06-12-2013
42-year-old Asturian chef Nacho Manzano (between sisters Sandra and Esther), chef at Casa Marcial in Arriondas, tel. +34.98.5840991. His tasting menus cost 44, 69 and 90 euros
see part one While Marcos Morán is a tempest, Nacho Manzano is a sunny day in spring. The two top representatives of the new Asturian cuisine show off their different styles, the result of stories and personalities that grew on parallel lines, some 80 km apart (those separating Casa Marcial in Arriondas from Casa Gerardo in Prendes), but sharing an ambition: transforming the immense gastronomic potential of their territory into something concrete. Funnily, a common line of development led them to start an adventure in London: Hispania, in 72-74 Lombard Street, for Morán; Ibérica, with three locations, for Manzano. And while the former seems to spring a magical touch that promises absolute greatness, the latter – who’s middle-aged, at 42, and conquered his first estrella in 1999 – has already acquired a complete stylistic maturity a long time ago, his dishes being elegant, precise, with mild, almost silky tones. He loves taste contrapositions, so he often uses acid (yoghurt, lemon, vinegar), iodic (seaweeds, above all), aromatic and vegetal notes.
Roasted mushrooms with parsnip cream and pine-nut vinegar
The incredibly elegant Manzano, with his excellent collaborators, takes care of the rest, even in the cellar (the aperitif was an incredibly good cider methode champenois – in our case a Prau Monga 2006). The tasting menu continually jumps between fish and meat, sometimes mixing them, as with the Pheasant tortellini in their stock, with seaweeds and baby carrots. Or the delicious, and beautiful, Sea urchin with an acid hollandaise sauce, aromatic herbs and yoghurt, with the different elements softening the taste power of the echinoderm.
Asturian landscape, about one million inhabitants in the region
An outdoor trip or a journey to the other side of the planet? One thing is for sure: the destination is delicious, by Carlo Passera
by
journalist born in 1974, for many years he has covered politics, mostly, and food in his free time. Today he does exactly the opposite and this makes him very happy. As soon as he can, he dives into travels and good food. Identità Golose's editor in chief