Not homemade, but dinner out at our local Basque-ish resto, Ernesto's.
Significant Eater started with a delicious cocktail...HELL IN A HAND BASQUE-ETTE La Quintinye Dry, Vermouth Routin, Ginger, Lime, Pineapple, Pimenton, while I opted to go straight for the wine bottle. A Catalan blanca called Massis de Bonastre, a blend of Macabeo, Xarel-lo and Garncha blana. Both the head bartender and the somm are quite excellent at their jobs; a cocktail like this isn't always easy to get nicely balanced; this one was perfect.
Accompanied by croquetas, which were followed by two entradas:
FRITOS DE CALAMARES Y SEPIA - local squid and sepia from Spain, perfectly fried and served with a classic alioli. And
TRUCHA CURADA CON ENSALADILLA. Cured arctic char, over ensaladilla Rusa, topped with paddlefish roe and a drizzle of something too sweet for me. A dish I wouldn't order again, unless it was just the char and Rusa. Our platos principales followed thusly:
Significant Eater's MACARRONES CON HONGOS, house made shells with porcini and a sauce made from Idiazabal cheese. Mmmmm. And though I really thought about a mixed grill with spareribs, butifarra and fresh chorizo served with fried potatoes, I decided to go a little healthier with...
RAPE CON GAMBAS DE PALAMOS: monkfish, Mediterranean red shrimp and petit pois. It didn't disappoint. Dessert was a classic Basque cheesecake, which was, and is, a favorite and great. Accompanied by 2 glasses of Domaine de Souch's JURANCON, “CUVEE JOE DRESSNER” 2010, (Petit Manseng & Gros Manseng).
We had not been to Ernesto's since pre-pandemic. They'd opened two months prior to shutdown. What a welcome return.
