Terre: tartare and tataki like haute couture stilettos
Summary:
A logbook by Sensei Hiroshi Umi.
Emblematic of the hopeful times of parity in which we now live, our star here is the first female chef to appear with full honours in our logbook, which by now has quite a number of varied entries. Of delicate gesture in her craft, a sincere smile, honest gaze and gently whispering conversation, Sabrina Azorín has been in charge of the kitchen at Terre since 2019.
The restaurant, flying the gastronomic flag for the versatile Azarbe Group, stands on Alicante’s Esplanade, a crossroads for passers-by, tourists and cruise ship visitors, a motley crew of locals and those wishing to sample the Mediterranean air and the culinary delights of the sea which lies on just the other side of the street. And so the offering at Terre is based on local, market products, such as artichokes, seasonal tomatoes, fresh prawns and fish landed at the markets of Santa Pola, Xavea and El Campello, chargrilled meat, fine rice dishes and traditional noodle fideuá. But don’t worry, bluefin tuna is another of the cornerstones of the menu. And an eminent one at that.
Shoes, grandmothers and haute cuisine
First opened in January 2016, it has now consolidated its presence as a leading player, with a cohesive team both front of the house and in the kitchen, having established a calm and dazzling workflow under the command of local chef Sabrina Azorín. “I grew up with my grandmother and my mother the whole time. They were housewives, and would be there cooking for a big family, in Crevillente. I was always there as their kitchen hand since I was a little girl. When I grew up I didn’t have the chance to study cooking, which was what I wanted. But after a while I decided to go back to my studies at the Tourism School in Alicante, where I opted for Catering, which is what I really liked. Before that I worked for a long time in the footwear industry in Elda, preparing and stitching the pieces, making samples… I loved it, but I had to scratch that cooking itch, which is what I grew up with,” explains Sabrina.
And so the prestigious shoemaker, for whom cooking was her true drive and vocation, is now focused on rice with vegetables or al senyoret, wild sea bass, sea bream and grouper, seafood and caviar blinis, rump steak, white asparagus and seasonal peas, and above all amazing cuts of tuna which come under the deftly precise movements of the blade of her Japanese knife. “I remember that my grandmother prepared it in escabeche, which was delicious, a method which perhaps had more to do with the mentality of preserving it than anything else. And my mother did it with onions. There is room for development, of course. You have to try out new dishes, with other techniques. This is a continuous assessment, I always want more. Gradually getting the very most out of such a fantastic product,” Sabrina tells me, as the worthy successor to the talent of those who came before.
Bluefin tuna, star of the menu
Her tuna tartare tapa claimed first prize in the Alicante Gastronómica competition. At Terre she has raised it to another level, served with a sake, miso and lime juice sauce, with pine nuts and crackling made from the tuna skin itself “which gives it that crunchy, salty edge, along with a few pea shoots”. The tarantello is served with mangetouts, a sofrito of garlic and onion, and hondashi sauce (dashi sauce with the prefix hon, meaning “authentic”, and prepared with kombu seaweed and dried, grated bonito or shavings of other fish); her tataki is chargrilled, and accompanied with Horn of Plenty mushrooms “We get through around 20 kg of bluefin tuna per week. And the tartare is one of the most popular dishes. People order it in winter and summer alike,” the chef points out. She trained at El Portal, another of the essential restaurants in understanding Alicante’s culinary evolution in recent years. “I am really grateful to Sergio Sierra for those two wonderful years and the trust he placed in me. I learned a great deal, including management aspects. Among other colleagues, I keep an eye on Quique Dacosta, María José San Román…,” she adds.
Azorín never lets her tempered knife with its filigree handle out of her sight, forged by a local craftsman and used to slice off each block of the titan of the seas. She confesses that she would love to travel to Japan, and that finds every ronqueo tuna butchery “spectacular, we want to do one at sea, in Isla Marina”.
With space for 165 diners including the indoor rooms and (wonderful) terrace, Terre offers an extensive wine list, presided over by Iñaki Medina, with plenty of bottles from Alicante as a matter of local pride and to offer different pairings. Just a stone’s throw from the establishment, her younger brother runs Abarrote, also belonging to the Azarbe Group, but with a more chilled-out bar approach, with small plates and tapas on display.
At Terre, there is live music at weekends, crackling charcoal, clinking cocktails and an easy flow of conversation. Oysters are shelled and champagne corks popped in their droves here on Alicante’s Esplanade, where bluefin tuna now provides the indispensable soundtrack. And with a chef who handles it like a haute couture shoe.
