Diners are loving a taste of Lunya
THE summer menu at Catalan deli and tapas bar Lunya in Manchester is proving to be major with diners.
It is now nine months since owners Peter and Elaine Kinsella launched the outlet in the historic setting of Barton Square, off Deansgate.
The couple are renowned for their dedication to bringing the very best ingredients from Spain having visited the various regions of the country hundreds of times.
They have formed long-standing relationship with many of their suppliers, now often importing direct and working with artisan producers.
“We have what we think is the largest selection of Spanish cheese in the world, outside Spain,” said Peter. “There are 44 different artisan Catalan and Spanish cheeses.
“Since we opened late last year, Lunya has established itself as a firm favourite among Manchester’s foodie crowd, offering both classic and traditional dishes and modern and inventive takes with the ingredients.
“We don’t feel constraing by tradition and love to take Spanish ingredients and create something new, reflecting the experimentation and irreverence seen in Barcelona’s best restaurants and tapas bars.”
Included on the summer menu has been Deep fried Gord olives – large Andalucian garlic olives, infused with Guindilla chillies, stuffed with Iberico cheese (a mix of cow, goat and cheep’s milk cheese), then lightly battered with Estrella Damm batter.
New additions to Lunya’s Spanish cheese slection include: Santa Gadea Red Label – mild and creamy Camambert-style organic goat’s chees from Burgos; Santa Gadea Black Label – strong Camambert-style organic goat’s chees, nutty with amild blue after-taste from Burgos; Montanera – golden, creamy medium soft goat’s cheese from Extremadura with a nutty and buttery finish; Pjarete – mature chees from Cadiz, similar to goat’s milk Manchego; Luna Negra – soft mild goat’s chees from Avila, gentle yoghurt flavor with an ash crust; Cer- mature mixed cow & goat’s chees from Catalunya, like a strong Manchego; El Blau Mar – mild blue Catalan cheese, creamy and luxurious; Serrat – medium mature Catalan sheep’s cheese, medium soft, creamy nutty with light caramel tones.
Other offerings include; Verduras a la Romana – Mediterranean vegetables, deep fried with special Spanish coating and served with mojo picon sauce; Crab & Tune empanda – made with Cornish crabmeat and Spanish Bonit tuna, cooked in sofrito (a Spanish reduced tomato and onion sauce) in all-butter puff pastry – mini Spanish pasties; Mackerel – cooked on the plancha and served with sweet pickled cubumber avocado and Salmorejo.
There is also: Mini Iberico burger – minced Iberico de Bellota pork (corn fed) with caramelized onions on a mini brioche bun (served pink); Polo al Moro – slow cooked chicken in preserves lemon and Moroccan spiced broth; Morcilla – Catalan black pudding, rolled in cornflakes and deep fried; Catalan Hotdog – white chistorra on a mini brioche bun with fried onions, white bean and garlic sauce, tamarind barbecue sauce; Lamb chops – Welsh lamb chops, dusted in Dukha spices, grilled pink and served with samfaina (roasted Mediterranean vegetables) and Fillet steak – Dexter beef, cooked pink on the plancha and served with canarian papas arrugas (the traditional salted potatoes from the Canary Islands).
