A taste of CadizBy A. Campos GaleanoIn Cadiz you will find the "best tuna in the world", according to Ferrán Adriá, but also exceptional beef, traditional cooked pork meats, great sherries, a dynasty of confectioners and a great many "little" restaurants where the patron is respected, from aperitif to bill...  © A. Campos Galeano / ViaMichelin Delights from the land...In Cadiz, farming has been practised for thousands of years... Far from the immense industrial greenhouses that are disfiguring Andalusia, here you will find a few small family-run farms still producing excellent fruit and vegetables. These form the basis of traditional local dishes such as papas con alcauciles (potatoes with artichokes), alcauciles con chícharos (artichokes with peas), arroz con cardo (rice with dandelions) or the delicious frijones (beans) from Conil, that are gently simmered with fennel and garlic... In the region of Cadiz, pig breedingis also an essential and age-old activity. Besides the famous black pudding, will you dare to try the inevitable manteca colorá - a sort of lard flavoured with paprika, which is eaten spread on a slice of toast?... You can enjoy other very tasty dishes such as longaniza con tomate (sausage with tomato), lomo mechado (larded fillet) or guiso de cochino (pork stew), which is considered to be a tonic here! At the covered market, you can buy the famous chicharrones(pork scratchings) fromChiclana - delicious but not recommended if you suffer from cholesterol! Marriage of sweet and sour Chiclana is renowned for Antonia Butrón's artisanal laboratory. This is where the inevitable empanadas (a sort of pasty) are made, filled with dates, ham and cheese, tuna, meat, cod and pine nuts (a typical ingredient of the region) or even Serrano ham and cabello de ángel (marrow conserve). You can also stock up on cakes such as roscones, a kind of biscuit flavoured with honey, olive oil, wine or almonds, traditionally prepared on the occasion of Holy Week. On the road between Conil and Barbate, you will pass herds of cows sometimes grazing just a few metres from the beach and sunbathers! These are retinto cows, which produce a red, tender and juicy meat which is incredibly tasty despite a low fat content. You can find this exceptional meat at Francisco Rivera Morillo's butcher's shop and delicatessen in Barbate, also renowned for its Iberian ham. The retinto in Pedro Ximénezwine, as prepared in the famous Trafalgar restaurant in Vejer, is a typical dish of the region. La Castillería is an address renowned for its meats (which come from the north of Spain), the originality of the setting and the quality of welcome. Just picture a garden at the foot of the remains of a Roman aqueduct, a few well-spaced tables and the owner who greets you with these words: "This is your table for the whole evening: there will be just you and we are in no hurry". All this, with a modest bill to boot, explains why it is absolutely essential to book ahead in July and August...  © A. Campos Galeano / ViaMichelin Riches from the seaIn Cadiz the fish is fresh, tasty and prepared simply in order to restore its true flavour. The brotherhood of fishermen of Conil has set up a system of specific labelling,certifying that the fish is handled with the greatest care and that the time between being caught and brought into harbour does not exceed 4 hours. An opportunity, therefore, to discover the most typical fish of the region (sea bream, meagre, grunts and pink dentex) with the certainty of eating a fresh, top-quality product! The ortiguilla is a speciality of Cadiz;it is an anemone with a viscous texture that might put some people off! Served fried, it is devoured with delight! At the Francisco en la Fontanilla restaurant, you can sample a sea bream in salt crust with white, juicy flesh, as well as a delicious selection of "almadraba"tuna products. Did you say garum?Nobody knows for sure what this sauce really was; it was obtained by soaking the leftover pieces and viscera of fish, used as a condiment, and exported during Imperial Rome as a rare and precious foodstuff. On the other hand, all the experts agree that the taste and smell would repulse the most foolhardy amongst us... Today you can still see in Bolonia (Tarifa) the remains of an old Roman factory and the vats where the mixture fermented. The "best tuna in the world"!The age-old practice of tuna fishing followed in Cadiz was devised by the Phoenicians and taken up by the Romans. This great local tradition is today threatened by industrial and international fishing, which consists of catching tuna to force-feed it artificially. In April each year, the tuna cross the Straits of Gibraltar in order to reproduce in the Mediterranean. They arrive well fed from the Ocean, so it is at this precise period that their flesh is the plumpest and tastiest. For the world-famous Ferrán Adriá, it is quite simply the "best tuna in the world"! The fishermen take advantage of this migratory movement to drive the tuna towards funnel-shaped nets (the "almadraba" method), where they are trapped and caught. Almost all the restaurants in the region offer tuna-based dishes such as the famous atún encebollado (tuna in onion compote) or the succulent morrillo (cheek) a la plancha (grilled). Among the various addresses tested, we recommend La Parada café in Barbate for its rustic atmosphere, its appetising tapas and its morrillo, done to a turn (neither too raw nor too dry). In a more classic style, Casa Juanito, in Zahara, will introduce you to the different flavours of tuna, depending on the piece chosen and the way in which it is cut.  © A. Campos Galeano / ViaMichelin A dynasty of great confectionersIn Barbate you will make the acquaintance of the Martínez family, who have been giving great pleasure to the entire country since 1941... Whether for birthdays, weddings, communions or simple Sunday teas, the cakes made by the Martinez family are part of the local heritage! They use only 100% natural ingredients and refuse to use synthetic flavourings, chemical additives, preservatives or half-finished products. Their artisanal pastries occupy a place of honour on the tables of the region's most renowned restaurants. Their sorbets (sometimes surprising, such as the tuna in onion compote or Manzanilla wine sorbets!) go down a treat at society dinners and cocktail parties. Their chocolate-based creations are just as original, for example, the ganache with ham, fig and salt crystals... The meloja - fruit preserved in honey, typical of the region of Cadiz - is concealed beneath a light layer of butter cream. This contrast of textures (smoothness of the butter, crunchiness of the meloja) and the intensity of the honey gave us an unforgettable moment of gourmand delight!  © A. Campos Galeano / ViaMichelin The land of sherryBetween Cadiz and Seville there are not just bull farms, cereal fields and orchards... there is sherry too! Produced using the Palomino Fino white grape variety that grows on chalk soil, this wine can prove to be of great beauty, powerful and vivacious. Young sherry sometimes comes in the shape of a delicate dry white wine called "Fino" which, like champagne, derives its personality from the chalk (the best soils are the white dunes at Macharnudo and Sanlùcar de Barrrameda, not far from Cadiz). Like champagne, it also needs to mature for quite a long time in casks to reach full maturity, and is enjoyed as an aperitif or with fish and seafood (the resemblance ends there, however, because Fino has no bubbles!). Sherry can also become a rich, heady wine with a brown colour; it is then called Oloroso and its alcohol content can reach 18%. The smoother Amontillado sports an even darker colour and sometimes has a pleasant hazelnut taste. The best Amontillados are actually old Finos that were not fresh enough to be drunk young. They have aged in casks for many years and a little brandy has been added. José Luis González's Amontillado is a classic which, for some, rivals the greatest ports! AddressesObrador Antonia Butrón Plaza Jesús Nazareno, 5 11130 Chiclana Tel: 956 40 10 94 Fco. Rivera Morillo - Sabores del Sur C/ Zapal, 52 11160 Barbate Tel: 956 43 06 67 Restaurante Trafalgar Plaza de España, 31 Vejer de la Frontera Tel: 956 44 76 38 La Castillería Sta. Lucia s/n (Vejer de la Frontera) Tel: 956 45 14 97 (Open March-September) Francisco en la Fontanilla Playa de la Fontanilla 11140 Conil Tel: 956 44 08 02 / 956 44 26 15 Bar La Parada Avda. Generalísimo, 104 11160 Barbate Tel: 956 43 03 09 Casa Juanito C/ Sagasta, 7 Zahara de los Atunes Tel: 956 43 92 11 Tres Martínez C/ Pío XI, 18 11160 Barbate Tel: 956 43 05 36 Bodegas San Sebastián C/ Mendaro, 15 11130 Chiclana Tel: 956 53 32 32 |
Tourism and Gastronomy
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