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It has become one of the trendiest snacks. The Paquito, whose characteristic ingredient is lamb meat, even has its own route that is currently being held for the fifth consecutive year in Madrid and is promoted by INTEROVIC, seeks to promote the consumption of lamb meat, especially among young people, as an appetizing, trendy dish that can be eaten with your hands.
As part of this initiative, a contest was also organized to choose ‘The best Paquito in Madrid’, in which more than 200 restaurants in the capital participated. The jury included experts from the gastronomic sector such as chef Begoña Rodrigo, Elena Rodríguez, director of the Royal Spanish Academy of Gastronomy and Eric Vernacci, vice-president of the Madrid Academy of Gastronomy, among others.
In the final, only ten restaurants presented their Paquito proposals and the jury made a blind tasting in which they evaluated visual presentation, point and texture of the meat, flavor, originality, balance and their personal assessment. The winner was the preparation of Carlos Moreno, head chef of Café Comercial, who with his Paquito wanted “to achieve an interpretation that would be associated with the emblematic establishment of the late 19th century that is Café Comercial and, therefore, we chose a typical dish of Spanish gastronomy made with lamb: the caldereta (lamb stew). We looked for the ingredients and modified them to make El Paquito”.
This is the recipe of the Best Paquito of Madrid
Ingredients:
- 100 g braised and shredded lamb leg
- 1/2 fried green bell pepper
- 1/4 roasted red bell pepper
- 20 g crispy onion
- 1 soup spoonful of paprika all i oli
- 1 loaf of ciabatta bread
- Lard
- Salt
- Black pepper
- 4 bay leaves
Preparation:
- Stew the chopped leg of lamb with the bones for approximately 2 hours, with salt, lard and water.
- Bake the red peppers for 40 minutes at 180 ºC in the oven. Let them cool and peel them.
- Fry the green peppers in a frying pan with oil until they are candied.
- Brown some sliced garlic cloves, mash with mayonnaise and a spoonful of sweet paprika.
- Heat the crispy onion in the oven for a couple of minutes.
- To assemble, spread the bread with the all i oli and spread the shredded lamb on the bread.
- Place the two types of peppers to cover the lamb and finish with crispy onion.
- Heat the sandwich in the oven for 1 minute and eat it warm.
The other two finalists were Paquitos de La Mercantina, in the Tirso de Molina market, and Salino, in the Ibiza area. In addition, the initiative promoted by INTEROVIC is also present in other cities in Spain, since the Paquito Route exceeds 700 establishments in cities such as Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Valladolid or Zamora.
If, in addition to the Paquito de Café Comercial, you want to know more recipes and interpretations of this new classic, the website ‘Buscando a Paquito’ has compiled them all so you can find your favorite sandwich.