Epílogo: the tuna tapa that Antonio López would paint
Summary:
A logbook by Sensei Hiroshi Umi.
To judge by the flavour of this outstanding dish, he gladly let himself get carried away. If the chef of Epílogo had claimed the prize for the best escabeche at Madrid Fusión just a few months earlier, dazzling with his daring delicacy (mandarin and pickled chanterelle, sour cecina velouté, chestnut praliné), why not try his luck with a precise and well-judged bluefin tuna tapa, an ingredient which he adores, and which proves a ductile and formidable product in his hands?
Winner Tapa: Tuna orza and Fuentes bluefin tuna tripe
The fact that his restaurant and methodology are based in Tomelloso (in the province of Ciudad Real, birthplace of the great painter Antonio López), many miles from the coast, would prove no handicap. Quite the contrary. He went all out for the Gourmet Tapa by Fuentes 2024 competition, giving an account of inland Manchego cooking and hard work, tied in with the titan of the seas. And his local and reinterpreted concept of the sea proved a real success. While others opted for exotic notes and oriental homages in a sometimes extravagant setting, Rubén Sánchez-Camacho hit the bull’s eye with approachable simplicity. We can bear witness that his tapa proved unforgettable, a masterful combination of concepts. This Tuna orza and Fuentes bluefin tuna tripe has roots, has foundations, has the functionality to be easily replicated, and serves as small-scale finger food, a symphony in miniature.
“It’s cured in the same way as traditional orza from La Mancha, using the belly, and served with tripe, made from the tuna’s skin. The morsel is rounded off with the local sun-dried red peppers, a shiso vinaigrette and pea shoots,” explains the chef, who was born in Barakaldo but has Manchego roots, as his parents emigrated to the Basque Country before he was born.
Rubén Sánchez-Camacho before Epílogo
Back in the land of his ancestors, the dynasty opened up a restaurant by the name of El Bodegón in Daimiel, which remained in business up until seven years ago. It claimed two Repsol Suns, and it was there that Sánchez-Camacho soaked up his mother’s (and grandmother’s) teachings, as well as bringing on board his own baggage learned alongside that jovial ogre by the name of Manolo de la Osa (of the legendary Las Rejas restaurant, in Las Pedroñeras, Cuenca).
“We have had tuna at home since time immemorial. My mother used to serve up tuna Manchego style, in the form of pipirrana, and also did a great version with onion. She had it sent to the restaurant from Hondarribia. I have a version of that pipirrana on the menu by way of tribute, and have spent two years doing it with other techniques. It has ended up as a sweet pepper and tomato salad, with that vinegar jus as the base, with tuna in escabeche, although we used to make it with the salt cod that was delivered to La Mancha, combining it with market garden produce.”
“And then we have the orza, a really traditional Manchego way of steeping in oil, which has always been done with pork loin, or even chorizo, morcilla blood sausage or cheese. We now use bluefin tuna belly, which we place in an earthenware dish. And then we stew the skin, just like tripe, and use pickled cauliflower. This is a deconstructed tapa, served on different plates. The mixture worked perfectly. And then it has this sun-dried red pepper on top, with a tremendous concentration of flavour. As the base, potato bread with smoked beef dripping,” explains the chef, who last year saw his efforts at Epílogo rewarded with a dazzling Repsol Sun.
Going for the Star
“We are going for our second Sun, of course. And a star, why not? Whenever they feel like it. We are right here. I feel that we have been doing a great job for a really long time“. In the wine cellar, his brother Ramón, president of the region’s sommeliers, who takes an in-depth approach to local still and sparkling wines.
To round off this river journey, – his tasting menu by the name of History of the Guadiana takes us on a tour of products and producers from the riverside meadows, down through La Mancha before flowing into the Atlantic – a dessert dubbed sweet risotto with pine nuts and Manchego cheese. Monumental and delicate. Just like this chef’s approach: honest and with no twists and turns, in every product.
The evening draws down its orange curtain on the skies above Tomelloso. One cannot but recall Antonio López, the hyperreal master and shining star of this district. Like a quince tree sun, the unforgettable documentary filmed by Víctor Erice, how precisely would the painter have expressed the creative process and the un-transferable red from within the bluefin tuna used by Sánchez-Camacho?
