At the end of the evening, after giving a good account of the dishes prepared by five excellent Catalan and Navarrese chefs that we will detail later, the news broke. Trays with glasses of pacharán were already walking through the gardens of the Alma hotel in Barcelona when the Minister for Rural Development and the Environment of the Navarra government, Itziar Gómez, told La Vanguardia that next year there will be an asparagus and artichoke route in around thirty Barcelona restaurants, as it has been successfully held in Madrid for three years.
"We are in the phase of finishing selecting the restaurants. We want it to be like in Madrid, some thirty kitchens that treat vegetables well and dedicate a set to white asparagus from Navarra or artichoke from Tudela as protagonists on their menu. ", he explained. Both products from the spring season which, except for the weather that alters everything, including the harvests, runs from mid-April to the end of May.
Chefs Xavier Pellicer (Xavier Pellicer), Artur Martínez (Aürt), Jordi Vila (Colmado Múrria) and Javier Díaz (Alhambra) and Leandro Gil (La Biblioteca) demonstrated what can be done with a good asparagus in the Alma kitchens. ), the last two in Pamplona. The five chefs recognized for their work with seasonal vegetables.
Javier Díaz was in charge of presenting a carpaccio of raw asparagus, with peanuts, pine nuts, red vermouth and flakes of gold salt; and as a second course he gave those present a Black Angus taco with spring vegetables, teardrop peas, perretxikos (one of the most appreciated mushrooms in Navarra) and asparagus. Leandro Gil in front of La Biblioteca in front of the gardens of the Alma de Pamplona hotel made a teardrop pea cooked in green tomato water and sun-dried strawberries; and a second of tender broad beans, Iberian milk and stewed rhubarb. That was the proposal of the guest chefs who opened the parade of dishes.
In the locals' turn, Xavier Pellicer presented an artichoke from Tudela marinated on the grill with white romesco and a coiled asparagus tagliatelle with a vanilla, citrus and chamomile infused soup. Artur Martínez made an asparagus with egg yolk and kefir butter; to continue with an artichoke with almonds and a flower garden. Jordi Vilà cooked an asparagus in a marinade with manjar blanco and flank, and as a second option an artichoke with roasted aubergine and soft sheep cheese.
From the generous orchard of Cabanillas, a large town in the Ribera a few kilometers from Tudela, are the white asparagus that arrive weekly to the kitchen of the hotel hosting the event. Warm asparagus and asparagus carpaccio are already a classic on the menu at the Alma restaurant. The passion for this delicacy of the land that is harvested at night so as not to lose its whiteness reaches the point that addicts reserve a table for the day the first stems arrive. Chef Gheorghe Zgardan assures that they are so tender and special that it hurts to even cook them.
A parade applauded by a hundred attendees at the presentation in Barcelona of five gastronomic routes in Navarra, promoted by Turismo Navarra, and which go from the vegetable oasis of La Ribera, to the paradise of pinchos offered by Pamplona and the neighboring valleys from the northwest.
Navarra is a community to eat and drink from head to toe. With its own very particular recipe book enriched over the centuries by the cuisine of the neighboring communities and the French, and which has reverence for the product.
