Postcard from Oviedo, Spain: Exploring Asturian cuisine

Above: Traditional cachopo of beef filled with serrano ham, goat cheese and caramelized onions at LaMasBARata

With Oviedo our only stop in Asturias during a trip last spring, we opted to sample some of the dishes of which the region boasts. This is not to say we didn’t stray a few times, as photos from these restaurants we patronized show.

I am not trying to insult any Asturians but am sticking to my recently adopted policy of listing these alphabetically. El Curnicello Napolitano comes first. We are always on the lookout for pizza with a Neopolitan-style crust and found one here. The generous salad combined lettuces with fresh tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, oranges, walnuts and parmesan. Plus, never turn away from good luck; cornicello is a horn-shaped charm worn to ward off the evil eye. Maybe I should carry one.

Above: El Curnicello Napolitano

Sometimes we simply wanted a whopping big plate of vegetables. Our stop at La Finca Sidreria Agrobar fell on one of those days. Even though traditional dishes abound on La Finca’s menu, one of us even ordered a red tuna poke salad. Vegetable box checked.

Above: La Finca Sidreria Agrobar

LaMasBARata is somewhat off the tourist radar but is definitely on the locals’, particularly during the neighborhood’s tapa-cruising hours. We did not stumble across it until the last few days of our stay, but we went twice. The first time we waited at the bar with glasses of wine and were served a seafood amuse-bouche, the second a generous helping of serrano ham. Our photos of plump steamed mussels and fried squid vanished into a google cloud, but we did find vegetables there.

And Asturian beef cachopo. We realized on our last day that we hadn’t tried it yet and felt compelled to ignore seafood’s siren call and order it. Two slices of beef formed a sandwich filled with goat cheese, jamon and caramelized onions, the whole thing then battered and fried. As you can see from the snapshot at the top of this post, it was enormous and accompanied by a mountain of fries. Delicious. LaMasBARata is not a fancy spot, but the locals crowding into it have tasty reasons for being there.

Above: LaMasBARata

Oh dear. I used to try to avoid sounding overly negative about restaurants. But now that most food review sites seem completely unreliable, with bought AI reviews and only restaurant-staged photos, I feel compelled to share in writing the same thing I would relay to people in a one-on-one frank conversation.

Housed in a century-old building, the interior of La Palmera del Indiano is stunning – exuding a contemporary, comfortable elegance. Given the name, a portion of it is glassed in with the feel of a Victorian palm garden, yet not stuffy. The atmosphere set us up to expect a perfect meal.

The website for the restaurant possesses almost an arrogant pretentiousness with exaggeration on all fronts. It promises a “unique gastronomic experience” fusing traditional Asturian cuisine with influences and ingredients imported from “Indianos” of the New World served in an “idyllic setting” “where dreams come true.” Maybe something gets lost in the translation, but I have no idea what this means: “You can’t gain experience by doing experiments. You can’t create the experience. You must experience it.”

So, here is a description of our “unique gastronomic experience.” An amuse-bouche is a gift, so one shouldn’t be harsh about it. Each of us were presented with a nice, plump shrimp in what appeared to be pico de gallo. Unfortunately, chiles did not make their way across the ocean, a nice shrimp in a sea of blandness. The balls of rape, or monkfish, in a mild leek sauce were okay, but we found no reason to spear more than one of the flavorless cubed potatoes presented on the side. A bronzed pastel of leeks and shrimp “gratinado al cava” appeared appetizing. My apologies because the cheese used is probably a prized Asturian one, but the resulting sauce resembled Tex-Mex chile con queso sin chiles.

The pair of zamburinas, scallops, perched atop the arroz meloso with rape were the high point of the meal. We stopped short of the dessert course. The gastronomic experiments change seasonally, so you might have better luck. The handsome sofa-filled bar area does look perfect for enjoying a cocktail or a bottle of cava.

Above: La Palmera del Indiano

The name Las Guelas, which means the grandmothers, conveys that this sidreria might be an ideal spot to sample some traditional Asturian fare, so we did. Again, this is an unpretentious tavern attracting mainly locals.

Bean stew sounds and might appear ho-hum, but grandmother’s recipe for this fabada Asturiana produces a wealth of flavors. The large white fabes de la granja are stewed with pork shoulder, pancetta, chorizo and morcilla, blood sausage, in a thick broth boosted by a dose of sweet paprika.

Cachopo marinero is a completely different dish than the beef cachopo. Two pieces of pan-fried hake are stuffed with seafood, including gulas. Gulas resemble thin chopped spaghetti but are a relatively new product mimicking a Basque delicacy, elvers, or baby eels.

Overfished, elvers command somewhere in the neighborhood of $30 per ounce, which would make that hake cachopo pretty pricey. Beginning in the 1990s, jarred or canned gulas from Japan gained acceptance as an affordable substitute. Processed white fish paste, surimi, is shaped to resemble baby elvers. Las Guelas’ cachopo marinero is served in a bowl with a savory broth poured over it tableside.

Above: Las Guelas

A change of pace: Misti Restaurante, which bills itself as “Peruvian and Nikkei fusion cuisine” prepared with fresh products from Asturias. A refreshing pisco sour and an elegantly presentation of mussels for an amuse-bouche were a great introduction.

Red tuna was the star in of the ceviche Misti mixed with leche de tigre and resting upon a crispy torta made of sweet potato and corn. The tender veal stroganoff with boletus mushrooms was such a rich, robust dish it almost needs a major portion of rice or noodles to dilute it.

Above: Misti Restaurante

Chef Nacho Manzano’s Casa Marcial, located somewhere off in the Asturian countryside, rates two Michelin stars and the expected price tag to accompany those. In 2021, the chef was recognized by Spain’s Royal Academy of Gastronomy. When we realized he had a new restaurant in the center of Asturias, more accessible in both location and price, we decided to try it.

With clean, contemporary lines, the interior of Nastura is supposed to evoke the feel of vintage dining cars in a new gastro-centric-mall on the location of the old train station. With 400 seats, all occupied, it’s difficult to experience the intimacy of a dining car, but the interior is handsome.

We didn’t order anything adventurous, and, as would be expected, the croquetas de jamon were good. The fried artichoke with lemon was beautiful. The anchovies on the coca with grilled vegetables were of high quality. The ensaladilla Nastura was simply a mal-order on my part. It turned out to be a take on a Russian salad with tuna smothered in a heavy mayonnaise sauce – not the light salad with vegetables I expected.

The menu is purposefully casual, but the food was unremarkable. Perhaps it was a combination of high expectations, what we selected and the immensity of the space that detracted from the atmosphere, but what absolutely ruined the experience for us was the way Nastura was operated. Management seemed hyper-concerned about getting food out of the kitchen rapidly instead of enhancing the experience for diners. Servers were running around like crazy with panicky expressions on their faces as though they all feared they might lose their jobs within the next five seconds.

Sorry to be such a grouch. Possibly, that tense atmosphere has calmed since last fall.

Above: Nastura Central

Another anchor restaurant in the new gastronomic mall is Tierra Astur El Vasco, the seventh and largest cider house in a highly successful chain. A combination of wood and steel inside create an industrial chic look, with gleaming green glass cider bottles suspended from the ceiling. The tables in all 15,000 square feet were occupied when we were there, meaning the place was buzzing, yet the service was attentive. A bit too large for my comfort level.

Tierra Astur focuses on its cider, and how it is presented; Asturian products; and keeping its woodfire grills going. Grilled octopus was cooked perfectly, and the impossible-to-finish-sized serving of setas, large mushrooms found in forested areas, seared to the point of caramelizing.

Above: Tierra Astur El Vasco

We dropped into Sidrerias El Bosque on our first night, and, now that I’m finally organizing photos, I wish we’d gone back for more zamburinas and padron chiles. The grilled white asparagus were jarred, which is acceptable in Spain as the vegetable has such a short growing season but seemed mushy to us. But those scallops and chiles are highly recommended.

Above: Sidreria El Bosque

Buen provecho!