End of the wedding season...

Last weekend we were at the last of the weddings this year down in Tortosa.. The last of five.. Joana & Paco, a cousin of E's dad... (there was 7 brothers and sisters in his granmother's family so there was a big difference between the oldest and the youngest - Joana's my age).

Regrettably, what was looking to be a fun event (was really looking forward to it - the reception was at Les Moles in Ulledecona), turned into One Wedding and a Funeral. E's granny fell into a coma on Friday night (passing away in the early hours of Sunday morning) so we were no more in the humour for going to a wedding the next day..

That being said, it was a wedding to remember - the food lived up to be everything that everyone said it would be..

Catering for large numbers tends to be a recipe for disaster - sorry folks, cooking fillet steak with foie gras for 200 people is just not possible. The steak most probably has been cooked at 9am that morning, so the probability that it will be as tough as boots is extremely high!

Joana & Paco got it 100% right - apart from the appertif hors d'oeuve, which were select and good quality, but pounced upon the moment the waiters loomed into view (it WAS 3pm, so obviously people were hungry), the rest of the meal made up for it..

Simplicity was the key, taking good ingredients and presenting them simply. It was certainly an example of a traditional Spanish wedding fair - the sign of a good wedding is the number of prawns/langoustines etc. that you get presented with! And this one, certainly turned up trumps..

Here you can see the Pumpkin soup, served separately (plated poached egg and langoustine, and then the pumpkin soup poured over the top)..

Dinner was topped off with a visit from Quico el Célio, el Mut i el Noi de Ferreries, a traditional band from the Terres de l'Ebre region, whose speciality is the traditional Jota originating from Tortosa. Joana's mother joined in to give her own ad-lib version dedicated to the couple (one of the features of the Jota is that people make up the lyrics as they go along, adapting them for the occasion).

They even played my favourite De Roquetes Vinc which has a special meaning for E's family, as it's a song that his Alzheimer-inflicted grandmother (Joana's aunt) still sings to this day on her more lucid days..

En fin.. a new beginning for some, a ending for others.. And so the circle of life goes on...

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Here's the full line up:

Aperitif

Star-anise scented crisps

Iberian ham

Marinated anchovy and herring toast

Vegetable and foie gras coca pastry

Red pepper and courgette mousse cone

Langoustine and bacon brochette

Iberian ham croquettes

Griddled prawn brochette

Dinner

Grilled langoustines

Pumpkin soup with langoustines and poached egg

Sea bass with calamar 'eel' and calamar ink 'caviar'

Blood orange and strawberry sorbet

Duck confit with muscatel and cinnamon scented apple purée

Textured rice pudding (with rice crispies!)

Wedding cake - Individual chocolate mousse cakes