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If you haven’t yet had the opportunity to visit each of Manchester’s recent influx of top quality Spanish restaurants, you might not realise quite how subtly unique each of them are. Some specialise in delicate charcuterie, while others pride themselves on princely paella or supreme sangria. Each stands strong amidst the others, and the friendly local Spanish rivalry can only make things more interesting for customers.
Freshness is hugely important to La Bandera
What makes La Bandera so original is their menu which has not been inspired by the Spanish mainland, but by the Canary Islands; the native home of owner Yashin Dadashnejad. Anyone who has been on holiday to Tenerife, Lanzarote, Gran Canaria, or Fuerteventura will hopefully have bypassed the British pub scene to experience the local cuisine. Perhaps memories have been made over a much-loved seafood dish, discovered in a family restaurant in a little fishing village. A small piece of that is what La Bandera brings to Manchester city centre, with a menu created by executive chef Josetxo Arrieta.
The geographical location of the Canary Islands has had a major (and positive) impact on its cuisine for several reasons. Its strategic position has allowed for culinary influences from African and South American cooking, as well as Portuguese flavours and recipes. Because there is a warm climate for most of the year, typical Canarian cuisine is based on lighter meals using sun-ripened vegetables, olives and fruit along with fresh fish and seafood. Freshness is hugely important to la Bandera who design their regularly changing menus and specials around the best seasonal ingredients available from the market. Presentation is just as important and many dishes are served with edible flowers and other pretty garnishes.
We’ve been lucky enough to visit this fantastic Spanish restaurant a few times and our standout favourites include pulpo en dos cocciones (twice cooked Galician octopus with mojo rojo and spicy paprika mash), croquetas de chipirón (silky black squid ink croquettes) and carrilleras de cerdo al PX (slow cooked Iberian pig cheeks in a rich Pedro Ximenez sherry sauce) but we just wanted to highlight a couple of typical signature ingredients, typical to La Bandera, that we wouldn’t want you to miss.
Rewind to the octopus we mentioned and you’ll notice, like many other dishes, it is served with ‘Mojo Rojo’, a typical Canarian condiment which no table would be complete without. It translates as ‘Red Sauce’ and is made from extra virgin olive oil, garlic, spices, pimiento (local peppers) and paprika. At La Bandera, you’ll find it served alongside fresh seafood, chicken and most famously, potatoes, which are arguably, the single ingredient that the Canary Islands are famous for.
Thanks to the climate, native-grown potatoes are naturally infused with salt which enhances their flavour and texture. Papas Arrugadas or ‘wrinkled potatoes’ is the dish most closely associated with the area. Traditionally they’re boiled in their skin in sea water (or salty water if you don’t live near the coast) until the skin wrinkles. These earthy and nutty spuds are simply served along with mojo rojo and its green sibling mojo verde (green sauce) and this is a must-have dish at La Bandera. We’d even recommend it over the better-known Patatas Bravas.
One last ingredient, typical of Canary Island cooking is ‘Gofio’, a special flour made from toasted grains which is used to thicken sauces and impart a particular flavour into traditional dishes.
Hopefully, we’ve now revealed some of the secrets that set La Bandera’s speciality cuisine apart from its Spanish neighbours.
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