79. A Road trip through Northern Spain

An enjoyable and uneventful week in Barcelona with Susan had calmed our jagged edges after the upset of the previous week in Collioure.  

Susan headed off on the Saturday bus to Bilboa to see the Guggenheim and we spent our last day planning and booking a two-week, 2,000+km road trip around northern Spain.  

We were last in Spain in Spring time - June 2011.  At that time we concentrated on the fabulous cities of southern and central Spain for four weeks and by the time we got to the north, we only had time for Bilboa and San Sebastian before we headed to Italy for summer by the lake.

But this time it is autumn and we have a window of opportunity to see northern Spain through the foodie eyes of Rick Stein, whose "Spain" DVD I bought in 2012 and found intriguing and through a beautiful book Dani and Adam gave me for Christmas a few years ago called "A Food Lover's Pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela." 

So, using both sources of inspiration, I planned a food pilgrimage that would take us from Barcelona to Llieda for snails; to Tudela for green soup; to Pamplona for bull's tail in red wine; to La Rioja for wine, baby lamb and chorizo; to Santiago de Compostela for razor clams and empanadas; to A Coruna for pork stew; to Gijon for bean stews, cider and goat cheese; to Llanes for fish in cider and bread; to Santander for cheesecake, custards and paella, and finally to San Sebastian for pintxos and tapas.

At least that's what Rick Stein ate in each of those places, but it's not necessarily what we were able to either find or eat.

So let's start with Barcelona.  Apparently a very traditional dish of the area is Fideua - tiny strands of fine pasta in a rich fish stock, with hot garlicky aoli.  

After a week of searching, the closest I came was a fabulous Spaghetti Vongole (little clams) where the spaghetti was replaced by fettucine which had been cooked in an excellent seafood stock.

Paul's favourite dish was this risotto, where the rice was cooked in squid ink with chunks of marinated octopus, topped with razor clams.

 

My best dessert was slivers slices of mango filled with a little soft goat's cheese and a touch of something spicy (maybe chilli), topped with flower petals.  Melt in the mouth! I could have eaten hundreds of them.

The other Barcelona winner was perfectly cooked and seasoned sardines.  

So, Round 1 - Viv, Paul and Susan: 7

But from Barcelona it all went downhill!

First stop on the road trip was Lleida, 150 kilometres due west of Barcelona.  This town has an annual snail festival and we love snails.  In France you can buy snails at the local supermarket and they are excellent, served with garlic and parsley butter.  There are two varieties, snails from Bourgogne and snails from the garden.  It took me a few goes before I could tackle the garden variety, but I was really impressed.  They are tiny morsels of quite chewy, but flavoursome meat, in lovely garlicky butter.

But sadly, the only snails to be found in Lleida were two faded metal molluscs welded to the town's roundabout.   Not surprisingly, we turned around and drove directly out of town.  Do not pass Go!  Do not collect $200!

Next town, 395km west of Barcelona, was Tudela. Situated in a highly productive and irrigated landscape, this was the home of Spanish white asparagus and the famed green soup called Minestre, made entirely of local vegetable produce. 

But we could find none.  We couldn't even find a restaurant that was open on a Sunday night - a bit like Geelong really!  We had to resort to Burger King, because there was nothing else.  At least Burger King in Spain sells beer and wine. 

  

The highlight of Tudela was not Minestre but this huge bed at the hotel.  It was two king singles wide! Needless to say, all of the bed linen had to be custom made.

Next stop - Pamplona, to run with the bulls and to find Rabo del Torro - bull's tail in red wine, and maybe to catch up with Ernest.  We stayed inside the old city walls at an hotel that was formerly a monastery.

The former chapel was now the dining room - all virginal white.  Can you imagine Paul in here in his gym shorts and thongs?  No!  We'd better look elsewhere for our dinner.

Paul felt much more at home perusing the kit he'd need for his run with the bulls - white shorts, white thongs, red neck scarf, red or black beret.

Whatever he'd need, he could buy it here.

This is where he'd need to start!  200 metres uphill before getting to the plaza; then the left hand turn followed by a lot of skidding, bloodshed and bad smells as they take a right into Estafeta Street. 

Once around the right hander it's about 600 metres up Estafeta to the bull ring at the end. 

There are very few protrusions on Estafeta street - everything can be dismantled, removed or otherwise secured to make it bull-et proof. 

Every business is based on meat. Those are Iberico hams complete with little white drip trays, hanging in the window.

Every business sells food - unless it sells bull-running paraphernalia or souvenirs.

This lady sold Paul his lunch.

We found Ernest Heminway in his favourite bar at the Cafe Iruna and joined him for a coffee - he was having something stronger.

And I meet up with him again later as we search for Rick Stein's friend, Alex Mugica at his cocina at 24 Estafeta Street, Pamplona.  Ernest had had quite a few by this time.

Alas Alex, who specialises in Rabo del Torro, had been on holiday for a couple of weeks and wasn't re-opening until the next day.  Rats! Missed out by just one day!  We'd have to go back to Ernest's watering hole at the Cafe Iruna .......

.... and have the three course, house special menu for €13.50.  No snails, no green Minestre and no Rabo del Torro.  

So Round 2 - Paul and Viv - zero.