IBERICA | The Power Of Land And Sea

Confidentials 8 September 2014

“I WANT to capture Asturias,” said Nacho Manzano of Casa Marcial restaurant. “I want to take the sea and what it gives us, I want to take the land and what it gives us, and I want to wrap them up together. I want my fine dining to be rooted in its region, not fantasy rooted, but as much a part of Asturias as the view outside. This is what I’m attempting now.”

It was 2am in the morning in Asturias in Northern Spain. Gordo and I had been up since 4am, flight, lunch, beautiful views in mountains, hotel lost in more mountains, and then a booking at 9pm at Casa Marcial, Manzano's two star Michelin place. We dined at 10pm.

Nacho Manzano, crabs and cider

Time melts like a Dali clock in Spain. From a precise instrument it morphs into an approximation, a guess.

Waiting an hour to begin the meal would have most Brits impatiently chewing their own arm off, here it seemed natural, part of the charm of the place along with the big smiles on the faces of the staff such as Emma, or Nacho's PR, Fatima.

Sunset over the mountains from the terrace at Casa Marcial

At lunch we’d eaten at Esther Manzano’s one star Michelin restaurant at Gijon. We wondered whether there was another brother and sister combination in world dining with Michelin stars each.

In pursuit of Nacho's dream of marrying the Asturian fruits of land and sea we sampled dishes at Casa Marcial such as spring lamb kidney, peas and pickled tuna belly, exquisitely cooked, beautifully presented with explosive flavours throughout.

Land and sea at Casa Marcial

We also ate a dish with an almost mythic description, ‘pigeon marinated in seaweeds with emulsion of Kalamata, herbs of the seaside and sardine cream’. There was fish with this too, a square of it, highly pickled or marinated.

This plate showed how far Nacho Manzano is pushing his turf and surf experiment. It's very brave. Pigeon and pickled fish of any description are two very powerful ingredients. To me the dish seemed in conflict with itself. Gordo loved it. What was undeniable was the craftsmanship and imagination.

Meat and fish

The pictures on this page give an idea of the skill of Manzano, two favourites were the beans with avocado and foie gras, a take on the classic Asturian bean stew, the fabada, and the weirdly perfect combination of peas with yoghurt for dessert.

The fabada at Esther Manzano's place, El Salgar, had also been lovely. These fine dining variants of the famous peasant dish are a Manzano family speciality, a signature.

Nacho's fabada

Esther's 'fabada'

It was clear at Casa Marcial how the place has become a feature on the gourmet tourist's itinerary. There were Far Eastern guests, British, German too plus Spaniards from other regions of Spain. They were still chatting away as we left about 2.15am and didn't look like they were leaving any time soon.

Half an hour away, back at our hotel, the Palacio de Rubianes, there was no-one on reception. We had no key for the outer door either. Problem? No. The door was unlocked. The Palacio de Rubianes is beautiful but so far off the beaten track people need a sherpa to find it. Security isn't an issue.

Palacio de Rubianes: open all hours

On a broad terrace high in the 17th century building I drank a whisky from the mini-bar and counted shooting stars. The Milky Way looked in touching distance. The peaks of the high Asturian mountains, the Picos de Europa, cut the night. Behind the hotel the landscape looked like a wraith spreading its wings: Guillermo del Toro would have loved it.

I tore myself away around half three.

View from the terrace at Palacio de Rubianes during the day

We met Nacho Manzano again just before lunch the following day with our fine and loquacious translator Norma. He was driving, providing for his passengers an experience as experimental as some of his cooking.

"So you must be exhausted after cooking so late," I said to Nacho as we acrobated round a corner on two wheels.

He shrugged.

"After you left last night I went dancing at my wife's restaurant until 6am," he replied before adding. "Right, let's go and look at some cocks."

His sister has a restaurant, his wife does too and we'd met another sister managing at Casa Marcial. Busy family.

We stopped at a farm where huge cockerels called pitus were wandering. The Asturians allow these to strut free range through villages, up hills and in and out of houses. They eventually cook them. Slowly. The flesh is remarkable for its richness.

After the cockerels it was to Ribasella, on the harbour front, where we ate crabs just minutes after they'd been teased from the rocky shoreline. Snap. Crack. Joy.

Food assailed us from every side. We didn't complain.

In Llanes, a village that could have been Padstow, or Fowey, in Cornwall, we had our second lunch. The restaurant was called El Balamu, right above the fish market, right on the dockside were the fishing boats tie up.

Fish assailed us from every side. We didn't complain.

Llanes: could be Cornwall?

Norma drove after lunch. Nacho had joined in the chugging of the local Asturian wine with gusto and was snoring gently on the back seat. There had been cider too, very much an Asturian 'thing'. The cider must be dropped into the glass from about three feet, to aerate it, otherwise it tastes flat. Drinking a bottle at a restaurant can be an exhausting experience.

The correct way to pour an Asturian cider

That night was spent in the exquisite small city of Oviedo, the regional capital. We stayed in the impressive Hotel Reconquista and dined in another of the Manzano empire outlets, Gloria. This was a busy, buzzy, city dining experience. Helping us navigate the menu was a true gentleman, David Sierra. He also navigated us from Bilbao Airport to Asturias and back.

Gloria at Oviedo

Gloria emphasised why we were in Asturias. The place would work perfectly in Leeds.

Nacho Manzano is the executive chef for Iberica, which is due to open in Leeds this month. We were in northern Spain to gain an insight into the sort of food Leeds might expect. Well, folks we're in for a treat.

Nacho Manzano gathers to his restaurants the finest of Spanish ingredients and delivers them to the table with respect and imagination. A plate of his croquettas will have you swooning, the breads, hams and cheeses will have you slapping your thigh and calling for seconds.

Casa Marcial food

"We're lucky," said Nacho. "In Asturias people say it rains too much but in truth we the have climate conditions to produce some of the finest ingredients whether from the land or sea. What I try and do is exploit that fortune."

"We think we have the best food in Spain," said David Sierra modestly, adding less modestly, "The other regions do too."

Maybe he's right. It felt like it on our brief trip.

One final word.

Asturias is perhaps the most beautiful Spanish region I've visited and I've visited most of them. The mountainous terrain of high peaks, gentle foothills, forests, fields and flowers next to an unruined coast line - no speculative beach resorts here - make for a memorable visit.

Leeds Confidential is going to start a campaign for direct flights to Oviedo.

Asturias is delicious in just about every sense.

You can follow Jonathan Schofield on Twitter @JonathSchofield or connect via Google+

Casa Marcial is at El Salgar, s/n 33549 Arriondas–Parres. Here's the link.

El Salgar is at Museu del Pueblu d'Asturies, Gijon. Here's the link.

Gloria is at Cervantes 24, Oviedo. Here's the link.

Gordo and Esther Manzano