From Madrid to Cantabria and India with a cheesecake, and we have the recipe!
In these times when we have a boring passport at the bottom of the drawer, finding a dish that makes us travel is always a gift, and even more so if it comes with a easy recipe –very easy– to make at home when you want to travel. Of course, if you prefer to have it ready-made, you will like to know that, in addition to trying it at the El Hombre Pez restaurant (Velázquez, 102, tel. 91 058 80 01), you can order it (whole, €80, or portions, €9) to take away.
“He has no secret. As in life, you just have to do things with love, put a lot of love and that's it. If you follow the recipe, use quality ingredients, put what corresponds, neither more nor less, and respect the time in the oven, you will get a delicious cake”, he assures us businessman and chef Delwar Mozumder, owner of, among other restaurants, the original El Hombre Pez de Madrid, unique in the world for merging Cantabrian cuisine with that of India.
But in reality, the cheesecake from El Hombre Pez does have a secret, actually two: the touch of blue cheese –they use Picón Bejes-Tresviso cheese, produced in the Liébana region– and the oven time. “We serve it slightly liquid, and for that the cake it has to be in the oven between 52 and 53 minutes. If you want to give it more density, so that it is not so liquid, you can leave it for a few more minutes, but never more than 56. The flavor will not change, but this is a matter of taste. It's like with meat, there are people who like it more done and others more raw”.
Adding blue cheese is something Delwar came up with while they were trying out new recipes "because it is a flavor that identifies Cantabria and this is 90 percent Cantabrian cake." The remaining 10 percent, the one that takes us to India from the Liébana valleys or the Sardinero beach, comes in the background flavor of the pistachio wafer and the citrus jam with which it is served. “We are the only Cantabrian-Indian restaurant in the world, so we are always testing and testing, looking for mixes that work and recipes that provide a different and authentic touch”.
Of the entire menu, which they are modifying to offer from December "and it will be even more fusion", Delwar the tikka masala tuna tartare stands out: "I have never been a fan of raw food, I never order tartar, and I like gastronomy, but with the touch of spices that we have added to the maceration and the tikka masala sauce, the result is brutal, ** neither spicy nor mild, just brutal". **
The Fish Man is located at Calle Velázquez, 102 in Madrid
Delwar, who has been in Spain for 19 years and is owner of three Indian restaurants in Madrid –Fathe Pur, Purnima and Bangalore– El Hombre Pez opened this year to “offer something new and never seen before, using products from Cantabria and spices and cooking techniques from India”.
But why Cantabria? “I love Cantabria and I love Santander. The sea, the mountains, the people, the atmosphere, the food! It captivates me. And since I cannot change the city, because I love Madrid, I have brought Cantabria here”, he explains to us laughing.
So now you know, in the next ranking of the best cheesecakes in Madrid, this one will undoubtedly be there. And if you follow the recipe Delwar gave us, yours might be too.
INGREDIENTS (for 10-12 servings)
- 1 liter of cream
- 800 grams of cream cheese (in El hombre pez they use the San Millán brand)
- 15 grams of blue cheese, for example Picón Bejes-Tresviso, produced in the Liébana region (if you want a stronger flavor, put a little more, 20 gr.).
- 10 eggs
- Two packages of Maria cookies
- Butter
- 300 grams of sugar
ELABORATION
We crush the Maria cookies until powdered and mix it well with the previously melted butter. Place the mixture in the bottom of the mold, pressing down well with a spoon (this is important so that the cake does not come out later).
Next, we mix the rest of the ingredients well (cream, cream cheese, blue cheese, eggs and sugar) and pour it into the mold, on top of the base made with the cookies.
We turn on the oven at 160 degrees –it is not necessary to preheat the oven–, we put our mold and now we just have to wait 52 minutes, so that the interior remains slightly liquid. If you prefer to give it more density, leave it for a couple more minutes, but never more than 56 minutes.
Time of preparation: 1 hour
Difficulty: none
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From Madrid to Cantabria and India with a cheesecake, and we have the recipe!