Merce Passola - Creative Raw Cooking

Original title: Cocina Cruda Creativa

Copyright 2010 Merc Passola, Edgard Viladevall

Copyright Editorial Ocano, S.L. (Barcelona, Spain)

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, whether electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or other kind, without the prior permission in writing by the owners.

Photographs by Becky Lawton

English translation copyright 2014 by Skyhorse Publishing

All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without the express written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief excerpts in critical reviews or articles. All inquiries should be addressed to Skyhorse Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018.

Skyhorse Publishing books may be purchased in bulk at special discounts for sales, promotion, corporate gifts, fund-raising, or educational purposes. Special editions can also be created to specifications. For details, contact the Special Sales Department, Skyhorse Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018 or .

Skyhorse and Skyhorse Publishing are registered trademarks of Skyhorse Publishing, Inc., a Delaware corporation.

Visit our website at www.skyhorsepublishing.com.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

Cover design by Owen Corrigan

Cover photo credit Becky Lawton

Print ISBN: 978-1-62914-471-9

E-book ISBN: 978-1-62914-914-1

Printed in China

To imagine, create, and produce in the world of the creative raw kitchen is a unique experience in which a person gives the best of his or herself. There exists a constant motivation to discover new textures, tastes, colors, and presentations. The excitement is so big that you are compelled to share it. A book? you think. That is an excellent way to share this excitement! you conclude. You dont know how to start, but the excitement pushes you and suddenly everything you need emerges, as if you were already prepared.

Thank you, Adriana Ortemberg; you materialized like a fairy godmother, you spun the thread and everything appeared. But then you begin, and you realize you need help... and it arrives. Thank you, Javier Medvedovsky; your presence was important. Thank you, Maria Trnsito Lpez; when one doesnt know how to continue, it is good to have you nearby.

We also thank the team at Ocano Ambar, and to Jaume Rossell and Esther Sanz in particular, for the trust they had in our project and their ability to share with us the pleasure of tasting some dishes. We are also grateful for the work of all those who have participated in this book: photographers, typesetters, printers... All of them have made it possible for this book to see the light.

Thanks also to Carles Viladevall who, with his presence and support, didnt let the excitement fade.

Of course, thanks to all the people who on this long journey have stayed by our side silently, but always supporting this project.

This book has been a learning experience for us, and an unforgettable experience at that. But it will not be complete until we satisfy a final wish: that the reader gets excited and shares this experience, enjoys and slowly savors the recipes, and lets his or her imagination fly in order to create new recipes.

Thank you for helping us make this dream a reality.

Merc and Edgard

Contents

Prologue

Nourishing yourself is an act of giving life. It can be achieved out of necessity or out of eagerness, out of routine or out of creativity, with disregard or with feeling. Creative Raw Cooking is a book that teaches us to eat with excitement, with imagination, and with passion; it is a book through which we learn to love food and to receive the nutrients with gratitude and satisfaction.

Eating raw foods is the best way to incorporate the suns energy, which we need, into our bodies in the most organized way possible. But it is also the most conventional and enjoyable way of providing nutrients to our minds and spirits.

The pages that follow are a gift for the senses. Entering the kitchen, and even without turning on the stove, working with our hands through the different textures of the foods, rejoicing after seeing the remarkable colors on the plate, and feeling, upon tasting, the sound and aroma that each ingredient frees, enriches the sensations of our palate and makes the food feel like a true pleasure.

Food also has a positive influence on our emotional state. The enteric nervous system, known as the second brain or abdominal cerebrum, found in our small intestine, consists of a network of very important neurons, such as those of the spinal cord, which frees neurotransmitters like serotonin. This is why what we eat and how we eat it is so important.

Authors Merc and Edgard show us the result of their explorations in the kitchen after many years of practicing, and they make their dishes come to life with the original idea of naming each one of them for principles about which we can ponder and by which we can live.

After reading it I can say with total sincerity that I am happy to be able to present to you this book.

Pedro Rdenas (Naturopathic Doctor)

Introduction

This book is a gift: writing it, sharing it with you, and offering you a small part of the immense possibilities that exist from making new things are all part of the gift.

It pleases us to share the wonders of the world and to encourage people to enjoy those wonders. We like to enjoy our food and to make sure it is the healthiest for the body. We wish for people to be a temple of health and vitality and for them to obtain their maximum potential.

Creative raw cooking is based on raw ingredients and uses techniques that maintain and maximize the original properties of those ingredients. It is a form of eating ingredients full of life and nutrients that also have exquisite flavors, smells, and textures in order to satisfy ourselves and our five senses, especially the palate.

It is a kitchen in which health, gastronomy, and innovation are combined in harmony. A form of nourishing oneself that takes care of us on the inside (thanks to the benefits that the raw foods produce) and the outside (health is also reflected on the skin, in the hair, in the eyes...). Thus, it is no surprise that Olympic athletes, movie stars, and singers make the most of all these advantages.

In the field of health, raw foods help us in many situations. To start, they boost the digestive process and improve how well we utilize the nutrients that we consume, which affects our energy, vitality, and well-being. They also help us control our weight, as well as delay signs of aging. And they contribute to preventing and weakening degenerative diseases, as distressing as they are.