About the cannery
Ramón Peña is a legendary cannery, founded 100 years ago. It is both artisanal and state of the art. The cannery is very James Bond with finger print-controlled doors and an onsite laboratory where Ramón Peña hones its canning techniques and pushes for ever higher quality. The cannery believes the flavour-potential of tinned fish is limitless. The cannery is artisanal too. This is plain to see when you open the beautifully presented, clearly hand-arranged, tins of sardinillas and Galician mussels.
Ramón Peña cannery is situated in the town of Cambados, in the Pontevedra region of Galicia, in northwest Spain. The cannery sits close to the 70km-long river Umia which runs into the Ría Arousa, the largest of the six lower Galician estuaries. Vineyards are planted on the sloping river valley sides. As well as its seafood, Cambados is famous for its Albariño wine.
The estuaries, known collectively as the Rías Baixas, are where Ramón Peña sources its sardines, scallops, mussels, razor clams, sea urchin and octopus. All of this diverse marine life thrives in the estuaries because the water temperatures are not as cold and currents not as strong as in the open sea, and upwelling drives nutrient-rich waters from the deep Atlantic into the estuaries. The area has a Protected Denomination of Origin (that you can see on the Ramón Peña tins) because of the unique, unmatched flavour of its seafood.
Ramón Peña is a sustainable cannery, ensuring its fish and shellfish is caught mindfully and without damage to the ocean environment, and it only uses seasonal produce sourced from the local fish markets in its tins. There are no artificial ingredients in its tins either and each tin undergoes rigorous quality controls.
Serving tips
•Try the scallops on crunchy baby gem lettuce leaves with cream cheese and parsley.
•Open a tin of the sardinillas. Remove some of the small sardines from the top layer, and add some toasted seeds.
•Try the tinned octopus in a risotto or with a side of couscous with lots of herbs and lemon zest.
•The Ramón Peña spicy sardines are great with a side of buttery scrambled eggs and chives, or fluffy white rice with chopped herbs stirred through.
• Try the sardines in olive oil drained and on toast, with shallot and red onion, sea salt and lemon juice.
•The Ramón Peña xouba sardines are a meal in a tin. Grill them to crisp the flour batter, and have them on toast with the warmed Galician sauce spooned over.
