By Neil Sowerby
ONE of my favourite Spanish films of the Nineties – which just happened to mark the big screen debut of Penelope Cruz – was Jamón Jamón, which ends with a duel to the death with legs of ham for weapons.
I had a semi-erotic flashback (ham rather than Cruz-based) at the grand opening of Manchester’s Spanish invader, Iberica Spinningfelds, when slivers of sweet, fat-streaked Belota ham COVAP Alta Expression from D.O. Los Pedroches, Cordoba circulated among the appetisers.
This level of accreditation signals there’s serious sourcing going on across the operation – already a hugely successful London sideline for Michelin-starred (in his own land) chef Nacho Manzano. In the capital there is equally authentic competition from the likes of Pizarro, Brindisa and Barrafina, whose new outlet in Covent Garden is sublime. Less so up here despite the the best efforts of Evuna, Levanter and impressive newcomer La Bandera. With El Gato Negro to arrive in King Street late summer things are looking up. They used to ship hams from El Bulli suppliers in Catalonia to their old Ripponden base, unless memory fails me.
Taste of Manchester intends to let Iberica settle in before reviewing but is already salivating over the prospect of ordering as an appetiser with some chilled Manzanilla the Trío of Ibéricos (£22), which showcases the three different areas it buys its jamóns from – all crafted from pure bred free range pigs feeding mainly on acorns from holm oak trees.
As well as the Cordoban ham from Andalucia (£8 for 30g, £16 for 60g) Iberica also boasts:
EXTREM Puro Extremadura from Montánchez, D.O. Extremadura (£8/@16), so meltingly complex you can almost taste the acorns, honest; and Juan Pedro Domecq from Jabugo, D.O. (Huelva £10/20), limited production from wild pigs in Spain’s ham heartland, cured for at least 45 months.
You can buy the hams to take out. In addition to its restaurant, Ibérica Spinningfields also has an in-house delicatessen selling a selection of its produce, including preserved fish and vegetables, turrones (traditional Iberian sweets) and one of the largest selections of Spanish cheese and cured meats available in the UK. I particularly recommend from the range of olive oils the magnificent San Carlos Extra Virgin from Caceres – a grassy delight for just £11 for 500ml.
Still it seems wrong not to splash out and sample these and an enticing array of tapas/raciones in Iberica’s gorgeous surroundings with standard lamps made from matador costumes and design featuring mantón de Manila (Spanish silk shawls). All that’s missing is Penelope Cruz to take your order.
Iberica, 14-15 The Avenue Spinningfields, Manchester M3 3HF. 0161 358 1350.
