5.200 Bolletus Cream with Fried Egg

5.200

24 (Thu) July 2014

Bolletus Cream with Fried Egg

4.0

by Hermeneus

at Señor de Astobiza

-Okondo, Àlava, Euskadi, Spain-

with meeting participants

Mission to Spain + Holiday (Day 5 of 9)

In Getxo.  From Monday to Friday, I’ll be attending a 5-day workshop food law.  With W and DJ tagging along, we’ll stay an extra couple days for fun in Barcelona.

11/9/5

Over the course of 11 days, through a combination of personal and professional travels – relating primarily to the aforementioned mission in Spain – I will be in 9 localities across 5 countries, eating and documenting at least 1 meal in each of them.

Today is Day 6 /  Locality 5 / Country 3.

Okondo is a town in the province Álava.

(For additional posts, see 11/9/5.)

Señorio de Astobiza is a winery.  Located in Okondo, about 35 km from Getxo.  The establishment hosts special events, as well as tours of the winery and vineyards.

Hermeneus is a commercial cooperative. Brings together and sells products from independent local food producers.  Based on the internet but also organizes live events.

For the third and final part of the workshop’s social program, the participants were hosted to a dinner at Señorio de Astobiza, where Hermeneus catered the food.

While the occasion was purportedly more about promotion than retail, certain items were available for sale.  This whole conference reeks of commercialism.

Beyond all expectation, the food was phenomenal.  The spread, an orgy of tapas.  Ingredients, presumably locally sourced, of the highest caliber.  Across the board, the dishes were expertly cooked, delicately seasoned.  Gorgeously presented.  The menu was thoughtfully conceived, each dish offering something delightfully different, in texture and/or flavor, complementing the others.  My favorite was the fried egg with bolletus (mushroom) cream – so unusual in my experience, no frames of reference, that I can’t adequately describe it, just to say that the sauce had a unique woodsy/buttery character that synergized perfectly with the yolk/white contrast of the egg, topped with a sprinkle of chives for a touch of zest.  The entire experience, a series of gastronomic orgasms.

Marmande Tomato Salmorejo with Picual Olive Oil (3.5): salmorejo is essentially the same thing as gazpacho, but heftier/thicker with more bread in the mix.
Anchovies with Chili Oil (3.75): the best anchovies that I’ve ever experienced – firm flesh, perfectly briny, fishy but in a good way, the inherent oiliness balanced out by the bits of chilies; a strong contender to be the featured dish for this post; I’d never before thought about eating anchovies as a dish in itself, but now I’ve seen the light.
Gernika Peppers (2.5): great flavor, but the limp texture was off-putting.
Morcilla Crunchy with Sour Apple Dices (3.0): deep-fried blood sausages with meat stuffing (akin to Korean sundae in theory, but way different in reality, less blood, more rice), somewhat like meatballs, quite subtle, didn’t even realize what they were until looking at the printed menu.
Ezkurtxerri Txistorra (2.5): nice, though salty sausages aren’t really my thing; would’ve been great with beer.
Roasted Pepper with Okondo Chives (3.5): I’m beginning to associate anything that comes in olive oil with Spanish cuisine.
The Breaded Orchard (3.5): artichokes and asparagus, coated in egg and pan-fried, essentially like Korean jeon, almost exactly like an Italian dish that I had in Manila (see generally 4.270 The Original – Verena), don’t know the story behind the name.
Old Cheese and Niscalo Risotto (2.0): okay in flavor, but the texture was somewhat dry and chunky, not at all creamy–Spanish style, maybe?
Idiazabal Cheese with Fig Marmalade: didn’t partake.
Txakoli and Papaya Shots: didn’t partake.
Chocolate with Fritters: didn’t partake.

A building theme throughout this week, I’m now almost convinced that Spanish cuisine may be the best in Europe, at least for me.

(See also FOODS.)

(See also PLACES.)

These are screen-shot comments from the prior site. If you wish to leave a new comment, please do so in the live comment section below.

Leave a Reply