Greetings!

 

Movida Rustica 

Next week we'll be having Tapas with MoVida Rustica!
 
Please join us instore on Tuesday 17 November to meet the award winning co-author
Richard (and maybe Frank), taste dishes from the book, sample some Spanish wines & celebrate the release of their latest book.

Frank was born in Barcelona and spent his first five years in Andalucia, before his parents migrated to Australia. In 2000, Frank travelled throughout Spain and was inspired by both the modern and traditional aspects of Spanish cuisine. At his restaurant, MoVida, Frank was determined to share his discoveries and bring the tastes of his homeland to his adopted country. This determination has led to him receiving major awards for his food, his first book MoVida and the establishment of MoVida Next Door and most recently MoVida Acqui & Terrazo

Richard is a television producer and food writer. He is also a creative director for the Melbourne Wine & Food Festival and a major contributor for The Age Epicure.  He writes, and is passionate about, the connection between the land, producer, chef and consumer and its significance to food diversity and taste

In MoVida Rustica, Frank & Richard returned to Spain to sample & record the rustic, rural & unexpected culinary culture that is ingrained in Spain. During their travels they made many discoveries & friends; mostly over a tapas or two, a beer or three and.... 

In their new book, Frank reproduces many traditional as well as innovative recipes that were discovered in their travels but perfected for the home cook, and Richard tells the stories behind the origins of the authentic cuisine of the Spanish cities, towns and countryside, as well as the characters they met and frineds they made.

From the nation's bustling capital Madrid and Basque seaside towns to rustic Andalucia with its Sherry Triangle, Frank & Richard highlight the pillars of Spanish cooking, and the culture in which the food is grown,  prepared and eaten. Some of the core ingredients like smoked paprika, known as pimenton, chorizo and the omnipresent jamon Serrano and Iberico are explained with mouth watering recipes, lore and manufacturers.

Richard is a consumate story teller and has many stories to share with us...

Bookings are essential
Places are limited to 25 (due to the weather). 

If you can't attend, we can organise signed and/or personalised copies
of both MoVida books for you.


Churrasco Grilled Pork Loin Chops
Churrasco
grilled pork loin
6 raciones*

I have always wondered why - apart from the fact that it tastes so good - the Spanish eat so much pork. Perhaps it originated as a knee-jerk reaction during the post-Moor period when the Spanish Inquisitors were roaming the country torturing anyone who didn't conform to their particular brand of monotheism. Jews and Muslims who had converted to Christianity often lived in fear and proclaimed their new faith by publicly eating pork; The more enthusiastic converts would hang a ham or sausages above their door. Every time my dad goes back home he heads down to the old town and seeks out his favourite grill, just near the Mezquita (great mosque). There he sits and orders a great plate of sliced grilled pork loin served with two lively sauces: a fresh oregano and raw garlic sauce, and a red sauce made from piquillo peppers and chilli. I now find myself following in my father's footsteps.

Ingredients
salsa verde
2 handfuls of oregano leaves
4 garlic cloves, chopped
a handful of parsley
220 ml (7 1/2 fl oz) extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons fennel seeds, toasted and ground
juice of 1/2 lemon
Salsa de piquillo
250 g (9 oz) jar of piquillo peppers, drained
2 red bullet or other medium-hot
chillies, seeded
2 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 tablespoon ground cumin
125 ml (4 fl oz/ 1/2 cup) extra virgin olive oil
To serve
3 pork loin fillets, about 350 g (12 oz) each
olive oil, for pan-frying (optional)
fine sea salt

Put all the salsa verde ingredients in a food processor and blend for 1-2 minutes, or until smooth. Season to taste, pour into a serving bowl, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.
Put all the salsa de piquillo ingredients in a food processor and blend for 1-2 minutes, or until smooth. Season to taste, pour into a serving bowl, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.
The pork loins can be chargrilled or pan-fried. To chargrill the pork, heat some barbecue coals so that you can only hold your hand 12 cm (4 1/2 inches) above them for no longer than 3 seconds.  Season the fillets well and grill each of the four sides for 3 minutes each, then turn and cook each side again for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and allow to rest in a warm place for 5 minutes.
To pan-fry the pork loins, preheat the oven to 200ºC (400ºF/Gas 6).
Place 40 ml (1 1/4 fl oz) olive oil in a large, heavy-based, ovenproof frying pan over medium-high heat until very hot. Add the pork fillets and cook each of the four sides for 1 minute each, sprinkling each side with fine sea salt as you go. Transfer the pan to the oven and cook the pork for 5 minutes, then remove from the oven and allow to rest in a warm place for 5 minutes.
To serve, cut the fillets into slices 2 cm ( 3/4 inch) thick and enjoy with the two salsas.

*(taken from MoVida Rustica - copyright Frank Camorra, Richard Cornish & Murdoch Books)
Books for Cooks
new & old books about wine, food &
the culinary arts bought & sold
233-235 Gertrude St Fitzroy, VIC 3065
613 8415 1415