Dried cod in mayonnaise is a Basque specialty. The autonomous Basque region in northern Spain is known for its excellent cuisine. That's something Ager Urigüen Uribe shares in his restaurant, Txokoa.
Image: DW/L. Ganssmann
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Video: Cooking step-by-step, Bacalao al pil pil, Spain
A born sommelier meets a passionate chef. One is Chilean with deep roots in Barcelona, and the other is Basque. Both are experts of haute cuisine. It's almost inevitable that the two will come together to present their united vision of Spanish hospitality. Since 2013, Ager Urigüen Uribe has served up incomparable dishes at the restaurant Txokoa in Neukölln - and Giovanni Gonzales Miranda has been offering the perfect wine accompaniment. The culinary artworks and fluid delicacies are on offer in a relaxed atmosphere - as though one weren't just on a journey with friends, but at home with them.
Giovanni Gonzalez Miranda and Ager Urigüen Uribe Image: DW/L. Ganssmann
Txokoa in Berlin's Neukölln district
The word "Txokoa," which can be a little bit of a challenge for the tongue, is Basque and translates roughly to "cozy corner." And it follows a Basque tradition: of renting a place with a kitchen with friends and cooking and celebrating together! And there, Giovanni Gonzalez Miranda and Ager Urigüen Uribe are hosts and friends alike.
50 kitchens, one city: Spain
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Bacalao al pil pil
Serves 4
Ingredients:
4 pieces salt-cured cod of approximately 100-150 g each
3 cups Spanish extra-virgin olive oil
3 cups cod skin and fish bones
3 cloves garlic
Half of dry red árbol chile or guindilla pepper, thinly sliced or crumbled
Preparation:
Place salted cod in water two days prior to cooking, changing water three times a day.
Add olive oil, skin and bones, garlic, and pepper to a pot and cook very slowly. Strain ingredients and put remaining liquid in another pot. At the bottom of the pot, there will be a milky substance that beads in the small amount of remaining oil. This is the gelatin. Whisk this mixture in order to form an emulsion, called pil pil.
At the same time, place fish and a little oil in the oven at 180° C or in a pan. Cook or fry fish slowly. Once fish is cooked through, after about three minutes, add fish to emulsion.
Place fish in a new pan with gelatin. Add more oil and whisk mixture gently in order to form an emulsion.
Top the cod generously with emulsion and garnish with a piece of sliced chili and fried garlic. Serve warm.
Txokoa prepares Bacalao al pil pil
Dried cod in mayonnaise is a Basque specialty. The autonomous Basque region in northern Spain is known for its excellent cuisine. That's something Ager Urigüen Uribe shares in his restaurant Txokoa.
Image: DW/L. Ganssmann
A vision of Spanish hospitality
"The Gastrobar, the idea behind it was to do something really informal. Something like gastronomic, like really high cuisine where I was working before, but to make it accessible for people. It is a kind of democratizing the high cuisine. A restaurant with the atmosphere of a bar." - Ager Urigüen Uribe
Image: DW/L. Ganssmann
Dream team
Ager Urigüen Uribe is the chef in the kitchen, Giovanni Gonzalez Miranda the host. Together, they are the creative minds behind Txokoa, a so-called "gastrobar." The concept was something they brought with them from Spain: small dishes to share in an easy-going atmosphere. Nothing chic, just the finest Spanish cuisine.
Image: DW/L. Ganssmann
Txokoa - Basque for "cozy corner"
Fitting to its name, the restaurant found a home on the corner in Neukölln. Ager Urigüen Uribe and Giovanni Gonzalez Miranda liked the diversity in the western Berlin neighborhood, which has developed quite a bit in recent years. In the beginning, the restaurant was only open in the evenings, but they now have a lunch menu.
Image: DW/L. Ganssmann
The secret is in the Spanish sauce
You don't need many ingredients for Bacalao al pil pil, but you do need a fine touch and the right timing. The especially tricky part is creating the mayonnaise out of the fish skin's gelatin. That can only be done through a slow simmer. The oil cannot get too hot. The emulsion which develops from the oil and gelatin is known as pil pil.
Image: DW/L. Ganssmann
Bacalao al pil pil, a special root
"The fishermen used to go to cut this cod to cold waters in the north and they used to cut it and part of them were put on salt for the conservation of the fish and part of them they put it on oil and the movement of the boot actually created this incredible sauce, actually just oil and the gelatine of the fish." - Ager Urigüen Uribe
