Original subtitles

They say in Galicia things take time and effort

but that it's worth the wait.

I've always wanted to visit Galicia,

the most unspoiled region of Spain.

This is incredible.

It has areas so remote,

you get them all to yourself.

It was once the poorest part of the country.

Over a million Galicians were forced to leave,

setting sail for better lives,

yet yearning for the land they'd abandoned.

There's this Galician term they use called morriña,

which means "a longing for the homeland."

It's when they really miss being in Galicia when they're away.

Now I get what that means.

I mean, look at this.

I'm Eva Longoria, and I'm a proud Mexican American.

11 generations ago,

one of my ancestors left Spain

for the New World and a new life.

400 years later, I'm back.

I'm so excited! - Salud.

And I'm exploring Spain and its 17 regions

to see how the land and its people

have created one of the world's most exciting cuisines.

I think you know what you're doing.

Galicia is Spain's best-kept secret.

Knock, knock!

Hidden in the northwest corner of the country,

enclosed by misty mountains and the mighty ocean,

the Romans believed its coast marked the end of the world.

♪ Galicia ♪

Galicians call themselves "Gallegos"...

...with their own culture and language.

So beautiful. I love this word.

Like their land,

Gallegos are fiercely independent.

They know what they have here,

and they don't want nobody else to touch it.

Let's keep it a secret. - But the secret's out.

Galicia food is second to none.

Wow!

In the world?

Would you like to try the best pulpo

you have ever eaten? - Yes.

Aaah!

The quality of food here is so divine,

even the cows eat like kings.

They're in a 5-star hotel.

I've come to the ancient city of Santiago de Compostela.

It's the capital of Galicia,

a land with water on two sides

and a coastline scored with 19 estuaries, called rias.

Santiago de Compostela's cathedral

is one of the most important pilgrimage sites

in the Catholic world.

This is where I'm meeting Galician cuisine's

most devout disciple, Pepe Solla.

Hola, Pepe! How are you?

Pleased to meet you.

This is insane.

It's beautiful.

Well, this is my first time in Galicia.

- Yeah? - Yes.

I've never been to Galicia.

Everybody tells me, "If you want to eat well in Spain,

go to Galicia." - Yeah, yeah.

I'm hungry.

Let's go.

Most travelers here are pilgrims.

For over 1,000 years,

they walked to the city from across Europe

on the ancient pathways of the Camino de Santiago.

But they come to honor the holy shrine

of Saint James the Apostle,

not to indulge in the earthly pleasures of Santiago's

tempting restaurants and bars.

In the world? - Yeah.

- That's a big statement. - Yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Pepe wants to wake the world up to the wonders

of Galician cuisine.

How are you?

- Fran, Eva. - Hi!

- It's very nice to meet you. - Nice to meet you.

How are you? - Thanks for coming.

Oh, my gosh. You know how to greet me.

I love mussels.

All hail the Galician cow.

The Xiros Bisqato cheese

and beef carpaccio are mind-blowing.

Mmmmmmmm!

It's amazing. - Yeah.

I'll take a mussel. Are they always this big?

So, Fran, Galicia is known for this superior cuisine of Spain.

Why do you think that is?

This bread! Yes! - Right?

Did you have morriña?

I will have morriña.

I know!

So beautiful. I love this word.

- Saúde. - Saúde.

My first time in Galicia.

Thanks to the passion of chefs like Pepe,

Galicia is now twinkling with 19 Michelin stars...

...and a leading light in the new generation

of Santiago's starred chefs is Lucía Freitas.

Lucía?

Santiago's Farmers Market is Lucía's second home.

So you know everybody.

Wow.

El Mercado de Abastos is the beating heart

of Santiago's food scene.

For six days a week,

specialist vendors offer the finest, freshest products

straight from Galicia's green hills and icy waters.

Wow!

And is all of this from Galicia?

Where are the scallops? Okay.

Oh. Oh, she's gonna physically go get them.

These are huge!

Yeah, I saw it, and I didn't understand what it was,

but it's from the scallop shell.

Wow! That's so beautiful!

Around the corner from the market is Lucía's restaurant,

the Michelin-starred A Tafona.

Here she turns Galician home cooking into fine dining.

- Smell. - Okay.

Oh!

Oh, my gosh. Is that the beef?

It smells so good.

And the salsa-- what is that?

The star ingredient is beef tendon,

a humble connective tissue

popular with Galicians in harder times

but now almost forgotten.

Why do you use the tendon?

Wow.

I wish you guys could smell this!

Lucía heats the gelatinous chunks

in a sauce strained from the stew,

then gives it a modern twist

by sautéing scallops.

This thing smells like a beef stew.

Wow.

Mm-hmm.

Okay, I got to get both and a little bit of this--

of the salsa.

Mmm! The texture is the most fascinating part of this dish.

-¿Sí?

The tendon melts in your mouth.

It's so good. Oh, my gosh.

Wow.

Mmm.

I think you know what you're doing.

For Lucía, the secret to Galicia's exceptional cuisine

lies in its traditional recipes

and the women who have passed them down throughout the ages.

I agree with that 100%.

That's so beautiful, I want to cry.

I'm on the coast

to meet one of Galicia's most exciting chefs,

Danny Lopez.

Rumor has it that Danny does things with seafood

that'll knock your socks off.

He promised to prepare me a Galician treasure,

a barnacle called percebes.

And don't let looks deceive you.

It's one of the most expensive delicacies in Spain.

This is your office every day.

We're on the rugged northwest coast,

where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Cantabrian Sea,

creating a unique ecosystem thriving with fish and sea life.

-Hola! - Hola.

My friends Arturo and Pablito.

They have to go now.

Okay.

Arturo and Pablo are risking their lives every time

they climb down to the ocean's edge.

Around five people die every year hunting percebes.

Wow! You got one!

Yeah, they're like

Ohh.

For each little barnacle,

the harder the waves hit,

the fatter and juicier it grows.

Look at how these waves are crashing into them.

Like, they could be swept away

any moment.

Aaaah!

I know, I know, I know, I know, I know.

Percebes used to be a survival food.

Now they're served in high-end restaurants,

with Galician percebes rated the best in the world,

thanks to these mineral-rich waters.

Oh, my God! He jumped in the water!

Where'd he go? Oh, my God. Oh, my God!

How is he swimming in that current?

You could never do this?

No? Oh, okay.

Yeah.

Arturo and Pablo's bravery

is giving me the courage to confess.

I don't like percebes.

Look, I've tried them before, 10 years ago.

I didn't know you,

so it wasn't a good experience.

But I think I'm--

I'm in a different place in my life now

that I'm ready for percebes.

Galicians usually boil percebes in plain seawater.

Yeah. Yeah.

Is this typical Galician?

- No, not typical. - No?

Smells nice.

It smells amazing!

Yeah! I've never seen them like this.

I told you I've had them before, about 10 years ago.

I don't remember where, but...

weren't my favorite.

They weren't my favorite.

Anytime somebody says, "Barnacle"...

I-I-- This is why I'm game to try them again,

is because you're making it.

Oh, my gosh.

Okay. All right. Here we go.

Okay. Uh, let me see. Oh, here. This one.

Do I break it here or here?

- No, here. - Okay.

Oh, okay. That's a good-- That's a good tip.

Okay.

Oh, my God.

That is actually really good!

It has the texture of a mussel.

That was really good.

That actually has a different texture.

When I ate it before, it was so chewy,

I could not get through it.

But you know what? The salsa isn't overpowering.

The taste of the percebes come through.

I'm so excited!

Salud.

Gracias.

Mmm.

Arturo! Pablo!

Wow.

Lunch is plentiful, but it wasn't always.

Hunger blighted Galicians until as late as the 1970s,

meaning food today is treated with deep appreciation.

I want to do a toast to the-- I think the hardest workers

I've ever met in my life, I have to say.

- Toast! - Saúde!

- Saúde! - Saúde!

I'm very excited, 'cause I'm from Texas, so I like beef.

I grew up with cattle,

I grew up on a cattle farm,

and today we get to see the cattle of Galicia.

Also, I'm very excited because they say

the Galician beef is one of the best,

if not the best, in the world.

This world-class beef comes from a native breed

called Rubia Gallega, or Galician blonde,

the Rolls-Royce of steak.

Their home is the mountainous province of Lugo,

where warm summers and wet winters

produce hillsides of lush green grass.

This is Galicia's cowboy country,

and I'm here to meet a family of Gallego cowboys.

Hola!

So, you're going to introduce me to some blondes today--

some Galician blondes.

Okay. Yeah. Start preparing my meat.

Okay.

Paco Sr. grew up with Galician blondes

and treats them like his children.

"Chupa chup" is a lollipop in Spain,

so this is their lollipop.

Aaaaah!

Spanish cows eating French bread as treats?

Okay.

He's eating all of them.

This ain't Texas.

They're so big, so muy grande.

Wow.

So, what is the benefit of these living longer than other cows?

They're like a fine wine.

With age, they get better.

There are only 20 blondes in the herd,

and if their ravenous appetite doesn't give it away,

they're all males.

Why not use the female cows?

Our meat doesn't taste as good.

It's 'cause we're stressed out because we're raising children

and doing everything!

They just eat and walk around.

Yeah. Oh, I understand.

You have no stress in your life.

Wow. I love it.

They're in a 5-star hotel... - Yes.

...every day.

Their luxurious lifestyle is costly to maintain,

making Galician blonde beef the rarest of the rare.

No more than six are slaughtered here each year.

This is a room you cook beef in.

I love them. What is this? Is this-- Is this the kitchen?

Oh, my God. That's why the walls are this color.

I've never seen one this big.

That is a lot of fat.

How heavy is this? This is... so heavy.

This is not for one person!

Ohh!

I always thought you had to be a young cow to be softer,

but the older the cow, the softer the meat.

-Sí.

Okay.

Oh, my God.

Yeah.

Eh, olé!

I can-- Yes, I can smell it.

Cooking this exquisite beef is always a special occasion.

The whole family is here.

When I was young, I used to love to eat the bone.

You can tell I'm from Texas.

Okay.

Don't?

I never knew that.

Yeah. I mean, it is so soft.

She can't even wait!

Look at her little face!

She cannot wait!

Leeks and potatoes picked from the garden,

Padrón peppers scorched on the grill,

barbecued chorizo,

and fat, juicy slices of steak.

Lunches like this remind me of my childhood on the ranch.

Oh, my God.

Bravo!

Wow!

It is the taste of the land.

You can taste the land, the grass, what they eat.

You can also taste...

- Salud! - Salud!

Salud!

- Hi, Pepe! - Eva!

Good to see you.

This is your place.

I am in Pontevedra, the shellfish capital of Galicia,

where you can gorge on world-class seafood

to your heart's delight,

sourced from the bountiful Ria de Pontevedra,

where fresh river water mixes with the salty sea,

forming a nutrient-rich environment teeming with life.

I'm back with my new friend, star chef Pepe Solla,

this time at his legendary restaurant.

Okay. Come with me. - Casa Solla?

Casa Solla was Galicia's first restaurant

to win a Michelin star.

Beautiful.

Pepe is famed for pushing boundaries

by using wild ingredients straight from the ria.

Are they garnishes? Are they in recipes?

- Mmm. - Oh, that's salty.

Mmm! I love that!

I know! That is--

Looks like cacti.

Aloe vera-- that's what it looks like.

Mm-hmm. - You know?

I didn't expect it.

My face isn't that I don't like it.

It's just like it's punching me in the face.

- But it's too much? - No. I mean, yeah.

When I bit into it, I just didn't expect it.

This one looks like sage. Okay. - Yeah.

That's sea-- That's like seaweed.

Sea-- it tastes like the sea.

Yeah! It tastes like oysters! - Like oyster.

Yeah, it's like oyster. - Oh, my God.

It tastes exactly like an oyster.

Of that plant? Does that taste like an oyster?

Yeah, yeah. Yeah.

Oh, yeah.

Oh, my God. That one's probably my favorite.

All right. Okay. - Okay.

Pepe is going to create a unique dish for me.

Are we having oysters?

Oh, okay.

Are we going to marry them?

- Yeah. - Ohh!

Yeah.

Let's do this one. This one looks easy.

Okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah.

- Ay! - You got it!

Wait wait, wait. I gotta cut the muscle.

Okay.

Yeah, right. - Oh, my God!

- Here you are. - Look at how perfect mine looks!

- Good. Perfect. - Ay!

The oysters are fresh from the ria today.

By mixing oil with the oysters and their juice,

he creates an emulsion,

then lines the shell with the oyster-flavored halophile,

topped with oyster dressing.

Beautiful.

- That one? - Yeah.

That one's the strong one.

Oh, a little baby piece!

You're like an artist.

Mm-hmm. - And then...

- Mm-hmm. - Maybe...

Oh, that's pretty.

Yeah! Cheers! Salud. - Cheers.

Okay. Here we go.

Mmm!

Mmm!

Oh, that emulsion is like...

so good!

- Yeah. - You can taste the seawater.

- And you feel it? - I can smell the sea, too.

So smooth.

The oyster's a little smooth. - Yeah.

Yeah. Oh, that was wonderful.

Nature's gifted Pepe the unique Ria de Pontevedra,

with its bountiful bays and coves.

It feels to me like you don't have any ego

because you really want not only the ingredients to shine

but Galicia to shine every time you cook.

Thank you for bringing me here.

Whee!

Buen camino! - Buen camino!

When you see the travelers,

you're supposed to yell, "Buen camino!"

to wish them good luck and safety on their journey.

Buen camino!

- Buen camino! - Buen camino!

Today I'm on one of Galicia's ancient pathways,

walked by 300,000 pilgrims every year.

So, we are on the Camino de Santiago.

I've always wanted to do this.

It is a pilgrimage that starts everywhere.

It could start in Portugal. It starts in France.

It can start in Spain. There's many routes that all end

in Santiago de Compostela.

Are you from France? - Yeah.

How many kilometers per day?

- Yesterday 25. - 25?

- Today we want to do the same. - Yeah.

Buen camino!

They get so happy.

It's amazing. There's, like, this feeling of solidarity,

like everybody's doing it together.

I feel like I'm doing it, and I'm driving.

Like, look at this guy helping the biker,

who hasn't let go of him. How beautiful is that?

Buen camino!

This is Galicia's wine country,

the region of Rias Baixas.

With its face to the Atlantic

and on the banks of four great rias,

it's the wettest wine-growing region in Spain

and home to the iconic grape Albariño,

loved for its salty tang.

The grape is said to have been cultivated in the Middle Ages

by French monks walking the Camino.

All right. I am on my way

to an experience I could only have in Galicia--

a furancho.

And a furancho is like a secret restaurant.

It's when a house

or a family that makes wine

has the opportunity to sell

their excess wine of the year.

It's only open certain months of the year.

You can only find them if you know somebody

who knows where they are or if you've heard of one.

They're very hard to find,

but I'm gonna find one.

Yes. Okay.

I found my guide.

Mike is going to take me to a furancho.

Hey, how are you? - How are you? I'm Mike.

Nice to meet you. - Nice to meet you.

So, are you ready to go to this off-the-grid restaurant?

He's originally from L.A.

but now runs his own restaurant in Galicia.

Going straight. You're gonna hang a left right here,

a little curve.

Do you know where we're going?

Kind of.

I think you make a right-- you make a right here.

Well, I love that you say, "I think." I mean...

...you're the one from here.

Yes, and there's no street names.

There's no nothing. - There's no street names.

Ah, at last-- our elusive pop-up.

So, this is somebody's house? - So, this is somebody's house.

They're called "furanchos," and, basically,

it's a family that sells wine.

The mother and the grandma cook,

and they sell their food and wine to the pueblo.

The tradition of furanchos has been here

since medieval times,

and you'll only find them in Rias Baixas.

No better place to go than the kitchen.

Smells fantastic!

This is what you would see

in all the furanchos here in Galicia.

This is basically your home-cooked food.

Zorza is basically pork loin

mixed with paprika, white wine, and garlic,

and they sauté it.

Farm-fresh eggs... - Farm-fresh eggs.

...from her chickens, basically.

Wait. This is the whole trick of the tortilla, you guys.

This is the trick. You have to flip it over.

The Padrón peppers.

- De Galicia? - Yes, they're Galician.

See? When you're eating them in the rest of Spain,

they're grown here. - They're grown here

in Galicia, yes. - Ohh!

I love them. I could eat like 10 bags in one sitting.

So, does she ever change the menu,

or is it always this? - It's always this.

- It's always this? - Always this, yes.

- Oh, I love that. - Always this.

Unlike restaurants,

furanchos are only allowed to serve five types of tapas

and the family's homemade wine.

This reminds me of, like,

a barbecue in someone's backyard.

Exactly.

Great.

It's basically the Galician grape--

especially. - Wow. Wow. Muchas gracias.

Gracias. Oh, my gosh.

And what are these that we're drinking it out of?

These are called cuncas.

Basically, it's how they used to drink wine back in the day,

and they don't want to lose their tradition,

and it's what separates a restaurant from a furancho.

If you ask for a proper glass here,

they won't serve it to you. It's actually disrespectful.

- They're like, "Get outta here!" - Exactly. Well, cin cin.

- Cheers. Salud. - Salud.

Mmm!

Super fresh.

Oh, that's lovely! That's so light.

- Muchas gracias. - Muchas gracias.

Oh, my gosh.

This is a perfectly cooked tortilla.

- Look at that. Yes. - Look at that.

Usually the customers that come

are the people in the town,

'cause if you realize when we were driving,

there's no actual restaurants,

and the city center is maybe like an hour away from here,

so this is where you would bring your family on the weekend.

Sundays after the church, after mass, they would come here

and they would have big parties and stuff like that,

and the tradition has never died.

- And it goes on. - And it keeps going--

keeps going on and on, generation, generation, and...

Look at that! Look at that grease!

Yes. This is the best.

How did an American from L.A.

end up in a tiny town in Galicia?

I came to Galicia...

- To learn? - ...to learn, basically.

When you're a chef, you want to work with the best ingredients,

and Galicia and all of Spain is, hands-down, where it's at.

- Best products. - Best animals, best ingredients,

and, 13 years later, here I am.

- You're a Gallego. - I am Gallego, yes.

I go home to L.A., and I miss Galicia.

Like, I miss the life-- - You have morriña.

I have morriña.

All the time, my wife always tells me that.

She's like, "Look, you're more Gallego,"

and I'm like, "No, I'm not. No, I'm not."

Yes, I have morriña. I miss the-- the lifestyle,

like, just taking your time,

have a couple drinks, eat food, hang out with friends.

- Everything's delicious. - Gracias.

The Gallegos are people who they know what they have here,

and they don't want nobody else to touch it, basically.

Keep it a secret! - I love eating this way.

It feels like I'm eating with my family.

- Exactly. - I love this style.

That's a good thing. It's like eating with the family.

- Salúd! - Cheers!

- To the Gallego. - And to the Gallego.

I understand Mike's love affair with all this--

a tucked-away treasure

where great food and wine are on tap

and warm bonds are easily made across the table.

Let's raise a toast to my new furancho friends

and this unique Gallego way of eating and drinking.

If there's one thing I've learned,

it's that Galicians love to party,

so I'm thrilled to be invited to my first fiesta here.

And word is that Gallegos take finger food

to a whole new level.

The star of the party is always pulpo,

or octopus,

Galicia's iconic dish.

Knock, knock!

Food-and-wine expert Alberto

is going to open my eyes

to Galicia's long and tangled love affair

with pulpo.

Good! How are you?

Oh, my gosh.

Yes. I'm ready.

Oh, my gosh!

Abracadabra.

Abracadabra.

Galicians are so crazy about pulpo,

they have specialist traveling cooks called pulpeiras.

Hola.

Mucho gusto.

In the world, so, technically, she's the best...

- Yep. - ...maker of octopus dishes

in the world.

Oh. So, if she can do that with her finger, she knows it's done.

So, you cut it with scissors?!

And does it matter how thick the cuts are?

So, better thinner. Yeah.

No. Wow.

Aurora's preparing a Galician classic--

pulpo a feira, meaning fair-style octopus.

It's been made like this for 800 years.

Oh, hey. That's-- Wow. That is so simple.

Mmm! Oh, my God.

The olive oil is amazing! - Yeah, it works.

Mmm! A lot of times people overcook pulpo.

Does that make it chewy?

Gallegos let their hair down differently

from the rest of Spain,

with folk music, bagpipes,

and generous sharing plates of pulpo.

What does pulpo mean to the Galician people?

It feels like a very intimate relationship.

Since when? Like, how many years?

Medieval times?!

Yeah.

Uh-huh.

Nobody's eating alone or singing alone or drinking alone.

Uh-huh.

'Cause you miss your homeland, yeah.

To return.

Lunch ends with a powerful Galician punch, queimada,

set alight to burn away bad spirits

and fire up the party ones.

I need more!

My journey in Galicia has come to an end.

It has surprised me in so many ways--

the quality of the food that's in a class of its own,

the breathtaking landscape, so wild and remote,

and, most of all, the warmth of the Gallegos.

The love for their region, for their community,

just shines through in every way.

I think I'm going to have morriña leaving Galicia.

We just have to stay here all day, guys.

Shall we?