Recipes in "Tapas: a Taste of Spain in America"

[Brett Emerson]

Chef Andrés, although I have never had the good fortune of dining in any of your restaurants in the D.C. area, I have throughly enjoyed cooking through the American version of your new book "Tapas: a Taste of Spain in America." I am a chef who loves Spanish cooking and am preparing to open a little neighborhood restaurant in San Francisco (opening beginning of next year) that will feature a few Spanish-style dishes on the seasonally changing menu.

I was wondering if you could share with us the story behind some of the modern and innovative techniques that a few of your recipes feature. For example, the technique of slow roasting meats at 200-250 degrees Fahrenheit and then searing them at the end, a reversal of the usual order. Also, blanching mollusks in boiling water for a few seconds, as opposed to steaming them open in a covered pan. Did you learn and develop these techniques while working with Ferran Adrià at El Bulli? Also, how do you adapt some of the techniques (especially the long cooking times of slow roasting) to the fast pace of a professional kitchen?

Edited October 16, 2006 by Brett Emerson (log)

[Jose Andres]

Chef Andrés, although I have never had the good fortune of dining in any of your restaurants in the D.C. area, I have throughly enjoyed cooking through the American version of your new book "Tapas: a Taste of Spain in America." I am a chef who loves Spanish cooking and am preparing to open a little neighborhood restaurant in San Francisco (opening beginning of next year) that will feature a few Spanish-style dishes on the seasonally changing menu.

I was wondering if you could share with us the story behind some of the modern and innovative techniques that a few of your recipes feature. For example, the technique of slow roasting meats at 200-250 degrees Fahrenheit and then searing them at the end, a reversal of the usual order. Also, blanching mollusks in boiling water for a few seconds, as opposed to steaming them open in a covered pan. Did you learn and develop these techniques while working with Ferran Adrià at El Bulli? Also, how do you adapt some of the techniques (especially the long cooking times of slow roasting) to the fast pace of a professional kitchen?

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Well the searing at the end i think is the future........Do you like to burn yourself? NO right? your body contracts.....So same thing happens to meat........Cooked first and seared after....Maillard reaction always at the end will be best..........People like Harold McGee helps us Cocineros to understand better the world we live in....

The mollusk is yes a simple thing but HUGE at the same time.....And as many things we should thank Ferran Adria for it...

[Brett Emerson]

Thank you for your reply. I'd love to know more about how you adapt the long cooking times in your restaurants? If you don't mind me asking, I'm curious if you only fire the dish after it is ordered or do you cook a few ahead based on experience?