Fortuitous Hiatus: Food and Wine (5/14/2014)

...After a slight detour to find an ATM, we did not get too lost and the handy dandy Garmin GPS got us back on track...

To give a sense of just how small these villages are, these are the directions we received for our fist stop:

"... Leave this road at top of steep hill, through first tunnel near windmill farm and take road signposted to Porrera (population 465). You will be driving downwards on a very twisty road towards Porrera. As you approach Porrera you will come to a crossroads and a Stop sign. Turn right here into a tree-lined street and try to park somewhere between the trees or in the square at the end (Plaça Catalunya). La Cooperativa is an old building with a metal cut out sign which is a bit rusty indicating it is the old offices of the cooperative of the village. Litus and Mia are the owners and will be there to welcome you."

La Cooperativa Restaurant

And welcomed we were. The restaurant was quaint and the smell coming from the kitchen hinted at what was to come. Lunch is usually the larger meal in Spain, most restaurants offer a Menu del Dia or prix fixe which includes a first course, second course, bread and a drink (usually house wine, juice or coffee), water is usually an extra charge. Thus was the case at La Cooperativa upon our arrival.

There were 7 tables in the restaurant. Two were occupied upon our arrival at 2PM. Mike had a fresh salad with an incredible pomegranate dressing that he could not stop talking about. His second course was roasted conill...any guesses? Roasted rabbit. I started with a warm beet soup and selected Cagote de vaca with roasted tomato sauce. When I inquired about "cagote", Litus pointed to his neck, indicating this was neck of the cow. He assured me I had made a good choice. I am still not sure what cut of the cow I ate, but it was tender and flavorful and the roasted tomato sauce base was nearly transcendent. Tremendous meal.

Warm Beet Soup

Mike's rabbit

My cagote

Dessert was not included, but since we were still enjoying the last vestiges of some incredible wine we had with lunch, we opted for the homemade chocolate truffles to split. When Mia brought them to our table, she inquired if we would like to try them with olive oil and salt? In broken English/Catalan, she explained that this was frequently a treat or snack for small children before meal time, a slice of bread, some Nutella drizzled with olive oil and salt. Seriously, I never had a snack like that when I was a kid. We tried it. The olive oil cut through the bitterness of the dark, dark chocolate truffle with a salty kiss at the end. Divine.

Truffles with olive oil and sea salt

Mike enjoying a little vino tinto de casa
after the drive to Priorat

At 4PM we literally wound back around through incredibly beautiful landscapes to arrive at Ferrer-Bobet winery for a pre-arranged winery tour. Elena, our guide was incredibly knowledgeable, spoke English very well and shared her passion about the wines of Ferrer-Bobet. We toured their state-of-the-art facility and tasted two wines in a tasting room overlooking the Montsant Mountains and the village of Porrera. Magnificent is the only word that comes close to the experience. The pictures will not do it justice, but I will add some of my favorite shots.