NAVARRA GOURMET

Cuisine for enjoyment

Nicolás Ramírez “Tubal”, in Tafalla

“Young chefs are forgetting about traditional cuisine”

At the Navarre Gourmet - Enjoy Vegetables Congress, Nicolás Ramírez, the chef from the Túbal Restaurant in Tafalla, came out in favour of traditional cuisine and deplored the fact that the new generations of chefs are forgetting the origins of cuisine.

As Ramírez explained, the Túbal cuisine is based on updating and revamping traditional dishes. "It's very important to have restaurants that still maintain tradition, because the new generations are forgetting all about it. To continue with traditional cuisine is not as easy as it appears, dishes need to be revamped and updated", he indicated.

The chef, who complained that it is extremely difficult to "find a dish with a traditional recipe", explained that, in his menu, vegetables are given "the importance they deserve" by including from eight to ten vegetable-based dishes, from amongst the most popular dishes from previous seasons, traditional dishes and new additions. "We don't offer a tasting menu because we like guests to prepare their own particular menus. We believe that this is the best option for discovering the Túbal style cuisine", he affirmed.

He demonstrated this style of cuisine with some of his more classic dishes such as "Borage crêpe with clam sauce", a classic dish prepared with fresh borage, "a humble plant with a delicate flavour, which is only dressed with a green sauce"; or asparagus spears and tips, accompanied by cockles. "It's a dish which comes as a surprise because people aren't used to eating raw vegetables", this chef explained.

Nicolás Ramírez also demonstrated another traditional classic dish, fried eggs with fries, peppers and mountain ham, but with a new look: "This is a safe dish, a dish which everyone knows about, but with a new image". His menu also includes tempura-fried vegetables and baby squid, varying the vegetables according to season. "It's such a classic dish that it's always on the menu, because it's so popular", he indicated.

The chef took advantage of the occasion to demonstrate two new recipes which have been recently added to the menu: "Egg sautéed with peas and baby broad beans, St George's mushrooms and asparagus" and "Creamy rice with artichokes and baby squid, borage and garlic flavoured mayonnaise and crispy vegetables", this last dish is served upright.

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