One of the great food paradoxes of the modern world is that, while we eat more and more international food (sushi, pizza, burgers, croissants and kebabs), our diets are becoming less and less diverse. As Dan Saladino x-rayed a few years ago, more and more foods, dishes and recipes are in danger of extinction.

And yes, this happens in Spain too.

In Spain, where summer has become synonymous with gazpacho and salmorejo, potato omelette, paella, octopus a feira and a small glass of horchata as a snack. These are all incredible preparations, gems of our gastronomy… The things that make summer diets boring and predictable. And it’s a shame because, at least when it comes to food, Spain is very much Spain: and these recipes are crying out to be popularized.

The ‘urbanisation’ of food

Jonathan Ching

For years, walking in the centre of a European city has been a very interesting experience. Whether it is Paris, Lisbon, London, Prague or Berlin, they are all becoming more and more similar. They imitate each other. They lose their local character to repeat the same franchises or international stores over and over again: Primark, Zara, McDonald’s, Starbucks, Ale Hop or Calzedonia…

This is what the geographer Francesc Muñoz called ‘urbanization’ almost 20 years ago: the process by which the globalization of urban space increasingly standardizes landscapes. Almost word for word, the same thing has happened with food.

The latest may be the explosion of ramen or Argentine empanadas, but the roots of the phenomenon lie in the later decades of the last century, when fast-food chains became mainstream and national cuisines were reduced to clichés ready for mass consumption (and a bit ‘weird’). Thus Spain became tapas, paella and sangria; Mexico, four kinds of tacos; Germany, sausage; China, sweet and sour pork; and the entire Arab world, potato kebabs.

An unstoppable process? Very likely. Will we let it win without resistance? Not at home. Let’s talk about some little-known gems of Spanish summer gastronomy.

Doña Solanum lycopersicum Parera

Priscilla Du Preez

So the tomato plant and that unique expression of happiness that we call tomatoes. Spain has traditionally been a tomato-growing culture and this can be seen in a multitude of simple or complex recipes. A great example of the first is the mojete.

Manchego moje or Murcian salad is one of those recipes that are inexplicably unknown in our gastronomy. It is a humble and simple garden dish made of tomatoes, hard-boiled eggs, chives, canned tuna and black olives. I know it may seem like a simple tomato salad, but it is nothing like that. It is poetry. The kind of poetry we want to enjoy when we have beautiful fresh tomatoes in supermarkets.

But that’s not the point. Because it never ceases to amaze that Spanish gastronomy manages to create dishes that are like eggs to chestnuts, with more or less the same ingredients. The best example of this is the flavor bomb we call pipirrana from Jaén: green peppers, tomatoes, eggs, garlic, oil and salt. But by crushing the last three ingredients and the cooked yolks, it is increased to maximum power, which gives the dish a creamy appearance that takes it to another level.

one step further

There are so many varieties of tomato salad that we could write a doctoral thesis, but one that is not known in the country is the Extremaduran zorongollo (a delicacy made with tomatoes and roasted peppers), born in the La Vera region and of little use in society. In essence, it is the best of two wonderful worlds: tomato salad and roasted peppers.

If instead of roasted peppers we decide to explore the world of salted fish we will find the Catalan esqueixada. This cold vegetable salad with desalted cod is one of the best kept secrets of the creators of pa amb tomaquet, calçots and cannelloni. And this secret is quite indisputable because we are talking about one of the very simple preparations that can brighten up your day.

Moreover, it reminds us that cod is not just an Easter product, as is sometimes thought. It reminds us of the white bean empedrat, the cod brand or, of course, his majesty’s Granada soaking.

We’re talking an explosion of texture, flavor, and contrast, based on orange, cod, hard-boiled egg, chives, and black olives. And yes, I realize the season runs from November to March, which would make it more of a typical winter dish. But since it’s a cold salad (and a delicious one), we can sneak it in during the heat of the moment.

For coffee lovers, and since I’m talking about soaking, I can’t help but mention the strange Serrano lemon from Salamanca. A cold salad of lemon, orange, sausage, canned fish and eggs. And a food that is in danger of extinction.

Is there life beyond salads?

At this point I realize that I have been talking about cold summer salads for 1,500 words, and that means I have left dozens of great recipes in my bedroom. So I cannot pass without mentioning the Asturian “afogaos” calamari, the Cabanyal titaina or the Majorcan tumbet. There are three preparations that are usually associated with tapa (the first) or to accompany (the last two), but they taste like pure summer and are extremely invisible.

Image | DAP / Esther Clemente

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