José Andrés, the award-winning and critically acclaimed chef, hosts the new PBS Spanish cooking show, José Made in Spain. In each 30-minute episode, Andrés will provide a gastronomic and cultural tour of one of Spain’s 17 vibrant regions, drawing on his larger-than-life personality and unparalleled expertise about Spain. Visiting the source and inspiration of the dishes he prepares in his own kitchen, Andrés will demonstrate that the flavors made in Spain can be created at home.
“People have come to know Spanish food through tapas and paella and with great wines like Rioja, but they don’t know where it all comes from or how easy it is to enjoy at home. I have wanted to bring the best of my country to America and now with this series on public television, I am realizing my dream,” says Andrés. “My other dream is to soon see a paella pan on every backyard grill!”
José Made in Spain travels between the chef’s two homes, one in Washington, DC, the second in Spain. Each episode features a treasured Spanish location, where Andrés visits markets, farms, the country’s coastline and other sites associated with Spanish cuisine. Andrés then brings these flavors of Spain to his Washington, DC, kitchen, where he recreates authentic Spanish dishes with products found stateside.
José Made in Spain was filmed over a full year, enabling Andrés to feature a stunning array of Spanish locales while savoring the regions’ flavors at the height of the season. He goes tuna fishing in Andalucía just when the great fish makes its way into the Mediterranean; harvests barnacles in underwater caves off the coast of the Asturias; and visits La Rioja when the grapes for the country’s famous wine are perfectly ripe. In another episode, there is a very special moment when the crocus flowers open, commencing the saffron harvest, and Andrés’ cameras are right there to capture it.
Along the way, Andrés reveals the history and faces of some of Spain’s culinary greats, including his good friend and famed chef Ferran Adrià, as well as the unsung heroes — the fishermen, the farmers and the everyday folks who work behind the scenes and keep the rich culinary traditions of Spain fresh and alive.
Episodes:
Galicia: A Taste of the Sea
Andrés prepares scallops in their shells with Albarino white wine and visits the dramatic seafood farms of this northwestern region. Back home, he steams mussels with bay leaf and serves them with potatoes and Spanish smoked paprika. He returns to Galicia to watch the magical cooking of the legendary Spanish potato tortilla, or omelet.
Asturias: How They Cook Back Home
From his home region of Asturias in northern Spain, Andrés showcases its great cheeses, making a sweet and sour salad of cheese and tomatoes with a honey and vinegar dressing. He fries some golden brown monkfish and takes to the seas off Asturias to risk his neck while fishing for barnacles.
Madrid: The Sweet Spanish Center
Andrés explains the Spanish sweet tooth, cooking pancakes with chocolate before showing viewers the wonderfully thick hot chocolate of Spain. Just outside the capital, he visits a strawberry farm and returns home to prepare strawberries in wine syrup. He ends at a traditional bull fight in Madrid, finishing off the evening with a traditional stew of bull’s meat.
Catalunya: Surf and Turf
Andrés turns Spain’s sparkling wine, cava, into a light dressing for oysters and a refreshing mimosa cocktail. He goes mushroom hunting in the Catalan mountains before cooking a crumbled pork sausage with wild mushrooms. Back in Spain, he fishes for shrimp and eats Catalan seafood in traditional and modern ways.
Basque Country: Earth, Wine and Fire
Andrés cooks a cold soup of Basque cheese bought in Manhattan before going to the rustic farms where the cheesemakers live. He introduces viewers to the great red and white wines of the Basque country, then returns home to cook a traditional dish of baby squid with caramelized onions. He finishes by eating a meal cooked entirely on a charcoal grill.
Asturias: Food for the Family
Asturias means family for Andrés, and he prepares a simple apple and cheese salad with his mother’s favorite blue cheese, Cabrales. Andrés shows viewers the region’s traditional hard cider and returns home to add cider vinegar to some caramelized onions that he serves with light and fluffy corn cakes. Back in Asturias, he joins his family for a hearty bean stew with sausages.
Navarra: Spain’s Vegetable Garden
Sweet, hand-roasted red piquillo peppers are now sold in jars across the United States. Andrés stuffs some piquillos with cheese, then takes viewers to Navarra to show them how to roast and peel the peppers. He returns to his home kitchen to prepare a cheese and white asparagus salad. He ends with a trip to Pamplona, where the young men run with the bulls — while older men try to improve their cooking in culinary societies.
Castilla La Mancha: The Magic of Saffron and Cervantes
Andrés uses widely available Manchego cheese to prepare a salad of cheese, tomato, thyme and walnuts. He shows viewers the food eaten by the man of La Mancha — Cervantes’ Don Quixote. And he witnesses the wonder of saffron, when the remarkable crocus emerges from the earth and is turned into the world’s most expensive spice. Andrés cooks a traditional dish of rabbit with saffron rice before returning to Spain to eat a marzipan dessert.
Madrid: A Cultural and Culinary Capital
Andrés cooks a quick tapa of fried eggs and Spanish chorizo sausage before showing viewers the artistic and food culture of the Spanish capital. He eats a fried squid sandwich on the streets and sips an elegant cup of consommé in a historic restaurant. He prepares a refreshing salad of clementines, anchovy and olives and returns to Spain for a huge meal of Madrid stew.
Catalunya: Food Arts
Using a Catalan olive oil bought in the U.S., Andrés prepares two tapas: marinated olives, and toast with cheese and anchovy. He takes viewers to his beloved market in Barcelona and is inspired to cook a creamy rice dish of mushrooms, artichokes and cuttlefish. Back in Spain he shows viewers two great Catalan artists: Salvador Dali and his own culinary mentor, Ferran Adria, hailed by critics as the world’s most creative chef.
La Rioja: Red Wine
No Spanish wine is more famous than Rioja, and Andrés starts with a quick tapa of apples in red wine syrup. He takes viewers to a great Rioja winemaker before cooking his own version of the region’s classic dish of potato and chorizo sausage. Back in Spain, he shows viewers Rioja’s superb vegetable market and eats at a special restaurant run by a mother and son who create their own recipes.
Andalucia: Tuna and Tapas
There’s tuna and there’s Spanish tuna. Andrés prepares a classic tuna salad before joining the extraordinary tuna catch off the southern coast of Spain. He returns home to cook seared tuna with sesame seeds and sweet piquillo peppers. He explains the great sherry culture of Andalucia and goes bar-hopping to eat the region’s great tapas food.
Galicia: A Pilgrim’s Progress in Food
Andrés explores the food of the magical, mystical region of Galicia where pilgrims have traveled for centuries. He cooks a simple tapa of green Padron peppers stuffed with cheese and the traditional pilgrim’s meal of a chicken empanada, or turnover. He fishes for octopus off the region’s rocky coast, eats a traditional Galician dish of boiled octopus with Spanish paprika and drinks a glass of the pilgrims’ flambéed punch. |
