“The most complete stew served in the whole world”. First of all, it should be noted that I am not saying this. Basically, because you have to have eaten a lot of stews to say something like that and because, on this specific topic, I think the defenders of the Galician broth or the Burgos rotten pot will also have something to say.
However, I must admit that I fully understand the Bilbao writer and gastronome Luis Antonio de Vega (1900-1977), who was “officially” the first to mention this recipe, which we are going to talk about in depth, and which was included in his Gastronomic Guide to Spain in 1957.
About its origin there are several versions, but the truth is that they are quite confusing and none of them seems to have much consistency. However, everything indicates that he was the novelist and playwright Alexandre Dumasvery given to visiting the post houses in the north of the country, the first prescriber to give a good account of that delicacy that today it remains virtually unknowninside and outside the capital of the Basque Country.
Of what there is no doubt is that the Vitorian stew It is something that everyone should try at least once in their life. And at that point, we have two options: prepare it at home, following the recipe that we are going to provide below, or go to the Arkupe Restaurant, one of the great classics of Vitoria-Gasteizwhich is currently the only establishment in all of the Basque Country that offers it on its stew menu, which also includes “Chickpeas with spider crab” or “Alubia pinta alavesa with its sacraments”.
Arkupe and El Portalón: the two temples of Vitorian stew
To discover all the secrets of this ideal recipe to combat the coldest of winters we have gone in search of Alberto Ortiz de Zarateowner of El Portalón and brother of Marta (Arkupe’s manager), no one knows better than him how the recovery of this dish, only suitable for lovers of good food, was conceived.
“My father, who is a great defender of stews, got in touch with the people of Apicius and gourmets like pepe auger, Juanjo Martínez de Viñaspre (Anemia) and Fernando Gonzalez de Heredia (Tote)and together they came to the conclusion that there was a Vitorian stew that had been lost and that it consisted of three overturns: chickpeas, white beans and pinto beans”.
And that was the seed for this iconic restaurant in Vitoria-Gasteiz, which is still an inn, to decide to recover this late 19th century recipespecifically from 1820, which is much more complex than it may seem at first glance.
Another of its peculiarities, in addition to using three legumes, is that it is used rice blood sausage, although Alberto admits to me that this was not the case originally. “In this case, we have swept for home, that’s why we use the ones from the Alava producer Suso, which are the ones we like the most.”
However, when choosing the wine that accompanies the Vitorian stewthey have remained faithful to tradition: “At that time there were no Crianza vinifications, that came later when importing the French system, that’s why we have opted for the wines of the yearso the experience is as faithful to reality as possible”, clarifies Ortiz de Zárate.
How to make Vitorian stew at home
As we have already been announcing, one of the main reasons why practically no one dares to prepare this stew at home it is because it takes time, it requires a lot of space and, in the words of Alberto himself, “has a lot of paraphernalia”.
He refers to the fact that this recipe requires several pots, bowls, plates,… and not even he dares to prepare this outside the restaurant: “At my place? It would never occur to me! (Laughter) You have to get up very early and dedicate the whole morning to it. They are many different cooking and it is not something that is within the reach of just anyone.”
To give you an idea, it is an elaboration as expensive as other very popular Basque cuisine: “The same thing happens to the Vitorian stew as to the pig’s trotters. You have to clean them, peel them, shave them, wash them, cook them, open them, bone them, stuff them… And the same thing happens with snails! They are not recipes to make at home, I do not know anyone who makes them.
There are many different cooking methods and it is not something that is within everyone’s reach
As for the previous work, you should know that the day before you have to soak all the legumes. But not in any way: the beans, each in a pot and with cold water. Chickpeas, in another, with hot water and a little salt.
The next day we put chorizo, pork ribs, bacon and chopped onion in the pot where the pinto beans are. we put them over medium heat for 2 hours (approximately 25 minutes if you use a pressure cooker) and repeat that same process with the other two pots. In the chickpeas we add chorizo, leek, peeled carrot (to remove bitterness) and onion, and then put it on the fire. And finally, in the pot where the white beans are, we put bacon, carrot and onion to do exactly the same thing.
Once everything is cooked mix in a fourth pot: two saucepans from the chickpea pot, another two from the white bean pot and one from the pinto bean pot, because it is the most powerful of the three. And to this we add a little of the broth that we have made with the meats (gang, hen, cane bone, ham bone) to finish with the secret touch that we must thank Dumas for: that saffron (5 strands) that we add just before the last cooking and that we need to obtain a Vitorian stew of ten.
At the time of presenting it starts with the broth, exactly the same as in the Madrid stew. They are then placed the different legumes (chickpeas, white beans, pinto beans) independently. Next, the meats arrive, which have been cooked with the vegetables, accompanied by cabbage and a bowl with tomato and piperrada. And from here, already everyone is free to mix at your whim all these wonderful products from our kitchen that are available to anyone.
By the way, if you decide to opt for the first option and allow yourself to visit the restaurant run by Alberto Ortiz de ZarateDon’t forget to try their squid rings. They are an institution in the city, and that is something that they have also earned.
practical data
Where: C/ Correria, 151. Vitoria-Gasteiz
Half price: €50
Bookings: 945 14 27 55 and on their website
Schedule: only closed on sunday nights
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