The chef from Valladolid prepared an ode to the local product through a sentimental culinary journey through the land of his childhood.  

As head chef at the La Garrocha restaurant (Valladolid), Chisco Alonso honours the product from his homeland by treating it with care and giving it the prominence it deserves on the plate. He demonstrated this in his presentation today at San Sebastian Gastronomika-Euskadi Basque Country, which was sponsored by Valladolid City Council. The city is in continuous gastronomic evolution, as Chisco himself pointed out: “everything in Valladolid used to be grill houses, but now we are constantly reinventing ourselves with different, attractive offers”. 

But despite this gastronomic evolution, Valladolid and its chefs have stayed loyal to local products, which give character and authenticity to their dishes. Alonso demonstrated this by presenting the products that were to form part of his gastronomic offering through a sentimental journey through the landscapes of his childhood: “the garlic fields, which are so important in Valladolid; the good cheese dairies on the hiking routes around Sardón routes; vegetable garden in Tudela de Duero, with its asparagus and cardoons; and the famous lamb from Traspinedo”. 

A self-confessed lover of these lambs which are no more than thirty days old, Chisco Alonso offered up a dish of lamb sweetbreads with cardoon and pine nuts –“pine nuts from Pedrajas, which are longer, more aromatic, tastier”. The chef prepared a sweetbread confit and then glazed them. He accompanied them with vacuum-packed cardoons, pine nuts, a garlic cream and a fine layer of Serrada wine, also a product with the Valladolid seal. The result, in the words of the chef himself, “a simple dish, an age-old culinary classic but with a little bit of grace, with very recognisable flavours”. 

But it was clear that we were talking about the cuisine of Valladolid, a city also known for its tapas and bars. Alonso suggested more versions of the same dish. “We are always thinking how to transform every dish into a tapa, and vice versa, because we like to offer different formats so that the customer can taste and enjoy it in the way they like it”. That is how the portion of sweetbreads with cardoons and pine nuts has been transformed into a two-bite sandwich tapa. The team at La Garrocha have put together a terrine with sweetbreads in a small sandwich format, served with a cream of raw milk cheese, from Sardón de Duero. A whole region on the plate, or at the bar, intended either way to be true to the surrounding environment and its producers. Brand Valladolid.