Tender Casarecce impregnated with a gelatinous sauce of Anglet pepper

Tender Casarecce impregnated with a gelatinous sauce of Anglet pepper
Nerua
Cuoco: Josean Martínez Alija
Nazionalita: España
Localita: 48001 Bilbao (Vizcaya)
Indirizzo: Abandoibarra Etorbidea, 2
(+34) 944239333

The title of this dish is as rigorous as its execution. Essentialism reaches undreamt of shores. Two elements, well actually three, and nothing more. Pasta, jelly and capers, which are not a determining factor but do add a counterpoint. What is important, even transcendental, is that this formula represents a revolution never before seen in world gastronomy. Italy has never dreamed of such a thing. The pasta is presented much more than al dente, almost raw in the center, not impregnated with succulent exteriors, nothing impregnated with succulent exteriors, that both soaks up and softens the texture. The pasta is at the very limit of permissible, repugnant for a Spanish person, passionate for a gourmet: pasta, hard, firm, that only tastes of pasta, pure, noble pasta. The conceptual magic lies in the wrapping, a jelly made of Anglet pepper, rosemary and basil, boasting a sticky texture that is aromatic and flavorful. Red pepper, paprika for good measure, rosemary and basil, flavors that beautify while conveying a Mediterranean yet universal character. Josean Martínez Alija goes beyond all admissible limits in a distant world that is very much polished, thought out yet recognizable.



La Ricetta



Vegetable and legume broth

Ingredients:
1 head of garlic, split in half
600 g carrots in thick rounds
300 g turnips in thick rounds
600 g leeks in thick rounds
100 g celeriac in thick rounds
2 onions in thick rounds
6 shallots coarsely chopped
500 g white wine
4 liters purified water
Sunflower oil
320 g chickpeas, soaked the night before
1 bunch parsley
Preparation:

In a large pan sweat the vegetables for 10 minutes WITHOUT BROWNING.
Add the white wine and reduce.
Cover with 4 liters of bottled water.
Boil, skim and leave to cook over low heat for an hour and a half. Add the parsley stems at the end
and leave to infuse. Strain and refrigerate.

The pasta is cooked in various broths
Rosemary broth (for pasta)

Ingredients:

1,000 g vegetable broth
20 g rosemary leaves
10 g fine salt

Preparation:

Put the vegetable broth in a pot and boil. Add the rosemary and infuse, covered, for 15 minutes. Strain and salt to taste. Set aside.

Basil broth (for pasta)

Ingredients:

1,000 g vegetable broth
20 g basil leaves
10 g fine salt

Preparation:
Put the vegetable broth in a pot and boil. Add the basil leaves and infuse, covered, for 15 minutes. Strain and salt to taste. Set aside.

Pepper broth (for pasta)

Ingredients:

1,000 g vegetable broth
40 peppercorns (Indian pepper)
10 g fine salt

Preparation:

Put the vegetable broth in a pot and boil. Add the peppercorns (freshly ground with a pestle and mortar) and infuse, covered, for 15 minutes. Strain and salt to taste. Set aside.

Anglet green pepper juice

Ingredients:

2,000 g green Anglet pepper, stemmed and seeded
Salt
Sugar

Preparation:
Grill the peppers on all sides until light brown. A gas torch can be used to brown them perfectly if desired.
Move to a tray and season with salt and sugar in order to sweat the pepper and arrest any bitterness.
Place in sous-vide bags and cook in the steam oven on a rack at 100ºC for 3 hours.
Leave to cool for 30 minutes out of the oven to continue to sweat the peppers then strain using very little pressure.

Cod skin broth

Ingredients:

1,000 g cod skins, desalted and rinsed.
300 g water
60 g shallots
7 g crushed garlic cloves
Cayenne pepper

Preparation:
Place all the ingredients in a sous-vide bag, seal and cook at 62ºC for 4 hours. Strain and pass through a fine sieve to eliminate any possible scales or particles, store in the walk-in.

Cooking the pasta:

For 320 g of cooked pasta you will be 200 g dry pasta.

Finish:
Keep the three broths, of basil, rosemary and pepper, gently boiling and add the pasta. Cook for 6 minutes. In the meantime, weigh the preparations of cod and pepper to the corresponding quantity of dishes ordered at the time, separately, and cut some green Anglet pepper rings as well.
Drain the pasta, each in a different tray.
Prepare three sauté pans:
a) Oil + basil pasta + Anglet pepper rings + green pepper juice + cod skin broth
b) Oil + rosemary pasta + cod skin broth
c) Oil + pepper pasta + cod skin broth
Add a drizzle of olive oil to each sauté pan. Place one over the flames and sauté some of the green pepper rings for a few seconds then add the basil pasta. Turn a few times, adjust the salt if need and add the green pepper juice. Leave over a low grill to further impregnate the pasta with the nuances of the pepper while you place the other two pans over the flames. Once the oil is hot add the pepper pasta to one and the rosemary pasta to the other. Sauté for a few seconds and move to the grill with the basil and pepper pasta, already reduced. Finish by dividing up the cod skin broth into each individual sauté pan. Leave to reduce, stirring constantly, to absorb the liquid well and soften the pasta. To the pepper pasta add a few turns of the pepper grinder to reinforce the flavor. Salt to taste and serve. Start by serving the basil-pepper pasta first then the rosemary-cod and finish with the pepper-cod.