With his “Pucela roll”, Teo Rodríguez from Valladolid won three consecutive prizes. The flavor of this snack won the provincial competition, last year earning it the title of best tapa in Spain and – as tradition dictates that the national winner represents the country in the next edition – this 2024 could be proclaimed winner of the VIII World Tapas Championship City of Valladolid. In addition to the satisfaction of winning at home against fifteen other selected chefs from countries such as Argentina, Canada, France or Indonesia, it is the first time that a Spaniard has won the competition.
“I still have the memory of winning the provincial, it gives me goosebumps,” recalls the chef with a smile from ear to ear. “For me, it’s like winning the Champions League,” he compared. “I didn’t think it was so serious, but there is a before and after in this competition”, he underlined, referring to the visibility and the increase in work, and addressing especially to his colleague Íñigo Tizón, who became national champion and will defend Spain at the next World Cup.
Rodríguez profusely thanked his entire team, his colleagues from the union, the hoteliers’ association, his “godfathers” from Gastronomicom and the Cooking School for their work and their “beastly support”, in addition to recognizing his fifteen opponents . “We couldn’t be more proud to be from Valladolid.”
The “star product” of its creation, as it could not be otherwise, is lamb, one of the region’s most recognizable dishes. But the idea originated from a popular New York candy, the New York Roll, which adds chocolate and other fillings to croissant dough. “It happened for breakfast on a Tuesday, I brought some to share and we thought… What if we turned it into something savory?”
Said and done, this version would be born shortly after. “It’s hard to make something great in two or three bites, but we’re trying to reawaken that feeling. while you’re at the bar with your friends and you have one hand free to say hello or make a toast,” says the new winner.
The first step It involves preparing a buttery croissant dough, as Rodríguez indicated this Thursday. A piece of approximately 60×40, roll out and cut, then slightly stretch the edges of the dough. When cooking, they put weight on it “so it doesn’t rise” too much.
Chef Teo Rodríguez and his tapa ‘Pucela roll’
The bread is then emptied to leave maximum space for its filling. After several tests with a traditional lamb stew, they considered it to be “insufficient” because the flavor of the croissant stole too much importance from the meat, which is why they They added curry. The filling is carefully inserted with chopsticks, roll by roll.
Once this is done, another blast in the oven: six minutes at 200 degrees for the puff pastry to regenerate. Finally, the composition is wetted in a “demi-glace” or sauce prepared with a lamb reduction (whose appearance is shiny like the chocolate of the original recipe) and finally, it is coated with pistachio. And ready to sink your teeth into it.
Those who wish to taste the tapa as it was conceived by the new champion can do so at least until this Sunday, November 17 at the Trasto restaurant. This won’t be the only mouth-watering bite to rival palates: all participants and their availability can be checked in the ‘Tapas VLL’ app.
