The New Spanish Vegetable
May 8, 2008
Food and travel writer Anya von Bremzen, author of The New Spanish Table, turns her discerning gaze to the newfound focus on vegetables in some kitchens in Spain’s Basque Country and Navarra regions.
Top creative chefs there are experimenting with both material and method, tethering traditional Spanish edible plants to molecular gastronomy. Unlike the overcooked menestra de verduras (vegetable stew) or tragically (over) boiled or fried asparagus or artichokes found on many Spanish tables, the product–raw, barely cooked, vacuum-poached, or cooked in water chosen for its particular mineral content, is enhanced with the likes of the subtle flavors of smoked eel and a dash of truffle oil, porcini and shrimp, or sage-infused capsules. Chef Koldo Rodero (Rodero restaurant in Pamplona) calls the trend “the cuisine of the third road”, or, as Bremzen writes–“a compelling blend of the high-tech and the homegrown.” See the article in Food and Wine.
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