All language subtitles for Eva.Longoria.Searching.for.Spain.S01E08.Spains.Big.Bang.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP5.1.H.264-NTb_Track03

So Spain is the culinary
hot-spot of Europe right now.

From tapas to tortillas,
from seafood to jamón ibérico.

There's so much.

And having eaten my way
through the country,

I can tell you it's
a reputation well deserved.

But what I want to know is

how did Spain rise
from relative culinary obscurity

to extraordinary
and delicious new heights?

I'm just gonna do
a little bit more research.

I'm Eva Longoria.

And I'm a proud
Mexican American.

11 generations ago,
one of my ancestors

left Spain for the New World
and a new life.

400 years later, I'm back.

- I'm so excited!
- ¡Salud!

And I'm exploring Spain
and its 17 regions

to see how the land
and its people

have created one of the world's
most exciting cuisines.

I think you know
what you're doing.

But this time it's different.

Instead of diving into
one region,

I'm looking at how the cuisine
of the entire country

has transformed
in a single generation.

Oh, yeah.

With a helping hand from food
journalist Julia Lozano

and chef Dani García.

And some of the incredible
chefs I met on my travels.

What is this?

Spanish food has been enriched
by waves of invasions--

So it's Roman, Arabic,
Jewish, and Spanish.

Of course. Yes.

...and centuries of empire.

I hate to break it to you,

but I think this is
a Mexican dessert.

Since the 1970s,

when Spain emerged from the
shadow of a fascist dictator--

They want only one Spain.

- This was Franco's influence.
- Yes.

Its cuisine has been
revolutionized.

How on earth did Spain make
this culinary quantum leap

to become
the envy of the world?

That makes me so happy.

I'm heading to
one of my

favorite restaurants
in Marbella

to do two of my favorite
things--

eat food
and talk about food.

Hola.
- Hola.

How are you?

Fine.
How was your trip?

Oh my God, amazing.
I've eaten my way through Spain.

Julia Lozano is a food
journalist and culinary expert.

Oh, my gosh,
I love this place.

- How are you?
- I'm so happy to be back.

- Yeah.
- Oh my God. -Nice to see you.

This is one of the most
beautiful restaurants.

I know this one is special, though.

Yeah, for me too.

My old friend Dani García,

a three Michelin starred chef,

who heads an international
restaurant empire,

embodies modern Spain's
gastronomic success.

The food in Spain has evolved so
much in the last 30, 40 years.

Oh, yeah. A lot.

50 years ago, people didn't
come to Spain for the food,

but now it is on everybody's
gastronomic bucket list.

What's changed?

Very ugly. Yes.

- Your paella?
- Yeah.

Let's go to the kitchen.
- Are we going to make one?

Oh, wow!
- Oh, yeah.

Yes, I agree. This reminds
me of my childhood, the--

I love this smell.

I'm going to be smelling
like it all day long, though.

What's first in a paella?
I've never made paella.

Well, we're going to make
my paella.

Paella is Spain's
most iconic dish.

In the traditional version,

various types of meat,
shellfish, vegetables, and rice

are all cooked together
in a rich, fatty stock.

That's gonna be a big paella.

With a boldness

that's typical of today's
Spanish chefs,

Dani has reinvented
this classic dish

from the bottom up.

His pared down recipe consists
only of mushrooms,

steak, stock--

Yeah.

Arroz bomba,
a type of short grain rice,

and his all important
spice mix.

Okay.

Crucially for his paella,
Dani grills the protein.

You're breaking another rule?
- Yeah.

So you like to cook
those parts separately?

I prefer.

Wow! Good.
- Yeah!

So you don't ever add
more stock?

- No.
- No? -No.

So thick.

How is this one different
than the one your mom made?

Dani's paella is light years
from the old school version.

Beautiful.

Once the rice is cooked,

he adds a hint
of beef tallow--

...artfully arranges
the steak,

and tops it off with
a garnish of charred rosemary.

Oh, that is aromatic.

Olé!

It's beautiful, eh?
Thank you. Thank you so much.

- Julia.
- Wow! Paella.

I think that this is
the most important part.

That is the best part ever!

- Yeah.
- What does that translate to?

Oh, it's not translated.

The burnt crispy part
right here.

Oh my gosh.

- Socarrat.
- Socarrat.

That makes me so happy.

And then the mushrooms
and the meat.

I taste the clove.
The saffron.

It's umami, yeah.

This is so good.

A classic dish brilliantly
re-imagined

for the 21st century,

with each different element
cooked to perfection.

I, for one, am excited

that there's been
an evolution of Spanish food

because this is incredible.

This is a great example of

how you guys are holding on
to your cultural heritage,

but yet evolving
into new spaces.

- Good job Dani. Bravo.
- Yeah. Thank you.

On this trip, I have been
blown away

by the limitless creativity
of Spanish chefs.

I shouldn't be surprised
with the cultural heritage

that this country has with
artists and creatives like

Dalí, Gaudí, Lorca, Goya.

But now that creativity is
present in the food scene.

Throughout Spain, chefs are
ripping up the rule book

and allowing
their imaginations to run wild.

What is this-- chicken--

Chicken--
- The chicken comb!

- Yeah.
- Why?

Because of the texture,
you know.

this is like a silky texture.

Using adventurous
ingredients and techniques,

they have transformed
Spain's cuisine

almost beyond recognition.

And what I want to know is

where did this outburst
of creativity come from?

To understand Spain's
modern day culinary miracle,

we have to go back
almost a century.

In 1939, after three brutal
years of civil war,

General Franco established
a fascist dictatorship.

But Franco's isolationist push

for agricultural
self-sufficiency backfired,

creating widespread shortages
and famine,

a period known
as the Hunger Years.

Seeking to impose
national unity,

Franco repressed
regional identities, languages,

and even cuisine.

His vision of Spanish food can
be seen in a famous cookbook,

published in 1950,

one that his regime encouraged
all good housewives to use.

You're saying this book tried
to make a uniform definition

of Spanish cuisine
and there's no such thing.

Really? What's the reason
you think they wanted to make

one definition
of Spanish cuisine?

One Spain.

- This was Franco's influence.
- Yes, completely.

Of trying to dictate
one Spain.

Oh, it's so interesting.

Under Franco's rule,
a diet of greasy stews,

oily, overcooked vegetables,

heavy roasted meats
and deep fried fish

came to define Spanish food.

But was paella in this?
Obviously.

Not this one.
Not this one.

You would not make the cookbook,
Dani. Sorry.

Franco's death in 1975
meant an end to fascism

and the start
of economic revival.

The increasingly wealthy
population began

to take an interest
in fine dining,

and regional cooking,
long suppressed by Franco,

was reborn with
a whole new energy.

In the Basque Country,

Chefs like Juan Mari Arzak

started the New Basque
cuisine movement,

blending local traditions
with the flair

of French nouvelle cuisine.

In 1989, Restaurant Arzak was
awarded three Michelin stars,

winning Juan Mari's New Basque
cuisine global recognition.

Like the Basque Country,

Catalonia suffered badly
under Franco's dictatorship

when Catalan language
books were banned.

In 1990, a young chef,
Fina Puigdevall,

opened Les Cols restaurant
in La Garrotxa.

Determined to revive
Catalan cooking,

she turned
to an ingredient associated

with the Hunger Years
of Franco's regime

and gave it
a radical makeover.

Buckwheat thrives in the rich
volcanic soil of La Garrotxa

and is a surprisingly versatile
ingredient that I had to try.

Fina uses the grains
to make buckwheat beer.

Look at the color.
That's beautiful.

...and mixes them with broth
and local sheep's cheese

to make a rich risotto.

It smells so cheesy.

The dish is even served
on crisp bread,

made from buckwheat
flour.

Oh my gosh. Okay.

Mm.
Wow!

Wow, this is amazing.

It's like the best risotto
I've ever had.

Wow. I want--

With cuisine like this,

the Basque Country
and Catalonia

powered the revival
of regional cooking.

But an hour's drive
from Les Cols,

Fina's mentor and fellow
Catalan was about to change everything ,

not only for Spain,

but for the whole world.

In the 1990s, at El Bulli
restaurant in Catalonia,

a maverick chef set off
a culinary explosion

that would be felt
around the globe.

Using scientific techniques,

Ferran Adrià,revolutionized
gastronomy

with astonishing new recipes
like melon caviar,

frozen Gorgonzola,
and flavored foams.

He tricked the eye

and forced diners
to question basic assumptions

about the nature of food.

We are always
looking at France, okay?

They are the best.

And suddenly came
this guy, Ferran Adrià,

with all these techniques,

but breaking all the rules,
you know.

And this was a huge
game changer for us.

El Bulli closed
its doors in 2011.

But being cooked for
by Ferran Adrià

and his former head chef
Rafa Zafra,

was one of the most magical
moments of my entire trip.

His reinvention of suquet,
a traditional fisherman's stew,

involved one of
those brainwaves

Ferran is famous for.

Such a simple idea.
But it was a stroke of genius,

boosting the flavor of shrimp
to sublime new heights.

Oh my God. Wow.

What do you remember
about that moment?

In the world.

Yeah, he's crazy.

After El Bulli closed,
Ferran's disciples,

known as "Bullinianos,"

continued to push
the frontiers of cooking.

Oh my God!

The techniques of what became
known as molecular gastronomy

were adopted throughout Spain.

Now, 20 years on
from El Bulli,

the next generation of chefs

are taking these techniques
and ideas in new directions.

Michelin star chef Lucía
Freitas is using this know-how

to revolutionize
traditional recipes.

Oh, is that the beef?

Today, ingredients like offal,

that were once eaten out
of necessity

in Franco's time
have been reborn

and are very much in fashion.

At La Tasquería, Madrid,

Michelin starred chef
Javi Estévez has built

his entire menu around it.

Now what are we making?

- Rabbit kidney?
- Yes.

Okay. Oh, they're so little!
- Yes.

Here we have one, two, three,
four, five, six. -Got it.

Yes.

To make offal more appealing
and contemporary,

Javi uses El Bulli style
visual trickery.

See, I don't know
if that's a mushroom or kidney.

- Accessible, yeah.
- Yes.

Don't tell me
what I'm eating.

- Yes.
- Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I might sometimes be one
of those people.

What herb is this?

- Pretty poetic.
- Yes.

So this is a traditional dish
with a modern twist?

Yes. That's it.

The mashed potato, carrot leaf,

and rabbit kidney
is the perfect combination.

'Cause they have
the same exact texture.

The texture of the mushroom.

It's all mixed in my mouth,
I don't know.

That's lovely.
Also, this meat sauce.

Yes.

Simple ingredients conjured
into something truly special.

20 years on,
the creative spirit

unleashed by El Bulli
is alive and well.

No wonder Spanish cuisine is
the envy of the world.

The ancient migration
of peoples

through the Iberian Peninsula
had a huge impact

on Spain's gastronomy.

From the Romans to the Moors,

from the Phoenicians
to the French.

And today, Spanish chefs still
absorb ideas and influences

from all over the world.

And I can tell you
that the impact is magical.

These foreign influences have
gifted today's creative chefs

a rich palette
of ingredients and recipes.

As Spain's
southernmost region,

less than ten miles
from Africa,

Andalusia's famous tapas
reveal the influence

of multiple civilizations.

Food blogger
Aldara Arias Saavedra

unpacked the layers of history

in Andalusia's famous
chilled soup-- salmorejo.

It goes back
to this Roman recipe.

They had like
sort of porridge

that they would use to feed
their troops with.

But then it evolved,
and with the Jewish community

and with the Arabs.

And then when tomatoes arrived
from America,

this was finally salmorejo.

That is a condensed symbol

of our Andalusian identity
on a dish.

So it's Roman, Arabic,
Jewish, and Spanish.

Of course. Yes.

Mm!

My tour of Seville's tapas bars
was both a gastronomic

and cultural eye opener.

For a long time,
during Franco's dictatorship,

all the different cultures
and religions

that had left us
all this influence

were sort of erased
or whitewashed.

So it's now,
thanks to our generation,

that we are really celebrating
the richness of our culture.

I love
how much history is hidden

in something as simple as tapas.

Cheers.
- Cheers.

In 1492,
after 800 years of Arab rule,

the Spanish monarchy expelled
the Moors from Andalusia

during the Christian
reconquest of Spain.

Soon after,
the Jews were banished, too.

But while Spain pursued
"limpieza de sangre"-- purity of blood,

its cuisine was being
transformed by ingredients

from its new empire.

Mexico.

- Yeah.
- You're welcome.

The culinary potential
of these new world arrivals

is still being explored today.

At Casa Marcial in Asturias,

Chus Manzano has devised
a recipe that's a love letter

to an ingredient
from my neck of the woods.

Are you ready for dessert?

I'm ready for dessert.

- Oh, yes, it has corn.
- Yeah.

Fried corn.
I hate to break it to you,

but I think this is
a Mexican dessert.

There's cornbread--
- Mole. Chocolate.

Mole, corn. I mean--
Chocolate.

I think this is the most Mexican
thing you have on the menu.

The recipe,
it sounds like Mexican,

but the ingredients come from
our garden.

- Mm.
- It's salty.

I love that.
And I love this fried corn.

It's just such
a beautiful representation

of these cultures
clashing together.

The most important thing
that we did

is open our minds,
in terms of ingredients as well.

And we bring from the outside

a lot of different things
as ginger or coriander or spices

or many, many, many things,

make our culture
even more rich

with the things
that came from abroad.

Today, one city above all
stands out for its openness

to world cuisine--
Spain's capital, Madrid.

Madrid's cuisine
is influenced by the New World,

Asia, and the Middle East.

After all, the first
settlers here were Muslims.

The fusion of Middle Eastern
and Spanish recipes

and ingredients is an
ever-evolving story.

- Hello.
- Hi. -Hi!

Eva.
- I'm Heba. Nice to meet you.

Heba.
Oh my gosh.

It's a small kitchen,
but come in and--

I'd love to!

Heba came to Madrid
from Dubai seven years ago.

This is so great. It feels like
a kitchen in your home.

She specializes in
Middle Eastern

Spanish crossover dishes,

with both her Palestinian
father

and Syrian mother
influencing her tastes.

Pomegranate molasses,
which is the main secret.

Kofta kebabs have
long been popular in Spain.

Heba enhances hers
with ingredients

from the Middle East.

I've never had pistachios
in a kebab.

Is that common?

Typically it would either have

just the pistachios
or the pine nuts.

Oh, my God,
that smells so good.

I cannot wait.

- Do you like octopus?
- I do, I love it.

- And we've got caperberries.
- Why the caperberries?

Caperberries grow everywhere.
All across the Mediterranean.

That's beautiful.
Hola.

Heba's restaurant
began life as a supper club,

and she's retained that vibe,

luring her clientele with the
promise of great home cooking.

Should we dig in?

Hold on.
I got a pistachio.

Pistachio, pine nut, parsley.

Look at that.
That's so beautiful.

Why aren't you clapping,
you guys?

That is so good!
- Thank you.

It's beautifully cooked
because it's kind of, like,

cooked on the outside,

but a little bit raw
in the middle.

Are you from Madrid?

- I'm from Chile.
- You're Chile?

- Yeah, from Chile.
- Oh, okay.

Well, where are you from?

Grabs you.
Welcomes you.

This is crossover cuisine
at its very best.

A perfect example of
why eating out in Madrid

is such a rewarding experience.

This is home on a plate
for me.

And it's, you know,

it's all my mother's dishes

and dishes from my childhood

and yeah, in my new home.
- Yeah.

You welcome everybody
with open arms,

just like Madrid welcomed you.
- Precisely.

A 20th century
philosopher once said--

"In Spain, there's a great deal
to see, but not much to eat."

Well, I can tell you firsthand
that is not the case today.

The creativity of Spain's chefs

has been thrilling
to experience,

so I can't resist returning
to some of the most exceptional

for a final taste
of their brilliance.

The revolution begun
by Ferran Adrià

ushered in a wave of innovative
new cooking techniques,

but one chef seemingly chose
the opposite path--

radical simplicity.

I smell the grill already.

This is stunning.

At Etxebarri in
the Basque Country,

Victor Arguinzoniz has elevated
the most ancient technique,

cooking over fire,
into an art form.

Using unique,
custom made equipment,

he grills foods that
should be impossible to grill.

You grilled--
- The egg yolk.

- The egg yolk?
- Yeah.

- So enjoy.
- Thank you.

I think he still likes to
challenge himself

and find new ways of cooking

and new ways of exploring,
like super common ingredients.

Oh!

His restaurant, Etxebarri,

was recently voted number two
in the world ,

all thanks to Victor's skill at
transforming simple ingredients

into a mind-blowing
culinary experience--

with just a wood grill.

Did you get that?
It's not complicated.

But that doesn't mean
it's easy.

Even dessert is made
from milk

that has been cooked
on the grill.

Look at that red!
Ice cream with beetroot.

I think I'm going to
be ruined forever.

Yeah.
Mm.

Mm!

What milk is it, though?

I think it's just cow's
milk, but it's reduced,

so it's got, you know,
that boost of flavor.

- That is so creamy.
- Mm.

But also you can definitely
taste the smokiness.

Nobody was doing this.
And now...

Well, that's how you become

one of the best
restaurants in the world.

- Yeah.
- Yeah.

I'm gonna applaud my ice cream.

Uniquely, among all the great
chefs I met on my travels,

Miriam Hernández has taken
on an entire second job.

How did a chef
become a farmer?

So it was necessity.

- Oh my gosh. You love garlic.
- Sí.

Ajo fino, a type of garlic,
was once common in Spain.

Now, her farm is one of the
few places it's still grown.

It goes to the end
of the mouth, but it's like--

Yeah, now.
But then it's light.

- Yes.
- Then it kinda just dissipates.

That's lovely.

Oh, I would love to cook
with this.

Yes, yes.

At her restaurant
in Chinchón,

30 miles south of Madrid,

Miriam creates recipes designed

to showcase
this rare ingredient.

That looks amazing!

Miriam coats vine leaves
in tempura--

Anything in deep fried tempura
is going to taste good.

...and serves the
beef and garlic

on the crispy vine leaves,

topped with a tasty garnish.

Yay!

It's gonna be delicious.

Mm!

Wow.

The meat is so tender,
it's so soft.

And, you know, the garlic is
powerful, but not overpowering.

- No.
- I love that.

So I feel like you're trying

to preserve a
very particular taste of Spain.

It's part of Spain.

If we lose our identity,
we lose everything.

Spain is lucky
that Miriam is committed

to saving this rare ingredient

and devising recipes that show
it off to perfection.

At Aponiente,
the Bay of Cádiz,

Ángel León is a chef

whose horizons extend
way beyond fine dining.

Like Ferran Adrià,

Ángel is part chef,
part scientist

and has pioneered an
entirely new kind of food.

Oh, wow.

Wow! It looks like bacon.
Wow.

Wow!

A purist honing a simple
technique to perfection--

a farmer chef saving
a priceless piece of Spain's heritage--

and a visionary exploring
the furthest frontiers

of culinary science.

These chefs embody the range,
creativity, and passion

that's powering Spain's
gastronomic revolution.

So we all
know getting to the top is hard,

but staying at the top
is even harder.

So what do the next generation
of Spanish chefs

have up their sleeves?

Someone who totally gets this
is my friend,

restaurateur Dani García.

And he's arranged for Julia and
I to meet some of his proteges.

A country's cuisine is only
as strong as the future chefs.

For sure.

Yeah.

Oh, great!
They're very young.

Wow!

Potato salad with tuna is a
traditional appetizer in Spain.

Carmen has enhanced it
with roasted smoke eel,

an inspiration from Japan.

Hmm.
Mm!

This is smoky.

Wow. That's lovely.
Oh my God.

Christian has taken
a traditional Andalusian prawn

and potato salad
and elevated it with king crab

and frozen avocado dust.

Oh my God.

Manuel's recipe, deep fried
hake with tartar sauce,

like Carmen's potato salad,

fuses traditional Spanish
and Japanese ingredients.

Mm! That is so good.
It's so light.

Mission accomplished.

-The gastronomic creativity
unleashed

since Franco's
death has been astonishing,

and shows no signs of stopping.

Using ideas and ingredients
from all over the world,

visionary chefs continue to
push the frontiers of cuisine.

A new generation is ready
to take up the baton.

I can't wait to see how
Spanish food evolves from here.