Not that we need any real excuse to have fun, but I have to say that my birthday was pretty delicious this year. I turned 32, which was not in any way angst-filled and is in fact, a lovely age to turn. And we had some real sun for the first time in a few weeks, glorious sun. And a lot of food, glorious food.
For lunch I asked Koldo to cook me Huevos Estrellados, which is a popular Madrilean signature dish from Casa Lucio, one of the most well-known Spanish restaurants usually frequented by Hollywood stars.
This recipe, by the way, is also very popular at Javier Bardem’s restaurant La Bardemcilla in Madrid.
It’s very simple, yet spectacular. It consists of potatoes fried in extra virgin olive oil, eggs, and jamon Iberico (although sadly he had to use Italian prosciutto because it is the closest thing we can find in this area).
Koldo and I often talk about the fact that sometimes the most beautiful dishes are the most simple ones. No special decoration, just an exhibition of a few beautiful ingredients in all their glory.
Later we went to the park and enjoyed the sun. I just had to wear my new birthday shoes, of course.
In the evening, we had an intimate gathering with a petit comité, who made the day particularly special.
We decided to maintain the simple theme and make some organic tomato, basil, and mozarella skewers with Spanish olive oil.
Koldo always reminds me that the general rule of thumb to a great dish is to keep the ingredient list as simple as you can, but use the very best ingredients you can find.
I’m happy to say, everything was a hit!
We had various types of sandwiches to choose from; homemade pâté, Spanish blue cheese with cranberries, cream cheese with pecans, Alaskan salmon cream, and smoked turkey with vegetables.
Koldo made crunchy mozzarella meatballs. I could swear they were made with little pieces of heaven.
Finally, we had the most gorgeous Black Forest cake ever. I mean, just look at this thing!
It was a beautiful day.
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Credits:
Photography: Naomi Niles
Cooking: Koldo Barroso
A summer paleo salad: fetuccini shiritaki Konja (to avoid carbs) slowly cooked in oyster sauce, grilled calamari, shrimp and chives, caramelized tomato sauce with dehydrated cherry tomatoes, plus crispy squid tips battered with pork rinds and crispy cheese.
