Chef Angel Leon's seafood magic

Last week we had an amazing opportunity to attend a cooking presentation by one of Spain's top chefs: Angel Leon. The base is hosting a series of "Foodie Tours" to sample Spanish specialties, and it kicked off with an evening of food and sherry, prepared by Angel Leon and his staff from Aponiente. Of course my husband and I, amateur foodies, jumped at the chance to attend. His staff prepared and plated food in their "kitchen stadium" while he showed us a PowerPoint demonstrating the philosophy behind his cooking. He presented in Spanish, with an American translator.

 I had heard that Angel Leon was a seafood specialist, but I had no idea that there was so much science and philosophy behind his cuisine. He was born and raised in this area, Cadiz, and believes in showcasing the seafood that is caught locally. In fact, he opened his flagship restaurant not in Madrid or New York, as he could have, but instead right in El Puerto de Santa Maria, the town just outside base, because that is where his cuisine experience is rooted. (And because Spaniards are ridiculously faithful to their home province!)

His entire menu is seafood, because he has found ways to replace any part of a pig, sheep, or cow with different varieties of sea life.   But not just famous, well-known fish. Instead, he prefers to find creative ways to use fish that are often rejected because they are not widely recognized at market. Or he uses unique ingredients--like olive pits--to impart a smoky, unusual flavor to the fish. His anchovies smoked over olive pit flames were delicious!

So, for example, he makes fish sausage, and a fish pate that tastes just like chorizo with the smoked pimenton flavor. They were different from anything I have ever tasted, and had a strong fishy flavor, but once you accepted that, the food was delicious!

His philosophy is to use the entire ocean food chain, beginning with plankton. So he served us plankton risotto, which is the one dish that is never taken off his menu. It was smooth, tasty, perfectly rich... and green. He said that most people complain that plankton tastes like fish, when, in reality, it is fish that tastes like plankton. Plankton is apparently a great source of oils, vitamins, and nutrients, but his restaurant is the only one in the world that serves it! He learned to grow his own plankton in a laboratory because it is impossible to harvest enough to cook with.

The final picture, above, is a raw crab leg marinated in beet juice. I enjoy sushi, so have no aversion to raw fish, but this was much more tender, juicy, and flavorful than any sushi I have had. Even the green leaf decoration was carefully selected to match the beet flavor-- it is a local vegetable with a high acidity, almost citrus-like. When eaten after the crab, it was a fresh burst of flavor that cleansed the palate. Very enjoyable!

We had a wonderful time and enjoyed trying food that is certainly outside our typical fare. It was very interesting to learn about Angel Leon's philosophy and some of his seafood magic tricks. And it was certainly enjoyable that different sherries were served with each course. But more about sherry in my next post... :-)