11-09-2019
Sergio Bastard in front of the entrance to his restaurant Casona del Judío, in Santander, in the Spanish region of Cantabria, in the north, in front of the Gulf of Biscay between Asturias and Basque Country
Sergio Bastard is one of the most interesting chefs in all of Spain. Born in 1979, a Catalan from Barcelona but based in the Cantabrian capital of Santander since 2013, in the Casona del Judío "a 19th century building that looks like one of Hopper’s paintings", as we wrote back in 2014 (Bastard Talent), he’s a representative – and one of the best ones – of the new season of Iberian cuisine: a fertile blend of the conceptual heritage of the avantgarde (with a strong use of techniques and technologies, and a propensity for research that follows only one North star, that is to say creative freedom) and of the growing trend of pure flavours, of seeming minimalism, of surprising through naturerather than with human artifice, to research possible new solutions that derive from the unexpected surrounding us.
Casona del Judío. The gourmet restaurant is in the building to the right. On the left, they’ve created a modern space for events
Bastard at Encuentro de los Mares
Bastard spoke about it a few months ago as well, at Encuentro de los Mares, the congress on island food and sustainability held in Andalusia:
«Only in Santoña [a town in Cantabria with 10K inhabitants] there are between 60 and 80 factories producing preserves, and only two recover the liquids. Where does the rest end? Into the sea. We want to analyse this issue and discover its impact on the ecosystem. If governments don’t offer solutions, we’ll try to as chefs».
So, here is salmuria (that is to say salmuera, the water released by the anchovies) dripped on dehydrated egg yolk: he sterilises them and the resulting product allows him to make – in the traditional way - a "strong mayonnaise" which can keep even for three weeks, in a totally natural way, with a more concentrated flavour and a stronger texture, and which can then be used to make Bearnaise, Hollandaise and other sauces. Bastard’s research focuses not just on salmuriaas a seasoning, but as an ingredient that adds umami and changes the structures thanks to its proteins. He uses this to make meringues too. And more:
«We added salmuria to fresh calamari; this way we have managed to transform its structure, and obtain a buttery texture, strengthening the flavour. The result is unexpected, it feels smoother. The results with fish, meat, seafood and vegetables are equally surprising. This is a potentiator that we can use to soften, marinate, cook, age».
The staff at Casona del Judío. Bastard is in the middle, to his left, French sous Jerome Quarmouchi, born in 1986 in Toulouse
The new dining room at Casona del Judío
Meanwhile, we praise his cuisine: very neat flavours, originality, exceptional raw materials, right techniques, elegance, extreme deliciousness. Here’s our tasting menu. The photos are from Tanio Liotta.
Translated into English by Slawka G. Scarso
Fried piparra with zabaglione and marinated fennel. Piparra is a typical sweet pepper from North Spain
Macaron with wakame seaweed, cream of coffee and anchovies
"Beach feeling": they serve bread with fresh herbs and a butter aromatised with smoked sardines
"Cantabrian caviar" with seaweed bread: it’s a fine calamari tartare with its ink with a mayonnaise of brine and codium seaweed. A very elegant taste
Avocado, Oscietra caviar, marinated piparra, lettuce pil-pil (made with an extract of the vegetable plus the fat part of the sea bass: the result is delicate). As we said, piparra is a green sweet pepper. Another very elegant dish: tasty, rich, elegant, convincing
Marinated tiger prawn, Hollandaise sauce, sorrel
Lágrima peas, wagyu ham consommé, Bearnaise sauce with capers and wine. The lágrima peas are a delicacy from North Spain (especially the Basque Country): small, tender, very sweet, «here in Cantabria we pick them later than in the País Vasco)
Chargrilled lobster, granita of tomato water with Oloroso, the fortified wine of Jerez. The only dish we didn’t like at all, and because of a serious technical issue: the crustacean smelled of the firelighter clearly used to light up the embers
Marinated cuttlefish, its ink, sea fennel, colatura. The latter enhances the “marine” taste of the squid, as if it were its entrails; but, compared to these, it was much more elegant. Overall, a complex and excellent dish, with a boisterous taste, though clean on the palate
Pepper from Navarra, pearls of balsamic vinegar from Modena. The pepper is both confit, and as a juice. (Excellent) traditional flavours, you can notice there’s butter and garlic
Salted cod tripe, cream of kombu, sea lettuce pil pil, spider crab, portulaca
Bomba rice, sea anemones, lime marmalade, red chilli pepper and ice plant. The anemones are finely chopped in olive oil. Another great dish. Bomba is a Spanish very precious rice variety with a EU POD certificate
Marinated and seared bonito, tomato concasséed, bonito sauce with vermouth, gazed tomato. Bonito is a typical tuna of North Spain. Delicious
A small bonito tartare
Chargrilled pigeon. The breast is in one piece, the (raw) fillet is served as a steak tartare, the strips are served on pan de brona, a corn bread from Galicia. Very good technical execution
Cannolo with coffee wafer, sour cream with peas. Very interesting
Gelato of balsamic vinegar from Modena, earth of toasted corn, chocolate and whisky ganache, milk reduction and cardamom
Custard cream with red tea and liquorice, tarragon pesto, sour cherry jam, cherries with terragon, rose water, pepper gelato, bread aromatised with tea
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