At Restaurante Juan Moreno we like to use local, seasonal produce whenever we can. In the province of Almería we are lucky to have an efficient and sustainable way of growing vegetables: greenhouses. Thanks to the local climate, technology and decades of know-how, Almería’s greenhouses grow in the coldest months vegetables that elsewhere are only possible in summer.
Many of our guests come from outside Almería, so we often explain that seasonal vegetables are not what they used to be. Courgettes, aubergines, peppers and tomatoes are now available for more months of the year than in the past, and with excellent flavour. Raf tomatoes, for example, are only on the market between November and May: that is their season.
That is why we understand the complaint by the Hortyfruta industry association, which criticised the #ComerdeTemporada (“eat seasonally”) campaign for leaving Almería’s greenhouse vegetables out of its seasonal recommendations. We are backing the growers by sharing our recipe for a gratinated mille-feuille of (seasonal) Almería vegetables. It is made in several separate steps, but it is not complicated.
Almería vegetable mille-feuille (serves 4)
- 1 aubergine
- 1 courgette
- 1 red pepper
- 1 green pepper
- 300 g pumpkin
- 30 g butter
- Salt, as needed
- Pepper, as needed
- Oregano, as needed
- 1 sprig of fresh basil
For the mille-feuille, cut the aubergine, courgette and pumpkin into slices about 1 cm thick. Steam them in the oven at 100 °C for ten minutes and set aside.
Roast the red and green peppers in the oven at 180 °C for twenty minutes. Once roasted, peel them and set aside.
For the velouté
- 100 ml olive oil
- 20 g flour
- 250 ml vegetable stock
Heat the oil over a low heat. When it is hot, add the flour little by little and stir well to avoid lumps. Gradually add the vegetable stock, stirring well.
For the tomato sauce
- ½ kg ripe tomatoes
- ½ spring onion
- 1 carrot
- 50 ml extra virgin olive oil
- Salt, as needed
Chop and gently fry the spring onion and carrot. Add the crushed tomatoes and simmer for 30 minutes over a low heat, adjusting the salt. Blend and pass through a fine sieve for a smooth sauce.
To finish, place a layer of each vegetable in an oven tray. Add basil and season with salt and pepper. Repeat until you have three layers. Top the mille-feuille with the velouté and a few knobs of butter, and bake at 200 °C until lightly golden.
To serve, spoon the tomato sauce onto the plate and place the hot vegetable mille-feuille on top.
