[Event] Campo Viejo Tapas Trail 2013

One of the best value events to hit Dublin in recent years has been the Campo Viejo Tapas Trail. I attended the very first trail in 2011, which turned out to be both great fun and educational. Since then, the event has continued to prove popular, and this year it has expanded to include the fine city of Cork. 

Last Sunday I re-joined the Tapas Trail, starting with a reception in basement wine bar Bagots Hutton. This little corker of a venue is the continuation of a business which was started in 1829 and ran for 150 years before closing down in the 1980s. Owners Giovanni & Brian have bought the name back to life, including the excavation of underground tunnels which originally linked Bagots Hutton to the George's Street Arcade. Lit only by candlelight, these secret tunnels are surprisingly cosy. We rolled out of Bagots Hutton, fueled by an impressive spread of tapas and several glasses of Campo Viejo Reserva and Cava.

Inside Bagots Hutton

Tapas at Bagots Hutton

From South William Street, we walked to the Market Bar on Fade Street, although I would have much preferred to take the more historic subterranean route from Bagots Hutton. Here, we were plied with more Campo Viejo Reserva (are you seeing a theme yet?) along with portions of chicken and chorizo skewers, patatas bravas and finally a tasty rocket, feta and chorizo salad. 

Chorizo and feta salad at the Market Bar

At the Market Bar

We left the Market Bar through a rear entrance which bought us out into the middle of George's Street Market Arcade, showing yet another example of the hidden Dublin. Outside on the pavement, our guide detailed the history of the Arcade, which opened in 1881 in the middle of a furore around the lack of involvement of native Dubliners in the project. The market burned down in 1892, but this time, the rebuilding project was far more inclusive.

Outside George's Street Market Arcade

Tortilla tapas at Havana

We continued on to Havana tapas bar on George's Street where we were treated to yet another three tapas and some impressive Spanish from a San Sebastian native. Our insight into the historic Dublin continued as we learned that Havana is situated on the former sight of the Pims department store. For some insane reason, this gracious building which featured tall display windows was demolished in the 1970s to make way for the current hideous concrete office building. We stopped briefly outside St Andrew's Church to get some gossip on the romantic life of Dean Johnathan Swift, before heading to our final stop at Salamanca. Here, we received another warm welcome along with a tasty crema catalana and several more glasses of Campo Viejo. 

Having twice been on the trail, I really do think that the Campo Viejo Tapas Trail offers great value for money. With tapas, wine and an entertaining look at Dublin's history available for just €20 per ticket , it's a fun few hours around our great capital. I must get myself to the Cork version next year to see how the magic translates to my home city. To learn more, visit www.facebook.com/campoviejoireland or www.campoviejotapastrail.ie.

Disclosure: I was given a complimentary pair of tickets to the Campo Viejo Tapas Trail. All thoughts are my own.

[Review] El Toro Bravo, Portobello, Dublin 2

Sometimes when eating out, you desire lots of little things. You want to be a butterfly, flying daintily from dish to dish, grazing from each, before moving on to the next tempting bite. When you feel like this, there is no better cuisine than Spanish tapas. Whenever we go for tapas, we always order our favourites dishes of patatas bravas and garlic prawns, but I'm always on the lookout for dishes that are a little different. 

El Toro Bravo is a relatively new restaurant on Dublin's South Richmond Street. This area is slowly improving and becoming a decent destination for a casual night out. You can have a pint in a proper pub at O'Connells, or eat at Rotana, Seagrass or even Kebabish Original. I've eaten at El Toro Bravo before, but didn't write about it. However, on a more recent visit, we sampled a good range of dishes, and hence plenty of photos. The interior is all dark wood with simple tables and chairs and it felt a little cold to me. We managed to get one of the more isolated tables, giving us a little space in this small room.

Pan con Jamón was for him (€4.00) featuring two slices of toasted bread rubbed with garlic and tomato topped with slices of Iberian ham. I really love the Spanish version of black pudding, so I ordered reveulto de morcilla leonesa, or scrambled eggs with morcilla, served atop a potato nest (€6.00). The eggs were a little too scrambled and dry for my liking, but the portion was generous and the advertised nest of potato strips added some nice bulk to the dish. Chistorra or pan-fried spicy pork sausages, were delicious, spiked with smoky paprika flavour (€5.00).  A large disc of goat's cheese (queso de cabra) was served warm, topped with a double whammy of onion marmalade and carmelised onions on more potato nest (€5.75)

Clockwise from top left: scrambled eggs with morcilla, pan con jamon, goat's cheese with onions and spicy Spanish sausages 

The patatas bravas, fried potato pieces with spicy tomato sauce, were at the expected standard (€4.50), while gambas al ajilo rounded out the savoury section of our meal (€7.15). This generous bowl of garlicky prawns hit all the right notes. We completed our meal with two desserts from the chalkboard offering of homemade desserts, several of which were advertised as being gluten-free. In my case, I had the tarta de Santiago, a marzipan-like almond cake while himself chose the somewhat pedestrian cheesecake. 

Clockwise from top left: Patatas bravas, gambas  al aijilo, cheesecake and tarta de Santiago

El Toro Bravo strikes me as a neighbourhood joint, a place to get a Spanish fix without getting all dolled up for the trip to fancier places in town. Occasional live flamenco and Spanish music adds atmosphere, while there is outside seating for those sunnier days. El Toro Bravo often runs deals in conjunction with daily deal websites, so it's possible to eat here at a very decent price. Just don't expect too much fanciness for that decent price. 

El Toro Bravo, 27 South Richmond Street, Dublin 2
Tel: +353 (0)1 475 8460
URL: eltorobravo.weebly.com
Twitter: @torobravodublin

Gambas Pil Pil

Recently I've been eating low-carb. This is in an effort to knock off some weight, which I could frankly well afford to do. Several years ago I successfully lost 12-13 kg on a low-carb diet with lots of taekwon do training and kept it off for a few years. Then I moved to Dublin and started work as a consultant. Irregular hours, lots of travel, bad canteens and an eye injury meant that I stopped exercising and the weight crept back on. So, I'm back on the low-carb wagon and I'm running again. I'm only at at the start, but I already feel much more energetic. I do low-carb 6.5 days of the week, with one carby meal a week. I think this is psychologically as well as nutritionally important.

As any low-carb follower will tell you, eating out can be a challenge. I have ended up in canteens with the weirdest combinations of food - sometimes boiled broccoli from the hot counter with rocket and ham slices from the salad counter. My current work assignment has ZERO low-carb suitable options at breakfast time. So where's good to go when low-carbing?

Well, one clear option is tapas. I've been to Port House Ibericos in Dundrum twice recently, and both times I had the Gambas Pil Pil or basically prawns served in a garlic & chili oil. Plump juicy prawns that you can dip into the garlicky oil, what's not to love? Today, while shopping, I picked up some raw, peeled prawns and I decided to make Gambas Pil Pil at home. It's really easy, but the secret is to take your time and not overheat the oil. The results are amazing. I've listed quanities below, but don't get hung up on the measurements. I used 140g of prawns because that was the pack size I purchased.

I use a lot of garlic in my version, because that's the way I like it. Feel free to adjust to your own tastes. One word - the traditional recipe uses parsley, which I don't personally like, so I've omitted it. However, feel free to add some finely chopped parsley if that floats your boat. Pimenton, or smoked paprika, adds a real Spanish flavour of smokiness and warmth to the dish. It's readily obtainable in any good food shop and makes a valuable addition to any spice shelf.

Gambas Pil Pil and assorted snacks

Ingredients

140g raw prawns, peeled

6-7 cloves of garlic, finely sliced

1/2 red chili, finely chopped

1 knob butter

1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon pimenton (smoked paprika)

Lots of olive oil

Sea salt (flakes are best)

The first thing required is to remove the prawns from their packaging and place them in a bowl along with some salt. This is not to add flavour, but instead to draw out some moisture from the prawns. Otherwise, when later placed in the oil, the water will leach out causing the prawns to boil rather than fry. Leave them to sit while preparing the oil.

Put a small skillet or heavy pan on a low-heat. Pour in lots of olive oil. The idea is that the prawns will sit in the oil and cook that way, rather than shallow-frying. As the oil warms up, add the knob of butter. I do this because it helps me see how hot the oil is getting. Reserve about one clove of garlic and a little chili. Once the butter has melted, add all the remaining garlic, chili and pimenton to the oil. They should be sizzling gently. The idea is to cook the garlic and chili very gently in the oil, so that it absorbs all the flavour. If the garlic shows any sign of browning, remove the oil from the heat until it is cooler. Allow the oil to infuse for approx 10 mins. Stir frequently and taste occasionally to see how the flavour is developing.

Place the prawns on kitchen paper and pat dry. Once ready, turn the heat up under the oil, stir in the reserved garlic and chili, then drop in the prawns one by one. Depending on the size, they should take no more than 2.5 - 3 minutes to cook. Serve either in the skillet or remove to a dish along with plenty of the tasty oil. Add a light sprinkle of sea salt and some crusty slices of bread for the people who are not low-carbing. Enjoy!

You may find that you won't eat or use all the oil. But this oil can be reused to cook more prawns, or reserved for use in a salad dressing.

The Port House Ibericos, Dundrum

Earlier this year, I received an invitation to attend a session of the Campo Viejo Tapas Trail which included a pit stop in the excellent Bar Pintxo in Temple Bar. This is part of the Port House group of venues, all of which are cosy, darkly romantic and very tasty. After this visit, I had marked my to-do list with the name of the latest Port House venture - the Port House Ibericos, located in the busy and movied-heaven of Dundrum Town Centre.

Despite being part of the newest and shiniest shopping centre in Ireland, the Port House Ibericos is housed in the Pembroke Cottages, which were a series of 3 developments built between the 1870s and 1880s by Lord Pembroke as part of his philantrophic efforts to provide housing for his estate workers and labourers. These charming cottages have been carefully restored under strict guidelines from Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, providing a relaxing contrast to the glass and steel of Dundrum Town Centre.

Inside, the Port House Ibericos follows the same guidelines that have proved so popular in the other locations. Lighting is low, with fat candles providing most of the ambient light. Tables are small and cosy, nestled into nooks and crannies. Romantic and cosy is the vibe here. When we arrived (approx. 21.30 on a Friday night) the restaurant was just at capacity. We were invited to take a seat at the bar, but thankfully, we were quickly seated. Other later arrivals weren't as lucky as us, with many having to wait for longish periods.

The menu is a double-printed sheet of A4 paper, which later doubled up as a mat to absorb all the  inevitable oil and foodstuff spillages. (In case you didn't know, my enthusiasm for my dinner often leads to "incidents" - I shall say no more). We were unsure as to how hungry we were, so we decided to order just a few tapas, promising ourselves that we could order more later. 

Service proved to be quite slow, although we received our drinks quickly enough. He chose a bottle of Estrella (expensively priced at €5.00), while I chose a glass of Vina Esmeralda Gewürztraminer (€5.60). This was a really refreshing, light wine with delicate floral and honey flavours. Between the tasty wine and the long wait for food, my glass was bordering on empty when we finally got our food. 

Our tapas selection

Starting from the bottom and moving clockwise, our tapas were as follows:

• Garbanzos - chickpeas with black pudding (€5.35). The black pudding crumbs added a gentle warmth to the bulk of the chickpeas, which did require some additional salt. 
• Gambas Pil Pil (€7.25) came in a dish of garlickly oil, which still had the light flavour of green olive oil. Very moreish! 
• Patatas Mojo (€3.85) - The potates had a light golden crust with a fluffly inside, and the paprika-alond mojo sauce made for an interesting alternative to aioli and bravas sauce. 
• Caballa - makarel fillets on toast with tomato (€6.30). This was last, but most definitely not least. The mackarel was outrageously fresh, with juicy flesh and full of sea-flavour. A little dish of these would make for a fine lunch any day of the week. 

Despite our original thoughts to perhaps order more tapas, we found ourselves quite full after these dishes. The carby nature of the chickpeas and potatoes provided enough bulk, while the rich oil of the prawns filled us up. Slow service aside, the tapas were excellent and the best part of the night came with the bill. Our total for the night was just €33.35!

The Port House Ibericos, 5-6 Pembroke Cottages, Ballinteer Rd., Dublin 16.

Tel: +353 (0)1 216 6133

Recipes from the Tapas Trail - Havana

It's time for some more recipes from the Campo Viejo Tapas Trail. I've previously printed some of the delicious recipes shared with us by Bar Pintxo, but this time the focus is on Havana Tapas Bar on George's Street. Hopefully, these recipes will inspire the sun to shine on us for some Spanish joy.

Montado with Tortilla and Jamon Serrano

Garlic Chili Prawns with Orange Sauce 

These tasty prawns make for delicious finger food.

Main Ingredients
600g king prawns, peeled

4 tablespoons olive oil

5 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced

2 dried red chili peppers

Sauce Ingredients

1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 green peppercorns, crushed

1/2 teaspoon fresh green parsley, chopped

Juice of 2 oranges

Method
Heat the olive oil in a pan. Add the garlic, chili, salt and pepper. Fry over a medium heat until the garlic colours slightly. Add the prawns to the pan, turn up the heat and fry for about 2 minutes on each side. 

Arrange the prawns on a plate, drizzle over with the garlic infused oil from the pan and sprinkle with chopped parsley. Blend all the sauce ingredients together and serve alongside the prawns.

Chicken and Chorizo in Filo Pastry

These little parcels looked like spring rolls when they arrived from the kitchen, but they turned out to pack a different punch with lots of paprika flavour coming through from the chorizo. Apologies for not having quantities on the ingredients, but I'm sure that a little trial and error will produce some good results.
 

Ingredients
Chicken breast, baked and sliced

Chorizo, sliced and chopped

Onions, chopped

Garlic, chopped

Sultanas

Filo pastry

Method
Mix together the ingredients and roll up into sausage shapes with the filo pastry. Deep fry until golden and serve with salsa. of your choice

Montado with Tortilla and Jamon Serrano

These are classic tapas - egg omelette with Serrano ham. 

Ingredients
8 organic eggs

Sliced and cooked potatoes

Cooked onion

1/2 red pepper, chopped

Parsley

Salt & pepper

Sun-dried tomato pesto

Method

Mix the eggs with the onion and potato, add the parsley, red peppers, salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a pan until very hot. Turn down the heat to low. Put the mixture in the pan and fry until cooked, then turn over. Cook until golden brown, and remove from the pan to sit for at least 10 minutes. Slice into small squares.

Toast slices of baguette and spread with sun-dried tomato pesto. Place a tortilla square on the bread, place some serrano ham on top. Spear through with a cocktail stick and top with a black olive.

Recipes from the Tapas Trail - Bar Pintxo

Recently, I was fortunate to receive a chance to participate in the Campo Viejo Tapas Trail. This excellent value event features some of the best tapas in Dublin city from 5 of the city's tapas establishment, all accompanied by loads of Campo Viejo red wines.

Several of the venues were kind enough to share the recipes for some of the tapas we enjoyed. In the interest of spreading the tapas love, I will share the recipes with you over the coming weeks, so that we all can enjoy a little taste of Spain at home. First up are the excellent tapas from Bar Pintxo. From top below, going clockwise, you can see Lomo en Adobo (pimenton pork sandwiches), Garbanzos con Morcilla y Espinacas chickpeas with black pudding and spinach) and finally, Brochette de Pollo (marinated chicken skewers).

If this tickles your tastebuds, then make sure to drop into Bar Pintxo in Templebar for a wider selection of their fine tapas!

Brochette de Pollo - Marinated chicken skewers

Ingredients

3 chicken breasts, chopped into 9 pieces

2 fresh lemons, juiced

50g flat parsley, chopped

10g garlic, chopped in oil

1 teaspoon salt

500ml vegetable oil

9 - 10 wooden skewers soaked in water

Method

Mix all the ingredients together and refrigerate overnight. Thread the meat pieces onto the skewers and grill on a ridged griddle pan, or on the BBQ (if we're lucky enough to get the weather). Finish with a squeeze of fresh lemon and serve.

Garbanzos con Morcilla y Espinacas - Chickpeas with Black Pudding and Spinach

This was by far and away my favourite dish of the entire tapas trail. The addition of black pudding, sultanas and pine nuts to chickpeas results in a fabulous fusion of flavours.

Ingredients

Olive oil

1 large onion, diced

1 clove of garlic, finely chopped

Handful of baby spinach, shredded

25g sultanas, soaked

15g pine nut, toasted

150g morcilla (black pudding)

1 x 400g can cooked chickpeas

Salt and pepper

Method

Chop the black pudding into 2cm chunks and fry in a little olive oil. Once the pudding is cooked on all sides, crush it in the pan with the back of a wooden spoon or spatula and allow this to cook for a minute more. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Wipe the pan clean, add a little more oil and cook the onion until softened. Add the garlic, spinach, sultanas and pine nuts. Toss around the pan for 2-3 minutes and add the black pudding and chickpeas, along with plenty of salt & pepper. Toss around for 3 more minutes and serve. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil and serve alongside some good bread.

Lomo en Adobo- Pimenton Pork

This recipe makes about 4 sandwiches, which are luscious and stuffed full of flavours.

Ingredients

350g pork fillet

2 tablespoons pimenton dulce

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon thyme

1 bay leaf

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 teaspoon salt

1.5 tablespoons olive oil

2 green peppers

4 small pan gallego (or small ciabatta rolls)

Mayonnaise

Method

Mix together the pimenton, oregano, thyme, bay leaf, garlic, olive oil and salt and rub all over the pork. Roll the pork up in clingfilm and marinate for 24 hours.

Rub the green peppers with olive oil and roast in the oven until soft and charred. Place in a sandwich bag whilst still hot and allow to cool in the bag. Once cool, peel off the skin, deseed and slice into 2cm strips.

Slice the pork into 1cm thick steaks. Place the steaks between two pieces of clingfilm and baton out with a rolling pin or steak mallet. Grill on a ridged pan for 60 - 90 seconds per side.

Slice the bread rolls and toast on the griddle. Spread mayonnaise on both sides of the bread, then lay the pork slices along the bread, overlapping each other. Top with green pepper strips, close up the rolls and enjoy.

Campo Viejo Tapas Trail

Studies into the DNA of ancient Europe have revealed a close genetic link between the Basque people of Northern Spain and the westerners of Ireland. It's a pity that the ancient travelling farmer-gatherers didn't bring more of good Spanish cooking with them as Irish cuisine might have turned out a bit better. I like my bacon and cabbage but I think that Serrano ham with Manchego cheese has the edge.

In modern times, the Spanish have decided to target the capital city, Dublin, and tapas are the weapon of choice. Spanish tapas bars are booming in the city, and many restaurants now offer tapas-style plates to go with your wine. How things have changed. Now, in a celebration of Spanish food and wine, Campo Viejo are offering a chance to exerience a tapas trail around Dublin during the month of June. (I received tickets to attend a complementary session of this event courtesy of Conway Communications and the Irish Food Bloggers Association).

The structure of the tapas trail is simple. Over the course of approximately 3 hours, groups of 20 people will be taken on a guided walking tour of 5 tapas restaurants in Dublin. At each location, there is a chance to sample the best tapas on offer from each location as well as enjoying some Campo Viejo Rioja wines. Tickets cost an amazingly good value €20, with some music, dancing and chat thrown in for good measure.

We kicked off on a sunny Saturday afternoon at Salamanca on St. Andrew's Street. We got a chance to get to know each other before our guide kicked off the proceedings. We were treated to some fantastic flamenco dancing before the chef came out from the kitchen to present us with our selection. We could choose from delectable-looking mini-burgers made from pork cheeks, bright saffron-coloured seafood paella or a smoked salmon Russian salad. Of course all this was washed down with plenty of red wine!

Pork cheek burgers with bacon & Teriyaki mayonnaise at Salamanca

Classic seafood paella at Salamanca

Flamenco dancing at Salamanca

All this choice does present you with one dilemma. You have got to resist the temptation to eat too much at the first location as there's plenty more to come. From Salamanca, we moved to the stylish Bar Pintxo in the middle of Temple Bar. Here, we were greeted by Franc, the charming French manager, who explained the history of the Port House, Bar Pintxo and the new Porthouse Iberico to us. He explained how the managers of the different restaurants take turns to rotate between the different venues in order to keep things fresh and interesting. His enthusiasm and enjoyment for his work was clear, as was ours when the tapas plates arrived from the kitchen.

The charming Frenchman at Bar Pintxo

Tapas selection at Bar Pintxo

Our tapas came as one plate, featuring Brochette de Pollo (marinated chicken skewers), Garbanzos con Morcilla y Espinacas (Chickpeas with Black Pudding & Spinach) and finally Lomo en abodo (Pimenton Pork). I am not a chickpea fan, but this chickpea dist wowed me with delicious flavours, plump sultanas and pine nuts. Second on my list of favourites was the pork sandwich with the bread soaked in tasty garlic juices.

The next stop on our tour was the second Salamanca venue located at Parliament Street, opposite Dublin Castle. As we waited for the food, we were treated to some atmospheric Spanish guitar music and singing. As we enjoyed our food, sitting in the evening sunlight, it was hard to believe that we were in Dublin.

Spanish music & singing at Salamanca

As we left Salamanca, our tour guide continued on his mission of educating us to the food and & Spanish history of Ireland. We stopped near Dublin Castle to listen to a recitiation of a Joycean homage to food. As our guide orated, crowds of passers-by and tourists stopped to listen and enjoy the entertainment. From there, it was on to Havana. I must admit that Havana was the one restaurant I wasn't anticipating as much as the others (I've never really enjoyed a trip to Havana) but I was impressed by some simple, but extremely plump garlic chili prawns with orange sauce. A chicken and chorizo roll in filo pastry proved to be a surprisingly good counterpoint to the  dark fruit  flavours from the Campo Viejo Reserva on offer.

A Joycean homage to food

At this stage, our group had been in a bit of a lull, full of good wine and food. But it was time to rally and face our finest hour as we headed for the final stop at the Port House on South William Street. I've loved the Port House since it opened, but haven't visited there in a while as it was too hard to get a seat when it was busy. It turns out that the Port House has addressed that problem with the opening of a new upper level which is marginally better lit than the famously dark lower levels.

At the Port House

We settled into our nook seats in the Port House and were greeted by another of the Port House managers. I really warmed to his passionate telling of the Port House history. It's clear that the restaurants in the Port House group have dedicated staff who care about their offering. Our final tapas selection consisted of Seafood Paella, Pinchos Morunos (Moroccan spiced chicken skewers) and Papas Arugada with Salsa Mojo Roja (salted new potatoes with red spicy sauce). I really enjoyed the simplicity of the baby new potatoes which are boiled in salted water (traditionally seawater) and served with a tasty almond-based sauce.

I understand that tickets for the Campo Viejo tapas trail have now sold out, so if you were lucky enough to procure some, then enjoy. You'll have a very good time. More information to be had at the Campo Viejo page on Facebook.

Salamanca, 1 St. Andrews's Street, Dublin 2. (01) 677 4799
Bar Pintxo, Eustace Street, Temple Bar, Dublin 2. (01) 672 8590
Salamanca, 38-40 Parliament Street, Dublin 2. (01) 671 9308
Havana, George's Street, Dublin 2. (01) 400 5990
The Port House, South William Street, Dublin 2 (01) 677 0298