A WEEK IN OCTOBER: COOKING AND ART AT THE WONDERFUL PALACIO DE PIEDRAS ALBAS IN TRUJILLO

We moved into the palacio one day early to set up the kitchen and Noelle's art supplies; many boxes and crates later we had a chance to explore our domain for the week.

The original building is from the middle of the 16th century, one of the fine palacios built beyond the medieval/ moorish walls of the old town with riches brought back from the new world.
The rough and desparate men who had set off from Trujillo became the notorious conquistadors of Mexico, Peru and Colombia, some survived and returned with unimaginable wealth and a desire to display their new found status, there was a rapid expansion and development of the area which would become the plaza that we know today dominated by a statue of the arch-conquistador Francisco Pizarro riding a snorting war horse, the Incas must have been terrified out of their wits, never having seen a horse before the advent of the Spanish.

Not surprisingly the palacio has gone through many changes over 480 years. It was so interesting to explore the building and try to work out the progress of the architectural changes. The main entrance door is under the arcades of the plaza which were built some time after the palacio, the emblematic porch was added to the front of the house on top of the new arcades, hard to imagine the house without the enthralling addition of the Florentine style porche, a far more austere affair.

 The main door would have been for horse access to the inner courtyard and the main stone stairs leading to the upper floor, the equivalent of the piano noble in an Italian palacio. It's a shame the balconies around the courtyard have been made into inner corridors with doors and windows painted in the ubiquitous brown gloss paint, circa 1940, it all adds historical interest and the unpretentious feel of the house, it feels like a family house that has evolved not a 16th century style fantasy.

Many rooms on the ground floor are vast empty spaces of little interest except that they lead into the magical gardens at the back with a swimming pool built into what was once the stable yard, the massive stone mangers still exist in the stable, now a cool whitewashed space for outside dining.

 

 

Unfortunately the original kitchens and sculleries were moved to a modern extention on the first floor with no access to the gardens, we certainly had plenty of exercise running up and down the stone spiral stairs many times a day. One can see the tall tower which contains the spiral at the side of the palacio with a domed roof and many small windows, it is mirrored by another tower on the other side, they both have access to upper floors, the so called "prohibited areas" which became rather a theme for games of supposition and fantasy during our stay.

The first floor has many bedrooms tucked into the building in a fairly eccentric fashion,  a flow of reception rooms with beautiful coffred wooden ceilings, an eclectic collection of furniture, many Spanish colonial paintings of virgins and saints; dining room, drawing room and another reception room that leads to the wonderful porche with stunning views of the plaza and  ancient town climbing up towards the castle; towers, pinnacles, spires and gardens cascading over high walls.

A delight from dawn to dusk and into the starlit night, a perfect people watching viewpoint. One evening we saw the pilgrims to Guadalupe ride into the plaza, an echo of what the plaza looked like in past times before motor power, full of horse traffic congregating around the central fountain.

Noelle and I were lucky enough to have some charming guests, all from the U.S.A. We had a week of cooking and sketching and exploring other historical towns, Montanchez (famous for jamon), Merida and Caceres, plus a visit to  the Wolf Vostell museum near Caceres, all experienced with interest and then back to the palacio for another great dinner on the porche.

 

Our last dinner was the "Conquistador Feast", we decorated the beautiful dining room with flowers and candles for this special occasion.

It took all day to  prepare with much stirring of chocolate mole, grinding of spices, pressing of tortillas, roasting of peppers and baking of delectable cakes and pastries............a triumph, all made with the foods brought back to Europe, and specifically Extremadura, at the beginning of the 16th century tomatoes, potatoes, yams, maize, avocados, sunflowers, squash, quinoa, turkey, peppers, cacao, beans  ( we ignored the guinea pigs) and some foods introduced to the new world by the conquistadors such as citrus fruits, cheeses, jamon and wheat, chicken, pork, beef, mutton  and goat. Here follows our menu.

Braised Chicken with Oaxacan Chocolate Mole and chile pepper sauce
Yuquitas Rellenas (croquetes made with Yuca (cassava) and stuffed with goat cheese and jamon)
Quesadillas -Tortillas made with masa harina corn flour and cheese
Roasted vegetables- squash, tomatoes, fennel, sunflower seeds, potatoes and yams.
Lima beans with spices and herbs and choriço
Guacamole with cashew nuts
Quinoa and rice with garlic and herb salsa
Prawns in a tomatillo salsa verde
Chocolate cakes with a pimenton sauce
Orange and almond cake with chocolate
Lots of coffee and Tequilla

GREEN!

A wonderful new element in our lives is the new enterprise started by a couple from the Netherlands who have re-located to Alcuescar a nearby village. They have started a small market garden business, growing 100% ecologically cultivated vegetables and herbs.

The selection this week- broccoli, a smaller variety of swiss chard, bok choy, leeks, spring onions, parsley, chinese cabbage.
Now with the weather warming up and spring here the selection will increase every week.

For any one staying at Finca al-manzil in the cortijo, barn or Casa Alfarera this year you will have the opportunity to order a basket of vegetables picked in the morning and delivered to the door by Jantien. Highly recommended!