Madrid is where my culinary experience truly started. We stayed with a dear friend who gave up her personal space to accommodate the four of us. After about ten days of cold breakfast we had a kitchen at our disposal and an artisan bread store just next door. Chef was in the house so it was eggs to order, bacon or Jamon (smoked ham) or both, Queso fresco, cream cheese, and bread that was not allowed to cool after coming out of the oven, and of course freshly brewed coffee. This was a daily affair. Day one, We headed out to Plaza Mayor a beautiful square surrounded by residential buildings and dominated by one building, the Casa de la Panadeira, used for municipal and cultural functions. The square is filled with restaurants and souvenir shops, and hundreds of tourists entertained by musicians and street artists and painters.
Just besides it is an artisan market called Mercado San Miguel, it is one of the most amazingly quaint markets I have seen, a lot like the Bouqueria of Barcelona, but a gourmet version. They had the most amazing Tapas. The first stall had a variety of olives and pickles. We tried olives stuffed with fresh cheese and sweet pimentos, olives stuffed with pickled onions and anchovies, olives with goat cheese and pickled chillies, Gherkins stuffed with tuna and pickled onions and roasted peppers stuffed with cream cheese. My favourite, though, was Queso de Cabra stuffed in Pimento piquillo. Soft goat cheese stuffed into tiny semi spicy red peppers, pickled in vinegar. It was finger licking good. The next stall had seafood Tapas. We went with smoked mussels on crostini, fresh marinated Bacalhau on toast, dried Bacalhau with egg on toast, sardines on toast and a variety of diffently coloured caviar with blinis. We washed it down with a jug full of Sangria, like only the Spanish make it, Orange slices cherries and lots of ice. Then came the cheese platter, an assortment of goat’s cheese, fresh cheese and cured cheese with toast. Then the main attraction the cured meat stall where they had two guys carving paper thin slices of heavenly Jamón ibérico salted and smoked to perfection. We sampled the Spanish Chorizo, the Picante version is a lot like our own Goan sausage, but less spicy. They had variety of sausages on display and choosing becomes really tough. I was in heaven, food heaven. The sweets and pastries stall was full of beautiful cakes and chocolates. We tried the chocolate eclairs, chocolate gateaux a variety of cookies, and other chocolaty sins. Talk about a sugar rush. Now my wife and kids were also in heaven.
The next day we went sight seeing. The food on that day, was everything that was quick. Sandwiches, croissants, and an all u can eat buffet, that had a salad bar with 20 odd vegetables, 5 dressings, some nuts for toppings, ham and pineapple pizza, Paella, roast chicken and sautéed potatoes. For dessert they had fresh fruit pastries and ice cream. It was a filling meal but not a soul satisfying. It was our hostess’s birthday that day and she had invited a couple of friends over for dinner, so for starters she had made olive Tepanade, a paste made of olives, garlic, anchovies and olive oil, served with toast and Foie Gras with cranberry marmalade. I cooked smoked salmon and spinach lasagna, Pommes Dauphine and mini steaks in garlic and red wine. For dessert One of her friends had made a rich chocolate mousse. The dinner could be described in one word, scrumptious!!
The next day we were taken to a restaurant called Lateral, it is here that I was really impressed by the tapas. We started off with mini tornados grilled medium topped with caramelized onion and Foie gras on crisp bread, cream cheese and chives wrapped in smoked salmon on bread, fried eggplant with a balsamic dip and sweet red pepper stuffed with Queso fresco on toast and a potato tortilla which is basically a potato and onion omelet, one of the most simple and amazing things I’ve tasted. The difference in the tapas I ate in Barcelona was that they were all ready on display and were just popped in the microwave to reheat, and that’s what I didn’t like. At lateral they were made fresh, to order, and that makes all the difference.
Our dinners were at home, so it was grilled perch fillets, roast chicken, grilled beef tornadoes, lots of salad and a different type of bread, every day. On our last night we had roast chicken and Arroz con chorizo picante and for myself a huge rib eye steak, medium rare, with green peppercorn sauce, a perfect ending to our stay in madrid. Our last breakfast was at the airport, waiting to fly to Lisbon. To be continued…….
Just besides it is an artisan market called Mercado San Miguel, it is one of the most amazingly quaint markets I have seen, a lot like the Bouqueria of Barcelona, but a gourmet version. They had the most amazing Tapas. The first stall had a variety of olives and pickles. We tried olives stuffed with fresh cheese and sweet pimentos, olives stuffed with pickled onions and anchovies, olives with goat cheese and pickled chillies, Gherkins stuffed with tuna and pickled onions and roasted peppers stuffed with cream cheese. My favourite, though, was Queso de Cabra stuffed in Pimento piquillo. Soft goat cheese stuffed into tiny semi spicy red peppers, pickled in vinegar. It was finger licking good. The next stall had seafood Tapas. We went with smoked mussels on crostini, fresh marinated Bacalhau on toast, dried Bacalhau with egg on toast, sardines on toast and a variety of diffently coloured caviar with blinis. We washed it down with a jug full of Sangria, like only the Spanish make it, Orange slices cherries and lots of ice. Then came the cheese platter, an assortment of goat’s cheese, fresh cheese and cured cheese with toast. Then the main attraction the cured meat stall where they had two guys carving paper thin slices of heavenly Jamón ibérico salted and smoked to perfection. We sampled the Spanish Chorizo, the Picante version is a lot like our own Goan sausage, but less spicy. They had variety of sausages on display and choosing becomes really tough. I was in heaven, food heaven. The sweets and pastries stall was full of beautiful cakes and chocolates. We tried the chocolate eclairs, chocolate gateaux a variety of cookies, and other chocolaty sins. Talk about a sugar rush. Now my wife and kids were also in heaven.
The next day we went sight seeing. The food on that day, was everything that was quick. Sandwiches, croissants, and an all u can eat buffet, that had a salad bar with 20 odd vegetables, 5 dressings, some nuts for toppings, ham and pineapple pizza, Paella, roast chicken and sautéed potatoes. For dessert they had fresh fruit pastries and ice cream. It was a filling meal but not a soul satisfying. It was our hostess’s birthday that day and she had invited a couple of friends over for dinner, so for starters she had made olive Tepanade, a paste made of olives, garlic, anchovies and olive oil, served with toast and Foie Gras with cranberry marmalade. I cooked smoked salmon and spinach lasagna, Pommes Dauphine and mini steaks in garlic and red wine. For dessert One of her friends had made a rich chocolate mousse. The dinner could be described in one word, scrumptious!!
The next day we were taken to a restaurant called Lateral, it is here that I was really impressed by the tapas. We started off with mini tornados grilled medium topped with caramelized onion and Foie gras on crisp bread, cream cheese and chives wrapped in smoked salmon on bread, fried eggplant with a balsamic dip and sweet red pepper stuffed with Queso fresco on toast and a potato tortilla which is basically a potato and onion omelet, one of the most simple and amazing things I’ve tasted. The difference in the tapas I ate in Barcelona was that they were all ready on display and were just popped in the microwave to reheat, and that’s what I didn’t like. At lateral they were made fresh, to order, and that makes all the difference.
Our dinners were at home, so it was grilled perch fillets, roast chicken, grilled beef tornadoes, lots of salad and a different type of bread, every day. On our last night we had roast chicken and Arroz con chorizo picante and for myself a huge rib eye steak, medium rare, with green peppercorn sauce, a perfect ending to our stay in madrid. Our last breakfast was at the airport, waiting to fly to Lisbon. To be continued…….
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