Finding Olga in Asturias

So, I have already mentioned here that we have been comparing the Fabada Asturiana in Spain with the fabada that my grandmother Olga used to prepare.  We thought that the fabada we had tasted so far was just a little off the mark and lacked salt, but when you taste a truly good fabada the memories come flooding back and you realize exactly what the others were missing:  flavor.
We had the true Olga fabada experience in Oviedo at a restaurant by the name of Siete7Plazas.  Cari ordered it as her primer plato (first dish) for the Menu del Dia.  The Menu del Dia is a fixed price (in this case 10 Euros) and includes a first plate, a second plate, wine, bread and dessert.  You get to select your plates from a list of a few items offered that day; in this case Cari reluctantly selected the Fabada Asturiana as her first plate.  We didn't know we were sitting down for the best meal in Spain so far on this trip.

The infamous Fabada Asturiana:

What I love about the Menu del Dia : in most restaurants, wine included means either a bottle or a little container as seen below:

My seafood-stuffed eggplant:

Cari's unbelievably tasty and delicious bacalao (cod) with super-thin sliced potatoes:

A plate featuring various cheeses of Asturias, the most famous being the Queso Cabrales - like a blue cheese but sweeter.

Here is how you do it:  load on the fork a bit of pasta de manzana (like an apple jelly), a walnut and some cabrales cheese - flavor perfection!

Thank you Siete7Plazas for a wonderful and memorable meal!

And thank you Dawn.