Page 55 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL FALL 2024 SPAIN
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modeled after those in Madrid and
           Barcelona. So for now farmers sell their
           produce outside under awnings, while the
           butchers, fishmongers, and Basque spe-
           cialty shops are in the basement of a rela-
           tively modern building across a small
           square.
               The long row of farmer tables displayed
           mostly the same seasonal produce - today
           it was asparagus, peas, lettuces, etc. All
           were fronted by women. According to tradi-
           tion here, wives sell the produce and handle
           the money while husbands tend the fields.
               Patricio explained that he was shopping
           for a couple of very special items only
           available in the spring. He let us sample
           some intensely sweet tiny green peas that
           would star in the mushroom dish we would
           cook. Then he dropped a bomb. These Tear           ing anywhere from  $45 to $180 a pound.
           Peas, also referred to as  “green caviar,”         But this is Michelin country and you expect
           sell for up to a whopping $350 a pound.            a little extravagance on a $500 per person
               The other key item in the dish also            tasting menu. Or, you might do a class like
           raised our eyebrows. From another vendor,          ours for a lot less, sample these gems, and
           Patrcio passed around a perfectly formed           have a lot more fun.
           miniature mushroom, tiny like the peas.                Once inside the market, our small group
           They are perretxikos, or St. George's mush-        was divided in half. Patricio explained that
           rooms, and they too, are expensive, rang-          Mimo had developed special relationships






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