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Spanish conquest With his restaurant MoVida, Frank Camorra has put Spanish food on the map in Melbourne, defying the critics who said it would never work Text by JO BATES
Arrai sopa – rich fish soup, see recipe over the page.
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rank Camorra was on a panel recently discussing the topic “Is Spanish the new French?” at Tasting Australia in Adelaide. While the panel wasn’t there to knock French cuisine off its mantle, what ensued was a lively and passionate discussion about Spanish food; probably the type of worthy discussion you would have in a tapas bar in Spain. Frank – the Spanish-born chef and restaurateur of MoVida in Melbourne – isn’t the kind of chef to which the term ‘celebrity’ sticks, but it’s not unreasonable to say he has put his homeland’s food on the map in Melbourne, if not Australia. And rue the food consultant who told him it would never work in Melbourne. Frank’s quiet determination to introduce and educate diners on quality Spanish cuisine earned him The Good Food Guide Chef of the Year 2009. Admittedly, no one wanted Frank to cook Spanish food in their restaurants, which is why he opened his own. It allowed him to cook the way he wanted and in the spirit he saw fitting. When he opened MoVida in 2003, Frank felt he had returned home: “Within six months it felt like we were in Spain; it felt like a really Spanish place and we captured the essence. Not that the food is totally traditional but the essence was there,” he explains. MoVida is loved by critics and favoured as a ‘destination’ restaurant, where visitors to the city book months in advance to secure a table. To cope with the volume of people that come with success, he has since opened MoVida Next Door, a more traditional bar-and-tapas experience, and MoVida Aqui and Terraza, a larger restaurant with a casual grazing bar alongside. So, is he proud to have broken down the barriers and opened the door to Spanish food? Typically humble in his reply, he says: “We are a really busy place and I’m proud to be serving a style of food that’s accessible. We became busy serving food that, initially, people didn’t really get. Not serving food that kept the masses happy, yet something that people really took to.” As well as providing Melburnians with the style of food and dining that he loves, Frank has stoked the creative fires with two
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cookbooks, MoVida and MoVida Rustica. And there’s another in the works. It’s a couple of years away but you can look forward to a book covering southern Spain, where Frank’s family has roots. “Maybe because I come from there [Andalucia], it feels exciting and interesting and has much more to do with MiddleEastern flavours.” The food in Spain varies so much from region to region it’s almost like travelling to different countries, he says. “Every time I go there I learn a whole new range of dishes. I like the fact that Spanish food has really exotic influences; in the past it has absorbed other flavours and it continues to do so.”
At the age of 40, Frank has plenty of cuisine crusading years ahead. He admits his dream is to open a Spanish produce store with a small restaurant. Given that most shoppers are largely unfamiliar with Spanish ingredients, he reckons perceptions are a long way off accepting the concept. But that has never stopped him before. Jo travelled to Tasting Australia (tastingaustralia.com.au) in Adelaide with Air New Zealand, the only airline offering non-stop flights up to six times a week between Auckland and Adelaide. Airfares start from $299 one-way online. Connections are available from all around New Zealand. Visit airnewzealand.co.nz.
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Arrai sopa – rich fish soup Serves | 6 1.8 kg heads and bones of white fish such as snapper or whiting 80 0g raw prawns, peeled and deveined, leaving the tails intact and reserving the heads and shells 23 0ml extra virgin olive oil, plus extra, to drizzle 1 garlic bulb, halved, plus 5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced 4 bay leaves A handful of parsley, stalks reserved and leaves roughly chopped 10 black peppercorns 4 tomatoes, roughly chopped 1 brown onion, finely sliced 3 carrots, diced 2 leeks, white part only, finely sliced 250ml white wine 125ml brandy 2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes, puréed 40 0g fillet of skinless warehou or trevally, cut into large chunks 500g clams, rinsed 1 Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Place the fish heads and bones in a large roasting tin and the prawn heads and shells in another. Season and drizzle 50ml olive oil into each tin. Bake for 15–20 minutes, or until the fish bones are lightly browned and the prawn shells are pink. Place the heads, bones and shells in a large heavy-based saucepan. 2 Pour 125ml (½ cup) water into each roasting tin, scrape the base to remove
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any cooked-on bits, then pour the liquid from each tin into the saucepan. Add the halved garlic bulb, bay leaves, parsley stalks, peppercorns, fresh tomatoes, a pinch of salt and another 50ml of the olive oil. Add enough cold water to cover, then bring to the boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 1 hour, skimming the surface regularly. Strain through a fine sieve and discard the solids. 3 Meanwhile, heat the remaining olive oil in a large heavy-based saucepan over high heat, then add the onion and sauté for 5-6 minutes, or until golden. Reduce the heat to medium-high, season to taste, then add the carrot, leek, sliced garlic cloves and the chopped parsley. Season again and cook for 15 minutes, or until the onion and leek are tender. 4 Increase the heat to high, stir in the wine and brandy and cook for 2-3 minutes to evaporate the alcohol. Reduce the heat to medium again, simmer for 5 minutes, then add the puréed tinned tomatoes and simmer for 30 minutes, or until the tomatoes have cooked down to a pulp. 5 Add the fish fillets and prawns to the tomato mixture and simmer for 30 minutes. Add 2 litres (8 cups) of the hot fish stock and simmer for another 15 minutes. Remove from the heat, allow to cool a little, then process the soup in a blender or food processor until a smooth purée forms. Check the seasoning and keep warm. 6 Put the clams and 2 Tbsp water in a small heavy-based pan. Cover and cook over high heat, shaking the pan, for 3-4 minutes, or just until the shells open. Drain the clams and remove the meat from the shells. Pour the soup into warmed bowls, scatter with the clams and drizzle with a little olive oil. Serve immediately.
Adobo de pollo – chicken skewers marinated with paprika and oregano Here we are using chicken, but you can just as easily substitute lamb, beef or pork.
makes |12 tapas, 6 raciones 1k g skinless chicken thighs, cut into 2.5cm chunks 2 Tbsp smoked sweet paprika 1 Tbsp cumin seeds, roasted and ground 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped 3 Tbsp finely chopped parsley 1 tsp dried oregano ½ tsp saffron threads 1 tsp fine sea salt 12 5ml (½ cup) extra virgin olive oil 1 Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap and marinate in the refrigerator overnight. 2 Thread the chicken meat onto 12 metal skewers. Heat a charcoal grill or barbecue flat plate to high. Cook the chicken skewers for 5 minutes, or until cooked through, turning regularly. Allow to cool slightly, then serve.
Reproduced from MoVida Rustica – Spanish traditions and recipes by Frank Camorra and Richard Cornish. Photography by Alan Benson, published by Murdoch Books, distributed by Allen & Unwin. RRP $69.99, available from book stores nationwide.
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