May 16, 2012

A Simple Meal by the Sea

A few years back, my cousin and I had the good fortune to travel through Spain on a tour of three star Michelin restaurants. Before her recent economic troubles Spain had earned the reputation of being a culinary Mecca of Europe. Home to the former legendary El Bulli and the still prestigious Arzak, Spain also has many obscure talents who just know how to cook! Being blessed with some of the best local ingredients in the world, many of these unknown talents focus on celebrating superb ingredients with simple dishes and impeccable execution.

We shared one such simple and memorable meal in Barcelona at a restaurant called Can Majo. A full-on Nor’easter was blowing that night and it reminded us that Barcelona is a seaport town. We blustered into the nearly empty restaurant and the staff seemed somewhat shocked and maybe even impressed that someone had ventured out in this driving rain.

While the surf beat the pavements outside we received the menus (written in Castellano and Catalan) and set about trying to decode our choices. With the help of a young woman on the staff we made our first selections. The first dish that came out was Pescadito Frito: little bait fish that must have been gutted with miniature knives by miniature people in little teeny tiny rooms! With a squeeze of lemon, a little sea salt, and some perfectly ground pepper these little fishies were DELICIOUS. We sipped a simple Spanish Chardonnay and dug into a Spanish version of bruschetta: toasted rustic bread rubbed with tomato and drizzled with aromatic extra virgin olive oil. On the table there was a small plate of Spanish olives and cornichons.

The next plate to come out was Navajas a la Plancha-grilled razor clams. The treatment was so simple and flavorful with butter, parsley and light olive oil. They were slightly chewy and sweet as traditional clams. (BTW, do you know what they call the illegitimate son of a clam? A shellfish bastard!)

The Gambas de Playa a la Plancha -grilled whole shrimp- were bright red with their heads still on and were swimming in an herbed butter and olive oil. The shrimp were still cooking on the plate as they were brought out, and were sweet (with a hint of natural salt) and cooked to perfection. Things were starting to get sublime; we opened a second bottle: a Chardonnay Cosecha.

For our main course we stumbled upon one of the most delicious rice dishes I’ve ever eaten: Caldero de Arroz con Bogavante. Served in a cast iron cauldron, this was essentially a loose lobster risotto flavored with a delicious broth.

I didn't get a photo of the actual dish but this photo of Bogavente gives you an idea!

The waiter playfully placed this amazing dish in front of us and then lifted it up and walked away as if going back into the kitchen. This dish served in this place on this night was almost beyond description. The rice, which was intentionally served slightly underdone, finished cooking while we ate it. The broth had a hint of East wind and saffron. That sea flavor was imparted by a rouget based fume, or as the chef said, “we make the stock using an ugly red fish!”

Dessert was one of the most inspired celebrations of local ingredients in a night that surpassed expectations. I had fire roasted wild strawberries that were glazed with Spanish brandy and served on a chocolate covered tuile and topped with homemade vanilla ice cream. Unbelievable!

After a snifter of fine single malt (compliments of the house) we made our way back to the kitchen to congratulate the chef. He accepted our thanks with genuine humility and credited the freshness and quality of the ingredients for the success of the meal.

We said goodnight to our new friends and made our way into the night where the gale had backed off.  A walk around the seaport while puffing on Cohiba Pequenos concluded a pretty awesome evening.

Many thanks to my friend Nuria at Spanish Recipes  for the photo of her delicious looking Bogavente.

Thanks! Max