The Cook Lucia Gravalos is a native of Calahorra (La Rioja), the self-proclaimed Vegetable Capital: one of the largest agricultural hubs in Spain, also famous for its canning industry. It is not surprising, therefore, that cooking with vegetables is in the DNA of this woman from La Rioja, led by Mentica Gastronomico, a very interesting proposal that will soon complete a year of activity in the center of Madrid.
But, curiously, there was a time when Grávalos he didn’t like vegetables at all. “I ate very badly when I was growing up and my grandmother tricked me into putting vegetables in me, she would cover her dishes for me,” the cook explains to Direct to the Palate. Her grandmother, she explains, was the one who awakened her passion for cooking after her: “She is an exceptional cook, although she has not been professional. She has always brought us all together around a table and she has kept the family super close”.
Some of his star dishes, explains Grávalos, are in fact refined adaptations of his grandmother Ana Mari’s recipe book. dishes like “yaya chard” –in the opening photo–, where the stalks stuffed with chorizo are surrounded by a garlic cream, another of the leaves of the vegetable itself and some spherifications of ham broth; wave calagurritana cauliflower, stewed in noisette butter and served with a bacon-infused bechamel with sturgeon caviar and a crispy cauliflower itself. Two super tasty vegetable dishes, which alone justify a visit to the restaurant.
But in its long tasting menu (100 euros), baptized as the Great trip through La Riojawe find many more surprises from the garden, which, explains Grávalos, come and go depending on the season: “We have a spectacular garden, to which you have to make the most of it. My kitchen changes seasonally. I’m looking forward to spring to bring tear pea, white asparagus and spring artichoke, which is the one I like the most, the most delicate.”
From Laurel Street to Anguiano
Although vegetable dishes are Mentica’s calling card, the restaurant is far from a vegetarian haven. And it is that in La Rioja there are not only vegetables, there are also the typical pinchos of the Laurel street in Logroño (which star in the appetizers), legumes, cod or lamb.
I especially liked the Anguiano shells, a typical bean from the area and, at the same time, a stew similar to the pot rotten or Tolosa beans, which is served in two presentations: a very dense cream made with the beans and a brioche toast with its crumbled sacraments. A super successful plate of concentrated flavors.
It is also pure umami fake tomato paste nigiri, reverse textured yolk, egg and bacon lace, which is accompanied by homemade Chinese bread, to spread. I don’t understand the resemblance to nigiri, when the dish is more of a recreation of the lean meats with tomato, but that reduced frying for three days was enough to finish off all the Chinese bread on the peninsula.
The Cod, which has had historical importance in a region of merchants where muleteers abounded, is also the protagonist of three preparations that are served in unison: a kokotxa al pil pil, a smoked brandade with a crumble of its skins, a croquette of cod tripe with green pepper (very rich).
And finally comes the mutton, another emblem of La Rioja that is served cooked at low temperature, in the form of a terrine, accompanied by a foam from its interiors, broccoli and raspberries. Very good.
In Madrid by obligation
There is a lot of skill in the Grávalos kitchen, which has been trained by chefs of the stature of Martin Berasategui, Dani Garcia and Alvaro Salazar. And we have to thank the pandemic for having ended up presenting his kitchen in Madrid.
“I spent a few years in Logroño directing my cooking philosophy, with a gastronomic concept,” explains the cook. “With the pandemic I decided to open a delivery which went very well and doing projects on my own in Calahorra. we did the delivery at night and the gastronomic one in the morning. We provided 10 cutlery a day and to be able to have staff and develop techniques was difficult. My brother is here in Madrid and we decided to come, because he was the only city in the country where you could work then”.
Mentica won a Repsol sun in the latest edition of the guide, presented a few weeks ago, and with a little more daring and filming in theaters, the Michelin star. There is plenty of talent, only a little more equipment is missing.
“Tradition will always be linked to my cooking, but it is true that we are working on techniques, and we are making a more contemporary kitchen”, concludes Grávalos. “We really like creativity and we are there all day, but it has been difficult to expand the team during these months. We open almost in summer and, after raising our heads, came the sixth wave. Now with everything that’s going on [en Ucrania] we are waiting, but little by little we are expanding the team and we are doing more R&D things. It is a long-term project, with a firm step, and it is something that I am not in a hurry, I want to do it well”.
We will be here to follow in your footsteps.
What to ask for: Three tasting menus are served at Mentica: executive (5 passes, €45), tradition (6 passes, €65) and the Great Journey through La Rioja (15 passes, €100). Some of the dishes are on all three menus, but the best way to try the entire Grávalos kitchen is the long menu which, despite its high price, is well worth it. There is the possibility of ordering wine pairings, at 25, 30 and 40 euros, depending on the number of glasses.
practical data
Where: Calle de Sagasta, 12. Madrid
Half price: €80/120
Bookings: 912 88 20 95
Schedules: closed sunday and monday
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