Jordi Jacas: “Buy the anchovies with olive oil; discard those that are sold with salt”

Cassà de PelràsI am interviewing the chef Jordi Jacas on the day he has prepared a catering event at a private house, where the Catalan Academy of Gastronomy and Nutrition has welcomed the academic Sandro Rossell. He has prepared a meal with foods in which honey and oil have shone. For dessert, the pastry chef Oriol Balaguer has provided ‘bisbalencs’, the small puff pastry bites filled with angel hair jam. Jordi is an ambassador for the cuisine and the produce of l’Escala, where he was born, grew up, and where he works, at the El Molí restaurant. And l’Escala has always been linked to fishing since ancient times: studies suggest that between the 17th and 18th centuries, fishermen from Empúries and Roses settled there and it became a town.

You have served anchovies on toast with smoked butter and, afterwards, chopped in a salad with preserved tomato, with extra virgin olive oil and with honey.

— We from l’Escala are very proud of our anchovies for many reasons. The first, because they are made in our town. We have seven companies dedicated to it, four of which are grouped under the name ofUnion of Historical Salters of the Anchovy of l’Escala. The tradition of fishing for anchovies is ancient; there were many fishermen who dedicated themselves to it, and in our town there was a lot of industry. The sardinal technique allowed for large quantities to be caught, and above all, it was helped by what has been called the concord, the reduction of the debt of the tithe to the fishermen, which came from the Middle Ages but lasted for centuries beyond. The reduction of that toll meant that fishermen came from other places in the Mediterranean. And also because we had a salt warehouse, a large building where salt that arrived in ships from outside was stored. Today there is the Museum of l’Escala.

Salt was, and is, a food preservative.

— The fishermen’s wives were the ones who salted the anchovies that the men caught; they turned them into anchovies. They used the technique alla vera carne, which came from Sicily, and which consists of placing the anchovies in contact with each other, with little salt. With the arrival of tourism, it began to disappear because they built premises on the seafront. What I mean by all this is that l’Escala is a town that has a method and history linked to the anchovy. And above all: women are the ones who have always led the anchovy industry in l’Escala. Without women, we would not have had salted fish.

Not many anchovies are fished in the Mediterranean.

— No, and what is caught is small, but the salting industry is indeed done in l’Escala, and it is very powerful and well done. We ourselves, at the restaurant, use some from each of the factories that are there. For the anchovy to be good it is very important that we know in what season it was caught and, afterwards, what point of maturation it has. When we know these two variables, then we buy them.

In which dishes do you use it?

— In many. And I use the water as well, the colatura.

Can you explain to me what it is?

— The colatura, from the Italian colatura di alici, is the liquid that is made during the maturation of anchovies in salt. It is not thrown away, but rather filtered and made into a condiment. I use it for snacks with rice and nori seaweed, which is crunchy, and is eaten with one’s hands.

Do you make salted dishes at the restaurant?

— Yes, but the amount of anchovies we use in the restaurant is higher than what we can supply with our own saltings; we have to buy some. Around the anchovy, there is another industry, which we also use for the restaurant, which is the anchovy-stuffed olives. I buy those from El Xillu. The fact is that wherever I go I always carry a jar of anchovies under my arm.

At the restaurant you order the steak tartare.

— And it is a very good combination. Also with cured ham; with tomato; with dairy products like butter, cottage cheese, and a bit of jam to play with the sweet and salty. And the best dish: alone, as a fillet. Without anything else. I always recommend everyone buy it in olive oil; discard those sold in salt. Then clean it at home; if necessary, remove any remaining bones, dry it a little to remove the remaining water and serve it on a plate with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, a pinch of pepper and, if you have a spray bottle, a touch of vinegar. And that will be it.

In addition to the anchovy, rice dishes are also protagonists at El Molí.

— Since we opened, thirty-two years ago, I opted for traditional cuisine: casseroles, fish stews, the product, which obsesses us and for which we buy fish directly at the fish market, grilled meats and, yes, rice dishes too. We are a very rice-focused restaurant. At lunchtimes they especially work very well, and even more so on Saturdays and Sundays. At night, foreigners ask for them. The fact is that we are lucky to have great rice crops around us, such as the one from Pals by Albert Grassot, who is a genius. Every year I am a judge in three different rice competitions. At the one in Sant Pere Pescador, the one at the Club Nàutic de l’Escala and the one at the Festa de la Reparada, in Cinc Claus, where neighbors compete against each other.

On the restaurant’s menu you also have mimosa eggs, which we tasted today.

— This dish has been made for twenty years, and we have it because it is a wonderful dish, which we prepare with parts of fish that are not well valued, such as conger eel. Since we are very close to the fishermen, we maintain a dialogue with them, and we want to give value to fish that are off the market. The conger eel is one of them; I use it for the bouillabaisse, and the tail, which I prepare as if it were a brandade, for the mimosa eggs.

For ten years now, the El Molí restaurant has also had rooms.

— In 2016 we built four rooms, and now we already have fourteen. Having them helps us a lot to work all year round, especially in winter.

Jordi, at what vital moment do you see Catalan cuisine being in?

— I see that there is a diner with a lot of judgment and knowledge. Furthermore, in our sector costs have increased a lot and, therefore, it is complicated for us to make a margin. And to continue, I see a young generation that I like a lot, that has clear ideas and does it very well. Therefore, I consider that Catalan cuisine is in good health. And it is true that there has been a fusion with trends and products from other cuisines, but the base is our recipe book.

To finish, what new projects are you working on?

— In a new business line, which will be added to the restaurant, the hotel, and the catering services we provide. This new line will be food prepared by us that you can buy to eat at home. We have made a beer, canned tuna, and pickled sardines. We will create a website to sell it; it will also be available for purchase at our restaurant. For now, we have started with these three products, and I cannot tell you the name yet because it is a novelty. But we are launching it on the market now.