Máximo FERNANDEZ is a journalist specialising in gastronomy. For the last 14 years he has been the editor of the magazine PIPIRIPAO which is distributed to some 40,000 restaurant and catering professionals in Spain. Every Saturday and Sunday, he also presents the radio show Pipiripao on the Onda Rambla radio station. Founder of the Club of Centenary Restaurants, he publishes the gastronomic map of Barcelona every year, an essential guide to eating well in Barcelona.
Máximo, how are legumes used in Spanish restaurants ?
I would say that the customers of high-quality restaurants are becoming more and more interested in legumes, but in smaller proportions. The members of our Club of Centenary Restaurants always prepare classic dishes based on, for example, beans from La Granja, or chickpeas from the Canary Islands (Garbanzas) or the tiny little chickpeas from Extremadura . . . . but also more and more salads using legumes such as lentils or haricot beans. Catalan restaurants sometimes use the excellent Ganxet beans as a single dish, or in a stew with onion, olive oil and sea salt. However, the scarcity of indigenous products and the search for new varieties means that purchases are increasingly international. One experiments with new products and is generally pleasantly surprised, for example in the case of the black bean, which is becoming increasingly frequent in Spain.
Have you seen an evolution in preparation methods ?
Just as sea water is the best for cooking shellfish, I also believe the kind of water used to cook legumes is very important. Some chefs use mineral water such as Vichy Catalán. The legumes are soaked in this sparkling, sodium-rich water and are then cooked in the same now still water. The end product is much smoother and lighter.
