NAVARRA GOURMET

Traditional techniques in the Nouvelle Cuisine: vegetable pickles and marinades

Ricardo Gil “Treintaitres”, in Tudela

Pickles revamped to reach Nouvelle Cuisine status

Pickles, long rejected by Haute Cuisine, regained their value during the paper presented at the Navarre Gourmet - Enjoy Vegetables Congress by Ricardo Gil, the chef at the Treintaitrés restaurant in Tudela, and Pedro Gorrindo, from Ríoverde.

The chef explained that the traditional pickling methods using brine, desalting and vinegar have now given way to less aggressive techniques such as pasteurisation or slow cooking, to offer a more natural product, which still maintains its flavour. "When I discovered this, I realised that we ought to find a way to include pickles in our menus" he declared, and hoped that in a few years time "we'll be offering an extensive menu which includes pickles, and that the lead is taken by us chefs here in Navarre".

“In this way the product becomes much crunchier than before, which comes within the crispy cuisine we are looking for and is more like the natural product", the chef explained, who went on to throw out a series of ideas to professionals. "I don't know why pickled vegetables aren't being made, because it could be a really good idea for summer. And why not make a gherkin mayonnaise for a marinated salmon?", he questioned.

To demonstrate this new cuisine line - "there's no need to look further than our own doorstep for new things", he affirmed - Ricardo Gil prepared some "Pickled artichokes "previously well blanched, salted to taste and refreshed".

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