks which have been covered in a perfectly spiced light batter and fried to perfection, and the list goes on and on, with everything homemade and prepared with a clear love for good food. On top of all this, the prices are fantastic.

In choosing a wine, the best thing to do is put yourself in Eva's capable hands for a recommendation. Her wine list represents a truly astonishing variety of Designations of Origins and she delights in stocking bottles from lesser known regions such as Ribeira Sacra and Utiel Requena. This is one of my own personal passions as well and I love the fact that her wine list never ceases to be both interesting (at the very least) and very reasonably priced.

La Dichosa has a simple but pleasant dining area with low stools and benches and a lovely bar area, both of which make it the ideal place to enjoy a glass of wine or a full meal.

I usually end up doing both, and often.

Taberna La Dichosa
calle Bernardo López García, 11
91 541 88 16
e-mail: eva@ladichosa.es