Chef David De Jorge and the cartoonist Javirroyo present a book about hilarious tortillas, in opposition to the haute cuisine
The potatoes omelette is one of the dishes for which our gastronomy deserves to be declared Intangible Heritage of Humanity, and Chef David de Jorge, known for the work Robin Food, together with the writer and artist Javirroyo, have come to talk about this, about The Tortilla God.
Why? They explain it: the tortilla is a thermometer. “If you put a good tortilla in a bar, you also ask for the menú. If it is bad, you go running.” In times when the gastronomy takes almost the dimension of art and the culinary realities are leaders of the audience, the book that publishes Debate is both a recipe book and a comic book. A mocking huckster yet very intelligent.
The Killer Onion and The Tortilla God
In the book, a part from the tortilla, there is an other main character: The Killer Onion, the previous emblematic character of Javirroyo. It was an hundred pages comic edited by Subterfuge Comix, that collects good part of the adventures carried out by that peculiar personage. Under that explicit name is hidden a masked vegetable, an ‘asexual vegetable’ that sows terror among his garden companions. A delirious comic plagued with black humor, innocent as well as critical with the system.
David de Jorge said that The Killer Onion needed his book. During all his deliveries the Killer Onion had the feeling that he wasn’t doing well with his missions. After finding The Tortilla-God, he discovered a new meaning to his life: in fact, there is no tortilla worthy of a name that doesn’t have onion.
From that thesis, the two men came up with this book. They know each others for many years, they both like comics and they both respect the tortilla that in their opinion deserves a tribute post-mortem (we are all going to kill it every day: we put it in little plates, we cut it, we lyophilize it, spherify it, fill it up).
In an interview for El País they said, in fact, that the chefs who experiment and make tortillas a rarity are like terrorists.
Koldo Rodero who makes delicious cubic tortillas should be burnt, tried to convince people to make octagonal tortillas. Dabiz Muñoz should also be burnt for making tortilla chips and Jesus Sànchez, as he made tortilla macaroni.
The best Tortilla ever for them: The Betanzos one, with its liquid heart is like the lost ark, but generally the matter is more complicate and involve the dish as a whole. The grace of the potato tortilla is that it’s like sex: “Everyone does it and everyone thinks they do it right!”
The Betanzos Tortilla
What should you never put in a potato omelette?
The tortilla has to be one, large and with onions. Fill it, cover it with mayonnaise, put it in pickle, they are all aberrations. In the book, the two friends give some ingredients that you can add to the tortilla so that the abuse is less terrible: add cod, sausage, garlic and green peppers or cooked meat and you’ll be safe from burning.
If you touch a tortilla a lot, they will send you the Killer Onion to slice you!
Some tips about where to find in Barcelona the best Tortillas ever
Norte Restaurant
Barcelona is not a square that looks with its potato tortillas. But the Norte team is not from Barcelona. Maybe that’s why every morning they get an omelette that raises the day. Like the ones from the north, come on! The restaurant is situated in Calle Diputació, 321. Barcelona, Metro L4 Girona.
Coral Restaurant
A place where you can live a real gastronomic experience. The restaurant serves an amazing tortilla and it is not a coincidence that it’s a place of Galician cuisine. The place is in Calle Nicaragua, 23. Barcelona, Metro L3, L5 Sants Estació.
Have a look here to other Spanish and Catalan restaurants listed in our directory!
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Source: El País
Photocredit: elpaís.com
Photocredit: javirroyo.com
Photocredit: pascualprofesional.com
