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Tuesday, February 20, 2018

Gastronomica Extremadura: Foodie Tour in Caceres (Medieval Caceres Series 15)

Gastronomica Extremadura
Foodie Tour in Caceres, Spain
Medieval Caceres Series 15

Having been colonized by Spain for more

than 300 years, Filipino cuisine has been

heavily influenced by Hispanic culinaaria.

We share the same names for our favorite

dishes like cocido, embutido, paella, queso

arroz, caldo and chorizo - to name a few.

Interestingly, we have similar nomenclature

for our eating utensils like cuchara, tenedor,

cucharita, plato, and we also dine in la mesa.

It was my family’s first time in Spain,

and Caceres in Extremadura Region

was the first Spanish City that we visited,

…and we were pretty sure that we would

not have to adjust our taste buds that has

been pre- acclimatized by Spanish inspired

dishes that we have been eating all our lives.

Tapas, Hamon and Chorizos

Estremadura is abounding indigenous tapas,

native chorizos, and deliciously aged hamon.

We were very fortunate to have a supermarket
Charcutteria Mostazo as our next door neighbor,

…as it provided us with an awesome choice of

Extremaduras varied processed meat products,

…and served as a window

to the region’s culinaria.

We also chanced upon an open weekend market,

…that had an extensive spread-

of Extramadura’s homegrown products,

…which also offered sampling and

free tasting of most of their goods.

We also got to take home some

of their briny yet tasty chorizos,

…and cooked them in our apartment,

…ate them Filipino style with lots

of rice as it dampened its saltiness.

Most of the restaurants also routinely serve

Tapa Plate like the one in El Requete,

…and the Surtido De Ibéricos

in Restaurante Caceres.

Seafood

Caceres is a landlocked city but interestingly

El Requete served us some of the best seafood

dishes, like the creamy rich salmon soup dish

with tangy- sour tasty broth and I remember

being called as Sopa Pescado by the waiter.

The restaurant also served us a massive plate

of Fritura de Pescado brimming with wide

array perfectly crunchy fried seafood that

went well with the tangy tartar sauce as a dip.

Not to be outdone, Restaurante Caceres

served us a deliciousvperfectly pan seared

fresh boneless cod fish flavored with aromatic

herbs and spices called Pescado Del Día.

Meat

El Requete’s Conchinillo Asado was sinfully

delicious.The skin was crunchy, yet the flesh

was oozing with greasy, yet tasty juices, very

tender, and seem to gloriously melt in the mouth.

The Lomo Asado con Salsa de Manzana

from Restaurante Caceres was delicious.

The roasted tender, huge slabs of pork loin

blended well full tangy flavor of apple sauce.

Rice Meals

Rice is a staple for us Filipinos and it is difficult

to find rice dishes in Europe but not definitely not

in Spain. El Requete’s classic Paella Mixta had a

generous amount of seafood, chorizo, and chicken.

It was perfectly fluffy and had an generous layer

of prized caramelized, deliciously crusty ‘socarrat’

at the bottom as it was served in a deep hot plate.

The Risotto de Setas y Gambas, from

the Restaurante Caceres was addicting.

The pleasant tart aftertaste of mushroom

blended perfectly with the savory shrimps.

Sweets, Biscuits and Cookies

We also feasted on some of the best tasting

cookies, pastries and donuts from several

food stalls at the Caceres Weekend Market.

We were intrigued by the Maria biscuits

we bought at the Charcutteria Mostazo

whicxh turned out to be the very popular

tea biscuits called Marie in the Philippines.

This biscuit originated the United Kingdom

and while Marie is its most popular name,

it is also called Maria as a Hispanic version

and Mariebon or Marietta in other countries.

We also craved to the homemade Sour Ball Candies,

...that we bought while in transit in Badajos bus station.

It was so good and wished we should have bought more.

Ice Cream

Hielados Italianos Remo at the Plaza Mayor,

right beside the Ayutameinto de Caceres,

...was a source of awesome ice cream,

…that kept us coming back
for more day and night.

Naranja Juices

We also enjoyed Hielados Italianos Remo's

...sweet and tangy icy Naranja Juice,
that kept us refreshed on the warm

weather during the tail end of spring.

Extremadura cuisine in Caceres was our

introduction to authentic Spanish dishes

that sounded just like our Filipino dishes,

...which also looked familiar, but had

distinctly different flavor and taste.

Saturday, February 17, 2018

Palacio De Los Caceres- Ovando: Old Town Armory Museum (Medieval Caceres Series 14)

Palacio De Los Caceres- Ovando
Old Town Armory Museum
Medieval Caceres Series 14

The Palacio De Los Caceres- Ovando

or the House of the Ovando or Ovando Palace

is a Renaissance style building built in 1519.

The palace was built on another much older building

built in 1480 and the remains of the original tower

can still be seen on the left side of the current facade.

It has a semicircular arch entrance, surrounded by plain stone archivolts
and served as a setting for in several European films in the past, one
of which was the 1963 film The Black Tulip starring Alain Delon,

The Palacio De Los Caceres- Ovando

now serves as the city’s armory museum,

… with wide collection of period armory,

… recreated war control offices
and command centers,

…paintings, photographs, medals

valor wards and ancient sculptures,

…and even recreated battle grounds.

The center most area has a rectangular patio-

…an airy portico where there are

different noble shields on display.

The museum also offers educational programs

on medieval history of arms and armor for free.

The entrance to the museum is also for free.

Tuesday, February 13, 2018

Restaurante Caceres: Awesome Spanish Cuisine (Medieval Caceres Series 13)

Restaurante Caceres
Awesome Spanish Cuisine
Medieval Caceres Series 13

From the Caceres weekend market we
dropped by at the Restaurante Caceres,

…to dine,

The restaurant has a lovely al fresco area,

…that offers an awesome view of the
Plaza Mayor and the Arco de Estrella,

It was late in the afternoon and
we have been walking the whole
day without having any lunch.

So when the served the warm bread with the Surtido De Ibéricos,
that had an assortment of Spanish cold cuts, it rapidly disappeared
from our table as we gobbled them up like there was no tomorrow.

We loved the vegetable soup listed in a kilometric
Spanish name in the menu: Crema De Verduras
Con Crujiente De Queso Migas Extremeñas Con
Huevo, Pimentón y Pimiento Frito. It was cheesy
and had a delightfully perfect spice of paprika.

The Risotto de Setas y Gambas, a porridge like rice
dish was addicting. The pleasantly tart mushroom blended
perfectly with the flavorful bits and pieces of shrimps.

The perfectly pan seared Pescado Del Día,
made of fresh boneless cod fish, flavored with
aromatic hers and spices was very delicious.
My son loved it, didn’t want to let go of the fish
and found it difficult to share it with everyone else.

The Lomo Asado con Salsa de Manzana was also
very delicious. The full tangy flavor of apple sauce
blending perfectly the roasted tender pork loin slabs.

We ended our meal with the creamy sweet
cookies we bought from the weekend market.

It was our penultimate day in Caceres, and we were
happy the we chose to dine at Restaurante Caceres,

…as it gave us a delicious culinary conclusion on
our visit to this wonderful ancient city in Spain.

CamSur

Tuesday, February 20, 2018

Gastronomica Extremadura: Foodie Tour in Caceres (Medieval Caceres Series 15)

Saturday, February 17, 2018

Palacio De Los Caceres- Ovando: Old Town Armory Museum (Medieval Caceres Series 14)

Tuesday, February 13, 2018

Restaurante Caceres: Awesome Spanish Cuisine (Medieval Caceres Series 13)

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