WE were at new Catalan restaurant Tast Catala in King Street for the official launch of the Manchester Food and Drink Festival programme, so it would be rude of us not to taste some of the dishes celebrating that independent-minded region of Spain.
We came away hugely impressed by the quality of a product not imported from Catalonia – the jamon iberico bellota crafted in the Castilian heartland of Spain. For four generations the family firm of Arturo Sanchez have raised and cured pigs in the town of Guijuelo, an hour south of Salamanca, working in the tru artisan way with no short cuts.
The pigs feed naturally on acorns and grass from the dehesa eco-system and then need four to six years to achieve their perfect curing. Read the full story here.
We’ve eaten some outstanding hams on or just off Deansgate, which in recent years has become a kind of Manc Ramblas. Honourable mentions for Lunya, El Gato Negro and Iberica, but we feel Tast’s tops the lot.
Try it for yourself (and let us know yyour verdict) by ordering a Taula de Pernil (£18 for 60g) or as part of a mixed Iberian charcuterie board, the £22 Taula d’Embotis Iberics, featuring llom, salchichón, xoriço, and the Sánchez jamon. To accompany? Pa de Pages amb tomaquet (coca bread, tomato, olive oil, £4.90).
Tast Catala, 20-22 King St, Manchester M2 6AG. 0161 806 0547.
