Few chefs capture the spirit of Spanish cooking quite like José Pizarro. Born in Talaván, Extremadura, and now one of the UK’s best-loved Spanish chefs and restaurateurs, José’s cooking is rooted in simplicity, generosity and exceptional ingredients.
We spoke to José about Spanish summer: long evenings, cold gazpacho, grilled fish, ripe tomatoes, sherry vinegar, and the simple pleasure of slowing down.
Katto (K): For people who haven’t experienced it, what does a Spanish summer feel like to you?
José Pizarro (JP): For me, Spanish summer is a very happy time. It is when you see people you maybe don’t see during the rest of the year. Everyone is outside, enjoying the evenings.
The evening is the thing. Sitting in a square, listening to the kids running around, sitting at a bar with a lovely beer and some food. That, for me, is summer. It is a time to slow down and see the time pass.
K: Is that especially true in Andalucía?
JP: Andalucía is definitely very special to me. I am from Extremadura, but Andalucía in summer means a lot because my family were farmers and didn’t have many holidays. I was very lucky because my uncle and auntie had an apartment there, and every summer I went with them.
It became very close to my heart. It is where we have our house now. The sunsets there are the most beautiful in the world.
K: Is there one place in Spain that captures summer better than anywhere else for you?
JP: Definitely Andalucía. It is where I go to relax and to see the day pass. But it is not only Andalucía. You can go to Galicia, to Santiago de Compostela, or to my village in Talaván. It is the vibe of summer that makes it special all over Spain.
K: How does the way people eat change in summer when the weather gets hot?
JP: It changes completely. For me, summer is waking very early, walking my dogs, going to the market, having some breakfast, then buying something light for lunch.
Maybe a lovely tomato soup or a gazpacho. Gazpacho is normally tomato, but you can make gazpacho with many different ingredients. Melon gazpacho is very popular in my house in Andalucía, especially with my mother.
Everything becomes slower. You go for a beer, you go home, maybe you have a little sleep, then in the afternoon you go to see the sunset. Later, you have a lovely dinner at home or go out and see friends. But it has to be slow. Slow is good.
K: If we opened your fridge in July, what would we almost always find inside?
JP: Definitely not tomatoes. The tomatoes are outside.
But you would always find a good gazpacho. My mother always has gazpacho in the fridge in summer. When you come back from the farm, or from walking the dogs, you need that gazpacho.
You would also find a very cold beer, and a nice manzanilla or fino. That is very important. And vegetables from the market, whatever is good that day. Some nice fish too, definitely, if you have been to the market.
K: What is one ingredient that people outside Spain don’t use enough in summer?
JP: Aubergines. Aubergines are very summery in Spain. We love them very much, but I don’t see people using them so much here. They are always in my house in Spain, and I love them here too. Aubergines are beautiful.
K: Olive oil is such a cornerstone of Spanish cooking. How should people think about using it in summer?
JP: Olive oil is one of the best things you can have. If you ask me for one dish that represents Spain, it would be a very good tomato, plenty of extra virgin olive oil, and some salt.
Salt is so important. People don’t always care about salt, but for me it is one of the most important ingredients in my kitchen.
You don’t need anything else. A very good tomato, very good extra virgin olive oil and good salt. Maybe, if you want to do something more, add a little pimentón de la Vera and oregano. That is heaven.
Put that in the middle of the table for lunch. Tomatoes sliced or in pieces, it doesn’t matter. That is plenty.
Another thing people don’t always understand enough is vinegar. Vinegar is very refreshing in summer.
K: What type of vinegar?
JP: The diversity of vinegar in this world is amazing. But a good sherry vinegar doesn’t need to be reserva or gran reserva. A simple sherry vinegar can transform a dish. It gives you the freshness you need in summer.
For me, it is also very important to have a bottle of Tío Pepe in the fridge. Summer, winter, autumn, spring - it doesn’t matter. Tío Pepe is one of the best finos you can have. It is very underrated and very good value for money.
When you come in from outside, it can be gazpacho, or it can be a glass of chilled fino. I love it very much.
K: Is there an underrated regional Spanish dish you think deserves more attention?
JP: For summer, sopa de tomate. Tomato soup.
In Spain, tomato soup in summer is served cold, and it is very underrated. People don’t have it enough, but it is so, so good. A good tomato soup in summer, with figs, is heaven. We have it many times when we are staying at my mum’s house.
K: How do you make it?
JP: I roast the tomatoes with garlic and a little thyme. Roast them whole, then peel them.
Separately, cook some onion in plenty of olive oil. It doesn’t need to be golden, just gently cooked down. Add some garlic too.
When the tomatoes are ready, add them to the onions and garlic. Discard the thyme, then add some vegetable stock or chicken stock. Bubble everything together with the juices from the roasting tray until everything is cooked through.
Let it cool, then put it in the fridge. At lunchtime, take it out and serve it cold with figs.
It is refreshing, like gazpacho, but different. My mother makes it differently - she adds bread at the end - but I don’t. I like it with just tomatoes, garlic, onion, great extra virgin olive oil and really sweet figs. It is something people don’t eat enough in summer.
K: Thinking back to your childhood, what is your strongest food memory from a Spanish summer?
JP: More than a particular food, summer for me was being outside. Running around, freedom in the morning, then going home.
We didn’t have a swimming pool, but we would put water over ourselves to cool down. For me, the most amazing thing was the evenings. Summer evenings are everything. Spending time with friends, having a beer, talking, catching up. That is summer.
K: Tomatoes are such an important ingredient in Spanish cooking. What makes Spanish tomatoes so special?
JP: First of all, we brought them from America. Not the Italians - the Spanish brought the tomato from America.
But what makes them special is the sun, the soil, the weather and the water. That is what gives you good tomatoes. We have 500 years of history with tomatoes now, although in the beginning we didn’t eat them. They were ornamental plants in houses.
All over Spain we have great tomatoes. Andalucía, Extremadura, everywhere.
K: Is there a particular type of tomato you love?
JP: One I love very much is tomate rosa, the pink tomato. Another is tomate feo, the ugly tomato. That is the one we have in the restaurants now.
I don’t know why they call it ugly tomato, because honestly, it is one of the most beautiful things. The flavour is unique.
It is like British asparagus. British asparagus is something very special. The best farmers in the world, for me, are here. Then in Mediterranean countries, we have the tomatoes. The tomatoes are unique.
K: If you could leave people with one piece of advice for bringing a little more Spanish summer spirit into their kitchens, what would it be?
JP: Just enjoy the time.
Summer is to laugh, to catch up, to enjoy with people you like. And if you are around people you don’t like, just say, “bye bye, thank you very much.”
Summer is time to slow down. It is time to enjoy. It is time to see the time pass. It is time to be with people you love, to catch up with people you don’t see during the rest of the year, to go and see the sunset.
Just enjoy it. Take things easier.
K: If you were cooking over charcoal this evening, what would you put on the grill?
JP: I would put on some aubergine, tomatoes, courgettes and onions. I would make the most incredible grilled vegetables, with a nice romesco.
Then I would serve them with a whole fish. One of those big fish you put on the barbecue and grill slowly. Finish everything with very, very good extra virgin olive oil.