NAVARRA GOURMET

Salt vaporization, vegetables

Enrique Martínez “Maher”, de Cintruénigo

“Cook naturally”

Enrique Martínez, chef at the Maher restaurant in Cintruénigo, expressly recommended the attendees at the Navarre Gourmet - Enjoy Vegetables congress to "cook naturally". The Navarre chef explained that he has been working with organic farming for the last eleven years and affirmed that, in this respect "we have an excellent line in Navarre".

Martínez stated that there are 700 farmers working in organic agriculture with 30,000 hectares in Navarre and that, between cattle farming and agriculture, 500 products have already been certified. "This will allow us to adopt a healthier and better life style, just like our grandfathers" he declared.

At the congress, Enrique Martínez presented the salt vaporisation technique applied to vegetables, based on his philosophy of "a produce-based cuisine". Through this technique, the meat, fish or vegetables acquire the aromas and flavours of the salts used. To demonstrate this, he explained how to prepare a dish of "Artichokes, Char-grilled pigeon with rosemary and ginger, and Pacharan (sloe berry aniseed liquor) reduction sauce.

“The salts and aromatic essences are sprinkled on a chrome plated griddle on which the meat or fish is then placed. This is then cooked in the oven by means of a vaporisation technique, impregnating the dishes with aromas", explained the chef. In this way, a mixture of salts can be used with Himalayan rose, smoked or citrus teas. "The secret of these product vaporization cooking techniques, lies in getting just the right temperature to enhance the flavour and aromas", he stated.

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