The rains have been wonderful allies in this March in which the IV Spanish Championship of Pote Asturiano has worked hard in finding the best Asturian pot in the country. Nothing like gray days to surrender to a stew like this, also known as cabbage stew, pot of cabbage or Asturian pot and in which highlight your product and the way of being cooked: from the fire, the clay vessels and later the iron ones served as a container where to create the recipes of the survival kitchen.
Before gastronomy marked the trends and dived into a thousand references, the different recipes depended on what we now call kilometer zero, seasonal cuisine or, colloquially, “what was in the pantry”: cabbage, turnips, beans, cabbage, chestnuts, later potatoes... “ingredients that were mixed, as far as possible, with meat contributions: pork fat, fresh meat...”, explains the president of the Academy of Asturian Gastronomy, Eduardo Mendez.
Leitariegos Restaurant, Asturias.
And that's what the cook Hector Cosmen , with only 27 years of age, he has managed to conjugate to win the award for best Asturian pot of Spain in his restaurant, Warlocks. “In our opinion, pote is the most traditional from our land, that stew to which housewives used to throw what they could.”
Now he is the one who makes it in his house, leitariegos, with quality raw material and an excellent and generous compago. All products come from the land, fields and livestock that are home to the idyllic area where they are found, known as "The Roof of Paradise".
Landscape in Leitariegos, Asturias.
In fact, the nickname "Roof of Paradise" not only reflects the beauty of this region, but for Héctor it is a constant source of inspiration. It is not for less: his stoves are in the Port of Leitariegos, the highest town in Asturias, with 1,526 meters of altitude, a natural enclave to the slopes of Cueto de Arbás, the first 2000 peak of the Cordillera, of which, as the team says, “We even take advantage of the meltwater to supply the springs of pure mountain water.
This place is part of the Fuentes del Narcea, Degaña and Ibias Natural Park and Biosphere Reserve, bordering with fearful and Laciana. In addition, the restaurant adjoins the Valle Laciana-Leitariegos ski resort, and has Vaqueiro Bowling Alley own, which encourages sports and traditional games throughout the year. A proposal born shortly before the arrival of the pandemic and that, despite the difficulties of the last two years, faces the future with optimism and seeking include gastronomy, nature, sport and tradition.
Héctor Cosmen in his restaurant, Leitariegos, in Asturias.
If you ask Héctor Cosmen to share the secrets of his delicacy, he will answer bluntly: “There are no secrets. We recovered the recipe of what they knew here as Cabbage Broth, we do not skimp on the best raw material possible, always from kilometer zero, and we strive to give you all the time and care you need.”
This new award for traditional cuisine through Pote Asturiano also recognizes the commitment to a gastronomic project made up of young talents struggling to carve out a future for themselves already famous”Spain Emptied”. Of course, Héctor and his team, aware of the harsh reality that lies behind the depopulation, they prefer to call it “The Roof of Paradise”. Added to this award are also Two other awards the Best Asturian Pot of Cangas de Narcea 2022 and the Runner-up of Spain 2020 Best Asturian Pot.