Spanish Postcards. La Azotea - Food, Glorious Food.

My trip to Spain was pretty much unplanned. We did have hotel bookings and wrong tickets for San Isidro (which we figured on the day of the fight) but apart from that we didn't have a clue of what we would end up doing except for one key thing – filling our tummies with good food, everyday!

Spain is known for gastronomy, Michelin star chefs and Mercado’s filled with fresh ingredients. We traveled across Andalusia, Costa del Sol, the Balearic Islands and Madrid experiencing a variety of flavors, tastes and textures.

There are so many amazing places we ate at and I would like to list them all, but before any of those go on the blog, I need to review by far the best restaurant I have eaten at in a long, long time.  

It was our first meal in the country and we couldn't have asked for more.

La Azotea is a quaint little restaurant in Seville, situated right opposite the cathedral at Mateos Gago and hidden among a line of touristy cafes that serve cold, tasteless tapas and pre mixed Sangria.

Nothing about its décor or its four tables placed on the pavement shout out – amazing food. It is only when you get there and have a handsome server read out the daily specials to you, you know it's the right place.

They have a set menu but the specials change everyday – basically what the chef prefers and the catch of the day.

The servers are honest and enthusiastic. They will explain each dish to you, recommend and keep coming back with a smile to ask about your meal.  They are also attentive; we ate there 3-4 times and never repeated a dish. The server himself remembered what we ate previously and asked us to try something new.

The area is busy. A table outside is ideal to people watch though they have quite few tables inside.

Yummy Sangria and Strawberries 

The sangria is fresh, boozy and the fruit changes as per what is available that day. I loved the stirrer with a sugarcoated strawberry spelling out summer!

The food – lip smacking and delicious (if I haven’t mentioned that enough times already) is varied, plated beautifully and has its own little twist.

A twist to the traditional potato bravas - the sauce was mixed and served seperately 

Rice papers with leeks, prawns and cheese 

Ham croquettes

Gazpacho - a must try in South of Spain, served in a ice cold terracotta mug

Pork cheek 

Chicken salad with greens and fruits

Potato mash with salmon and capers 

And while all of them are a must try, of the twelve dishes we ended up eating in total, I would recommend the Razor clams, Foie Gras with mango and coffee on toast, the duck Magret and the salmon tartar for sure.

Razor clams are on availability, so ask for them. 

Razor clams

The hint of coffee with the saltiness of the Foie Gras and sweetness of mango is to die for. 

Foie on toast with mango and coffee

The duck Magret came with apples – that just added this amazing crunchiness to the meat and the Salmon tartar was fresh and light.

Salmon tartar

 The best part about La Azotea is the price. Our most expensive meal was 40 Euros (2 drinks, 3-4 tapas, 1 dessert) some of the bad places we ate in during the trip were around that much.

Of all the cities we visited, Seville was my favorite and I think a lot of that had to do with La Azotea and the decision to rent an apartment right next to it – perfect for long siestas after hearty meals!

La Azotea

Facebook and Web

https://www.facebook.com/azotea.sevilla

http://laazoteasevilla.es

Locations and contact 

- C/ Jesús del Gran Poder, 31 - Sevilla 
Tel. 955 11 67 48 



- C/ Zaragoza, 5 - Sevilla 
Tel. 954 56 43 16


- C/ Conde de Barajas, 5 - Sevilla. (Abacería)
Mov. 663 78 63 69


- C/ Mateos Gago, 8 - Sevilla 
954 215 878

Heart Warming Stories, Soulful Food : Bringing a bit of Pune into my kitchen - Chicken and Leek Stroganoff, an ode to Prems

One of my favorite places in Pune while I spent five years there was Prems. Quaint and relaxed, it was the perfect place to go to anytime of the day. No clue how ‘happening’ it is now but back in those days it was perfect for the once a month splurge on a good meal kind of place, apt for a first date or to spend a few hours drinking beer and reading a book. Prems appealed to everyone.

I used to love the way a huge tree would cover the entire courtyard and in the late afternoon little leaves would fall down and scatter on pristine white table cloths. I still remember they had a cat or two which was not very pleasing for me but it did add some character to the place. However, what I most remember about Prems is the Chicken Stroganoff. 

The first time I ever tasted Stroganoff was  in fact at Prems. And I became a regular for Stroganoff and beer.  The creaminess and the flavor of the dish were delectable. Even today I can think about it and go into a dreamy state that reminds me of those carefree college days, late afternoon lunches, a chilled foster and the Chicken Stroganoff. 

A few days ago I woke up thinking about Prems. Yes, I dream of food. Kill me if you want to.

As luck would have it I was browsing through one of my JamieOliver cook books and I found his 19 minute recipe to Chicken and Leek Stroganoff. Can you believe my excitement, Maybe I should have asked the lord for a million bucks!

Anyways it was the weekend and post a quick trip to the grocery store, I was ready. The Stroganoff turned out YUM and bought little taste of Pune in my home with a whole lot of memories to think and reminisce about during the weekend.

I just love how food brings us closer to who we are, where we come from and takes us, where we ought to be.

Chicken and Leek Stroganoff

So here’s the quick and easy recipe thanks to Jamie Oliver (it took me longer than 19 minutes though :-))

What you need

Rice – I used one cup Basmati
Leeks – The recipe said 1 large leek but I found a packet of baby leeks and used those
Mushrooms – used regular white ones
2 chicken breasts
Olive oil
Butter
A glass of white wine  - J I used more than a glass
A bunch of fresh parsley
around 250 gms of single cream
1 lemon 

Seasoning – salt and freshly ground pepper

And what you do

 

Boil rice as you would and set aside.
In the meanwhile, chop the leeks, slice the chicken into little finger type size, slice the mushrooms.
Heat a pan and add the butter, olive oil, leeks and white wine with some water and seasoning. Cover with a foil and let it boil away for five minutes.
Chop the parsley and then add the chicken, mushrooms, parsley and cream to the pan. Bring to a boil, add seasoning and simmer till the chicken is cooked. Just before turning off the heat, add some more seasoning if need be and half of the lemon juice.

Serve on a bed of rice with some parsley garnishing and wedges of lemon.

As easy as it gets!

Happy cooking!

Heart Warming Stories, Soulful Food : Easy Peasy Grilled Fish And Pineapple Salsa (For lazy single girls and boys :) )

My dinner tonight was amazing and I absolutely have to share this recipe with you all. It is a simple, no nonsense gourmet delight in your kitchen within thirty minutes. Makes sense for me and a lot of single, working crazy hour’s people out there. 

I have always been wary of cooking fish however recently I have vowed to be healthy in my food habits and fish seems to the smart option for dinner. The problem is I love eating fish but I don’t like if it smells fishy. My Indian palate also craves for something tangy and full of masala. So I need to really think before I cook any kind of sea food. After spending an hour browsing the internet for some inspiration today, I came across a few recipes that I decided to combine and make this yummy pain grilled fish and salad.

Pan grilled soy fish with caramelized onions and a pineapple salsa salad

 The fish –

Make a marinate of  1 tbsp olive oil,  2 tbsp chopped onions, 2 tbsp lime juice, 2 tbsp dark soy sauce, 1 tsp garlic paste. Mix portions of fish fillets with the marinate and keep aside for 15-20 mins (I used cream dory fillets and kept the marinate in the fridge)

You can bake the fish or grill it in an Ikea grill pan if you are as lazy as me. Allow the onions to caramelize and put the remaining marinate on the fish as well

The fish was ready in 5 minutes on medium heat, I didn't use any extra oil, the olive oil in the marinate was enough.

The salad –

The soy flavor of the fish needed something sweet and tangy to break the strong soy flavor. So I decided on a pineapple salsa. The prep for this can be done while the fish marinates, but you would like to leave it in the fridge for a while as it tastes heavenly when it’s cold and the flavors have had time to blend together.

Finely chop a cup full of pineapple, some spring onions, some red onions, half a red pepper, 2-3 tbsp of coriander and one jalapeno. Mix all this with 1 tsp of honey, juice of 1 lime, salt, pepper, a pinch of paprika and a pinch of cumin powder.

The fish goes so well with the salad. And even on its own the salad is refreshing and quite awesome! The caramelized onions give a very sizzler type flavor to the fish and there is no fishy smell :- )

So much so for healthy food, I am ending my dinner with an absolutely delicious coconut macaroon from Waitrose.

well, it is the weekend and a little bit of indulgence is allowed, isn’t it? ;-) 

Happy Cooking!

Heart Warming Stories, Soulful Food : Desi Pizza For Single Girls (For an evening full of Gluttony)

"You better cut the pizza in four pieces because I'm not hungry enough to eat six" – Yogi Berra

On cold winter Saturday evenings which happened to be our treat day my mum would give us a choice – pizzas or burgers. Mind you, we hardly ate out and there was no Dominos or Pizza Hut during the 1980’s where I grew up.

Our treat meant that mum would pull out her Tarla Dalal cookbook start making dough and have yummy pizzas out from a battered orange coloured oven in no time.

The kitchen in my childhood home (a stable from the British times converted into a home) was out in the veranda and my memories of those Saturday evenings still stick to the smell of slightly burnt cheese and tomato which travelled through the veranda. We would sit on a swing and look out to the garden waiting for the pizzas to get ready, with half filled transparent glasses from the weekly quota of one Thumbs up bottle split in careful measure between my brother and me.

 We grew up of course and the homemade dough turned into readymade pizza bread from the local bakery. What didn’t change was mum’s secret recipe for the sauce that gave the pizza such a desi flavour and trust me though pizza happens to be one of my comfort junk food nothing has ever come close to what we used to make at home.

A few days ago a sudden urge for those pizzas came over me and off I went BBMing mum to remind me of the recipe!

Because I love olives and can have a full jar in one sitting I used olives in my version of the pizza my mum used to make, I also used readymade bread and tomato puree because seriously, who has the time?

With so many shortcuts, it is perhaps the easiest and fastest vegetarian meal to make when you get back from work at 9pm, skip the gym, dont mind a dinner full of cheese & bread and have just an hour before you eat and crash.

So here goes my recipe for the Sethi’s version of pizza twisted especially for single working girls (and boys too) :-)

What you need –

• 4 pizza bases (I used the frozen ones at Carrefour and tasted great)
• 1 can of tomato puree (I love Pomi’s)
• 4-5 pods of garlic chopped finely
• 1 teaspoon Ajwain (Bishops weed/Carom seeds)
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• ½ teaspoon freshly crushed peppercons
• 1 table spoon oil
• 1 Chopped onion for the sauce
• 1 onion cut into small pieces or chopped (however you prefer it, I use chopped onions, because I buy a pack from Carrefour and save my time and tears)
• 1 medium capsicum chopped or cut into rings
• Olives – Green or Black cut into half
• Mozzarella cheese (we grew up with grated Amul cheese on the pizza, so whatever you get your hands on)
• Salt to taste

What you need to do –

• Preheat the oven to around 170 degrees (gas mark between 6-7)
• Heat the oil in a non stick pan, add garlic and chopped onions
• When the onions become translucent add the tomato puree, add a little water to the can and scoop out everything from in it.
• Reduce the heat, add salt, sugar, ajwain, pepper and allow it to thicken
• Taste the sauce; you might want to alter the levels of sugar and salt to get that perfect tangy sweet and salty sauce. Turn off the heat when the sauce is little thick.
• Prepare the pizza - A nice thick layer of sauce and top it with onions, capsicum, olives and cheese
• Dump it in the oven till the base gets brown and crisp (I like my base extra crisp and always leave it a little longer)
• Cut into 4 or 6 pieces and hog away!*

*Eaten and served best with a can of bud**

**Guarantees sound sleep and a fresh you the next morning!

Happy Gluttony!