Quality Food you won't Forget

"Queen of Navarra's Palace, Olite"
Watercolour sketch from our hotel window. 2004.

Great culinary moments don't happen every day, such memorable delights are even more magical when they are unexpected. Descending down the perilous slopes of the Pyrenees by the pilgrim route to Santiago, we stumbled across the old Roman town of Olite ,ancient capital of Navarre. Surround by Basque vineyards the region is renowned for fine dining and Olite did not disappoint. Navigating the narrow cobbled streets we eventually emerged into Plaza De Carlos III looking for somewhere to stay. My eye caught a sign above a cafe door in the square offering rooms, so after walking through to the back ,I asked the receptionist for accommodation. Her reply was somewhat surprising as she asked, " of course but do you also require lunch, the restaurant is on the first floor?"

The dinning room was packed to the ceiling even though it was only 1pm, Spaniards eat late 2 - 4. There did not appear to be any room at any of the long trellis tables , everyone was higher animated and some one waved us over to his table were he squeeze a couple of chairs around an already crowed table. It turned out that he had driven over 130km just to have lunch here! The menu consisted of a fixed French type, two entree, two main and deserts.Another Spanish couple at our table asked if we ate here often and when I replied no assured me we would be surprised.

The dishes could best be described as Basque country fare and the main for today were pig's cheek or baby squid cook in their ink. This dish was wonderful and although I don't know whether this was the chief recipe I have quoted a possible one from a Spanish cook book.

1kg baby squid
1 table spoon of squid ink [ you may be able to buy it frozen]
60gms diced ham, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup white wine
2 tablespoons olive oil
large peeled onion
1/2 cup fish stock.
Served with rice or potatoes and side salad.

If you have not tried this dish before you should and there is no need to go to Olite.
One of the wonderful benefits of mass migration to Australia has been the contribution of our 200 odd nationalities to the country's  kitchen. Gone are the days when spaghetti came in a tin of tomato sauce from Hinze. Many of these dishes are no longer considered exotic. When I first arrived in Australia I recall asking in a deli for sour cream and was told very forcefully that they only sold fresh produce.

The meals here were so good that we extended our stay from one day to five and put on a lot of weight!

Between meals there is plenty to see, the fairytale palace [ see above watercolour], the castle, churches and wineries. Heather and I even won a fine bottle of 1995 Cab.Sauv. made by Evena putting a fine finishing touch to our stay.