costa da morte

"Costa da Morte" (Coast of Death) is how this Atlantic area of Galicia is known. Luckily our trip to this remote destination only had to deal with vacational life, which in this occasion I must say was sublime. 

We were basically by Barizo beach, which is part of the Malpica municipality, where fishing is one of the main activities. So, our main lunch nutrients were going to come entirely from the sea, except for dessert. 

"Mejillones (mussels) en escabeche" were the beginning of this costal tour. "Escabeche" is a sauce where the mussels rest for, ideally, over a day. It is often made out of fried onion, oil, vinegar, rep pimenton, and "laurel" (bay leaf).

We decided to try a "centola do pais" (local spider crab), which was marvellous. Since the process of eating this type of crustacea is a complex one, we were provided with the right equipment, just like if we were professional surgeons.

Another new albariño, for us, became our liquid companion through this ceremonial trip: a 2007 Davila M-100 from O Rosal, made out of loureiro, caiño blanco and albariño grapes. Quite a gracious choice.

A plate of warm "almejas a la plancha" made the following step of the way to our digestive heaven, before we moved into fish territories.

I chose monkfish and Lyn went for a fantastic "lubina a la gallega", which for me was the star of the day.

The conclusive phase was going to be shared by "cañitas" and "mirabeles", which happen to be a common pair in our Galician gastronomic adventures.

After so much freshness and flavour I had to get a black coffee with ice, in order not to fall asleep. A siesta at that stage would have been a perfect solution, but we had more places to explore around Malpica.