La Salita is one of those restaurants that we always come back to. Any occasion is good, but even more so if the stars align. read Begoña Rodrigo, hostess; Susi Díaz from Elche (La Finca) and the chef from Madrid based in Benicarló Raúl Resino. The three lucky provinces of the Valencian Community represented by some of its stars (Michelin) and Suns (Repsol).
to the wines, the sommelier of Lisa Black, the always inspiring Manuela Romeralo. “We want people to know our autochthonous grapes, previously reviled, which are the ones that represent us. They are complicated but many winemakers are knowing how to listen and understand them”. It is evidence: the Mediterranean region shines brighter than ever. How lucky are we.
It was the presentation of campaign Valencian Community: gastronomic destination with a star, promoted by the Business Confederation of Hospitality and Tourism of the Valencian Community (CONHOSTUR) with the collaboration of Turismo Comunitat Valenciana. Any excuse is good to celebrate around a table. The menu? Eight savory and two sweet dishes, paired with two Valencian wines. Let's eat and toast.
Presentation of the campaign 'Valencian Community: gastronomic destination with a star'.
RAÚL RESINO COLD BISQUE
The chef runs one of our reference restaurants in Castellón. Resino focuses like few others on the identity of the Maestrazgo and the Costa Azahar from the local product, which is the protagonist of all its dishes. In this, Cold bisque, galley foam with galley tartar and Raúl Resino tapioca , to capture the season, it was the galley's turn.
There is a similar dish on his current menu, though in his restaurant the galley does not go in tartar, but gratin. “This time we couldn't do the galley jacket because here we didn't have salamander, which is something we use regularly” . He played away from home, but resolved with flying colours.
Cold bisque, galley foam with galley tartare and tapioca.
THE WINE: ALBARIÑO NIGHT HARVEST 2020
First surprise. An albariño in Valencia? “This wine ( Albariño Night Harvest 2020, by Ana Suria, in Pago de Tharsys) has an incredible story, which speaks of the importance of our winegrowers: Jesús Requena studied at the Requena Oenology School in the 1960s with Vicente García, one of the pioneers in sparkling wines in Requena. Later he went to work in Galicia, where at that time quality wines were not made with Albariño, but rather undrinkable, highly acidic wines. Jesús began to work with them and managed to make quality wines with the Albariño grape”, Manuela Romeralo tells us.
When the Valencian returned to the terreta, he planted an albariño vineyard in Siete Aguas. And this is how The Albariño arrived in the Valencian Community. Later, Pago de Tharsys bought vines from Requena and planted their own.
Asparagus ice cream with mushroom land.
SUSI DÍAZ ASPARAGUS ICE CREAM WITH SOIL MUSHROOMS
This dish has been at La Finca for more than five years, although they have been versioning it over time. Delicate, aromatic and colorful, this asparagus in ice cream with a land of mushrooms and flowers It is a tribute to the local product, which they transform in an original way. Again, proximity: They use white asparagus and green asparagus from Villena.
THE WINE: FINCA CALVESTRA 2019
“Toni Sarrión is the winemaker of precision, both in the cellar and in the field. He is doing soil studies on all his hectares and it shows in his wines. Finca Calvestra, specifically, is at an altitude of 200 meters and after doing a geological study he has realized that there is a part of limestone, which gives a lot of finesse to the wines”. (see this Finca Calvestra 2019, by Toni Sarrión at Bodega Mustiguillo, Utiel, Valencia).
Romeralo tells us that Toni Sarrión took five years to understand merseguera. During that time, he didn't bottle it, until he figured out a way for it to be an expressive and aromatic grape which also improves a lot in the bottle. “I always tell him that his best wine is the one that has been in the bottle for a couple of years. And I like to highlight something that few people know: the aging capacity that our wines have, whites too."
Beluga lentil, squid and caviar.
BELUGA LENTIL, SQUID AND CAVIAR FROM LA SALITA
Can subtlety have such power of flavor? And blackness be the opposite of darkness? Begoña Rodrigo began to unfold his repertoire with this first course: tasty, juicy, sweet. When it's over, you're left wanting more.
WINE: BLANC DE TRILOGÍA 2020
"Verdil is a neutral grape but there is no reason to discard it if it is masterfully accompanied with a sauvignon blanc that brings a lot of freshness and that, in addition, Miguel Velázquez joins the muscatel to give it that Mediterranean aroma. Is he blend Perfect, you've got the magic recipe. When a few months pass through Blanc de Trilogía we obtain an explosion of aromas, fat, verticality, a perfect balance between freshness and fruit. The Blanc de Trilogía 2020, by Miguel Velázquez at Bodega Los Frailes (Fontanars dels Alforins, Valencia), It is a very gastronomic wine”.
Sarandonga.
SARANDONGA (RICE WITH COD AND CAULIFLOWER) FROM LA SALITA
No one explains this dish like César Olascoaga, waiter at La Salita. We quote him verbatim, because he catches us with his sensitivity: “Traveler from the Italian Piedmont, globetrotting rice named carnaroli, who, amazed by the sunsets of the Albufera and the lullaby of the Ebro, has decided to stay in Valencian lands to enrich the gastronomic heritage of the terreta. Today he dresses up and honors his roots by giving life to a cod and cauliflower risotto, but as a sign of his love for the culture of the land that welcomes him today, it is complemented with crispy details reminiscent of the socarrat of the good Valencian paella, he wraps himself in a pilpil blanket and puts on a comb of crispy cod and his own brandade: elegance and detail, let it be noted that he is now from Valencia”. One more jewel in the crown of La Salita, they say. We corroborate it. Rice? From Molino Roca, of course.
THE WINE: CA LA GATA 2021
This is not just about consecrated wines. In this case, Ca La Gata 2020, by Raúl Navarro at Bodega Ca La Gata (Utiel, Valencia), It is the first vintage of a young viticulturist, one of those who promise. “Raúl has just started, he has a vineyard that he has been cultivating biodynamically for 15 years and a perfect land to work the merseguera. He is on the right track”, predicts Manuela Romeralo.
Norway lobster cream infused with lemon grass and his lobster.
CREAM OF RAÚL RESINO STRAWBERRIES
It is also Norway lobster season in Benicarló. Raúl Resino's cuisine is flavor and Mediterranean in its purest form. Its plating, simple and direct: less is more.
THE WINE: TANTUM ERGO ROSÉ 2019
"He was one of the first to start recovering grapes from the area a few years ago and now he is making sparkling and rosé wines”. Manuela Romeralo praises the “impressive work” that Pablo Ossorio is doing: "He is achieving a finesse at the height of the best sparkling wines in Spain." On this occasion, we taste Tantum Ergo Rosado 2019, by Pablo Ossorio at Bodegas Hispano+Suizas (Requena, Valencia) , “a cava with infinite elegance, barely tinted with color, a very gastronomic sparkling wine”.
Pasta stuffed with cottage cheese and truffles with seasonal mushrooms.
PASTA FILLED WITH COTTAGE CHEESE AND SUSI DÍAZ TRUFFLES
This plate It has been on the La Finca menu for almost two decades and it is a classic restaurant from Elche. Who knows Susi knows that she transmits that same joy that her dishes project. The pasta stuffed with cottage cheese and truffles with seasonal mushrooms , specifically, also (like her), makes you smile when she arrives at the table.
THE WINE: FONDILLÓN 1996
This pairing with Fondillón 1996, by Salva Poveda at Bodegas Monóvar (Monóvar, Alicante), it had a lot of backstory: she shows that fondillón is not just a dessert wine. “It is a cult wine, It is our oenological jewel. It is usually a table wine, for meditation, which is usually we take it too cold and that way we remove all the aromas that she has developed. We have to make it known, we want people to talk about it. The Povedas, in particular, have always had a fondillón sacristy that is a real treasure”.
Red mullet cured in kombu and allipebre from its bones.
CURED MULUS IN KOMBU AND ALLIPEBRE DE LA SALITA
Begoña Rodrigo acknowledges that he works very little meat because he personally does not eat it frequently. And then he shows up red mullet: one of the most interesting fish in Mediterranean cuisine, that she cures in kombu seaweed, as an ode to the sea. She does something similar with mackerel, in another of her dishes, for two days. The allipebre of its thorns rounds the mouthful, which is a burst of texture and flavor.
THE WINE: FEARFUL 2020
“Another example of sommelier and hotelier very interested in natural wines, that he is now a viticulturist. With the help of Javi Revert he has elaborated a wine with malvasia, with the name of his grandmother (Témide), who is respectful from the natural point of view”. The Témide 2020, by Luca Bernasconi (Fontanars dels Alforins), served at red wine temperature, it is especially expressive and aromatic.
Deer bikini in two firings, its croquette and its bottom.
LA SALITA DEER BIKINI
And, against all odds, Begoña ended up with meat: her deer bikini surprised the diners for her delicacy, despite its intense flavors, typical of the deer. Its croquette and its stock, served as a consommé, they remind us that it is autumn outside.
THE WINE: THE MERCEDES 2019
We are still in the hands of Manuela Romeralo, who, in addition to being a sommelier, reveals herself as a storyteller: “Las Mercedes 2019, by José León at Bodega Las Mercedes (Villagordo del Cabriel, Valencia), It is the only wine made by this dentist by profession who decides to embark on this project, in a house that belonged to the Berlanga. and he has done with the help of a mythical winemaker like Pepe Hidalgo, the great wine sage, who must be worshiped every time he opens his mouth ”.
Romeralo confesses that she perceives the evolution: “He began by making a fairly classic wine, using very good woods, but the 2019 vintage is quite a surprise. I notice more fruit, wood less present”. It is a trend: more and more, we want fresh wines with a longer drink and that are chameleonic with the dishes. “In the Valencian Community we are in this line: working on the freshness of the wines”, says Romeralo.
Yuzu, yogurt and mango.
YUZU, YOGURT AND MANGO FROM SALITA
It's autumn again, now on the table. Begoña reminds us once again: a leaf within another leaf, color and expressiveness of flavor in four bites that clothe us
SALITA PUMPKIN AND ONION
The Roots and tubers are some of Begoña's winning cards. She has been exploring them for a long time, until she gets dishes as round and balanced as this one, which end up on the table. The sweet takes another dimension, the dessert evolves towards less cloying flavors but equally successful.
Pumpkin and onion.
THE WINE: CASTA DIVA HONEY HARVEST
“Another great winemaker: Felipe is the person who has understood Muscatel like no one else. He is behind Pepe Mendoza with the muscats that he is making in Llíber, but the sweet muscatel is the province of Felipe Gutiérrez de la Vega”, explains Romeralo about the Casta Diva Honey Harvest by Felipe Gutiérrez de la Vega at Bodega Gutiérrez de la Vega (Parcent, Alicante) 2018. “They are wines of an eternal evolution, the purest Mediterranean. It's like putting your nose in a glass of Casta Diva, closing your eyes and seeing the landscape”.