First Taste of Toledo

June 16, 2016June 16, 2016 ~ donquioaty ~ 2 Comments

On his first evening in Toledo, DonQui trots down towards the Plaza de Zocodover which he is led to understand in a hive of local activity.

His heart sinks when he sees the place dominated by McDonalds and Burger King. Although Toledo was the capital of Visigothic Spain, DonQui takes strength in the certain knowledge that the Spanish could not wholly succumb to such barbaric invaders so he wanders on.

There, just around a corner and tucked into a most inviting courtyard, he stumbles upon the delightful Cerveceria El Trebol. He has enough grasp of the Spanish language to feel certain that a cerveceria would serve beer and that is exactly what he wants.

Not only do they have beer but they have a rather nice local brew. It may not quite stack up to a Southwold Adnams but it is far better than your average industrial lager. Encouraged, DonQui decides to stay a while and have a bite to eat as well.

He goes for a plate of grilled Iberico pork with potatoes and tomatoes. Coming from a special breed of acorn fed pigs, the pork is dark, rich, tender and utterly delicious. DonQui is not normally a great fan of potatoes but any he has sampled in Spain are much more to his taste that those he has at home in England. He does not know if it is the variety, the soil or the climate but they are firmer and nuttier in flavour. The tomatoes too are deep red with none of the insipidness of those picked green and transported from many miles away.

Better than your average tapas, it is a simple and flavoursome dish which leaves DonQui feeling utterly satisfied. And at €7 it is a bargain.

He rather expects that he may be paying a return visit.

Madrid in 24 hours

June 15, 2016 ~ donquioaty ~ 3 Comments

DonQui is in Madrid for a day. Well two half-days to be precise but precision never was one of his strong points. He has not been to Madrid before and the fact that there is so much to see poses a bit of a quandary. There are basically two options for a first time visitor to a great city with only 24 hours to explore.

The first is to read up in advance; make lists, notes and careful plans; print off maps; dog-ear travel guides; and pre-book as much as you can. This will help to maximise every precious minute and make it possible to cram in all sorts of incredibly interesting things.

The second option is to find a pleasant outdoor café, then settle in for a bit. After a few hours of soaking up the atmosphere one should contemplate seeking out a suitable establishment for a leisurely lunch. A brief nap in the afternoon will help to restore after the morning’s exertions and to prepare for an evening walk followed by a few drinks and then supper. Readers will probably not be surprised to learn that DonQui is most assuredly following the second option.

He is rather pleased with his hotel Petit Palace Santa Barbara which is located on the eponymous plaza in the city centre. It is built around an inner courtyard which also serves as a bar. The rooms are very modern even providing laptop computers (firmly secured to the desk!).

The Plaza Santa Bárbara is strewn with chairs and tables so DonQui thinks it should be quite easy to find a spot to settle in. Not so! Every table is already full by 7pm. Watching the natives he surmises that the trick is to circle around like a vulture over a dying animal and then swoop as soon as someone gets up. His first attempt at this fails. He is too polite and waits for the previous patrons to completely move away. This gives an opening for a more aggressive vulture to swoop in first. His second attempt is much more successful. Table secured, DonQui remains glued to it sipping his beer, reading a book and watching the world go by.

By 9pm the restaurants are opening so DonQui goes off exploring for a likely place. Just around the corner by Alonso Martinez Metro station is the Sagasta28 Bistro & Gourmet.

‘This will do very nicely,’ DonQui thinks so he trots down the steps and settles himself. The atmosphere is laid back and friendly — the food is quite excellent.

A lovely meal of rosemary lamp chops and fried potatoes washed down by a glass of red wine and accompanied by rustic bread and a sample of various olive oils really hits the spot.

So does DonQui actually do any touristy stuff in Madrid? Apart from strolling around a bit he does spend an hour or so at the excellent Archeological Museum. He particularly likes old stuff, especially Roman old stuff.

The museum has a very good collection, including exhibits from the Visigoths which are of particular interest to DonQui as his alter ego, Simon MacDowall, is writing a book about them.

Food and Farming

June 9, 2016 ~ donquioaty ~ 3 Comments

So… DonQui is in a bit of an agricultural mood at the moment. Having whipped his allotment into shape he is in need of a few more things to plant. He is thinking of beans – they always seem to do well and the surplus can be easily frozen. A few more herbs might be in order too. He already has thyme, oregano, tarragon, parsley, coriander and chives but some basil would be nice and Duchess has her heart set on some mint. The latter is a problem since mint runs roots all over the place and could soon take over everything. Never mind, he will deal with that in due course. In the meantime he needs to decide where to go to pick up some more plants.

What’s this?

According to The Guardian newspaper the Darsham Nurseries, just down the road, is on the list of the 100 best places to eat in England.

A nursery café one of the best places to eat in England? Normally all DonQui might expect in such a place is a stale piece of cake and some instant coffee – not for him!

Yet this information comes from a most trusted source so he decides to give it a try. After all he does need to buy some plants.

And what a delightful surprise it is!

Duchess is delighted with her ‘English Garden’ cocktail. Such things are not to DonQui’s taste but he can appreciate the fresh minty aroma while he sips on a good glass of Beaujolais.

The menu offers a tapas-style selection of modern European sharing plates in larger than expected portions.

DonQui particularly enjoys the seasonal grilled local asparagus with romesco and almonds. Romesco is a Catalan pepper based sauce from Tarragona and although DonQui did not sample this when he was in Tarragona he finds it quite delicious. The locally sourced Blythburgh pork chop with apricots was simply divine although DonQui struggles to see it as a ‘small dish.’

Duchess’ favorite was the ‘garden greens’ (Swiss chard) with burnt lemon and goat’s cheese curd. It was slightly better presented that the picture above indicates but by the time DonQui got around to taking it Duchess had already tucked in!

One side dish DonQui had to order was radishes with butter and salt – a very simple French classic. As a very young colt DonQui remembers his grandfather raving about radis au beurre. He had fought at the Battle of the Somme in the First World War and radis au beurre was something he had acquired a taste for in the cafés behind the lines when he was away from the action. He even insisted that the French word for butter was aubeurre and no amount of DonQui’s primary school knowledge could convince him that the ‘au’ was not an integral part of the word. “I was in France and I know,” was his emphatic reply and that was that.

The meal was utterly delicious, finished off with a heavenly concoction of creamy cheese over fine phyllo pastry with honey and nuts. It was billed as a ‘cheese cake’ but the name did not do it justice. DonQui is not a great fan of traditional cheese cake and this was anything but.

And yes DonQui did pick up some mint which is now awaiting re-planting. The nursery did not have any beans but in light of the most delicious lunch he really does not mind.

Working the Fields

June 7, 2016 ~ donquioaty ~ Leave a comment

On a nice warm sunny day DonQui finds rousing himself to do any work on his allotment quite difficult.

He would much rather put his hooves up and soak up some rays by the beach. Then again when it is wet, cold and miserable outside, DonQui is even less likely to go out to work in the fields. It is a wonder that anything actually gets done at all.

Somehow DonQui manages to put thoughts of the beach behind him, picks up spade, fork, hoe and assorted other instruments of destruction, and heads off to the allotment.

He thinks the strawberries are coming along nicely and he looks forward to the crop. His reward is, however, not limited to thoughts of good fresh fruit and vegetables to come. There is great therapeutic satisfaction to be had digging around in the dirt.

Especially when a fearless, friendly blackbird comes along to help and steal a few worms.

The Perfect Country Pub

May 29, 2016May 29, 2016 ~ donquioaty ~ 1 Comment

DonQui has been rather quite of late and for this he apologises. With summer approaching and various other tedious distractions now behind him, he resolves to get back to the important business of living life to the fullest. He has some travels coming up soon but on this English holiday weekend he decides to stay firmly on home ground.

After all he does live in a corner of Suffolk favoured by tourists so why put up with crowded airports and traffic jams when he can simply trot out of his paddock to enjoy what others travel far to experience.

Nearby Southwold will be overrun with tourists so instead of venturing into the coastal town he heads a bit inland to one of his favourite country pubs — The Star in Wenhaston.

It just so happens that the Star has a beer festival running over the weekend. With live music, barbecue and a wide selection of beers and ciders on offer for £3 a pint it would be foolish to pass it up.

Now DonQui has previously expounded his philosophy of what makes a good pub. The Ship and Shovel in London is a perfect example of a really good urban pub. The Star at Wenheston is a truly great country pub.

The sign on the wall says it all. The Star is a proper old fashioned pub of the kind which is becoming increasingly difficult to find as so many are taken over by chains, given a gastropub make-over or otherwise turned into identikit versions of each other.

In autumn and winter there is a roaring fire in the bar which makes it a great place to escape the damp grey of the colder English seasons.

One night a month the Star hosts “spin a disk” where you can bring samples of your vinyl collections to play on the record player (younger readers may need to look that up). One might hear anything from traditional jazz to cheesy pop, interspersed with a bit of Led Zeppelin, Bowie, or The Who. It all depends on what people decide to bring with them.

Run by Carl and Virginia, The Star remains quirky and resolutely independent.

The wonderful bric-a-brac decorating the walls are reflective of the fact that The Star has not been designed by marketing consultants and long may it remain thus.

The Star is a free-house which is rare in the heart of Adnams country. Not that DonQui has anything against Adnams beers, which are brewed down the road in Southwold. It is just that every once in a while he enjoys trying something else and most pubs in the area are tied to the Adnams brewery.

For some reason, DonQui does not enquire why, all the beers on offer at the beer festival are from Yorkshire rather than Suffolk. Taking a half pint glass he samples several of them and is pleased by the variety of tastes from citrusy pale ales to more malty darker ones. One of his favourites, from Kelham Island Brewery is ‘London Calling’ — an odd name perhaps for a Yorkshire beer, complete with a cameo of The Clash on the barrel. Dark, full of deep flavour and good hoppy bitterness DonQui thinks it makes a great beer to sip and savour. A close runner up is Atlantic Crossing which apparently was originally a joint venture between York’s Rudgate Brewery and the Hogshead Brewery of Colorado USA —hence the name.

The sun is shining, the music is good (mostly) with a variety of performers playing an eclectic mix of folk, blues, jazz and rock.

The barbecue provides a steady supply of burgers, sausages or steaks during the lunch and supper hours.

Goulash cooked in a large pot over an open fire provides sustenance in-between.

Sampling yet another beer, DonQui decides that there are worse ways to spend a sunny Sunday afternoon.

No Tarts in Bakewell

April 10, 2016August 9, 2017 ~ donquioaty ~ 1 Comment

DonQui has been travelling around quite a bit this past week. On Saturday he found himself in Bakewell — gateway to the Peak District if you are coming up from the south.

It is a pretty town with an ancient feel to it although DonQui learned that the many grey stone buildings only date back to Georgian times when they replaced the old medieval timber framed houses. The bridge over the River Wye is, however, truly old. It dates back 700 years and is built on Roman foundations.

DonQui had heard that Bakewell was famous for its tarts. This made his ears perk up until he learned that they were of the baked variety and even then they were not properly tarts at all. In Bakewell the almond paste, jam and pastry confection is a pudding. According to the Bakewell Pudding Shop the original recipe was a mistake when a cook, making a strawberry tart, poured the egg mixture over the jam instead of mixing it into the pastry.

To be truthful Bakewell puddings or tarts are not high on DonQui’s list of favourites. He was in need of something a little more refined. Stopping off at The Peacock for an afternoon pint of the local ale he ascertained that he would not be having dinner there. Although the food looked good the prices did not. He thought that £15 for a burger would make even a Panama accountant’s eye’s water.

On his way back from strolling along the river, by happy chance he passes Riley’s Restaurant. Menu looks interesting. He sticks his nose inside the door, Nicely decorated. It is mid afternoon and the lunch crowd has long moved on. A pleasant young man comes over and asks if he can help. DonQui decides to reserve for dinner.

Later that evening DonQui had one of the best meals he has had in a long time. A bowl of muscles in a delicious coconut lime broth to start, followed by a most exquisite dish of sous-vide lamb rump with a medley of spring vegetables.

DonQui has heard of the sous-vide cooking method before but has never tried it. Basically it seems to involve putting the meat in a vacuum sealed bag and cooking it for many hours by immersing it in moderately hot water. The result is evenly cooked, tender and utterly delicious. The medly of vegetables included asparagus, sprouting broccoli, pea shoots, peas and finely sliced radishes. Together with the juice from the lamb it had a wonderfully fresh, crisp, spring-like taste.

Duchess had half a lobster which was also delicious.

DonQui liked the ambiance and he liked the staff, all of whom were friendly, cheerful, helpful, and clearly proud of their establishment.

The chef also has a good sense of humour. DonQui considered trying out ‘Spam in a Can’ but didn’t— maybe next time.

The Other Don Qui

April 8, 2016 ~ donquioaty ~ Leave a comment

DonQui Oaty is quite excited. He is in Stratford — the ‘upon-Avon’ variety, not the east end of London, nor Ontario for that matter — and he is going to see a play with carries a misspelt version of his name as its title.

He is reliably informed that the original (a book not a play) was written by a Spanish chap who died 400 years ago in 1616. Apparently another person, quite famous in Stratford-upon-Avon, died that same year. The story is all about a donkey called Dapple who goes off on all sorts of adventures accompanied by two fairly hopeless humans called Don Quixote and Sancho Panza.

Duchess treats DonQui to a delicious pre-performance dinner at the theatre’s Rooftop Restaurant which, at £19.95 for two courses or £24.95 for three, is excellent value. The staff keep an eye on the show times and hold desert for us to enjoy in the interval washed down by a snifter of calvados.

DonQui has a great seat right against the stage which juts out into the audience.

He thinks the play is great fun: imaginative, witty and moving, with great acting, well timed comedy and some ingenious puppetry. Sancho Panza (Rufus Hound) is a great crowd pleasing showman. Don Quixote (David Threlfall) a Gandalf look-alike, anti-hero, switches from being completely bonkers to holding himself with quiet noble dignity in face of adversity. The Duchess (Ruth Everett) chillingly floats around the stage like a Dalek, her false smile hiding her cruel intentions. Even the horses have hilarious character, the actors taking turns to give them different emotions ranging from downtrodden to cowardly to camp.

The only criticism DonQui has is that the Donkey hero Dapple (who saves Sancho Panza near the end) should have had more lines.

Don Quixote is on at the Swan Theatre Stratford-upon-Avon until 21 May.

Easter Lamb

March 31, 2016March 31, 2016 ~ donquioaty ~ 2 Comments

At Easter DonQui Oaty really likes to cook a leg of fresh spring lamb. He has been doing this for years following a recipe he has adapted from Gourmet Magazine (April 1990). As usual DonQui’s measurements are rather imprecise as he rarely measures anything precisely.

Ingredients
1 whole leg of lamb
2 carrots roughly chopped
2 onions quartered
1 celery stalk roughly chopped
olive oil

For the Marinade:
2 crushed garlic cloves
a good amount of chopped fresh rosemary
a good amount of chopped fresh thyme
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon soy sauce
a good glug of olive oil
a good glug of dry white wine
lemon zest
pepper to taste

Whisk together all the ingredients for the marinade in a small bowl. Rub into the lamb all over, reserving a bit for cooking later. Place the lamb in the roasting tray and loosely cover with foil. Leave to marinate in the fridge for at least 4 hours — even better if you can leave it overnight.

On the feast day take the lamb out of the fridge at least an hour before cooking so it comes up to room temperature.

Pre-heat oven to 240ºC

Place the chopped vegetables on the bottom of the roasting pan and drizzle with olive oil. Place the lamb on a rack above them.

Put it in the oven and roast in the middle of the oven fat side up for 10 minutes at the high heat.

Turn down to 180º and roast for another 1 hr 10 mins (1hr 20 mins in total for a full leg)
At about the half-way point brush the lamb with the reserved marinade.

Take the lamb out of the oven and let stand for 20 minutes on the carving board while you prepare the gravy and finish off the vegetables.

For the gravy DonQui uses his Rich Meat Sauce recipe (including the recurrent jelly) as the base. This he prepares well in advance. When the lamb is resting he deglazes the roasting pan with red wine and strains it into the gravy base. He also pours in the juices which collect in the channels on the carving board as the lamb rests.

He serves with roast potatoes which he puts in the top of the oven at the half way point after the lamb has been cooking for 40 minutes. This gives them 60 minutes to get really nice and brown (the remaining 40 minutes cooking time plus the 20 minutes resting). DonQui is now quite proud of his roasties but it has taken him quite some time to master them. At some point he will write about his method.

For vegetables DonQui goes for a medley of baby carrots, fine green beans and baby corn. He parboils each for 4-5 minutes in advance. Then when the lamb is resting he swishes them around in a large pan with melted butter, salt pepper and thyme for a couple of minutes until they are well combined and nicely heated through.

Around the World in Chelsea

March 13, 2016March 13, 2016 ~ donquioaty ~ 1 Comment

If you were to ask DonQui, he would tell you that one of the (many) great things about London is how cosmopolitan it is. People from every corner of the globe live and work here, and that means you can get just about every type of food imaginable.

It is a Saturday late morning/early afternoon and DonQui finds himself in one of his favourite places to be at that time, especially on a nice sunny day – the fine food market at the Duke of York Square in Chelsea.

Helping himself to various free samples DonQui wanders around the stalls salivating.

From fine French cheeses and proper baguette (made with French flour)…

To chicken, rice, beans and quinoa from Peru.

Japanese sushi…

to Mexican burritos…

With so much delicious food on offer DonQui finds it very hard to settle on what to eat for lunch, let along what to take back home with him.

There are even fresh oysters and prosecco on offer.

In the end DonQui decides to keep it simple. He goes for a Jamaican patty and a couple of Indian samosas for a small lunchtime snack.

… oh yes and a jam doughnut too. He cannot resist!

He also packs his bag with all sorts of goodies for later on when he gets home.

Soft on Cabbage

March 2, 2016 ~ donquioaty ~ Leave a comment

Oh dear!

It looks like DonQui Oaty – the great carnivore and scourge of vegetarians everywhere – is going a bit soft on cabbage.

Well not soft really.

If DonQui has a problem with vegetables it stems from 1960s English cooking and school dinners. Back then an alarming degree of softness was always obtained by boiling everything for a good 20 minutes or more. If DonQui is going to enjoy something that has sprung out of the ground rather than having run around on it, then it needs to still retain a good deal of crunch.

So soft vegetables will not do… mashed are even worse… but something keeping its crisp freshness… then DonQui can begin to consider it as fine food rather than compost.

So first it was sauerkraut and now this – a rather perky looking small pointy-headed cabbage which DonQui found in his local farm shop. The helpful lady said it was a Hispi Cabbage and told him that it was utterly delicious.

“How do you cook it?” DonQui enquires.

Helpful lady replies, rather unhelpfully, that she steams it.

DonQui cannot help but think that there must be more interesting ways to deal with the pretty little cabbage, so he takes it home with him and scours the internet.

A recipe from Chef Adam Gray seems more like it. A quick 3 minute parboil followed by a stir-fry in butter and shallots seems much more interesting than a simple steaming. DonQui tries it out as an accompaniment to roast chicken and it works wonderfully. Duchess loves it but DonQui thinks it is still a bit too soft for his liking so he vows to try it again without the parboiling.

This is what he does:

He finely slices a shallot, chops up some smoked speck (you can substitute lardons or dry smoked streaky bacon) and crushes a few juniper berries with the blade of his knife.

Then, after removing the outer leaves, he cuts the cabbage into fine strips by slicing across with a knife. The leaves of the Hispi cabbage are tightly packed, making it ideal for this sort of treatment.

He stir-fries the speck and shallots in butter until they begin to colour.

Then he adds the cabbage and juniper berries along with a few twists of black pepper from his pepper grinder. There is no need to add salt thanks to the saltiness of the speck.

He cooks it all together until it starts to glisten and begin to go soft. DonQui tastes to check doneness. When it looses its raw taste but still retains a good bit of crunch it is ready. This probably takes about 4-5 minutes.

He serves it with a couple of bratwürst, mustard for those who like it (DonQui does not) and fresh sourdough bread.

Quick and dead simple to make – and rather yummy too, DonQui thinks.

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A Whimsical Food and Travel Blog

Author: donquioaty