In my columns I am typically recommending restaurants, bars and cafes where I have eaten well or had an exceptional drink, but every so often I get invited to try something away from the standard bar/restaurant setting. One such invitation earlier this month was to Tast de Rosa Blanca - a Rosa Blanca beer tasting event with the gastronomy archaeologist Tomeu Arbona and the pastry chef Lluís Pérez at “Fundació Pilar i Joan Miró”. Described as an “ephemeral gastronomic proposal that will combine the universe of the painter, sculptor and ceramist Joan Miró with local cuisine, made with seasonal products, while allowing a discovery all the nuances of Rosa Blanca beer”, it sounded like a treat not to be missed!
Having interviewed both Tomeu Arbona and Lluís Pérez in the past, as well as Miró’s grandson Joan Punyet Miró, who showed me around the museum and the studio last summer, I felt as if I would be amongst friends and in a familiar setting. Still, one cannot be but in awe of the gorgeous courtyard where about 60 of us were about to dine! Two long tables were beautifully set with white table cloths and bright yellow square table mats, with large juicy pomegranates scattered around. Rosa Blanca branded light blue chairs provided colour contrast just like in Miró’s paintings.
The cook and pastry chef Tomeu Arbona - a former psychologist, now the archaeologist of gastronomy - is famous for his “dedication to recover traditional cuisine”. He has run the Fornet de la Soca, “a small 15th century workshop that offers kitchen products and confectionery from completely handmade production”. Young Lluís Pérez opened his pastry shop in the centre of Palma at the age of 27 and quickly became one of the most famous pastry chefs on the island. For the purpose of tasting Rosa Blanca the two pastry chefs combined their talents to create a selection of four savoury and two sweet dishes that would “evoke the shapes and flavors of the pictorial universe of Miró”.
We started with “jellied cod slices”, apparently one of Joan Miró’s favorite dishes. Pieces of cod were immersed in a liquefied, filtered and jellied cod juice. This was accompanied by black olives and tomato seeds. While the freshness of the Rosa Blanca beer enhanced the flavour of the cod and gave it citrus notes, I preferred the look of this dish to its taste.
Next we had “toasted bread with sobrasada”, a savoury pastry from the popular post-war kitchen. A toasted bread ensaimada was topped with black pork sobrasada, Son Cànoves goat cheese and apricot jam. The gas of the beer cleansed the intense flavors of the dish and prevented it from overwhelming the palate. This was one of two savoury dishes I enjoyed the most; I loved the combination of sobrasada with strong cheese and sweet jam!
The third course was “pickled fresh sardines and pears” i.e. pickled sardines with San Juan pears. This was probably my favourite dish of the evening, both in terms of what it looked like and the surprising but complementary combination of pickled fish with pears, a strawberry and a sprinkle of chopped dried apricots. Here, the bitterness of Rosa Blanca contrasted perfectly with the sweet and sour notes of the dish.
The final savoury dish was “rice “de caseta” with bits of butifarró”, a pretty heavy rice and sausage dish, typically served in the summer after a hard day’s work in a field. It was made with pieces of black pudding, sobrasada and onion, which represents “the traditional and inland cuisine that Miró respected so much and which pairs perfectly with the freshness of Rosa Blanca”.
The first of two desserts was “new version of “mel i mató” i.e. a new take of the traditional honey and cottage cheese dessert, “another nod to the peasant cuisine that Miró liked so much”. It came in the form of a Mallorcan cottage cheese tart with hazelnut praline, honey and lemon. The citrusy notes of Rosa Blanca enhanced the lemon and contrasted nicely with the sweetness of honey here.
To finish we had a “carob cake with apricot compote and hops”. Carob brioche was filled with cream, and accompanied by apricot compote with orange and hops. Lluís Pérez joked that he put too much raising agent in, so the dough rose more than expected. This caused giggles around the tables, as it reminded us of something other than the carob pod it was meant to represent. Here the bitterness of the beer neutralized the sweetness of the desert and the citrus notes of orange and beer gave it some nice freshness.
Overall, this was a beautiful experience, where inspiration was drawn from art as well as the hard times gone by in order to create exciting contemporary dishes full of interesting flavours, all perfectly combined with Rosa Blanca beer. Don’t miss a chance to try it for yourself until June 17.
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