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Tag Archives: cordoba getaway

noor by paco morales

07 Monday Feb 2022

Posted by azahar in andalucia, culture, food & drink, gastronomy, getaways, michelin star, restaurants

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

cordoba, cordoba getaway, noor, paco morales chef, restaurant

This truly was a dream come true. I mentioned last week that my friends Xavier and Nina were coming to town with their friends Wade and Ginny, and that Xavier had seen my interview in Bon Viveur where they asked which one restaurant I was dying to go to… and my answer was NOOR! So as the gang had already planned to go there Xavier very generously invited me to go with them.

NOOR, which means “light” in Arabic, was opened in 2016 by Cordobés chef Paco Morales. His concept is all about tasting the history of al-Andaluz (the moorish name for Andalucía) and for his first season he began in the 10th century, using ingredients that were available to the people of that time. With the help of documentarians, historians, archaeologists and designers, Paco has told the culinary story of the times with skill and imagination, which has earned him two well-deserved michelin stars. Each season he has moved up a century (with a retrospective in year 4) and so, for this visit, we found ourselves in the late 16th century. And for the first time at NOOR new world comestibles have been introduced into the menu.

I won’t say too much about what happens there because there are some lovely surprises, but the space is simply gorgeous, all light and open and elegantly minimalist. The tables all have a clear view of the open kitchen and the service is beautifully choreographed without being pretentious or stuffy. Maître/Sommelier Pilar Vargas keeps everything running smoothly and is charming and helpful, as are all the staff.

The food. I’m not going to go into detail here because it would take all day. So much detail, so much care, so much going on. And so just go have a look at the photos and, yes, they were all as delicious as they look. Not a wrong step, though I will say that a couple of personal favourites were the cured meat starter with pickled onion and albaqdunis, the almond curd with tuna, and the grilled sea bass. But honestly, I loved every bite.

The wines. In the end we did the wine pairing and omg it was fabulous. While there was an emphasis on Montilla Moriles (of course) Pilar also surprised us with some international choices and then a special 2014 Moscatel de Alejandria by Pérez Barquero made exclusively for NOOR and served from a gorgeous green damajuana.

There are three menus available. Xavier chose the middle one “rihla” with the wine pairing option, but you could also order a bottle of wine and have Pilar “fill in” with a couple of special tastes during the menu tasting.

At the end of our meal we huddled together with Paco for a group photo and asked him what he was planning for the upcoming season. He made a show of asking one of the team, Josef, to come over so he could translate Paco’s answer to our group into English… and the answer was IT’S A SURPRISE. Honestly, if you can, go. Pics below…

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córdoba getaway 2022

04 Friday Feb 2022

Posted by azahar in andalucia, getaways, travel, trips

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Tags

cordoba, cordoba getaway

cordoba 2022 (1)

So the plan was that we would all meet up in Córdoba, poke around a bit, and then head for lunch at NOOR. After a walk to the centre from the train station we made the obligatory stop at Bar Santos for a slice of their famous monster tortilla, then spent some time in the Mezquita. After that we split up because I wanted to see Plaza Corredura, which was more or less on the way to the restaurant. And some 15,000 steps later I was at NOOR. More on that later, but for now here are a few shots of Córdoba.

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tomato soup alley

27 Saturday May 2017

Posted by azahar in andalucia, food & drink, getaways, spain, tapas

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

cordoba, cordoba getaway, salmorejo, tapas

Many years ago, on one of my first visits to Córdoba, Peter @SVQconcierge and I happened upon this tiny cul-de-sac alley (that just happened to have a little bar at the end – perfect for Beer O’clock!), which we seemed to only ever find again by chance on subsequent visits. Like this time. Only since we last stumbled upon it the name has been changed (a quick google tells me it was in fact changed in December 2014). What was previously Calleja de Arcos is now Calleja de Salmorejo Cordobés, or Tomato Soup Alley, and comes with a recipe for Córdoba’s famous cold soup. I actually prefer this to the more well-known gazpacho. Originally made with a mortar & pestle, these days using a blender or food processor is more common.  Here is the translation…

Salmorejo Cordobés

  • 1 kg tomatoes
  • 200 grams bread
  • 100 grams extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 10 grams salt

Wash and then mash the tomatoes. Strain to remove the skin and seeds, then mash the pulp again, adding the bread, oil, garlic and salt, and keep blending until smooth. Top with chopped hard boiled egg and bits of jamón Ibérico.

Salmorejo is a part of what I call the Córdobes Holy Trinity of tapas, which also includes flamenquín and berenjenas fritos. We ended up ordering all of these when we were at Taberna El Gallo the other day and – wow! – I have to say that all three were probably the best I’ve had anywhere. The salmorejo was delicious and had a lovely texture, not “over processed”, as if a mortar & pestle had been used. Also a nice touch – the hard boiled whole quail egg. The flamenquín was unlike any I’d had before, simply with pork loin and serrano ham rolled up, breaded and deep fried. Most places add cheese or other fillings, but the waiter at El Gallo told me this was the original version. Last but not least… amazing aubergine/eggplant frites! Crispy fried, tender (not mushy) inside, and – most importantly – no gacky sweet molasses (called miel de caña “cane honey” here) squirted all over them. I love this bar.

roma

26 Friday May 2017

Posted by azahar in andalucia, fiestas, food & drink, friends, spain, tapas, tapas bars

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

cordoba, cordoba getaway, friends, tapas tours, twitter

I mentioned in yesterday’s post that I went to Córdoba this week to see Roma @artsylife again, after finding out that she was back in Andalucía but wasn’t going to make it to Sevilla this time. This happily coincided with feria, and we spent a great day out together with Peter @SVQconcierge.

I first met Roma when she came on a tapas tour in September 2014, and saw her again when she returned for a second visit to Sevilla in October 2015. During that trip she also became an honourary We Love Tapas team member when she volunteered to be our victim guest on a practice run of the Oldest Taverns Tour. Good times. Come back soon, Roma! xx

Peter & Roma

Aside from going to the Feria we also did a fair bit of tapearing…

breakfast of champions at Bar Santos

an elegant pre-feria lunch at La Regadera

late night snacks at Taberna El Gallo

the Cordobés holy trinity at Taberna El Gallo:
salmorejo, flamenquín, berenjenas fritas

feria de córdoba 2017

25 Thursday May 2017

Posted by azahar in andalucia, fiestas, flamenco, getaways, spain, travel, trips

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Andalucia, cordoba, cordoba getaway, fiestas, spain

I hadn’t planned on going to the feria in Córdoba this year. But when I saw Roma @artsylife posting pics from Málaga on her Instagram, and when she said she wouldn’t make it to Sevilla this visit, we decided to meet up for a day in Córdoba. So Peter and I caught an early train and, after meeting up with Roma for a nice lunch at La Regadera (warning: never try to eat at any ferias) we got a taxi to the fairground. And well, it was HOT. But we managed to find a couple of nice air-conditioned casetas to enjoy a cold beer and watch people dancing. Like in Jerez (and unlike Sevilla) the casetas in Córdoba are all open to the public. But unlike any other feria I’ve been too, many also have A/C. Bliss. Click through to see more pics…
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