Out of bounds

     I have seen the future of food, and it’s bizarre. And wonderful. And mind-boggling. And delicious. And funny.

     And it speaks with a Spanish accent.

     I was lucky enough to be able to attend part of the CIA’s “Worlds of Flavor” conference last week at Greystone. The conference is a brilliantly orchestrated annual event, bringing together chefs and food professionals from all over the globe for 3 days of presentations, demonstrations and a whole lot of eating. This year’s theme was “Spain and the World Table.”

I went expecting to hear about paella and gazpacho and tortillas, with some sessions on cheese, and olive oil and Rioja wines thrown in for good measure. And I wasn’t disappointed – those were all in the mix.

But that was just the appetizer.

Until this conference, I hadn’t noticed how much a chef’s jacket resembles a lab coat. The presentations brought it home. Many of them were straight out of “Meet Mr. Wizard.”

We heard from a chef who distills muddy water, in order to capture the flavor essence of the soil, then forms it into a sauce to surround a fresh oyster, for a new approach to “surf and turf.”

Another emulsified olive oil and tomato water and drizzled drops into a bowl of liquid nitrogen, where they instantly froze into what looked like popcorn – which he then strewed as a chilly garnish (and when it melted, a dressing) on a carefully composed plate.

Dishes were being constructed, deconstructed and reconstructed all over the place. I tasted a Mexican “mole” consisting of unsweetened red pepper sorbet, a crisp chile tuile, and warm chocolate spume. (More weird than wonderful.) A Spanish “tortilla” was served in a shot glass: lightly cooked egg topped with creamy potato foam. (Yummy.)

Spanish chefs intend to redefine cooking as we know it.

Some creations were ludicrous. (Clay-covered potatoes that look like rocks? Not really a step forward.) Lots made me giggle, but it was hard to sneer — the chefs were just too open and generous. They let us in on the joke, so that we could laugh with them and share their delight at the surprising conflict between mind and tongue.

The one laughing the hardest, the ultimate source and font of inspiration for this movement, is an extraordinary man: Ferrán Adrià, the charming genius whose presentation capped the conference.

If you haven’t heard his name, or that of his 3 Michelin star restaurant, El Bulli, in an obscure town two hours from Barcelona, make a note of it. His unlimited creativity is already influencing the food on our plates, and will do so for years to come.

He is known for his gels and foams and globules (cantaloupe “caviar,” liquid “olives”), and his boundary-pushing experiments with temperature, texture, and flavor. A meal at El Bulli (for those few lucky enough to snag a reservation) is a 30-dish work of mind-bending avant-garde art, where nothing is as it seems.

He spends six months every year in his lab, experimenting for the next year’s menu. So when he bounded onto the stage I expected to see a mad scientist or a geeky technician. Instead, he was more like a combination of Dr. Seuss and Leonardo da Vinci.

No, he didn’t speak in rhymes – but he exuded the same spirit and humor and joy and mischievousness of Seuss. And the pure, outside-the-box, unbridled creativity and inventiveness of Leonardo.

Yes, he embraces the chemical compounds and technologies discovered by modern food scientists, but it’s in pursuit of art, not science. His goal is to unlock pure flavor, to push the bounds of cuisine, to create an unforgettable experience. He’s more sorcerer than technician.

And his many apprentices are rushing through the doors his magic has unlocked.

You and I may never get to El Bulli to taste the full range of his genius. But his influence is already in our restaurants – and eventually it will make it to our home kitchens.

As one speaker noted, today’s traditions were avant-garde a few hundred years ago. And today’s avant-garde is tomorrow’s tradition. So don’t be surprised if someday soon you find yourself reaching for xantham gum (“the new cornstarch”) to thicken the concoction you are whipping up in your shiny Thermomixer.

But don’t worry. It will still be food – and it will taste great.

 

*****

 

I haven’t yet stocked my kitchen with the requisite emulsifiers, gelatins, liquid nitrogen, syringes, whipped cream canister and Thermomixer (which is a kind of temperature-controlled blender) needed to duplicate what I tasted last week. And I confess, I’m not ready. I’d rather appreciate great art than imitate it with a paint-by-number kit at home.

So instead, I’m offering an easier example of the new Spanish cooking, an apple-olive tart. This recipe comes courtesy of my brother-in-law Doug (aka known as “The Well-Seasoned Traveler,” the terrific show he hosted on A&E). He adapted it from one served at Juan-Mari Arzak’s 3-star Restaurant Arzak in San Sebastian, Spain – a font of Spanish creativity. Nothing could be more Spanish than almonds, olives and oranges, which play together with the apples in this delicious, non-traditional dessert.

 

Carmelized Apple-Olive Tart

Courtesy Doug Duda, adapted from Juan-Mari Arzak

(Serves 6)

 

Ingredients

For the crust (bizcocho):
1/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/3 cup white sugar
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup very finely chopped almonds (almost a flour-like consistency)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. almond extract
8 egg whites (approximately 1 cup)
10 Tbsp. butter, melted and still warm

For topping (gratinado):
2 sweet apples (not Granny Smith)
1/4 cup pitted black Spanish olives, finely diced
2 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp. sugar

For sauce (salsa):
4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
2 tsp. white sugar
3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

For carmellizing and garnish:
Zest of one orange, dried and pulverized – or fresh zest, very finely minced
About 10 Tbsp. white sugar

Bizcocho:
In a large mixing bowl, combine all dry ingredients: sugars, baking power, flour, salt, and finely chopped almonds. Mix well. Add almond extract and egg whites and mix well. While continuing to mix, add the melted butter in a thin stream; mix well. Put the bowl in the refrigerator, covered, to chill for at least three hours
Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour a 9” x 12” oven- and broiler-proof cake pan. Pour in the batter – it should be about 1/2 inch deep. Bake until golden brown (about 15 minutes. Cut into six equal squares. Do not remove them from the pan. Set aside to cool. 

Gratinado:
Peel and core the apples. Grate or dice finely. Mix together with the diced olives and sugar. Liquid will pool in the bowl. Transfer the liquid into another small bowl or a blender, reserving the apples and olives. While whisking, add the olive oil in a thin stream to the liquid, as though you were making salad dressing. The mixture should thicken and emulsify. Pour this mixture into the reserved apple/olive mixture and stir together. Spread this topping evenly on the cake squares.

Salsa:
In a blender or a food processor fitted with a steel blade, blend cream cheese, sugar, and olive oil until it reaches the consistency of mayonnaise.

To serve:
Sprinkle a thick even layer of sugar on top of the apple-covered cake squares. Place them under the broiler until the sugar caramelizes (Monitor this continuously! Or use a kitchen torch for more control.). Let cool a couple minutes to allow the caramel to harden. Serve with a dollop of sauce on the side; sprinkle the orange zest on top of the sauce.