It was a wet and cold winter day in the mountains next to Madrid, Spain. As much as you planned to take a hearty, long hike, what you really wanted to do is to get indoors and have a hot and heavy meal; not just any meal; one that leaves you with little or no desire to even walk to the parking lot. And that's what we ended up doing. The chorizos, morcillas and other appetizers were just an add to what was coming. Imagine this: a escarole salad with little roasted local quails, chevre cheese, pears finely sliced, walnuts and a dressing that had hints of an apple puree... An appetizer of Boletus wild mushrooms in a foie sauce. The soups could have been main courses in their own right: Alpine Soup with beans and wild local mushrooms and your "classic" Fabada Asturiana (Bean stew) with the overwhelming flavors of the chorizos, morcillas, etc
When we got to the main course, amazingly enough, we were ready for more. The "Rabo de Toro" (Bull's tail stew) in the picture, was bathed in a juicy wine sauce and accompanied by crispy, but soft inside, french fries. The sauce caressed the potatoes enough to infuse them with the deep and tantalizing flavors of a stew cooked for hours by the heat of a high mountain stove.
I just want to cry.
The also local Wild Board was cut in slices and a thick sauce was "drawn" across the tender lomitos de Jabalí. The beef steak, was well done but not hard or dry, as you would expect it, it was juicy and tender!!!
Fried eggs and fries were a beautiful portray of simple but well cared ingredients. What else did we eat? Does anyone remember? Just let me know in the comments section of this blog.
I do remember the profiteroles and the Ponche de Segovia. To die for!!!
The digestion didn't take that long. By the time we were back in town (Madrid) an hour later, I was feeling great.
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