Ourense, much more than octopus (also)
In Ourense, ladle in hand, they have gone on a war footing. More specifically in that war that forces them to fight against exclusion, against oblivion, against nothing.
Because Ourense has a lot to tell, even more so for those who want to listen to the words of an old lady with a gray umbrella who denies seeing herself as a mere passing city. So many centuries of history are not for that. Absolutely.
And it is that the so-called forgotten province of Galicia receives the traveler under an almost mystical framework, with a landscape dotted with a sweeping green and under a gray blanket of clouds that, when the sun peeks out, rediscovers a natural environment of almost insulting beauty.
The Miño as it passes through Ourense
Raindrops look like diamonds hitting the leaves of the birches and willows that shelter the lonely river Miño. This one waddles around Ourense giving away whispers wherever it goes, feeding the fields that in turn will feed our table.
And in its wake, it leaves a trail of hot springs that makes the province the Thermal Capital of Galicia, a piece of the planet where disappearing and disconnecting is not a privilege for just a few.
OURENSE KITCHEN
Anyone who is asked about the gastronomy of Ourense will quickly associate the region with the famous Carballino octopus festival.
But Ourense is something else; He has a few aces up his sleeve that he hasn't played and that he just now has a chance to pull out.
Cociña Ourense claims the gastronomic role of the province
At the end of 2018, ** Cociña Ourense ** appears, an association of chefs from the province of Ourense formed by a group of thirteen great kitchen professionals who have set out to prove that Ourense is something more than Galician octopus and Ribeiro (also).
Cociña Ourense has set the table, with an immaculate white tablecloth and careful crockery. And he has done it carefully, without distinguishing whether it is in the most sheltered room of a stately manor lost in the greenery of the Miño riverbank or in the most sophisticated of the capital's restaurants.
Four of the five Denominations of Origin of Galician wines sail on it: Ribeira Sacra, Monterrei, Valdeorras and Ribeiro, a fact that fills the people of Ourense with pride because it is part of their gastronomic identity card.
The Arzua-Ulloa Cheescake by chef Gabi Conde, from Portovello
The cuisine of Ourense is rural and peasant, centennial like its cathedral and vertiginous like the view of the river Sil from the top of the canyon.
Its privileged land is the reason why the restoration moves directly to the plate a top quality product and that, sometimes, does not reach the rest of the provinces.
And that is part of the magic of Ourense, because there are things that it is inevitable to enjoy there. The table is dressed in a Galician broth, a pot or a stew of beans, because here you never brave the heat.
There is no shortage of those who dare with ingredients as capricious as the lamprey or the xoubas, many times in the form of a corn empanada, because we are in Galicia and it has to be noticed.
Miguel González, president of the Association and chef of the restaurant of the Hotel Rústico San Jaime
WHO SAID OCTOPUS?
But also the cuisine of Ourense is modern and fun. From Cociña Ourense they have already made it very clear that there they also dare with the new dishes that are so convincing in the big cities, including options as prominent as the gluten free and the veggie.
Miguel Gonzalez , president of the Association and chef of the restaurant at the Hotel Rústico San Jaime, tells us what Ourense has to offer: “Ourense cuisine is based on market cuisine, with local and seasonal products, rooted in tradition. But also, our kitchen is contemporary, with a vocation for the future and healthy”.
So much so that in Ourense, the Galician blond calf now also shows itself in the form of a bao , accompanied by snow peas or something as Orensian as the chestnuts.
Galician meats have known how to come off the grills to show off in a tartare, or have simply paid homage to garlic and parsley, because they don't need more.
The new cuisine from Ourense also rises to praise another great unknown Galician, the duck, that we discovered thanks to corporations like Galician Ducks , promoting that important and necessary link between cooking and crafts.
and it will not be missing a good white bica to accompany pota coffee, pomace cream or whatever comes along.
Sábrego, the restaurant of the rural hotel Casal de Armán
AN OPEN DOOR TO TOURISM
But all this movement has not been fortuitous. Cociña Ourense started for the world on April 6 and did it in style, because it is already being time for us to discover the jewels of its gastronomy.
There is no better way to promote tourism for a region than making known the greatness of its pantry, and that is why The province has opened its doors to travelers, leaving us with a more than good taste in our mouths.
It is time for us to discover the jewels of its Ourense gastronomy
One of the most attractive claims that Ourense has always had is that it has the title of Thermal Capital of Galicia.
The very close relationship that Ourense maintains with the water dates back to Roman settlements.
More than two millennia ago, the Romans already knew about the medicinal properties of the waters of Ourense and turned the region into a meeting point for those citizens who, seeking rest and health, would end up turning the area into a thermal paradise.
Today, the circuit of spas in the province of Ourense is a benchmark in terms of health and relaxation tourism, including a varied offer of quite competent hotels.
The chefs behind Cociña Ourense
On the other hand, Ourense is also a perfect destination for the traveler who loves wine tourism.
It is no longer just that it lodges in its territory four of the five denominations of origin of Galician wines, but because in Ourense the batteries have already been put on and the wineries are beginning to receive tourists to tell them how things are done in Galicia as far as wine is concerned.
Ourense is also a perfect destination for the traveler who loves wine tourism
It is a luxury to be able to discover how the magic of Ribeiro was forged in Casal de Armán, an 18th century rural hotel located in Ribadavia with views as spectacular as the wonders of Sabrego, his own restaurant.
Or discover the ** Monforte Wine Museum. ** Or simply enjoy a good 'mencia' in the old town of Ourense while the centuries of history whisper in the back.
And having said all this, Does anyone still doubt that Ourense is much more than Ribeiro and octopus?
Much more than Ribeiro and octopus