Wine of The week

Les Sorts Vinyes Velles 2007 

One of the concepts that we find here in Spain was what Spanish call Enoteca,  a kind of temple to the discovery of new nectars ... basically these are places where wine is the star or shares the protagonist with the gastronomy. This was clearly the case of Vinoteca Moratín , where we've been the last Friday and about which I'll write in tomorrow's post...

It was curious that the first wine we were recommended, from a short but interesting wine list, was a Portuguese wine, Seis Quintas... Due to our origins, and to allow us to discover new wines, the restaurant manager immediately suggested us a very interesting wine from Monsant Region - Les Sorts Vinyes Velles 2007 a ​​great discovery!...

Roasted trout by Jamie Oliver...

Today we cooked the Jamie Oliver roasted trout recipe for the second time!

You Will need:

Salmon trout fillets

potatoes

thyme

yogurt

lemon

Extra virgin olive oil

Salt & pepper

Start by steaming the potatoes in a pan, as it will be the part of the recipe which will take longer...

In a pre-heated pan with extra virgin olive oil add a handful of thyme, while the thyme spits, season the trout fillets with salt & pepper. On medium heat cook the trout skin side down and cook until golden almost all the fish. Turn and hold the fire within 20 seconds, remove and add the lemon juice immediately which will evaporate and give a special flavour to the fish.

While cooking the fish prepare the yoghurt sauce: add half lemon juice to the yoghurt and a pinch of salt. This time we took some a ground nuts that gave a different texture to the sauce, which resulted in an interesting alternative!

Salmon trout is a fantastic fish and this recipe is very easy and tasty! Try it now!

Posted & cooked by Vanna

Beacoup! A bit of France in Madrid...

About two weeks ago I was looking for a restaurant to celebrate a special occasion, and honestly, the recommendation of my friend Patri could not be better!

When we entered the first impression was that we could be entering a typical Portuguese or Spanish tavern, as space is composed of a long L-shaped bar along the whole left side and the back of the restaurant and the tables are placed in front of it. And when we opened the menu we found a whole world of fantastic dishes to try...

we only had clear that we would start with a couple of oysters and a flute of Champagne to celebrate, and at some point the meal would have to taste the steak tartar, a dish that simply love... So the rest of the meal we've just followed the recommendations: grilled octopus and, in a French restaurant it would be a sin to have a non French wine so we had Fleur la Chapelle.

I confess that after eating at the beach in Brazil those wonderful Oysters, it is difficult to reach the same level, but the oysters were a good start.

Then we had the desired steak tartar with an excellent meat extremely well chopped with knife, (which gives you a totally different texture when serving this dish with minced meat) and very well seasoned. Clearly one of the best I ever eaten. Finally a magnificent grilled octopus.

To finish the wine we ordered an excellent cheese table , which meant we finished already thinking about the return ...

I couldn't finishing this review without mentioning the service. In two words: Just Perfect!!! careful, relaxed, informal, they made us feel like we were at home with long-time friends ...

Definitely, a place to return ...

How much?

Average price: 30-35 €

Menu, wine list and its price: http://www.beaucoup.es/

Where?

Calle Doctor Fleming 54

Madrid, Spain

Tel: +34 913 59 19 28

Metro: Cuzco Line 10

Wine of the Week

CARM SO2 Free

The wine of this week may differ from most of his brothers as it has not SO2 addition and I must confess I Strongly recommend it! And an important comment due to the absence of SO2 there were no headaches in the following morning...

Strawberries Ice Cream

After a cold and rainy beginning of spring, it seems the weather is finally getting hot. To celebrate the good weather today I'll post an ice cream with a great seasonal ingredient, the strawberries. A Pitucha's recipe which has everything we look for: quick to prepare, easier and with a fabulous taste:

You will need:

0,5 kg of well washed strawberries

250 gr of sugar (normally I use less sugar)

juice of half lemon

200 ml of whipped cream

Put all the ingredients in a liquidizer and blend it, then put it in the desired container and place it in the freezer... 

Impossible to be easier... 

Have you already tried it? Tell us your experience

Wine of The Week

This week:

Quinta do VALLADO Touriga Nacional 2010

Flavours experience in Plaza de Perú, Madrid

Yesterday I understood why a Peruvian colleague recommended me this restaurant, everything we eat was great, especially the ceviche and the Starters...

We stayed in an area of ​​high tables in the hallway that connects the kitchen to the two dining rooms, which allowed us to enjoy this in a more informal way and away from the noisy dinning room...

We were a group of 4 friends, all rookies in Peruvian food, so we opted to let us be guided by the kindly waiter... we started by sharing a ceviche, a Piqueo Criolo and a Piqueo Chifero as starters and shared a Lomo saltado another and Aji de Gallina as main dishes

If the main dishes were quite normal, starters were amazing, awsome, spectacular... So I recommend you to going to this restaurant with your friends and order several starters (piqueos or causas) to share ... For the next visit I will write about the desserts as this time  there was only room for a Pisco sour a "must have" in a Peruvian restaurant!

How much?

25-40 €, depending on what and how much you have to drink , wine, imported beer (Cusqueña) or Pisco Sours ...

Where?
Restaurante Tanta
Plaza de Perú, 1
Madrid
España
Metro: Pio XII / Colombia
phone: 913 50 26 26

"Gastro-exchange" why not?

Normally, when we go to a new country gastronomy is undoubtedly one of the main aspects of any tourist's attention.

On the other hand those who live far from our country or village, we always have the tendency to bring that home-made product that our family has specially prepared for us or simply a typical product that in our day to day lets us to "travel" back our origins, even if it is for a few minutes...

I would say that the mix of both issues and a and a mutual passion for gastronomy may be a good trigger for you to start this practice with your friends, colleagues or neighbors: The Gastro-exchange...

The quality of the raw material makes all the difference but when you join the appropriate ingredients you will certainly get a real treasure ... Last Thursday these wonderful tomatoes from the region of Almeria (Spain), seasoned with a magnificent extra virgin olive oil from the same region and with a bit of Maldon salt ... As an exchange I brought my friend a couple of Alheiras de caça, A portuguese sausage, that does not exist here in Spain ...

This not only a good way to share common likes, but also a good way to spread the culture of our coutries/origins...

Wine of the week

Today we start a new feature on the Blog: Wine of the week!

There are exceptions, but normally the label of a bottle of wine reflects its soul. This week I recommend Solar dos Lobos Colheita Selecionada, a wine with one of the most interesting labels I've ever seen. Not only by its relaxed and informal spirit like the wine it keeps inside but also for its informative character...