Every summer, the

Cantabrian coast

receives a unique visitor and member of the

marine

royalty

: the bonito del norte. A prince charming, as the fishermen of that area call him. We are talking about

thunnus alalunga

, from the tuna family, a semi-fat fish with a delicate texture that is in

full season

(from June to September / October). He is a great traveler who has had to leave the Atlantic to get to our coasts and go through the Canary Islands, Madeira and the Azores. And what is he like? Versatile like few others -thanks to its gelatinous meat, its fat and its delicate flavor-, it is one of the fish with the longest culinary tradition. Onions, grilled, pickled, meatballs, stews ...

Classic or avant-garde

, there are recipes and versions for all tastes, as evidenced by their presence on the tables of a large number of restaurants in the capital.

Tuna tartare, in La Maruca.

We started with a Cantabrian, the

Cañadío Group

, with restaurants in Santander and Madrid, whose first location -Cañadío Santander- is now 40 years old.

In the spaces that Paco Quirós has in the Forum, the seasonal product reigns, hence every summer the

thunnus alalunga

has a great presence.

For example, in La Maruca (Velázquez, 54 and Paseo de la Castellana, 212) they serve it with a tomato salad, in their tasty empanadillas

like those of Angélica

and in a taco with piperrada.

Bonito meatballs, in Cañadío.

In La Primera (Gran Vía, 1) they choose to offer it with nori seaweed, in tartare, in hamburger and to prepare some very juicy meatballs, a preparation for which they also bet in Cañadío, although with bonito and squid in red sauce.

In this place in Conde de Peñalver, 86, they also make a spectacular túnido hamburger "our way";

that is, tartar type.

Bonito with tomato, in TATEL.TORRES ESTUDIO

Classic is the proposal with which the Madrid chef Julio Miralles kicks off the summer, since last December executive chef of TATEL restaurants and a great defender of seasonal produce.

For the Madrid headquarters (Paseo de la Castellana, 36) bet on bonito with tomato.

The recipe: "We roast the tomato and add it to a green pepper sauce. Then we lightly flour the Cantabrian coastal tuna and add the sauce", they explain from the dining room.

Tuna with tomato and fried egg, in La Cocina de Frente.

With the same accompaniment they prepare it in La Cocina de Frente (Ibiza, 40).

In this food house advised by Juanjo López Bedmar (La Tasquita de Enfrente), in the Bulbiza gastronomic area, Carlos García -head of kitchen- proposes a tuna with tomato and fried egg.

Sauté the tuna lightly in the pan and accompany it with a homemade sauce made with canned Italian tomato.

Not far from there, chef Javier Aparicio prepares in Salino (Menorca, 4), where market cuisine is the main thing, a bonito from the north pickled at the moment and accompanied by some fried piparras.

We go to the Valdemarín neighborhood, to Portonovo (Aguarón, 7).

Among the suggestions of this Galician cuisine restaurant, with more than 50 years of history and with the second generation at the helm, we find bonito on ajoblanco and tomato syrup and also in tartare with tomato water and lemon and Arbequina ice cream.

Bonito de Burela cured in Auga Mareira, tomato from Navarra and nasturtium, in NaDo.

We return to the center of Madrid, to the Las Salesas neighborhood and to NaDo, a Coruña space run by Iván Domínguez which, since last December, has its headquarters in Madrid (Prim, 5).

In both places it offers a dish with

thunnus alalunga

, whose name says it all:

Bonito de Burela cured in Auga Mareira, tomato from Navarra and nasturtium

, with no other ornaments than the three ingredients with which it is made.

In Maldonado 14, located on the same street and number that gives it its name, Francisco Vicente and Julián Barbolla opt for the belly.

It is the most appreciated part of the tuna for its flavor and juiciness, thanks to the greater presence of fat (rich in omega 3), and here it is served with little manipulation, only accompanied by tomato from Tudela.

Pickled bonito trunk, in Hevia.

If something characterizes Hevia (Serrano, 218), it is its commitment to the product, whether international or national, including, of course, the bonito del norte. Thus, since 2001 it has a prominent place in the menu of this restaurant, which was founded in 1964 has adapted to the times, the trunk of bonito pickled in partridge sauce, a classic of the house.

And, since we are talking about classics, is there a recipe that is more so than the Russian salad, an icon of the national gastronomy?

In the Asturian La Madreña (Santa Lucrecia, 10; Bronce, 4 and Paseo de la Castellana, 78), their serving of Russian salad made with bonito from the north shares stardom with cachopos and grilled meats.

Russian salad, in La Madreña.

From traditional to more contemporary proposals.

In Arallo (Reina, 31), home of the Coruña group Amicalia, they start from the Galician tradition and their pantry to create a traveling cuisine, with touches of fusion, which is reinvented every day.

True to the season, they serve a nice risolado in green sauce with cream of peas, mint and potato.

Meanwhile, his

older brother

, Alabaster (Montalbán, 9), opted to present it in tartar, with a base of ajoblanco and a touch of guacamole and corn.

Iberian pork belly with tuna belly from Ondarroa, in Cadaqués.

We continue with the creativity and proposal of one of the last restaurants to join the capital's payroll of Madrid's golden mile: Cadaqués (Jorge Juan, 35).

Although in this brand of the Sagardi Group, the protagonists are rice, there is also room for our tuna.

On this occasion, a

sea ​​and mountains

are served

, whose name is a whole game:

Iberian pork belly with tuna belly from Ondarroa

(or, on the contrary, but the same), where the key is in the fat (good and rich ) of both products.

The elaboration?

A slice of Iberian bacon roasted at a low temperature in a wood-fired oven and then, on top of it, add the bonito marinated with ginger and lime and accompanied with a little well-poached onion.

Marmitako, in Bistronómika.

If Carlos del Portillo knows something about seafood and seasonal products, for something the "no menu" of his restaurant -Bistronómika (Ibiza, 44) - depends exclusively on the market and what each season brings. The offer revolves around seafood and grilled fish,

sea ​​and mountain

combinations

and seafood

stews. Like the marmitako that dispatches these days. With a classic style, "we serve it warm, with a good bonito from the north and two other essentials: the chorizo ​​pepper and well-cashed potatoes, not cut," explains Del Portillo. Also, on some days, the chef prepares his iconic gilda with bonito instead of bluefin tuna.

We don't stray too far.

In front of the Retiro, Arzábal (Menéndez Pelayo, 13), Iván Morales and Álvaro Castellanos have been proselytizing seasonal produce all their lives.

Thus, from his kitchen - which walks on the back of modernity without losing tradition - a spectacular grilled tuna comes out, and with an optimal point.

Tuna nigiri, tomato raf and olive powder, in Ikigai.

In Ikigai (Flor Baja, 5), Yong Wu Nagahi has been reinventing traditional Japanese recipes for three years with his personal touch and the freshest local raw materials.

This is demonstrated with the seasonal nigiris from its omakase menu, where there is no shortage of northern bonito with kimchi and piparra marmitako or northern bonito, raf tomato and olive powder.

We return to classicism and to Pelotari (Recoletos, 3), a Basque-Navarre cuisine restaurant that Francisco López and Enrique Fernández opened 30 years ago.

In this grill they handle meat and fish equally well, and they even usually make the ronqueo of the northern bonito themselves.

They prepare it in three different ways: grilled, in a salad with ugly tomato from Tudela and blunt, to have it available all year round.

Bonito from the dull north, in Pelotari.

The Oter Group also bets on

thunnus alalunga

.

At the Pez Fuego, Gran Barril de Castellana, El Telégrafo and Nuevo Gerardo establishments they offer pickled northern bonito;

grilled with ratatouille and diced with broad beans ... And its rich and juicy empanada well filled with bonito.

We closed with a specialist in marine products and a temple of the same, where snoring is common: Señor Martín (General Castaños, 13).

His is the product of the day, so it is not strange to find different elaborations of bonito from the north, either raw, in stews (the marmitako), grilled (the belly) or fried (for example, the fins).

A prince charming has arrived in town.

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