RestoBar Cerro Las Señoritas
Organic and authentic cuisine by an expert
Quebrada de Humahuaca is endless. In our several trips to visit it, we always wanted to go to Doña Olga's.
We knew about her excellent cuisine, but we did not imagine that her hostess would be so charming.
We settled that debt on a trip on the way to Cusi Cusi, one sunny autumn noon.
The little valleys of the Quebrada were still green, so when we arrived at the restaurant we were not surprised to see the orchard still in full production.
About three blocks from Uquía's main square, where the San Francisco church stands out, one of the oldest in the area -with its famous paintings of harquebusier angels - is located this family-run eatery under Olga Romero's care.
We arrived just at closing time. In fact the sign on the front door of the adobe brick house said closed, but of course we tried and rang the doorbell. Luckily, it was Olga herself who attended us and, when we asked for lunch, she hesitated only a few seconds before accepting to offer us a light menu.
There are four tables, in a gallery with capacity for about twenty diners, personally served by her in a dining room overlooking her garden, her orchard and the Quebrada.
The menu offers all organic and regional products; recipes designed by this master chef trained in the school of Marcelo Vallejo, whose great mentor was Osvaldo Gross. Her training is evidenced and appreciated both in the creativity of the dishes she proposes and in the glorious manufacture of the classics.
Thus, she offers goat casserole with vegetables, purple corn sorrentinos, grilled trout, varied salads from the garden, among others.
But this lunch, which was supposed to be quick, ended up being a sequence of steps typical of a haute cuisine restaurant.
We started with meat empanadas, with their homemade puff pastry dough variant.
Next came two succulent pies, one of creamy corn (pure corn, egg, cheese and a touch of basil) and the other of quinoa with pumpkin, cheese and herbs. Both were presented with a small side of cherrys and baby arugula from the orchard.
Generous, colorful, with lots of flavor. One of those dishes that you will never forget.
Olga was the one who introduced them to us while she told us her life story, in response to our questions.
She came to Jujuy for love and settled in Uquía with her husband. He is the one who is in charge of the farm, taking advantage of his technical knowledge and who achieves the organic seal of their production.
It was there when she told us that -at that time- she decided to bet on the production of raspberries, with a small plant that a colleague had given him in El Bolsón, in Patagonia.
And his adventure worked. He harvests raspberries in the heart of the Quebrada de Humahuaca.
Therefore, the house's signature dessert is the raspberry tart, supported by sablée dough, typical of a royal tea house. Fresh, light, accompanied by the raspberry jam also made by Olga. A real delicacy.
Today Cerro Las Señoritas is known and published in every tourist site dedicated to the north of Argentina, and there are many great chefs in Argentina who do not miss the opportunity to enjoy its gastronomy.
A fundamental fact: its menu offers vegetarian and vegan options.
In addition, Mr. @tripticity_'s attention was drawn by the varied offer of Olga's wine cellar, with high-end labels, mostly from the Calchaquíes Valleys.
At first sight, the garden was inviting to stay and enjoy the afternoon, but an appointment with the ceramist Juan Geronimo from Uquía was waiting for us and Olga had to leave for Tilcara in search of supplies. Therefore, we only enjoyed a one-hour visit to discover the collection of succulents and the neat vegetable garden before taking a photo with her.
Prior to our farewell, she went to the kitchen and brought us carrot cookies, one of her pastry specialties that she also serves in her restaurant, giving us the best souvenir for our trip, during which we were accompanied by the soft sweet aroma of her cookies.
The chat with Olga during lunch was as memorable as the sequence of dishes.
It's always a pleasure to meet hard-working people, committed to their work, and even more so when they are chefs in charge of nourishing us as well as delighting us. In Olga's case, she makes everything natural.
See you next time at Restobar Las Señoritas!