SEVILLA for 5 nights, March 2025

And if you’re looking for more cheese, you have both Roncal & Idiazábal from Navarra. And the Quesos y Besos from the Jaén province.

There are apparently as many versions of the Andalusian sobrehúsa as there are cooks, or as there are versions of gazpacho. “The sauce with a thousand faces”. There’s the Málaga style, with tomatoes, and the Cádiz version, and the Sanlúcar dish of cod, sobreúsa sauce and potatoes.

The article from El Sur explains its versatility, as it originated as “cocina de reciclaje”, recycling cooking, or using leftovers to make this sauce in a creative fashion.
Some home cooks used paprika to give it a red tinge while others added saffron to give it a yellow look or thicken with flour or by adding potatoes.
Some considered it a stew, others a sauce, but in the Cádiz province, usually with fish (hake, cod, whiting) as the principal ingredient.

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Maribel we are all so fortunate to have you here, with so much knowledge!
I was looking for the Quesos y Besos cheeses but did not see them at El Corte Ingles. I did not see a Club de Gourmets area in this store (Plaza del Duque) although I looked for that area. Do you have any idea of where I can find their cheeses around here??? Honestly, I feel as if I’ve died and gone to heaven…just to be in Sevilla!

El Corte Inglés has a Gourmet Experience area on the top floor in their main building on Plaza del Duque. It has an outdoor terrace with great views of the city. Only 11 ECI stores have the elevated Gourmet Experience. The rest of them, like the one near our suburb, just have a Club del Gourmet.
This is where we sometimes go to breakfast or take our shopping break.

https://www.elcorteingles.es/search-nwx/1/?s=quesos+y+besos&stype=typeahead_keywords_1

Did you go to the supermarket in the basement? I suspect so, as that’s where you’ll find the items on sale.
All the best gourmet items are on the top floor, where you’ll find the luscious pastries of Manu Jara (maybe they serve them for breakfast at the Casa Palacio?)

And you have Ratatouille Cheesecake on Calle San Aloy that Shawn introduced us to.

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About that El Bosqueño cheese, queso de cabra, goat,
it’s from El Bosque, which is a perched white hill town in the Sierra de Grazalema, so you’ve purchased goat cheese from the area where Payoyo is produced, in the Villaluenga del Rosario. So it’s essentially Payoyo without the Payoyo red label.

One can tour the Payoyo factory and visit the goats here

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Oh, Maribel, of course I’d read about Manu Jara. Ii forgot!!

Yes, I was in the basement supermarket; tomorrow I will go to the rooftop Gourmet Experience.
The breakfasts at the hotel are very good but the cheese section is so-so. They offer three types of cheese: Brie, manchego, and (I think) gouda (or cheddar). Nothing local. There is a large selection of items, but not a buffet; you choose what you want and they bring it to your table. Impressive how the butter is served already softened–normal butter and a butter blended with several types of nuts including almond and pistaccio. I’ve been taking assorted fruit (just okay, but this is March), scrambled eggs (so golden in color!) and a pan de chocolate pastry. They do offer jamon Iberico, chorizo, lomo as well. The staff is so lovely.

Yes, fruit here in March is just so, so. We’re eagerly awaiting May and June for those delicious strawberries from Aranjuez.
But Spaniards do scrambled eggs so deliciously well! We love to have them made to order at the Paradors along with a side of bacon.

@erica1
If you venture to the Mercado de Triana and since we’re in Lent (Cuaresma), Manu Jara has a pop up there selling this famous torrijas (like a pain perdu), which is a typical Lenten dessert, also enjoyed at Easter.

Shawn included me in a wonderful tasting of sherry at Hnos. Morales; what an atmospheric and homey bar, celebrating its 175 year!!! Will post pics of the many tapas we devoured, and more description of the tasting, later…

I highly, highly recommend getting in touch with Shawn for food and sherry tastings and tours in Sevilla; she’s lived here for thirty years now and is rightly known (by the Times of London, no less!). as the “Queen of Tapas!!!”

Finally made its to Club de Gourmets on the fifth floor of El Corte Ingles at Plaza Duque. The little restaurants are open until midnight! And I found my cheese from Queso’s y Besos, and another cheese that I will take a pic of later. Manu Jara is very tempting but I already had some sweets so did not buy anything there.

I was so knackered last night that I (ruefully) cancelled by restaurant booking at El Disparate and gorged on cabrales (blue from Asturias) with picos and orange jam in my hotel room.

Five nights is the absolute bare minimum for this city. I am running at a very very slow pace, due to rain and general decrepitness.

I’m leaving this morning for Jerez airport, where I’ve rented a car and will drive to my base outside Vejer for more exploring…return to ANTONIO, EL CAMPERO, LA CASTILLERIA, and a few places new to me and recommended by Maribel…

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