Les Tres a la Cuina

Only yesterday I read an article in Barcelona Metropolitan about a Gràcia cafe, just a stone’s throw from my flat, where the owners outlined that much of their inspiration came from Ottolenghi. Ottolenghi? Did you say Ottolenghi? Ooh I was going to wait all of, ooh, 24 hours before heading down there to see what this was all about.

For anyone not familiar with Ottolenghi, although if you know me or read this blog regularly you are sure to have heard me evangelising and generally being a bore about their food, Israeli Yotam Ottolenghi and Palestinian business partner Sami Tamimi own a series of vibrant, enticing cafes in London and Yotam has become something of a print and TV celebrity over the past year too. Their food is characteristic of their Middle Eastern upbringing and is notable for its bold yet complimentary ingredients, strong colours and in my opinion outstanding flavours. I could literally gush all day.

Let’s be clear Les Tres a la Cuina is not trying to emulate Ottolenghi. You won’t find the lavish window displays or lively counter of rainbow salads and baked goods. However, what you will find here is excellent, both in flavour combinations and ingredients that hint to their inspiration and in terms of quality, friendliness and incredible value for money.

Not knowing what to expect we came for a coffee or plate or two and unintentionally ended up having brunch. It was too good to turn down. Three dishes, yes you read that right, three dishes, and a huge café con leche for, wait for it, 9 euros! Lunch time menus and single plates are available during the week too.

To start we had home made granola with Greek yogurt sitting on a layer of either raspberry jam, also made in house, or honey. The yogurt was wonderfully creamy, the jam and granola not too sweet. Fabulous and filling.

Granola, Greek yogurt and home made raspberry jam.

Next came a single slice of toasted sourdough from the Reykjavik bakery, rubbed with tomato, topped generously with sweet jamon York (or Yorkshire ham where I come from), a thin layer of cheese, slices of ripe avocado, a pile of rocket, a runny fried egg and a splatter of rocket pesto. For vegetarians there was an option with mushrooms instead.  It was so good it was gone far too quickly. They say (good) things come in threes and this was certainly true here. We made space for an amazingly moist, almond and pistachio cake with a delicate layer of water icing and crushed pistachios and possibly a hint of orange zest. A definite hint to the Middle Eastern inspiration we discussed earlier. This was simply divine and as a cake baking aficionado I was slightly envious its simple perfection.

Pistachio and almond cake

If I was to be slightly critical of Les Tres a la Cuina, and this feels difficult to say after such a fantastic brunch, it would be that a few cushions to make the seating more comfortable and taller tables that were more conducive to eating rather than just having a coffee, wouldn’t go amiss. I have to wonder why they don’t open Sunday for brunch and close Monday instead of the other way round at the moment although I don’t begrudge them their day of rest. I would also have been more than happy to pay 9 euros for a choice of two of the three dishes including the coffee and would certainly have left more than satisfied rather than stuffed. I for one never thought I’d ever utter those last seven words. What has come over me?

Les Tres a la Cuina, Sant Lluis 35, Gràcia

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Mosquito

If, like me, you feel full to bursting from all the Christmas cheer and heavy grub, and there’s also a few pennies left to afford a meal out, then there’s probably no better antidote to the usual Christmas fodder than the Asian dumplings and dim sum of Mosquito.It’s been several weeks since I last ate at Mosquito and I’m not going to blag that I can remember the exact details of what we ate there. All I can say is it was good, very good, oh, and we ordered far more than we needed, but still polished off the lot.

Mosquito is known for its high quality beers both on the barrel and in bottles and although the thought of sinking this strong Belgian beer turns my stomach slightly after the excesses of the last few days, it was a mighty fine brew at the time. It’s very easy to get carried away, as we did, with the wide selection of dumplings and hot and cold dishes. Better to order a few at a time and add to it than suddenly find a table overflowing with mini plates. I wish I was good at following my own advice sometimes.

Whilst I can’t remember ‘what was what’ of everything we ordered the stand out dishes were all the dumplings which were light and zingy and all hand made by the team of very efficient women out back. The fried duck was magnificent but I would leave that until rich food starts to appeal again and the Sichuan pepper beef and pancakes were also memorable.

Despite our gluttony we still came away with change from 20€ for our dinner, being reluctant to pig out post Christmas, the bill would probably come in at even less. Mosquito is a must visit.

Mosquito, C/Carders 46, Born

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Vegan bakery

One of the best mass produced cakes I’ve ever tasted was a stem ginger cake that also happened to be vegan. It opened my mind to the possibilities of non-conventional cake baking. So I was keen to try out some other vegan baking from the appropriately named Vegan Bakery in El Born, covered in my article in September’s miniguide. Much easier on the eyes, the article is also on the miniguide website here.

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Red Ant

Another meal, another blog and yet another occasion where I feel blessed for the invention of photo editing suites and ashamed to be posting yet more sub-standard photos to this blog. So, no more, never again, I’m through, we’re done. Here I make a Moonraker Morsel promise that if they don’t make the grade in future, I don’t include them.
Maybe it’s a ploy to disrupt us bloggers, but lighting in many cafés, bars and restaurants is not exactly conducive to good photography, and Red Ant more so than most. I will not lie, those that follow have had some serious touching up to make them even passable.

Photo courtesy of http://blog-static.hola.com, who is clearly a much better photographer than myself. Many thanks if you see this!

Red Ant is the latest offering from Mosquito, a Vietnamese neighbour in the Born and here they specialise in noodles and accompaniments. In order to be able to sample as much as possible without bursting at the seam, my dining comrade and I often go for a selection of side orders, the tapas influence never too far away.

My knowledge of far Eastern cuisine is up there with my photography skills (or should that be down there?) so steamed bread is something I’ve never had the good fortune to try. Here it was filled with belly pork, a sliver of spring onion, cucumber and an ooze of sweet sticky sauce. Lovely and light, I could’ve eaten three.

Steamed pork bun with pork belly

The only main dish we opted for were the spring onion ginger noodles, again with belly pork. Unlike many, pork is one of my favourite meats, which is lucky as it featured in nearly every dish we chose. The noodles had a depth of flavour unlike plain wheat noodles but the whole dish was so uneventful I’ve almost forgotten eating it. Decent, filling, memory gone once digested.

Spring onion ginger noodles with belly pork

Bok choi, or pak choi as I know it better, has such a rainwater taste and a simultaenous softness and crunch that I love. Drenched in an oyster sauce with sesame, a plate full of that alone would’ve more than made me happy.

Bok choi with vegetarian oyster sauce

Yet, that Bok Choi and the Mapo tofu wrap would be my stand out choices on a second visit. A steaming bowl of pork, tofu and rice in an, let’s be honest, oily, fiery sauce to be made into wraps with crisp lettuce was both fun, messy and delicious. Slurping the oil and juices back up your arm as they dribble from their leafy home may not be sophisticated or dignified but it sure was enjoyable.

Mapo tofu wrap

I can often pass on dessert, but comrade in knives and forks would never hear of it, and neither would I when I read chocolate + ginger on the menu. Second only to chocolate + hazelnut in my world. Tongue tingling ginger, airy yet rich mousse and forceful dark chocolate flavour made this a potent pot of pleasure.

Chocolate ginger mousse

After my dreadful green tea dessert at Udon I had to give it another whirl with Red Ant’s green tea yogurt crumble. Green tea has a lovely floral flavour and the crumble was a good contrast with the yogurt texture but the sourness of the yogurt just didn’t compliment the green tea, or vice versa. So I’m still waiting to be wowed by this eastern ingredient in a dessert. Any suggestions where I might find that?

Green tea yogurt crumble

Red Ant didn’t hit the mark for me with every dish but was excellent value for money and a wonderful, relaxed informal setting (if you can relax without air con) and speedy, friendly service. Vegetarians also have half the menu to themselves. All the above plus 6 glasses of wine presented us with la cuenta of only 35€, leaving me enough for some photography lessons or a teach yourself book.

Red Ant, C/Tiradors 3-5, Born

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Domino

Domino been an on-off Thursday night haunt for almost the entire time I’ve lived in Barcelona. It fulfills the mid-week requirements of cheap and cheerful with ease and is long overdue a mention on Moonraker Morsels. What Domino’s excels at is decent quality food and great mojitos, amongst other cocktails, at prices more attuned to Barcelona salaries. This compact drinking den with its slightly overused sofa and dark wood tables and chairs keeps us coming back again and again for those strong, sugary, mint laden mojitos and gorgeously thin and crispy pizzas. Pizzas are not the only thing on the menu, salads and empanadas are also up for grabs, but it’s the midweek (Sunday to Thursday) 6.85€ pizza offer that always gets our order. Nine pizzas are covered by the offer, at least two of which are vegetarian, and include our test driven margharita; salchicha sausage and onion; aubergine, courgette and pepper; mozzarella and serrano ham; ham and mushroom; mozzarella, onion and scamorza Italian cheese.

Mozzarella and serrano ham pizza

Do not be alarmed as we once were seeing the cook suddenly sticking a mop into the pizza oven! Had the place we had grown to love all this time been cleaning out the cooking space with the same mop to clean the floor?! Thankfully not, just a novel way of periodically cleaning out what must be a notoriously difficult, narrow, roasting hot space.

At times there can be hardly a corner to sit here, others it’s a haven of tranquility and quiet conversation, so don’t bank on either, and if going in a big group maybe give them a call ahead so as not to miss out.

Domino, C/Les Flors 16, Raval / Poble Sec

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Sesamo

Passing from the street you could be mistaken for thinking that Sesamo is just a narrow, whitewashed bar, and indeed it is, offering a sanctuary from running the gauntlet of Raval’s streets and amongst many other drinks an array of premium gin and tonics.

However, if you enter and walk through an Aladdin’s cave of vegetarian delights opens up and invites you in. Sesamo is one of few venues in Barcelona offering a ‘restaurant’ experience of meat free meals.I’ve enjoyed eating here once before but earlier last month I was lucky to be able to attend one of owner Alfredo’s tasting evenings where he was showcasing some items off their weekly changing menu. Arriving late, rushed, flustered and laiden with bags it was heavenly to walk in and find a glass of red waiting for me and some freshly cooked offerings my friends had sampled an hour or so earlier.

My first mouthful was a seeded crostini with a slice of brie topped with a rich, black olive mousse that had a super smooth texture reminiscent of a good chicken liver pâté. I make that reference because it’s what I associated it with, not that this food was in anyway trying to replace meat dishes. The crostini and all bread here is supplied by favourite of mine Baluard.

Seeded crostini with brie and black olive mousse

This was followed by a salad of slivers of carrot, sweetcorn kernals, radicchio and seeds in a light dressing which provided a tasty, clean crunch.

Salad of carrot, sweetcorn, radicchio and seeds

Next came the tortellini with gorgonzole in a sage butter, the said butter was very moreish if ever so slightly too overpowering for the cheese inside the pasta.

Tortellini with gorgonzole in sage butter

These were then followed by a couple of different risottos. The first of the two was with radicchio,  toasted almonds and roquefort which was packed with loads of flavour and was really set off by the toasted almonds and the rice which had that required bit of bite.

Risotto with radicchio, toasted almonds and roquefort

However the dish of the evening for me was the second risotto with green apple and taleggio. Of course cheese and apple are a perfect match but it wouldn’t have occurred to me to combine them in risotto, however it worked wonderfully, I shall definitely be trying to produce something similar at home.

Risotto with green apple and taleggio

With a self-confessed cheese adoring owner it’s hardly surprising that the menu is heavily cheese influenced, although some would argue you can never have too much cheese. That said there are vegan options so there should be something for everyone, such as the dish of coconut curry with basmati rice, a picante coconut curry of courgette and green beans with a hint of madras about it served with perfectly cooked, fluffy rice. Oh if only I could master the same with rice at home.

Coconut curry with courgette and green beans

 My flusteredness on my first visit meant I left without adequate photos and a few lingering questions, as such I was invited back a second time. What a treat! So on Tuesday night I sat down to round two. This time we started with an appetiser of  healthy baked tortilla topped with gorgonzola, roasted vegetables and pistachio oil.

Baked tortilla with gorgonzola, roasted courgette, fennel, carrot and pistachio oil

Next came a plate of papas arrugadas, a Canary Island dish of wrinkled potatoes with dual sauces of red pepper and surprisingly tasty and complimentary mango.

Papas arrugadas with mango and red pepper sauces

Another appetiser of tofu and miso paste topped with olive tapenade was too salty and lacked a bit of alternative texture to the two pastes so wasn’t quite to my personal taste.

Tofu and miso mousse with olive tapenade

Now beetroot is one of my ‘most hated’ ingredients but from time to time someone succeeds in getting me to enjoy it, and that’s what happened here with gorgonzola filled gnocchi in beetroot sauce. I’m not sure the addition of mozzarella was needed to but the dish was delicious nonetheless.

Gorgonzola filled gnocchi with beetroot sauce, mozzarella and toasted almonds

I’ve often wondered what to do with an abundance of mint as those plants can grow crazily at times but inspiration was provided with rigatoni in mint pesto, just subtle and not overpowering for the other ingredients.

Rigatoni with mint pesto, cherry tomatoes, pine nuts and pecorino

Wild green asparagus, which I’ve seen many people foraging in the small town outside Barcelona where I work, made an appearance in the risotto that came next, served with goat’s cheese.

Goat's cheese and wild green asparagus risotto

The risotto, however, was completely outshone by the asparagus salad with basil, toasted pistachios and lime and ginger dressing which was the outstanding star of the evening’s show.

Asparagus salad with toasted pistachios, lime and ginger dressing with basil

A mushroom lasagne with smoked mozzarella was next, maybe slightly more suited for the preceeding months but still a winner.

Mushroom lasagne with smoked mozzarella

Sadly we turned down a couple of curries waiting in the kitchen for us to satisfy our sweet cravings and chose three desserts to share. The brownie with strong Bailey’s sauce had us all reaching to wipe the plate.

Chocolate brownie with vanilla ice cream and Bailey's sauce

The peanut butter cheesecake was overbaked and crumbly but was tasty and didn’t stop us fighting with our forks for the last mouthful.

Peanut butter cheesecake

And finally, a rich, sticky triple chocolate cake layered with mascarpone cream and that favourite of Alfredo’s native Argentina, dulce de leche.

Triple chocolate cake layered with mascarpone cream and dulce de leche

Sesamo leaves you satisified and meat eaters confessing that they didn’t miss the carne. It’s also easy on the wallet, starters start at around 3€ and no main course is more than 12€, desserts are about 5€.

Many thanks to Alfredo and staff for the invitation and hospitality.

Sesamo, C/Sant Antoni Abat 52, Raval

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Sevillian Cycling Adventures

It was a pleasure to be asked by my friend, Stuart Holliday, to write a guest post for Moonraker Morsels. Stuart has a keen interest in Spain having himself lived in Barcelona for several months in the past and his parents live further south of here in Alicante. Not to be put off after a very eventful journey across the country earlier in 2010 when the Icelandic ash cloud scuppered a friend and his trip home from Morroco, Stuart returned to the peninsula at the latter end of the year, so to kick off 2011 here he shares with us his Andalucian cycling and eating adventures:

“Back in early November, I took myself to the Ronda in Andalucia to start altitude training to help my marathon running for London in April 2011. After a busy couple of months in England, I needed to get some fresh air and stretch the legs and took a route along a triangle from Seville, to Ronda, to Cordoba and back to Seville. I clocked 500 kilometres in 10 days, doing some hard climbs and seeing some stunning scenery.

Where my holiday relates to Moonraker Morsels is the fuel I needed to help me with this mission and to allow myself some pleasure in what I ate along the way. I love Spain and Spanish food and having not spent much time in Andalucia I was looking forward to eating both seasonal and regional food in the South of the country.

After breakfasts of fruit and muesli with stiff coffees, sustinance on my ride of energy gels, some dried fruit or Spanish Opal fruits and occasional lunches of sandwiches I would often stop into a tapas bar for a little re-fuelling. The finest of which was in the town of Setenil, perched high atop a sheer rock face, with beautiful narrow cobbled streets and some fine bars carved into the hard stone. In the Bar Rodriguez I had a dish of pork cooked in a rich red wine sauce that fell apart as you touched it with a knife. With a little bread and a cold coca cola, it immediately replenished me on the second day when I was 75 kilometres into a 100 KM ride.

Pork Dish at Bar Rodriguez

The next day I only rode for 30 KM to visit the beautiful Grazalema where I tried the Andalucian delicacy of fried courgette in honey. Rather like tempura, this was a dish I kept finding on menus wherever I stopped off. I intended to eat as little meat as possible on the trip, which in Spain is not always possible. This is a country who eat the most amount of pork per head in Europe and if you say you’re a vegetarian, you still may be served meat in a ‘vegetarian’ dish.

Plaza in Grazalema

However, I found Andalucia to be better than most other parts of Spain for veggie options. This was the case in Carmona, 30 KM east of Seville, where I had the most amazing chickpea and spinach tapa.

Chickpea & Spinach

Though the photo doesn’t look so appetising, I can tell you this was only €2 and possibly the tastiest thing I had on the trip. Again, I’d had 100 kilometres in the saddle and I managed a further 3 tapa dishes, one of tuna and onions, a slice of potato omelette and a plate of local olives that kept me of sound mind for the night.

I have to guide you to Bar Alfalfa in Seville if you go to this beautiful city.

Alfalfa bar, Seville

As the name suggests, they are veggie friendly, and my friends and I ate an amazing selection of mainly vegetarian dishes. Stunning aubergine marinated in balsamic vinegar, Manchego cheese in a separate dish, goat’s cheese served with pesto.

Aubergine marinated in balsamic vinegar and Manchego cheese.

Goat's cheese and Pesto

All of which were cheap at €3 to €4 and as delicious as the photos allude. It was possible to get typical Spanish hams in Alfalfa. The infamous bellota being the pick of the bunch, from pigs fed on a diet of acorns.

Finally, being November, all of the major towns had locals selling roasted chestnuts, presented to you in rolled up paper cones.

Chestnuts seller, Seville

Cooked in sea salt they were hot and deliciously sweet when opened. This picture was taken in Seville, but chestnuts abound in this part of Spain.”

Bar Rodriguez, C/ Giner de Los Ríos, 7, Setenil

Bar Alfalfa, C/ Candilejo, 1, Seville

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Burequitos

To continue the theme of salvation for vegetarians on the go in the city, I’d also like to give praise to ‘Burequitos’. Only 8 months since it’s inception, stallholder Shani begins baking sweet and savoury tartes and rustling up sandwiches at 6.30am every morning. How she manages this is in such a tiny space and trying to do everything before she opens two hours later is a wonder in itself.The first treats to catch my eye were the gorgeously appetising sweet tartes topped with raspberries, strawberries, currently abundant figs and the ‘peach crisp pie’. Shani assured me that everything is made without any preservatives or anything artificial. She only uses fresh ingredients which, with the exception of flour and fresh yeast, she procures from the stallholders that sit on the perifery of the Boquería market. These vendors sell their own produce grown around the Barcelona metropolitan area rather than those inside the cities markets which generally visit the wholesale Mercabarna market for their stock. To relieve our slightly sore heads and sustain us for the short walk back to my flat my visitor and I sampled a spinach, cheese and pine nut tart and one filled with broccoli and blue cheese. The pastry was still crisp after being reheated, my blue cheese was punchy but not overpowering to the broccoli. Pastry and formatge, what better pick me up for the morning after the night before?For such a small stall there is quite a selection: Apple and walnuts; leek, goat’s cheese and apple; aubergine, red pepper and mozzarella; tomato and feta; potato and onion; mushrooms; mushroom and parmesan; mixed vegetable and emmental; spinach and cheese, the latter three also offered inside puff pastry. Decisions, decisions. If you want to avoid the pastry and those calorific sins then never fear as there are also a range of these fillings available in sandwiches. Those fresh ingredients determine the price here, fluctuating between 1.50 – 2.50€ for tartes and 3.50€ for generously sized sandwiches. Shani and her young business shine, I urge you to pass by and help her nurture it.

Burequitos, stall 134 at La Boquería, Barri Gotic.

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Maoz

It’s a rare day when I will sing exaltations about a chain of fast food outlets. I’m no fan of the generally poor quality, low nutritional content food they churn out and the excessive waste packaging eating at them often produces. I also hate how the evolution of chains, food or otherwise, has homogenised many town and city high streets, especially in the UK. Luckily Spain seems to have resisted being engulfed by them thus far but they are here and it’s a creeping process, one I’m sure will continue.

However, maybe it was the Pope being in town this weekend, but I’m feeling all evangelical and am going to praise Maoz the falafel and salad bar which is a stones throw from the Boquería on the Rambla and their other branch a short walk away on C/Ferran. Maybe this is the first thing I like about it, that in this vast city there are only two of them, they’re not clogging up every street corner, although there’s no shortage of kebab shops and falafel in some neighbourhoods.

So why do I like Maoz? Firstly, and most importantly the food is good and what they offer is simple. Falafel. I’ve seen them make them on the premises, not empty a bag of frozen ones into the fryer. You can choose them in a salad bowl or in a pitta. Go for the wholemeal integral option as my one criticism of this place is that the bread is not great, the wholemeal far exceeds the white choice. If you fancy some houmous or feta cheese in with your nuggets you just have to ask. Then the best bit, the salad. When they’ve popped your pieces of falafel in the pitta or dish then it’s over to you.

In front of you lies a selection of salad accompaniments and you can have a limitless amount, best to eat in if you fancy doing this though, too many times I’ve dashed through from a language class to the train to work, my eyes having been bigger than my belly and precariously balanced a mountain of salad up the street. There’s something for everyone on the salad bar: taboulleh, tomato and cucumber salad, sun dried tomatoes, mixed olives, chickpea salad, coleslaw, aubergine salad, sauces, green peppers and my favourite, the moreish fried, slightly spiced cauliflower. And that’s not a exhaustive list.If that lot doesn’t satisfy your hunger they do serve fries and there’s a selection of soft drinks, fruit juice and cans of cerveza. All the above in a ‘meal deal’ is around 5€. The unlimited salad bar alone is also an option for around 3€.

I checked the nutrition information on their website, convinced they must have something to hide. Where were all those transfats, extra calories hidden in their salad like that other mega-chain McDonald’s? Well, thankfully they don’t seem to be there. Another big thumbs up.

Having lots of vegetarian friends who are going to be visitors at some point, I am often trying to absorb places they’ll be able to eat in this decidely limited vegetarian option city. I’m not saying places don’t exist but unless you want to live on bread, cheese and tortilla sandwiches it can be a difficult place to eat, especially on the move. Maoz is a haven for vegetarians and vegans.

So, are there any downsides? Well, the location means you have to be very vigilant with your belongings whilst you’re ordering and eating, this tourist mecca part of town is rampant with theft, but that’s no fault of Maoz and they do have a warning notice displayed. The other is that this is a small eatery and there are few seats to sit and enjoy your food and take advantage of returning to that salad-fest, the other branch on C/Ferran has even fewer places to park your bottom. However, they don’t appear to commit many sins, hallelujah.

Maoz, La Rambla 95 and C/Ferran 13, Barri Gotic – Non smoking.

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