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01 Rodrigo de la Calle
Vegetables and ice cream, the perfect mix
Master and ideologist of green haute cuisine in Spain, Rodrigo de la Calle mixes creativity and risk in his laboratory in El Invernadero, in Madrid. His meticulous and constant investigation of the ties between botany and gastronomy illuminates surprising proposals, always based on vegetables, roots, leaves, stems, flowers, fruits and seeds. Respecting the temporality of the product that marks the station clock is the mantra of your cookbook. And when summer arrives, this award-winning, borderless chef - triumphed in China with two restaurants - usually opts for cold dishes. "Every year around this time I have on the menu my favorite salad that my clients like so much: the beet tartar." This season he has added as a dressing the food that for him represents the quintessence of summer: ice cream."It's the perfect mix."
Her recipe: Beetroot tartare with oil ice cream
Ingredients.
▪ For salted beets: 3 kilos of medium-sized raw beets and 3 kilos of reused coarse salt.
▪ For the beet tartare: 1.5 kilos of beet cooked in salt, cut into cubes;
750 grams (g) of pippin apples and another 750 of the Grand Smith variety;
600 g of avocado, 400 g of cooked beet and 30 g of reduced Modena vinegar;
salt, black pepper from the mill and olive oil.
▪ For the sprout salad: 7 g of radish sprouts, 7 g of daikon sprouts, 14 g of nasturtium leaves and flowers and 7 g of red sorrel sprouts.
Elaboration.
Cover the beet with salt and place it in the oven at 180ºC for an hour and a half.
Once cooked, we peel and store the meat.
Cut the salted beets and brunoise apples and reserve.
Blend the flesh of the peeled avocado with the balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper, emulsifying with the oil.
In a bowl, mix the cream with the diced apples and beets with the help of a tongue.
The dish is presented in a pot with moist soil, in which a large and raw beet is placed, the top cut off as a lid.
At the bottom, arrange a mold and in it put 30 grams of beet tartare;
on this, the salad dressed together with an ice cream based on ricotta, cream cheese and early oil.
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02 Alejandra Rivas
Exotic flavors brought from America
Mexico, the home country of chef Alejandra Rivas, mango is one of the favorite fruits for its great abundance.
Its refreshing taste reminds him of his childhood in Guadalajara, and perhaps that is why the mango and passion fruit sorbet is his favorite.
"And not only in summer," he clarifies.
Hers was the idea of incorporating it into the menu of ice creams, panets (hot brioches with a frozen heart), popsicles and chocolates that she makes together with her husband, the pastry chef Jordi Roca - sweet soul from El Celler de Can Roca - in Rocambolesc.
The acidity of the passion fruit “breaks with the sweetness of the mango and makes it a more playful, more summer flavor”.
enlarge photo Mango and passion fruit sorbet Joan Pujol Creus
His recipe: mango and passion fruit sorbet
Ingredients.
▪ 390 g of water ▪ 80 g of invert sugar ▪ 140 g of sucrose (sugar) ▪ 10 g of cremodan SL-29 and 100 g of dextrose ▪ 80 g of atomized glucose ▪ 800 g of mango puree and 400 g of puree passion fruit ▪ Topping: caramelized sunflower seeds.
Elaboration.
Mix the water, invert sugar, sucrose and atomized glucose.
Afterwards, the cremodan and dextrose (stabilizers) are added at 40ºC.
The mixture is brought to 85ºC to start pasteurization and the temperature is lowered to 4ºC within 2 hours.
Add the fruit purees and leave to ripen for 12 hours.
Keep the cream in a refrigerator, which will be frozen and mixed so that it is creamy and does not form ice crystals until consumption.
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03 Jesus Sanchez
The tuna festival in Cantabria
In the kitchen of the Cenador de Amós, an 18th century mansion in the Cantabrian town of Villaverde de Pontones, the Navarrese Jesús Sánchez dazzles with recipes that flee from the superfluous in search of the true essence. Something that this chef with three Michelin stars finds very easily in bonito. It is, without a doubt, its star dish of the summer, as it is the only time of the year when the coast takes place, the catch of the fish. "Bonito is a party, its arrival at the fish market is celebrated and from there it is the protagonist in grills, houses and restaurants." The pot, marmite or sorropotún, names by which this dish is known in the Cantabrian Sea, is versioned in his restaurant using a thick loin covered with a light frying, in order to preserve the very pink interior."A stew that only needs a few slices of tomato with anchovies to take you to culinary ecstasy."
enlarge photo Bonito 'Sea chicken' Javier Salas
His recipe: nice 'marine chicken'
Ingredients.
▪ For the bonito sirloin: 1 clean loin of 800 g; 200 g of olive oil; 200 g of loose flour, salt and pepper. ▪ For the pickles: 50 g of diced purple beet and another 50 g of yellow beet, also diced; 50 g of rice vinegar; 50 g of virgin olive oil; 5 g of salt and 5 g of pink pepper. ▪ For the wine lacquer: 200 g of carrot; 125 g of leek; 400 g of white onion; 20 g of parsley; 400 g of pear tomato; 40 g of garlic cloves; 15 grains of black pepper: 750 g of red wine; 2.5 liters of mineral water and 125 g of mild olive oil, plus salt. ▪ For the pickled carrot puree: 200 g of carrot with leaf; 1 liter of water; 20 g of olive oil; 20 g of sherry vinegar; 1 bay leaf; salt, black pepper and cumin.
Elaboration.
Once the vegetables are poached, add the crushed tomato to reduce the sauce, first with wine and then with water, over high heat for an hour.
Strain and reduce the broth again until you obtain a thick and dark sauce with which to lacquer the fish.
In parallel, make a carrot cream.
Pickle the red and yellow beets separately (so they do not mix their colors) with the rice vinegar vinaigrette, oil, salt and pink pepper.
Flour the tuna loins and fry them for a minute, removing the excess fat on a blotting paper;
Place them in the red wine lacquering sauce and then drain them, and decorate on the loins with freshly chopped chives, salicornia and garlic flower petals.
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04 Elvira Fernandez
Aged stews in the Nalón valley
The commitment of the stew Elvira Fernández to traditional Asturian cuisine and her desire to recover old recipes have earned her a green star in the latest edition of the Michelin Guide.
A way to recognize your commitment to sustainability and respect for the rhythms of nature.
"For 25 years, in El Llar de Viri (San Román de Candamo), when there was still no talk of kilometer zero cuisine, we already pampered local produce".
Like the xaldo lamb, a native Asturian breed that is raised in herds in the mountains of the Cangas del Narcea council.
The meat - without tallow, with less fat, hardly any smell and very soft on the palate - is accompanied by vegetables from the garden that the owner of this eating house carefully cultivates.
And potato chips, "something non-negotiable in Asturias".
enlarge photo Roast lamb Xaldo Juanjo Arrrojo
His recipe: roast lamb xaldo
Ingredients.
▪ 1,250 g of xaldo lamb.
▪ 1 red pepper and 1 green pepper.
▪ 2 white onions, 1 garlic, leek and sprigs of parsley.
▪ 2 cloves of garlic and paprika.
▪ Aromatic to taste: thyme, bay leaf ... ▪ A glass of white wine and half a glass of cognac ▪ Two glasses of broth.
Elaboration.
Chopped the lamb, it is marinated with salt and garlic.
In a frying pan with oil, the pieces of meat are browned.
They go to a lunch box.
In the same oil the peppers in strips, the leek and the chopped onions are sautéed.
Let them poach a little, add the paprika and pour everything over the lamb.
In the frying pan, add the wine and the brandy.
Boil until the remains of the fry at the bottom of the pan have dissolved;
poured over the stew.
The aromatic ones are added and it is covered with the broth.
When the meat separates from the bone, it is removed from the heat to rest.
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05 Paco Morales
Return with the palate to Al Andalus
Noor means light in Arabic: the one that Paco Morales projects when he reinterprets the Moorish gastronomy of Al Andalus with the most avant-garde techniques in front of this Cordovan restaurant with two Michelin stars. A historical rigor that this culinary archaeologist applies to his entire medical record, free of ingredients after the discovery of America. That is, without a trace of potatoes, peppers, chocolate or tomato. And a salmorejo without tomato could be considered an affront to Andalusian tradition, but the chef's reinvention becomes a heartfelt tribute to his land. "One of the happiest memories of my childhood is the vision of my grandmother preparing the salmorejo, with the aroma of wet bread, crushed tomatoes and garlic coming out of the kitchen." His salmorejo with orange debuts this summer at the bar that bears his name,a scant kilometer from Noor.
enlarge photo Orange salmorejo with cod and Mikel Ponce cheese cloud
His recipe: orange salmorejo with cod and cheese cloud
Ingredients.
▪ 1 liter of navelina orange juice and 50 g of bitter orange juice.
▪ 450 g of bread crumbs.
▪ 400 g of Arbequina oil.
▪ 15 g of Pedro Ximénez Jerez vinegar.
▪ 15 g of salt.
▪ 1 clove of garlic.
▪ Smoked cod.
▪ 300 g of milk.
▪ 145 g of semi-cured cheese and 45 g of aged cheese.
▪ Bouquet of oxalis leaves.
Elaboration.
Crush in a food processor, at 50 degrees and for 10 minutes, the breadcrumbs, the orange juice, the olive oil, the vinegar and a clove of garlic. The result is reserved in the fridge. To make the cheese cloud, it is cut into cubes and boiled in 300 grams of milk until the mixture is tender. Blend and strain. It is then frozen for 24 hours before turning it into powder, again using the food processor. The salmorejo is served cold, and the cheese powder (snow) is placed on the surface of the cream, on which the smoked cod (to taste) is also added. A generous splash of virgin olive oil is added and a few oxalis leaves sit on top. The result: a “fresh and fun” salmorejo that has nothing to envy to the classic recipe. Chef word.
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