Vida Jonda has chicken, French omelette, pepper, tomato, Iberian ham and aioliNEXT GASTRO
Having several typical dishes gives a lot of substance to a city, but the gastronomic culture of a town is completed when it also has its own sandwich. That one generation after another decides to put the same thing between two slices of bread is something that not everyone can boast of. It happens to Malaga with the camperos, to Santiago with the tortizorza, to Valencia with its goat, to Madrid with the squid and, of course, to Seville with the serranito. Because a place as given to identity symbols and tradition as the Andalusian capital should also have a sandwich to claim.
Like any other classic elaboration of a place, it has its purists and its heretics. "Originally, it is a Sevillian vienna sandwich with a pork loin, one or several slices of ham, a fried Italian pepper and, usually, a few slices of tomato to give it juiciness," explains the Seville gastronome Javier Compás. But there are paellas with chorizo and chicken breast serranitos. Or Iberian prey, or veal. There are also those who carry a French omelette, cheese, some soaking sauce or all at once. "You could make a Brotherhood of the Serranito in the style of those of the Observatory of the Russian Salad," Compass proposes with laughter.
The disputes of his birth
The second fundamental element of any typical dish is to have several more or less diffuse stories about the origin. This Sevillian sandwich, of course, is no exception: "The neighbors of Ronda, in Malaga, talk about a place, I think Bar Benito, where they say they put a similar sandwich, although not like the one here," says Javier Compás. And the hypotheses do not end there: in Seville itself there are also several versions of its creation.
On the one hand, there are those who claim that he was born in the disappeared chain Échate pa ya, with a place in Cerro del Águila and another in Juan XXIII Avenue. Rafa Morales, co-owner of the Hermanos Morales restaurant, points to another place: "It arose in a bar called Los Caños, located on La Florida Street, where my father, Pepe Morales, worked in the kitchen with several other people." When Pepe decided to set up his own business at the end of 1973, he included that sandwich in the menu: "My father was part of that group that began to serve a dish that over time has become the flagship of our business and one of the most iconic in the city." Rafa says.
A specimen of classic sawHERMANOS MORALES
What's clear
Both stories, yes, agree that it was created in the 70s. That was a renewing time in the gastronomy of the capital of Andalusia: another of the most widespread elaborations today in the city, the sirloin with whiskey, began to be sold around 1969. "These typical tapas were not typical in their day. Actually, this goes for generations: what mine calls classic, in the 70s it was not, "says Compás. "There are many people who rant against sashimi or tatakis just as I imagine there would be orthodox who criticized the sirloin to whiskey," says this gastronome.
Likewise, all the voices converge in that it appeared as an evolution of a very popular montadito at that time: "The serranito emerged as a variation of the caballito, which consisted of a slice of ham with loin ribbon on a slice of bread", illustrates Rafa Morales. The fried pepper and tomato came to complete a bite that settled in the city with the passage of time to the point of gaining fame to its predecessor.
Neighborhood sandwich
It has been half a century since the birth of this sandwich, but it is still on the menu of both classic places and some younger and more modern. "One that is very fashionable now in Seville is Vida Jonda," says Chencho Cubiles, creator of the website De tapas con Chencho. "I remember we already had a montadito of garlic prawns and we wanted to serve another sandwich. We also made a croissant filled with sirloin with whiskey, and then we decided to include the serranito in our offer, "says Javier Abascal, co-owner with Javier Vargas of this tapas bar that opened last March. "We wanted to give it its value and its moment", summarizes this chef.
Another proof of how deeply rooted it is in Sevillian society is its popularity on the outskirts of the city. As the gastronome Javier Compás says, "this is a dish more from the neighborhood than from the center". So much so, that Javier Abascal, chef and owner of the Lalola restaurant, locates his mountain temples in areas far from the historic center: "I really like El Menta, in Seville East, which is one of the best known. And also that of Los Vázquez, in Pino Montano. They have a very good aioli, well done meat, toasted bread... It's the whole of everything."
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In his list of recommendations, Chencho Cubiles points out two quite central: that of Mesón El Serranito and that of En la espero te esquina. Although he also has some favorite places on the outskirts: "I really like El rey del serranito, in the Bellavista neighborhood, especially for the bread and sauces they put on them. And those prepared in El paraíso de los serranitos, in Macarena Norte, stand out for their juiciness". Javier Compás, for his part, advises trying those of Cibeles II, located in Triana, and those of San Carlos Uno, in the area of Santa Justa.
Serranito de Mesón El Serranito with tortilla and cheeseCarlos Doncel-Moriano Valencia
Most of these establishments offer different options beyond the classic, both in the main meat and in the inclusion of some ingredient or sauce. Basically to provide variety and adapt it to the taste of each one, of course. The concept, however, remains: "We must respect it, although it is evolving, like everything in gastronomy. At the moment it is resisting, and I hope it resists much more," says chef Javier Abascal. And he makes a wish: "I wish in this city there were as many bars of serranitos as kebab or hamburgers". The binges on nights of revelry and the meals helped would be just as forceful and gochas, but much more traditional, sevillanas.
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