a galician sunny encore

Right between my Basque September end of the summer and my Aussie November spring I was able to spend a few days in Galicia, the Iberian Northwest corner, also known as Gallaecia by the Romans or Galiza by Castelao, a local nationalistic icon. This is some sort of neutral territory with the capacity to regenerate my system, just as if I was in Switzerland getting new blood like a true Rolling Stone. 

In many ways it becomes an addictive exercise of "back to basics", and octopus or polbo in Galician language, can be a genuine part of it. Another unavoidable  ingredient is a good albariño, and this time it had to be the new Pedralonga vintage, which I picked up that same week.

Fish had to come next, and raia (stingray, aka raja clavatta) was the chosen one. It was only boiled and surrounded by potatoes with a plain allada (from allo: garlic), adding a little bit of flavour. For this specific dish a tiny bit of lard is usually used in the mix.

Something I find fascinating about this fish, besides its unique flavour and shape, is its gristly bone structure.

Our refreshing dessert was nothing else than an amalgamation of fruit from the property, mainly raspberries, blackberries and grapes, plus natural yoghourt and a leaf of mint.