Cadiz
In Cadiz you will find the "best tuna in the world", according to Ferrán
Adriá, but also exceptional beef, traditional cooked pork meats, great
sherries, a dynasty of confectioners and a great many "little" restaurants
where the patron is respected, from aperitif to bill...
n Cadiz, farming has been practised for thousands of years... Far from
the immense industrial greenhouses that are disfiguring Andalusia, here you
will find a few small family-run farms still producing excellent fruit and
vegetables.
These form the basis of traditional local dishes such as papas con
alcauciles (potatoes with artichokes), alcauciles con chícharos (artichokes
with peas), arroz con cardo (rice with dandelions) or the delicious frijones
(beans) from Conil, that are gently simmered with fennel and garlic...
In the region of Cadiz, pig breeding is also an essential and age-old
activity. Besides the famous black pudding, will you dare to try the
inevitable manteca colorá - a sort of lard flavoured with paprika, which is
eaten spread on a slice of toast?... You can enjoy other very tasty dishes
such as longaniza con tomate (sausage with tomato), lomo mechado (larded
fillet) or guiso de cochino (pork stew), which is considered to be a tonic
here! At the covered market, you can buy the famous chicharrones (pork
scratching) from Chiclana - delicious but not recommended if you suffer from
cholesterol!
n Cadiz the fish is fresh, tasty and prepared simply in order to restore
its true flavour. The brotherhood of fishermen of Conil has set up a system
of specific labelling, certifying that the fish is handled with the greatest
care and that the time between being caught and brought into harbour does
not exceed 4 hours. An opportunity, therefore, to discover the most typical
fish of the region (sea bream, meagre, grunts and pink dentex) with the
certainty of eating a fresh, top-quality product!
The ortiguilla is a specialty of Cadiz; it is an anemone with a viscous
texture that might put some people off! Served fried, it is devoured with
delight!
At the Francisco en la Fontanilla restaurant, you can sample a sea bream
in salt crust with white, juicy flesh, as well as a delicious selection of "almadraba"
tuna products.
The "best tuna in the world"!
The age-old practice of tuna fishing followed in Cadiz was devised by the
Phoenicians and taken up by the Romans. This great local tradition is today
threatened by industrial and international fishing, which consists of
catching tuna to force-feed it artificially.
In April each year, the tuna cross the Straits of Gibraltar in order to
reproduce in the Mediterranean. They arrive well fed from the Ocean, so it
is at this precise period that their flesh is the plumpest and tastiest. For
the world-famous Ferrán Adriá, it is quite simply the "best tuna in the
world"! The fishermen take advantage of this migratory movement to drive the
tuna towards funnel-shaped nets (the "almadraba" method), where they are
trapped and caught.
Almost all the restaurants in the region offer tuna-based dishes such as
the famous atún encebollado (tuna in onion compote) or the succulent
morrillo (cheek) a la plancha (grilled). Among the various addresses tested,
we recommend La Parada café in Barbate for its rustic atmosphere, its
appetising tapas and its morrillo, done to a turn (neither too raw nor too
dry). In a more classic style, Casa Juanito, in Zahara, will introduce you
to the different flavours of tuna, depending on the piece chosen and the way
in which it is cut.
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