Sea bass aguachile at Doña Lola restaurant
To understand why Huelva was chosen as the Spanish capital of gastronomy in 2016-2017 (now superseded by León), you have to leave the capital and tour the entire province.
From the coast to the mountains, passing through the Condado vineyards and the Andévalo region. We start traveling to Christina Island to discover the coastline and its people through food.
The port of Isla Cristina smells of toast with the sea in the morning . It's time to have breakfast when the first fishing boats begin to arrive, because to catch according to what fish you have to stay up all night. They lighten trays of lobsters, mullets, borriquetes, snappers … that will end up in fishmongers throughout Spain (if a savvy seagull doesn't get ahead of them) . The first auction in the fish market is at ten o'clock; the next, in the afternoon, from four to nine.
At large scampi They call them "Catalans"; a “palá needle” it's a swordfish ; the skinny octopuses are “faggots” ; the lobsters, “chorizos” , and the chirlas, “mechillones” . Whoever sees a cuttlefish for the first time is confused by how much it resembles a cuttlefish. It must be a mistake, he thinks. The bewilderment torments him until he finds a professional: "So you understand: My name is Paco, but my scientific name is Francisco; the same thing happens with cuttlefish and cuttlefish."
Streets of Isla Cristina
Fishmongers like Paco bid for trays by the kilo. Pota, forkbeard, prawns... They are the brokers of the sea ; they work like in the stock market but on the downside. Acedías, turbot, catsharks… and monkfish with the face of a sea bream that in the past no one wanted, for being of rather ugly features, unfavorable. What they ate the most were sardines: Alba sardines, dawn sardines! It was proclaimed when the traiñas caught fish before dawn.
"Well, since Friday we can't go out to fish," says Tere. "They told us that our sardine quota had run out. Thus, from one day to the next, they have left us with eighty-five fleets thrown away, without thinking about the drama that this entails for thousands of families." She and her brothers have four boats, purse seiners and trawlers.
"But when my grandparents they came from Almería to Isla Cristina they only had a small boat . My father has been at sea since he was seven years old! The technicians will have studied a lot there in Madrid, but the ones who know the sector best are the sailors here. They opened the season when the sardine was small and worth nothing; Now that she is fat, they close the season!" The mackerel campaign is also being bad . "That we are sailors, not criminals, man!"
Rufino restaurant tuna belly
A separate case is white prawn hustle and bustle : since it is not yet protected with the Appellation of origin , there are Italian prawns or those from the Gulf of Gambia that pass themselves off as traditional prawns. As they are family, it is difficult to distinguish them.
The woman from Huelva is tasted because she doesn't get red or shy no matter how much they call her beautiful! Also because of the dark streak that runs through its translucent back when fresh, and because of the price. The rations at six euros raise suspicions. Regional sources indicate that only 8% of these crustaceans remain in the country ; the rest goes all for export.
It happens the same with the octopus and the mussel : "They are ours and they sell them out there as if they were Galician... If we don't know how to value what we have... Look at the meriñaque, an oyster that nobody catches here, but which is highly valued in Brittany".
Stevedores in Isla Cristina
The same thing happened with the tuna , which, according to the saying, was “for the common people”. Only since the Japanese pay a jarta of yen for it, has it reached an exorbitant delicacy that puts the ingenuity of the cheats to work: as the most expensive of these fish is bluefin tuna, they disguise other cheaper ones with beet juice. the same species. " The tuna that we normally find in fishmongers is the rabi l, and it has nothing to envy to red tuna, because bluefin tuna is only good on certain dates".
Between May 15 and June 15, when they migrate to the Mediterranean to spawn. "Outside the almadraba period, it is a normal tuna." José Antonio López González is president of the ** Society of Friends of Tuna and Wine Lovers ** and who organizes a meeting of almadraba captains every year, although no fences have been set in Huelva since 1973. "Arráez was a trade that was transmitted from parents to children; they took great care of not reveal the secrets of a lift to anyone …" And least of all to his own crew, since Cervantes already gave them a reputation for rogues and thugs. "That's why they used to write down the plans in notebooks that they hid in a suitcase under the bed." The most anticipated activity of the appointment is the ronqueo: an exaggerated tuna is decapitated and torn to pieces, like an executed prisoner, "The normal ones weigh about two hundred and fifty kilograms". They bulk up much less canned...
Mojama at the Rufino restaurant
The canning factories were formerly concentrated on the wharf, where women worked. It is seen that peel and stow sardines it requires a skill that the male gender is incapable of, which is why even today 80% of Usisa's staff are daughters, mothers or sisters of seafarers. His hands follow the mechanics of packaging the tradition in cans.
Some extract melva canutera fillets as their grandmothers did And they still remember when they were bought in bulk in stores : Give me a peseta belly. And from when the fish was stretched out on the balconies of the houses, like someone hanging the laundry, so that the north wind would dry it. This is how mojama is made, a cured salted tuna loin that is quite similar to cecina.
" If the pig is eaten to the gait, the tuna is eaten to the tail" , paraphrases José Antonio. The pieces that did not have an outlet in the market were distributed among the trappers, who, out of necessity, developed a kitchen of use: with their eyes they prepared pork rinds; the guts were eaten like tripe, with beans...
But Isla Cristina's specialty is tuna skins; namely , the skin , which is all collagen and omega 3. Each bar has its recipe: the sailor he stews it in yellow with potatoes; the broom , more staggered type. And in the stalls they sell it for a thousand euros per kilo . "The most expensive thing is the belly; it competes with the best jabugos, and that even Tato didn't want it before, because it stank of viscera." The bone marrow and semen are another delicacy.
Doña Lola Terrace
"We are a tuna people" , notes José Antonio Zaiño, the chef of the ** Rufino restaurant **, a classic that began as a beach bar, tiled, yes, with as much panache as Seville's Plaza de España. "My father taught Huelva how to eat; he was the first to offer a tasting menu, back in the sixties...".
The Fool: eight pica-picas of fresh fish suitable for all audiences, skinless and boneless, stewed and grilled, with its eight different sauces. "It was a real revolution, because before you didn't get out of the fried fish... But the dish that I remember the most is the mechao tuna stuffed with egg and ham, maybe because we cooked it a lot..."
The ruffle of orders was such that the oven was too small for them and they had to resort to the baker's. "Now they ask for it less, I think that due to ignorance... Tartare and tataki are more popular. You have to adapt to the new times! And, For me, tuna is good anyway".
In Dona Lola present it with cotton candy, in a local made with wood and tiles saved from scrapping. Its strong point, the rice dishes: monkfish, baby lace and longuerones; Iberian quail with squid noodles ; the one with oxtail or the one with vegetables with payoyo cheese. But nothing (not even the dessert of milk and cookies) beats the sunset: it is served on the terrace, with a cocktail, music and views of the marshes.
Fair tuna with cotton candy from Rufino
In not so past times, this zapal was a landfill; that's why almost all the restaurants are in the center. There, where the Palm Walk , settled in 1757 the first inhabitant of the city, a certain Joseph Faneca that in addition to being a sailor he was Catalan.
Since then, Christina Island he has lived with his back to the marsh. "When I was little, this was a mosquito net. A man came to fumigate with his wagon and mule, and he used DDT as an insecticide."
Currently, Isla Cristina marshes they are a protected natural area, the destination chosen by the Dutch and German Spoonbills for their winter holidays.
" In fact they are installed in Odiel, they use them as a service station, to eat ". In addition to being a fan of ornithology, Manolo is a marsh gardener: what he plants are not strawberries or blackberries, but salicornia." It is also known as “sea asparagus”, but here we have always called it zapera. They use it a lot in haute cuisine."
Before angel lion discover its gastronomic potential, the plant was used to light the embers on which the tiled fish was cooked . "It can be consumed raw, pan-fried with oil and garlic or in a scramble. In Cádiz there are people who confit salicornia jam, and others who ferment it for beer". It's like swallowing a mouthful of ocean. "It is believed that its cultivation could eradicate famine in countries such as Eritrea or India, due to its high protein and mineral value." No need to add salt. "And it lowers cholesterol." If not sauté with bacon.
"She is very grateful, the only thing she asks is to water her with water from the marsh." Its R+D+I plan consists of tasting the weeds that grow in the ponds . "This one is delicious, I still don't even know what it's called, but it has a citrus touch, here, try it." So, as is, without rinsing. "Here it is difficult to innovate, because the people are very traditional, we are not aware of the wealth of resources that the coast offers us."
Salicornia
With sun, wind and sea water is obtained salt naturally . It only takes a handful of shovelfuls to collect it, carrying the sunset on your back. "Of the twenty-seven artisanal salt pans that existed in Huelva, only this one remains". Manuela is the patron saint of **Biomaris**.
"My father worked as a manager when it was built in the fifties. Think that for each cart of mud extracted they paid a peseta! The company that managed it was German, but the manager was married to an islander, Rita, she was very modern, To tell you that she was even riding a motorcycle! A woman, and at that time! The fact is that there was a rumor that her husband was a spy, and that they took the salt to Germany to make bombs..."
World War II had long since ended, a secondary fact disdained by gossip. the premiere of The man who never existed It must have stirred her imagination, but the truth is that the company was dedicated to the insipid cosmetics industry.
"My father bought the salt marsh years later... And when he retired, he put his head in his hands when I told him that I — a woman — wanted to continue with this." They go for the fourth generation of salineros. "We were pioneers in the extraction of fleur de sel…", gourmet crystals that form on the surface of the pits.
"Now they are the most valued, but before, in Spain, they were thrown away." They also have virgin and flake salt, with the aroma of chorizo, curry, figs... " The orange one is great for salads, and the hibiscus ". With the brine that is left over, they fill the magnesium pools. "They are for therapeutic baths." They have acquired the same color as flamingos.
"I get in every Sunday, the water is so dense that you float more than in the dead sea . It's better than dialysis: it promotes circulation, relaxes the muscles, helps fix calcium in the bones..."
The offering is spiced up with mud dips in a tub. "For all this, can you believe that the environment people have fined me? They say we stress the birds! It looks like a cartoon..."
Manuela, the owner of Biomaris
Gastro-proposals en route
1. Eat breakfast like a boss in one of the bars of the fishing port (that of the ** Hermanos Moreno **, for example, who are very rocieros). Or, if not, the celebrated potato warming (churros) at the Arcoiris café (Av. Gran Vía, 39).
two. At mid-morning, have an aperitif on the beach with a Ruben's ; Although it looks German, it is a local craft beer. Ask for it at the Contramarea gastrobar. Another option is to go to Lepe and have a glass of must in one of its zampuzos, historic taverns that make their juices by stepping on the grapes on the premises.
3. eat in the Rufino restaurant , any tuna dish. If you suddenly have a craving for torreznos from Soria, Galician veal sweetbreads or Basque cod, go to the La Purisima grocery store (Saint Francis Square) . It is located in the back room of an old grocery store that they have maintained: everything they offer on the menu (from a wine to an entrecote aged forty days) can be bought in the same place.
Four. Take advantage of the fact that Isla Cristina sleeps at siesta time (with the doors of the house half open), to visit Isla Canela, La Antilla or Islantilla and walk along these neighboring beaches while the shellfish gather shellfish (caution: if you do it without a license, there is a 3,000 euro fine).
Tuna morrillo with Purisima apple
5.**Snack at the El Artesano ice cream parlor**, because Alejandro loves his job so much that he is able to go looking for pistachios on the slopes of Etna to add a new flavor to his menu. It's not that their chocolate palm tree ice cream tastes like a chocolate palm tree: it's a chocolate palm tree. It also dares with tuna ice cream with onions and mojama (although these are limited edition: only during the Almadraba Captains' Meeting). But the ones that are most successful are those that taste of Easter: the Oil Cake , the one of tocinillo de cielo, the torrijas, the of pestiños or the one of coke from Isla Cristina, a cake filled with angel hair, marcona almonds, cinnamon, sugar and more sugar.
6. go gourmet shopping and make room in the suitcase for a mojama of ficolume , cans of mackerel and mackerel usisa , fleur de sel B iomaris , ** salicornia ** and algae of The Sea Garden
7. Dine at Doña Lola restaurant and have a drink on the terrace after dessert (choose the Esencia de Huelva: they make it with mangoes from their garden, strawberries from La Redondela and Aracena cheese foam). * This is the first installment of a report that will be completed with…
Alejandro, from the El Artesano ice cream parlor