Benedicte is a French woman living in Barcelona. I met her through friends when she was visiting in California. At dinner, she mentioned her newfound career of "refurbisher of old Barcelona tiles". She transforms them into amazing tabletops. They look absolutely gorgeous, with bold geometric patterns and the patina of time embedded into them. These tile tops are graced with beautifully crafted, distressed iron legs. I ordered one on the spot (the Escher pattern) and it was delivered shortly to my door, all the way from the old continent, perfectly packed and intact.
Here is Benedicte in her own words:
"We moved to Barcelona for my husband's work 7 years ago. I noticed that many construction dumpsters were filled of absolutely gorgeous antique modernista floor tiles. I began dumpster diving for the tiles and bringing them home. I learned that these tiles were produced by applying colored powdered marble to a base of concrete through a hydraulic process. The tiles can be up to a hundred and twenty five years old and were a fundamental part of the Catalan Modernista movement which in many ways mirrored Art Nouveau. Antoni Gaudi is without doubt the Modernista’s most famous practitioner and his still unfinished Sagrada Familia Cathedral is the style’s finest example.
As the tiles began to fill up our small apartment I needed to find a way of utilizing them and this is how I came up with the idea of turning them into tables.
Beyond acquiring them from various dumpsters and work sites there is a tremendous amount of work required to make the tiles useable. Often up to 2 inches of old mortar and cement need to be first chiseled and then grounded off the bases of the tiles. The metal table base is hand wrought by Jaume, a Catalan craftsman. The base is then oxidized by a natural process which takes up to two months to reach the required level of patina. The oxidized tables are then sealed with a matte varnish and the restored tiles are laid then grouted in the table base. Finally the faces of the tiles are cleaned with a soft abrasive and sealed with linseed oil."
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You can have your own piece of old Spain, by contacting Benedicte at:
Mesabonita
Our second story is also from Barcelona, where our local correspondant, Cristian Ortega, a chef, culinary expert and food stylist takes us into the famous food market of "La Boqueria". Here is his report:
(click on images to see them bigger)
"They say the best way to discover the culture of a country is by visiting its markets. No doubt, a very exuberant and cosmopolitan city like Barcelona could have no better example of gastronomic tradition and cultural complexity than La Boqueria market.
Its origins date back to medieval times where a street market was placed in one of the main streets of this city known as "La Rambla", but it was not until 1914 when the market opened as we know it today with an area of 6000m2 and over 300 stands which are a delicious delicacy for thousands of tourists who visit it every day.
Besides offering a memorable gastronomic experience, a walk through La Boqueria, gives you modernist style architecture, and if you are lucky, you can meet some of the emblematic characters who have run their establishments for more than seventy years, offering the most exotic and best quality ingredients.
Juanito, one of the better known characters of the city, and owner of Bar Pinotxo, one of the most famous of Spain, tells us that the famous chef Ferran Adriá came to La Boquería for inspiration and to ask him for advice.... Gwineth Paltrow has been another of his clients leaving her visit immortalized in the book “Spain, A Culinary Road Trip”.
Besides the diversity of ingredients that we can find in the more than eleven aisles, what surprises most about La Boquería is the quality and freshness of its products, key to the success of any gourmet dish like Bacalao a la Llauna (Cod baked in a pan). It is one of the most typical dishes of Cataluña and you can find this recipe below.
After enjoying delicious tapas and several glasses of cava at Bar Pinotxo, we convinced Juanito to show us the secret ingredient of his successful restaurant. When he showed us, we were quite surprised."
RECIPE : Bacalao a la Llauna ( cod in the tin)
Ingredients
1 Kg( 2 pounds) salted Cod fillet
250 mlts( 1 cup) of White Wine
1 teaspoon of Paprika (Pimenton Picante)
1 can of piquillo peppers
5 cloves garlic
Flour
Parsley
Olive Oil
Procedure
1 It is important that the cod soak in water two days before cooking, changing the water at least three times during this period.
2 Dry well, cut the cod in even 1' squares and dust the cod with the flour.saute in plenty of olive oil not exceeding 50 ° C for 20 minutes, until all sides are golden.
3 Remove and place in a" tin" ( gratin type dish) container that can enter the oven.
4 Increase the temperature of the same oil and fry the chopped garlic. When browned,(be careful not to burn it), add the paprika and immediately add the white wine to prevent the paprika from burning. Let it boil for five minutes and pour the mix over the pieces of cod.
5 Garnished with chopped garlic and parsley and Piquillo pepper strips and bake until warmed.(5 minutes)
We are now coming back to California where I will share with you a Spanish gem that will make you want to click your heels and spin your flounces, without the hassle of security checkpoints.
If you love Mediterranean cooking, appreciate Antonio Banderas and Javier Bardem, have traveled to Spain and marveled at their crowded tapas bar where whole families enjoy the end of the day with friends before retreating for dinner at home, or if you have strolled through the Bocqueria market of Barcelona and wished that you could find the same treasures at home, if you always lust after the best saffron, anchovies, olives, brava sauce, jamon, or some obscure cheese you sampled in Bilbao…I have your one way ticket for the tastiest destination in town: The Spanish table.
I can spend hours leafing through their enticing cookbooks, perusing their long shelves loaded with imported handpicked food items. You may find hand rolled couscous in jars, or brandied figs dipped in chocolate, the biggest paella pan on the planet, or the tiniest, with all the necessary items for an authentic paella, or that rioja wine that would go perfectly with your manchego cheese and membrillo paste. You can applaud the clay pots, cazuellas, hand blown glasses, the turron that I am addicted to ( a hard nougat chock full of Marcona almonds), the best, plumpest sardines in lemon oil, the chorizos, the harissas, the green olive oils and more than a dozen pimiento powders. The plates, the baskets, the music…the space is a warehouse of surprises, a trove of foodie gifts, a cavern of earthy pleasures.
You can subscribe to their newsletter and be there, first in line, when they get their pallet of rabitos, chuppachups, pimiento del padron, or their plastic jamons!
Don’t wait! Rush there and be transported. Stores in Berkeley, Seattle and Mill Valley.
Back in my kitchen, I have prepared a couple of small Spanish dishes. One is an appetizer, made of Spanish piquillo peppers that you find roasted in a jar, filled with a bracingly lemony filling of incomparable Spanish tuna. The other is a desert, a take on the traditional flan, flavored here with an organic hazelnut chocolate cream.
The recipes:
Stuffed Peppers
makes 12 stuffed peppers( inspired by Cesar, tapas Bar)
I jar of roasted piquillo peppers
2 cloves garlic, crushed.
1 tbsp of white vine vinegar
1/2 tablespoons chili flakes
1 can Spanish tuna
1/2 cup mayonnaise
few threads of saffron
chives
pinch of cayenne pepper
zest of 1 lemon
salt and pepper to taste
Heat the vinegar and saffron until boiling. let rest a few minutes to cool. mix it into your mayonnaise unto which you will add the rest of ingredients. stuff your peppers.
Hazelnut chocolate flan
for 6
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbsp of water
melt your sugar and water over medium heat for 5 to 7 minutes until golden brown.
pour in ramequins. Put the ramequins in 2 " deep baking dish. Heat your oven to 350 and center the rack.
2 cups of whole milk
1/2 cup of sugar
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
3 Tbsp of hazelnut chocolate paste ( like Nutella), plus 1 tsp for drizzling on top
1 tsp of vanilla extract
powdered sugar for dusting
Combine milk and sugar and heat up gently until sugar has melted. add your hazelnut chocolate paste and mix thoroughly.
In a bowl, whisk eggs, egg yolks,vanilla. Add gradually your warmed chocolate milk to your egg mixture,pour it back into your pot, put the heat on low and whisk it until incorporated . pour into ramequins.fIll your dish half way with water and bake for an hour. cool at least for 2 hours in the refrigerator. drizzle with more chocolate and dust with powdered sugar.
