Brandada de Bacalao – Salt Cod Mash (Brandade)

After the excesses of Despoinarion’s Oscars gala dinner, today’s dish is easy, cheap (cost efficient) and tasty! In addition, it has a name that in some languages refers to sensual oscillations…

Lets start with the geography of the dish. It is a Mediterranean dish, in the large sense, as we find it also in Portugal and the Basque Country. We find it in Catalunya, Provence, Rousillon, Languedoc, Liguria, Valencia.

It is based on salt cod (bacalao), garlic and olive oil. The variations include bread, potatoes, cream. What I present today is my own version, which uses potatoes, parsley, dill, garlic, and bread crumbs. It is an all season all weather dish, and goes very well with white wine. Who said that cucina povera is not wonderful?

It is best to use salted cod for the dish. Desalinate the cod and then remove the skin. Simmer in milk for 5 minutes in medium heat. Then gently break the flesh in a food processor. Gently, otherwise, you will get a mousse instead of threads.

Chop garlic, parseley and dill and boil potates until they become soft. Remove from the heat, drain, and then gently mash them in the food processor. Bring all the ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.

 Spread the mix on a baking tray that has been thoroughly oiled, cover with breadcrumds and bake in 200 degrees centigrade for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let it rest for 30 minutes before serving.

Prepare a mix of vegetables (fried or baked) for serving with the brandade. I have prepared a mix of red peppers, eggplants and zucchini with tomato sauce.

Cut the brandade in squares and serve over the vegetables sprinkling with chopped parsely.

Enjoy responsibly with chilled asirtiko, and let the good times roll!!!

Dinner Party on the occasion of Despoinarion’s Oscar Celebration and Awards

 Today’s post is a celebration for Despoinarion‘s Oscar Awards. 

The celebration is double in nature: we celebrate first the award for imagination given to Despoinarion by her friend Taste Advisor  

 

and secondly the award that Despoinarion has given to some bloggers, including myself. 

The guests are:

Despoinarion, Errikos, the Taste Advisor, So Far, Marizz, Gabriel, Roula, Orfia (aka Lena), Manolis, Yanna, Katerina, Natalia.

Yiannis Tsarouchis, Iannis Xenakis, Manos Chatzidakis, Karl Popper, Parmenides, Hoelderlin, Paul Celan, Paul Cezanne

Today’s dinner party is seated and the menu is a combination of dishes I have created, with dishes I have tasted in Italy, Spain, Turkey, the Basque country and Austria. The wines come from Italy, Austria, Greece and Spain. 

To start, I will serve Amalia Brut by Tselepos, a fruity fresh sparkling wine, made the traditional way from moschofilero grapes in the area south of Tripoli, Greece.

 

Σερβιρισμενα

Amuse Bouche: Pies with hot sudjuk (my creation) 

Home made closed pies with a filling of hot sudjuk from Turkey, onions, peppers, sun dried tomatoes and spices.I imasgined this combination one day while I was tasting the hot sudjuk from Turkey and was wondering how to temper the fire and the heat without levelling it to something boring.

 They are hot enough to get the human machine started, so that my guests will endure throughout the process.

Το πακετακι ετοιμο για τυλιγμα

 Antipasto: Greek sushi – sardines with rice in vine leafs (my creation) 

  My Greek sushi uses vineleafs instead of sea weed, rice, and lightly marinated sardine fillets.  I think it is one of the best antipasti because of the unique combination of the oily fish flavors’ and the vine leafs. The rice acts as a mediating agent.

Antipasto: Joselito – Pata Negra 

 Nothing can describe the taste of a slice of Joselito’s pata negra. Keep your eye lids closed, slip into your half open mouth, roll it a bit around without chewing, let it rest for a few seconds, and then open your eyes, and start the cheweing process. Unforgettable!

 

Vino: Albarino – 2006 Granbazán Ambar   

The first wine I will offer is albarino made by Granbazan. Albarino is a wonderful grape, it produces a ehite wine with a good kick and a lot of acidity. I love it and hope you will love it too!!!

Sea Urchin Eggs with Bacalao Tripe

 Primo 1: Sea urchin eggs with Bacalao Tripe (Ristorante Uliassi, Senigalia, Italia) 

I now come to one of the absolutely fabulous dishes of the evening created by chef Uliassi. Frozen sea urchin eggs with cod tripe. What a pandemonium of tastes,  aromas and all of them encased on the tender silky texture of the cod tripe! 

 

Primo 2: Egg with grilled octopus (Restaurante Andra Mari, near Bilbao, Basque Country) 

This minimalistic dish is absolutely stunning. One of the most unusual combination of tastes, married by the chef of Andra Mari in Vizkaya.

 

Secondo: Iberian Pig’s Tails with crayfish (Restaurante Mugaritz, near San Sebastian, Basque Country) 

The humble tail with its skin intact and crispy combines with the white immaculate flesh of the crayfish in a never ending game of pure pleasure, amplified by jamon iberico crisps.  

The flesh of the tail is surrounded by streams of fat, the best tasting fat in the world! 

The contrast in the texture between the skin and the subliminally soft, almost creamy fat  is unbelievable. 

And when you get back to Earth after this excursion into extreme pleasure, the crayfish comes into play and with its soft flesh and sweet flavor takes you to the cool ocean of elevated joy. 

A crisp of jamon iberico completes the palette of tastes and you find yourself asking the simple question: 

“How could I ever taste something more satisfying than this?” 

The Princess has danced with the Serf, the lights are off,  and the Prince with the skull on hand walks by wandering: 

“To be or not to be?” 

He obviously didn’t manage to get even one bite! 

P.S. This dish is on the menu of the re-opened Mugaritz Restaurant, near San Sebastian in the Basque Region, which was completely rebuilt after a fire destroyed the entire kitchen and a big part of the dining area on the 15th February 2010.  

 

Terzo: Bistecca Fiorentina 

The queen of meats could not be absent from this dinner. Bistecca Fiorentina, bought from my good friend Dario Cecchini, in Panzano, Chianti.

The meat is marbled, and it melts in your mouth dear guest, enjoy it!!!

 

Vino: Poeckl Admiral 1995 

The Admiral, a cuvée of Zweigelt, Blaufränkisch and Cabernet Sauvignon, has been one of Austria’s great red wines for years.

My brother Manolis introduced me to this battleship of reds and I am enslaved by it ever since.  

 

Dolce: Tiramisou (Ristorante Uliassi, Senigalia, Italia) 

The tirami-sou, another creation of chef Uliassi, is deconstructed and absolutely fantastic! The mascarponeisintense and ever present, the cream golden and thick, the chocolate dressed in coffee chunky and bitter! A caramelized wet biscuit on top provides the necessary absorbing agent.No cake needed! 

 

Dolce: Dark chocolate praline with campari sauce in the middle, accompanied by blood orange sorbet on the left and orange grog on the right. 

And now the second dessert! The grog was mildly hot, and contrasted beautifully the cold sorbet (Restaurant Vestibuel, Vienna, Austria). What a wonderful way to end the dinner!!!

 

Vinsanto: Barone Ricasoli – Castello di Brolio 

The Castello di Brolio Vin Santo, true to tradition, expresses one of the “historic” grapes of the area, Malvasia del Chianti.

It is silkyy, aromatic, and can stay with you for a long time. The aftertaste is memorable.

 

Mugaritz Restaurant, near San Sebastian, Basque Country

This is a long due review of my visit to Mugaritz in June 2010. Mugaritz is listed as number 5 in San Pelegrino’s “The Top 50 Restaurants of the World”. Michelin’s Guide Rouge has awarded him two stars for the last 7 years. Chef Andoni Luis Aduriz is considered to be one of the most exciting new chefs in the world. I had the pleasure of visiting Mugaritz in 2003 for the first time, and I returned in 2010. Originally, the date was set for February, but a mishap prevented me from going. When I called a few days later to reschedule, Amaia (the ever gentle lady in charge of bookings) told me that a fire had destroyed the kitchen and the restaurant would re-open in June.

The entrance to the restaurant is the entrance of a farm turned restaurant. Idyllic and calming. It is difficult to find without a navigator, but it is worth the try.

“I was about to remark that farm-to-table cuisine is nothing new to Americans when a waiter placed two stark white bowls on the table. One held a smooth garlic aioli for dipping; the other contained purplish-white orbs that resembled rarefied Japanese stones. These were Aduriz’s famous potatoes, which he’d spent a year researching and perfecting with his pharmacist sister, using a nutrient-rich, edible white clay called kaolin. To obtain the fantastical result, Aduriz dips little boiled Basque spuds in a mix of kaolin and lactose—which makes the coating smooth—then dries them at low heat until a brittle coating forms. Aduriz serves the potatoes in a bowl, among real stones. When I bit into one, the eggshell-thin casing dissolved into the sweet, meltingly tender flesh. I could see what Aduriz meant about luxury.”

Source: Anya von Bremzen

Clay Potatoes with Aioli (photo by "summer of innocence")

The clay potatoes as described by Anya were served in a smoking area outside the main restaurant, and I did not have my camera with me. I could not have believed that such a sumptuous aromatic taste would come from a potato! This is one of the reasons why one should visit Mugaritz. Because you visit the realm “beyond”.

Artichokes sliced paper thin, dressed in Iberian ham fat. Very subtle, and aromatic dish. Its key feature  though is the texture, as the artichoke is practically raw, and therefore crunchy. One of the challenges of the dish for me was that I am used to have artichokes with lemon, and I was thinking lemon while eating it!

“RAZOR CLAMS flavoured with a rich black bean broth, perfumed with cinnamon oil. SWEET BLACK BEANS.”

I come from the school of serving the razor clams grilled with parsley and garlic. To have them like that, swimming in a sweet broth, was a big change. Eventually, I came to like it.

“Over a gelatinous pine nut cream, GLUTINOUS COD FISH and mastic resin.”

This was a really challenging dish, as it combined the belly of the cod with pine nut cream and masticha, the resin from the mastic tree on the island of Chios. Again, Aduriz turned things upside down, serving the gelatinous flesh with a sweet aromatic dressing. It worked quite well though, and it made me feel proud, because masticha comes only from Greece. There is no other place in the world where this tree grows.

Salsifi cooked in the calcium oxide to produce a self pureeing vegetable.

“I had no idea what salsify is, but it turned out to be a tuber/root that grows in the sea. I really loved the texture of this thing. Slightly chewy and tough on the outside like the skin of a roasted Japanese sweet potato (this texture reallyexcites me), the inside remained moist and firm but giving. Subtly sweet, it was accompanied by some briny cod roe that exploded with flavour and a sprig of spring onion.”

Source: A Summer of Innocence

“MEGRIM STUFFED WITH VEGETABLE PEARLS and pickled herbs. Small sautéed carrots.”

Megrim is a type of sole fish. It was juicy, firm, tasty. I loved the baby carrots.

“SKATE FILAMENTS bounded in toasted butter glace, Iberian mild sheen.”

The skate worked perfectly with the butter.

“LOIN OF DUCK. Served with iodized compliments; crumblings and shavings of summer truffle.”

This was a minimalist dish, bringing forward the taste of the duck and in the background the subtle truffle.

Braised pork shoulder with garlic. The pork is braised at a temperature of 65 degrees Centigrade, so that haemoglobin does not coagulate and the meat does not turn brown. The garlic was crunchy and mighty. I even ate the flowers!!!

“Tradition, ocean and land: braised IBERIAN PORK TAILS AND PAN FRIED LANGUOSTINES. Reduced braising juices

infused with Iberian “jamón”.” For this dish I posted a short note back in June. I think this is the dish I will ask to eat before my departure from this vain world.

“SELECTION OF EUSKAL HERRIA CHEESE. Artisanal ewe, cow or goats milk cheeses; abbey, monastery and farmhouse

cheeses; mountain and meadow cheeses…”

There is something about cheese in the Basque country, they manage to produce everything and everything is delicious!!! I sound like a primitive being, but the simple truth is this. This stuff is so good, that I cannot ever have a proper Basque meal without cheese.

Broken walnuts with cool milk cream and Armagnac jelly.Although I am not a friend of sweets, especially after my glorious cheese plate, I really enjoyed this creation, which fooled me, as I thought that the walnut shells were real. They were not!!!! They were made of chocolate.

The Wine: Mendraka, a Txakoli from the Basque Country. This steady friend of a wine, kept me going throughout the meal. Txakoli is a perfect second violin to the glorious cuisine of the Basque country!

The double face of experience.And at the end time for philosophizing. These two cards were laid on the table at the beginning, but I present them at the end. They present the two sides of the 150 minute experience.

The Threat

The Opportunity

Au revoir Mugaritz!!!

“Arantzan zu?!” (Thou, among the thorns?!) – The Basilica and Sanctuary of Arantzazu in the Basque Country

According to the legend, these were the words of the shepherd Rodrigo de Balanzategui, who discovered the sculpture of the Virgin in a thorn-bush in the Onati county in the South of the Basque Country.

These words named the place Arantzazu, a holy place for the Basques, where they have erected a Sanctuary.

I visited the Sanctuary of Arantzazu more than a month ago, during a day that the skies were grey and the water was falling continuously, all day long.  As we approach the Virgin’s Assumption on the 15th of August, I felt is would be appropriate to share with you some of my pictures from the Basque Madonna.

The whole area of the Sanctuary is developed for people. You can walk, rest, enjoy the natural environment, visit the Church and the other edifices. The Basilica was rebuilt in 1951, when it was decided that no further extension of the old building made sense.

The Church is modern. The imposing belfry tower has a minimal cross on top.

The main entrance of the Church is modern but powerful.

The spikes of the facade are “thorns”.

The four doors of the main entrance were made by Eduardo Chillida. In the page of Onati dedicated to Arantzazu, we read: “The four doors that provide access to the church were designed by Eduardo Chillida and seem to be almost below ground, being set at the bottom of a steep staircase.”

“With their mineral appearance, the doors suggest the entrance to the underground world, an impression which is further reinforced inside the church by the massive high altarpiece, which measures over 600 square metres. The altarpiece was designed by Lucio Muñoz and is carved in wood of many different colors.”

The 14 Apostles guarding the entrance are the work of Jorge Oteiza. The Bilbao Guggenheim organized in 2005 a major retrospective of Oteiza’s work. We read in the Exhibition program: ” In the same year (1950), he began work tentatively on a major commission for the statuary of the basilica at Aránzazu, a huge undertaking finally realized in 1969. Here, religious motifs are depersonalized; figures are emptied, opened to space, and filled with spiritual content.”

The Pieta crowns the 14 Apostles.

The crypt is accessible from the inside of the Basilica. It is utterly modern, and captivating. The Onati site comments: “The crypt, decorated by Nestor Basterretxea, contains 18 murals of exceptional expressive strength, which have a somewhat aggressive use of color.”

The 15th century statute of the Virgin.

May her Mercy envelop and deliver us more true and free to the world.

May her Grace help us to sustain pain and sorrow.

May her Heart keep us warm in the cold and dark terrain of solitude and remembrance.

Exiting the Chillida doors.

Time to go.

Time to get lost in the mountains and the clouds.

Chillida: Gruss an (Hommage à) Heidegger

Δοκεί δε μέτα τι είναι και

χαλεπόν ληφθήναι ο τόπος

“It appears, however, to be something overwhelming and hard to grasp, the topos (that is place, space)”

Aristotle, Physics, Book IV

The Basque Sculptor Eduardo Chillida in the early 1960′s engaged into a dialog with the German Philosopher Martin Heidegger. When the two men met, they discovered that from different angles, they were “working” with Space in the same way.

Chillida has been quoted as saying: “My whole Work is a journey of discovery in Space. Space is the liveliest of all, the one that surrounds us.” He has challenged the Empty and embraced the Horizon. One might say that his mission in life was to give life to Emptiness.

In one of his interviews, Chillida said: “Heidegger wrote a book, The Art and the Space, that discussed my work: the idea of space as a living space that is in relation to man, and the idea that sculpture reveals the exact character of a space. Heidegger asked for my thoughts because he was astonished to find so many relations between his ideas and my ideas, translated into sculpture.”

Heidegger wrote: “We would have to learn to recognize that things themselves are places and do not merely belong to a place,” and that sculpture is thereby “…the embodiment of places.”

Against a traditional view of space as an empty container for discrete bodies, these writings understand the body as already beyond itself in a world of relations and conceive of space as a material medium of relational contact. Sculpture shows us how we belong to the world, a world in the midst of a technological process of uprooting and homelessness. Heidegger suggests how we can still find room to dwell therein.

Hommage à Heidegger.
Holzschnitt.
Van der Koelen 70016. Signiert und nummeriert. Exemplar 98/100. Auf Japanbütten. 13,8 x 17 cm (5,4 x 6,6 in). Papier: 20,8 x 17 cm (8,1 x 6,6 in).
Beilage zur Vorzugsausgabe des Buches “Martin Heidegger/Eduardo Chillida – Die Kunst und der Raum” von Erhard Kästner, St. Gallen 1970. Gedruckt von der Erker-Presse, St. Gallen, erschienen im Erker-Verlag, St. Gallen. [RS].

Chillida was asked and accepted to prepare the illustrations for the book that was first published in 1969. The illustration above comes from the book.

Gruss an Hiedegger, Frankfurt am Main (1994)

In 1994 Chillida completed his sculpture “Hommage to Heidegger”. The sculpture was installed in open air in Frankfurt an Main.

RABITOS DE CERDO IBÉRICO ESTOFADOS Y CIGALITAS SALTEADAS: The Princess entangles the Serf in a messy enjoyment of life

Iberian Pig’s Tails with crayfish.

The humble tail with its skin intact and crispy combines with the white immaculate flesh of the crayfish in a never ending game of pure pleasure, amplified by jamon iberico crisps.

The flesh of the tail is surrounded by streams of fat, the best tasting fat in the world!

The contrast in the texture between the skin and the subliminally soft, almost creamy fat  is unbelievable.

And when you get back to Earth after this excursion into extreme pleasure, the crayfish comes into play and with its soft flesh and sweet flavor takes you to the cool ocean of elevated joy.

A crisp of jamon iberico completes the palette of tastes and you find yourself asking the simple question:

“How could I ever taste something more satisfying than this?”

The Princess has danced with the Serf, the lights are off,  and the Prince with the skull on hand walks by wandering:

“To be or not to be?”

He obviously didn’t manage to get even one bite!

P.S. This dish is on the menu of the re-opened Mugaritz Restaurant, near San Sebastian in the Basque Region, which was completely rebuilt after a fire destroyed the entire kitchen and a big part of the dining area on the 15th February 2010.

Restaurante Arzak – San Sebastian, Donostia, Basque Country

Juan Mari Arzak is one of the giants of Basque and International cuisine for the last 35 years.

Juan Mari Arzak - Photo courtesy of Restaurante Arzak

His restaurant in San Sebastian is a temple of gastronomy.

I visited the restaurant in a very cold day of February, when it was snowing and the city was dressed in white. Unusual weather for a sea resort, even in the heart of winter.

My last visit was back in 2004, with my brother, Manolis and his family.

Front view of the Restaurant Arzak - Photo courtesy of Restaurant Arzak

Arzak was and still is the three-starred restaurant where you feel at home. The atmosphere is warm, service is friendly, and Juan Mari himself tours the tables and chats with the guests. The locals honor Arzak with their patronage, as he is one of them, he has never left them.  And Juan Mari makes sure he remains one of the locals, by welcoming them for the last 40 years.

Elena Arzak - Photo courtesy of Restaurant Arzak

The kitchen on a day by day basis is run by Juan Mari’s daughter, Elena Arzak. Elena is the perfect example of a professional whose fame has not gone into their head. She is smiling, friendly and always willing to discuss every aspect of the food she serves.

I forgot my camera at the hotel, and I can show you no pictures, but I will describe the dishes as they came.  Elena was kind enough to let me use some of the marketing photos that you see above.

The first dish was caramelized apple disks with foie oil on top. Perfectly balanced, seasoned, each disk a pleasure to watch and taste.

Olive powder with lobster - Photo courtesy of Restaurante Arzak

The second dish was a lobster salad with potatoes, which was superb. The key reason was the sauce that came with it, a sauce full of flavors from the lobster and spices.

The third dish was oysters with a crispy shell. Oysters were tender, subtle in flavor and contrasted in texture with the crispy shell.

The fourth dish  was an egg with infused flavors.

Sea Bass with vegetable confetti - Photo courtesy of Restaurante Arzak

The fifth dish was “bronzed” monk fish, which was superbly seared and presented with a sauce made from its stock.

Totem de Foie - Photo courtesy of Restaurante Arzak

The meal concluded with fresh foie, served in a sauce of corn and sweet wine.

There were two deserts, both a combination of cold and warm, with beautiful colors, fruits and chocolate.

Overall, this was an exceptional meal. All dishes were expertly executed. If I had to change something, I would swap the oysters for a dish with baby eels that is superb, but I forgot to ask for it, until I saw it served to the next table, to a couple of gentlemen with whom Juan Mari had a joyous chat.

Having been to Martin Berasategui’s restaurant the day before, I can summarize the experience as follows.

Martin is the Mozart of Basque cuisine. Light, exuberant, playful, endless, a creative genius unbound by convention and technique.

Juan Mari and Elena are the Beethoven of the Basque cuisine. The colors are darker, the taste is heavier, the menu items are more familiar, almost classical, and the overall experience is close to perfection, making you feel a different man.

Restaurante Martin Berasategui – Lasarte, near San Sebastian, Basque Country

It is not often that one is blessed to enjoy the finest of food prepared by one of the top chefs of the world. During my recent visit to San Sebastian, I was fortunate to have lunch in the restaurant of Martin Berasategui, in Lasarte, a small town near San Sebastian. The chef proposes to the visitor to taste rather than eat. This means, he prefers to serve small bites of representative dishes that he has created over the years, rather than one or two big dishes. The degustation menu that he has put together spans the period from 1995 to 2010.

Lightly smoked cod with powder of hazelnuts, coffee and vanilla.

The official name of the dish does not mention that the thin slice of the fish rests on a puree where the taste and flavor of parmesan cheese is prominent. The fish actually disolves into the puree and the combination is inspiring!

Mille feuille of smoked eel, foie gras, spring onions and green apple

This is a signature dish of the chef, one of the dishes that have established him in the Pantheon of modern gastronomy. What is quite remarkable is the balance that he manages to maintain, between the eel and the foie, which have abundant flavor and “personality” .

Salmon de Keia with seaweed, cucumber, lemon and celery ice cream.

This is a very fresh, light bite, made even lighter by the celery ice cream and the strip of lemon sauce. The salmon is velvety, full of flavor.

Squid soup, creamy squid ink ravioli, served with squid crouton

The black ball is a ravioli filled with squid ink, the crouton is a flake with ink juice and rice, and beneath it the chef has placed razor thin slices of squid. This dish is the essence of squid, presented in three distinct forms. The instruction is to put the ravioli in your mouth intact, and then crush it in order to enjoy the power of the ink’s taste. Then you water down the powerful taste with the soup’s liquid and the rest. The slices of squid add to the harmony of textures, but the taste and flavor are in the liquid stuff.

Oyster with water cress, rocket leaves and lemon grass cream, apple chlorophyll, and oxalis acetosella (wood sorrel)

Extremely delicate flavor and taste, requires meditation to obtain the depth of the delicate structure the chef has put on the dish. A very intellectual dish!

Little pearls of fennel, with emulsion

What you see in the middle is a bouquet of tagliatelle made of gelatin and fennel. It is surrounded by the foamy stuff that also has fennel in it. It is a dish that uplifts you because it is so light!

Cheese and Carabana oil Bubble with endives, red onion juice and Iberian bacon

This is a heavier dish, the bubbles are quite tasty and hearty, while the vegetables and the liquids accompany them well.

Farm’s Egg with beet root and liquid salad, lardon and cheese

The test of the artistry of a chef is the cooking of an egg. Here we have the egg (poached without the white) covered by a transparent slice of lardon  fat. On top we have pieces of beet root a bit of cheese, black truffle and the liquid herb salad. The combination is ok, but lacks focus. Of all the dishes I tasted this was the weakest.

Warm vegetable salad with seafood, cream of lettuce hearts and juice

This is a painting, a pleasure of the eye. Once you start tasting the salad, you have the feeling of being submerged up to waste level in the sea, and from the waste up to a vegetable and fruit garden. A sheer delight, the gastronomic equivalent of Mozart’s String Quintet 6.

Roast red mullet with crystals of soft scales, pig’s tail and seaweed

This is an audacious dish, the combination of the mullet with the succulent pig’s tail is incredible! Not to mention the scales, that have been turned into air by the chef.

Roasted Araiz’s Pigeon, mushrooms and truffle cream

Wonderful flavor of the pigeon, assorted by the woody mushrooms and the truffle sauce. This may have been the best pigeon I have ever tasted!

The deserts were a disappointment, after the huge satisfaction of this display of culinary expertise and creativity.

Coffee came with this nice tray of cookies and tasty liquids.

At the end of the meal, the maitre d’ hotel asked me to go to the kitchen, where I was greeted by Hector Botrini, the best Greek Chef. Hector was visiting Martin as they are good friends and enjoy working together. Martin Berasategui was very polite, he asked whether I enjoyed the food and why. It is good to see that one of the best chefs of the world takes time to ask his unknown customers about their feedback. It is one of things that can keep Martin at the top for many many years to come.

Images of Donostia, San Sebastian

As promised to a creative and very naughty creature from the North of Greece, I publish today some pictures from the wonderful city of Donostia, or San Sebastian. In the Basque Country it is common to have two names, one in the Basque language and another in Spanish.

I can spend hours looking at this inviting bay, the Bay of Concha. This is the view from the Hotel Monte Igueldo, where I usually stay.

The small island in mouth of the bay is the Santa Clara Island, while the hill on the opposite side is Monte Urgull.

This is another shot from Monte Igueldo, and the golden sand stretch that you see on the right is the Ondaretta Beach, awonderful place to swim and relax during the summer months. As I write this, the outside temperature is below zero, so I do not think I will swim tomorrow.

Shot taken from the northern edge of Ondaretta Beach, at the beginning of the Passage to the Comb of the Wind. The Atlantic can very quickly build up a storm over the beautiful city.

And a storm it was around 5 pm today. After taking this photo and walking back about 100 meters, I realized that due to the spray of sea water my rain coat was soaking wet.

Things were not much better in the morning today. This is what I could see from my balcony.

During an interval of the multiple snow, hale and rain falls of the day, I took a shot of the Jesus Statue on Mount Urgull.

Santa Maria is the most imposing Church in the Old town (18th century, baroque style).

Storm or no storm, the Basque fishermen do not back off. This large trawler had just arrived, and was unloading around noon. the city restaurants and bar are full of the freshest seafood.

Uncomfortable bedfellows.

Kokotxas (cheeks) de bacalao! Only 24 EUROs per kilo.

The shop were I buy the bacalao.

The fish market (Pescaderia), now under enovation.

The station of the cable car that takes you to the top of Mount Igueldo.

Fragment of the sculpture “Liberte” by Eduardo Chillida.

Restaurante Rekondo – San Sebastian, Basque Country

This is a restaurant in “my” neighborhood in San Sebastian. It is on the steep narrow road that takes you to Monte Igueldo, where rests with the most spectacular view of the Concha Bay the Monte Igueldo Hotel (my house in San Sebastian).

It offers classical Basque cuisine and has a fantastic wine list, more than 100,000 labels are on offer at prices you think you are dreaming with your eyes open.

The clientele is at this time of the year (February) locals who want to enjoy good local food and excellent wine. In addition to the restaurant, there is a separate area for drinking wine.

Thi sis not a fancy restaurant, but the locals in San Sebastian are a demanding lot. So here we have a delicious amuse, fried vegetables and a cheese croquette.

The first dish is artichokes with fresh duck liver. The hollow area of the cylinder has been filled with a light bearnaise sauce. The liver is just divine, it melts in the mouth, full of discrete sweet flavors and juices. The texture is smooth and it surrenders to the slightest movement of the tongue. The artichokes full of gentle acidity, dressed in the light bitterness of its flesh. The sauce acts as a universal agent of redemption, smooths out the contrasting tastes and united we all go to heaven!

The following dish is an act in extreme discretion, as it is the cheeks (kokotxas in Basque) of hake (merluza in Spanish) lightly cooked in olive oil and parsley. The discretion is required when cooking the sensitive velvety flesh as it may disintegrate and break into pieces. thankfully this did not happen in my plate, the cheeks were perfect, the taste of the sea rushing into the mouth cavity, just as the rough waves down the cliff crush against the rocks. The gelatinous pieces had released their gelatin in the sauce, which was balanced and delicious.

The best way to end this meal was a plateau of cheese from the land.  I will never learn the names, but I believe that the Basque country produces some of the best cheeses in the world.