Toledo (EFE).- Castilla La-Mancha now has a new restaurant distinguished with 3 Suns in the Repsol Guide, it is Maralba, located in the Albacete town of Almansa, which thus joins the Iván Cerdeño-Cigarral del Ángel, in Toledo, which already had this recognition.
In addition, the community adds another restaurant with 2 Soles, Oba, in Casas-Ibáñez (Albacete) and three new 1 Sol: Casas Colgadas (Cuenca), El Coto de Quevedo (Juan Abad Tower, Ciudad Real) and Essentia (Tarancón, Cuenca), as revealed this Monday at the Repsol Guide gala in Alicante.
With the new additions, Castilla La-Mancha has a total of 26 award-winning restaurants: two with 3 Soles, three with 2 Soles and 21 with 1 Sun.
Fran Martínez is in charge of the Maralba restaurant, which was born at the crossroads of two paths, of the land and the sea, of La Mancha and the Mediterranean, highlights the Repsol Guide.
For two decades, Fran Martínez has defended authentic local cuisine where the resounding flavors of the La Mancha tradition dance in unison with the freshness of the best products from the Levantine market; and in charge of the winery is Cristina Díaz, “the best sommelier in Spain, in love with those wines with soul that take the diner out of her comfort zone.”
In Oba-, chefs Javier Sanz and Juan Sahuquillo have managed to create a personal discourse in Casas-Ibáñez, where ‘Cañitas Maite’ also govern, and on the top floor of the family hotel they have set up this new space lined with wood and vegetation, and raised as a tribute to his countrymen and the Cabriel River Valley, which offers diners a tour of the La Manchuela region.
Thus, memories and roots are the guiding threads of a cuisine based on the fruit of the great work of fifty small producers in the area, local herbs, fermented foods, river fish and native game or bird meat.
For its part, the space where the historic ‘Mesón Casas Colgadas’ gained popularity currently houses two restaurants run by Jesús Segura, known for his work on ‘Trivio’: ‘La Casa de la Sirena’ and ‘Casas Colgadas’.
The latter shows the most gastronomic profile of a chef from Cuenca who pursues authenticity and applies himself to doing so in the investigation and reinterpretation of his surroundings, and he does so with a single tasting menu where his collecting side emerges when he resorts to wild mushrooms and herbs. , and there is no shortage of marinades or dishes starring humble ingredients such as onion and potato; In addition, the winery, accordingly, emphasizes signature wines from La Mancha.
El Coto de Quevedo is located in a rural hotel of the same name planted in the Las Tejeras Viejas area, named after literary references (Francisco de Quevedo lived in exile for several years in Torre de Juan Abad) the restaurant of José Antonio Medina, son of a consummate stew, stands out the fiery defense of their land that reflects the use of local vegetables, meat and game, traditional dry-farmed fish (such as cod and trout) and slow-cooked stews and stews.
Essentia, in Tarancón, is a spacious, comfortable and bright restaurant, led by David Gómez and Antonio Navarro, with a product focused on the grill that offers the possibility of choosing to choose the suggestions from its menu or opting for the tasting menu, and both options They provide numerous quality meats, seafood and fish, treated with minimal intervention and available depending on the season.
The establishment, which advertises itself as specialized in old cow chops, torreznos, ham and more Iberian delicacies from Jabugo and Guijuelo, has a wide and well-stocked wine cellar selection of Manchego wines and notable international references.
By autonomous communities, Cataluña (105), Comunidad de Madrid (98), Euskadi (68), Andalucía (65), Comunitat Valenciana (58) and Castilla y León (58) are the regions with the most Soles.
Among the Sol Sostenible #AlimentosdEspaña awards, there is one from Castilla-La Mancha, Molino de Alcuneza in Sigüenza, among the four restaurants that have stood out for their fight against climate change and the responsible use of the product.
Among the Couples between stoves awards are Fran Martínez and Cristina Díaz de Maralba, and in the use of embers, Essentia. EFE