The ‘Nostre’ restaurant, run by Andrés Rengel and now also Sara Forner, has moved from the ‘Mercado Central’ to the prestigious ‘Aragón’ area of Valencia, specifically to Calle Doctor Ferran, 6. Nostre’s cuisine is still committed to traditional recipes, based on many Valencian traditions, and at the same time it has a new menu and offers different price ranges too. Its cuisine is once again based on traditional recipes, with some novelties in the configuration of the menu. Because chef Rengel always returns to the roots regarding cuisine, knowing that this determines the destination, without renouncing constant evolution.
Valencian gastronomy draws from many other peoples, and Andrés’s roots are also from La Mancha, Aragon and Andalusia, which enriches his conception of classic dishes. There is total freedom in ‘Nostre’ when it comes to composing the recipes, ranging from Rengel’s more academic and Frenchified training – he has worked in great restaurants, such as El Celler de Can Roca (3*) – to the identity symbols of Valencian culture and the exotic influences of his travels around the world. A good example is his all i pebre, a dish that starts with a local classic and incorporates ingredients such as coriander gnocchi, spices, turbot blanquet, or the final -and optional- touch, only for those who want to travel to Peru: lime.
In this new phase, there is room to experiment with ingredients and techniques, overcoming any fear of being restricted. Because Nostre’s cuisine is a reflection of its roots, a fusion of ancestral techniques and contemporary flavours, honouring the past while looking to the future. “In general, we have lost our fear of being labelled as fusion cuisine. Our influences are varied, and we try to reflect that,” says Andrés.
Just as they aim to de-correct their cuisine, so does the configuration of the menus, which not only come in three different lengths, but also allow you to play with the menu. Firstly, there is the Àvia Menu, which is the executive menu of the house, and also the most affordable: it is available at lunchtime, from Wednesday to Friday, at a price of 22.50€. After that, we can enjoy the two tasting menus: the Opportunity Menu, for €75, and the most extensive of all, the Origin Menu, at a cost of €90. Starting this week, Nostre will have a new menu, which will allow diners to design their own gastronomic experience. “The idea is that everyone can create their own tasting menu from a series of proposed dishes. In the end, we can tell our story, but we also want diners to create their own experience,” explains the chef about this decision.
It is also one of the few establishments in Valencia that continues to work with game, a practice that is becoming less and less frequent in contemporary restaurants, with seasonal dishes, such as this autumn’s triple-cooked quail. Special mention should be made of the wine list, which also flows with the seasons, and even incorporates new references every week, almost all from small, local wineries. If we want to get to know some of Andrés’ dishes better, we can start with…
The “picnic”, made up of five mouthfuls, which pay homage to the picaeta of family meals or meals with friends. Andrés and Sara invite you to enjoy these snacks with your hands, to make you feel at home.
All i pebre viajero, a dish we have already talked about, as it represents the essence of ‘Nostre’. It is based on the original Valencian recipe and incorporates ingredients and techniques from other places. “It’s like if a Valencian goes to live in the Basque Country, travels from there to Peru and ends up in Soria”, says Sara, when she presents it in the dining room.
Omelette of red prawns and manteca colorá. This dish, which fuses one of the emblematic products of the Comunitat’s gastronomy -red prawns-, incorporates the manteca colorá, typical of Andalusia, and is a tribute to Andrés’ beginnings, as it is a dish imported from the first Nostre.
Maíz y algarroba, a dessert that simulates the chocolate and vanilla ice cream of our childhood, but substituting those ingredients with corn and carob, to recover the product that our grandparents used to have for a snack.
A very ‘Nostre’ way
Personality is incessant: it changes and evolves with every action and small impact of our lives. That is why it is so difficult for us to define it. In spite of this, there is always a background, a base that marks the aftertaste: in the case of Nostre, the constancy, the illusion and the good sense that has accompanied them since their creation. Andrés and Sara are at the moment of growing up, of exploring their personality, of aiming as high as they want. Always rooted in their legacy, the restaurant was born as a project that wanted to give a voice to the mixture of Andalusian, Aragonese, Manchegan and Valencian peoples. The aim was to show that there is no single Valencian cuisine, but that we are the sum of all those who have been part of the journey.
Report by ‘24/7 Valencia team’
Article copyright ‘24/7 Valencia’
Photo: Sara Forner and Andrés Rengel of ‘Nostre’
NOSTRE
Calle Doctor Ferran 6,
46021
Valencia
+34 603 11 20 49
MORE ABOUT NOSTRE: https://www.nostrecocinaquesomos.es/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nostrecocina/
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