The fish that is more than 400 years old and that today only two restaurants in Barcelona cook

BarcelonaThe ray is an ancient fish, at least we can say so because the medieval recipe book Sent Soví's Book, which celebrated its 400th anniversary last year, dedicated three recipes to it: in a panada, roasted, and baked in a casserole. Of course, back then, only the wealthy could afford and eat the fish, and it was also associated with the season of Lent, but the fact that it appeared in the book is considered a sign that the fish was known and eaten, at least by a portion of the population. Thus, the ray was well described in the Middle Ages. Today, in our country, only the restaurants Enigma, by chef Albert Adrià, and Cocina Hermanos Torres, by brothers Sergio and Javier Torres, have it on the menu, and for the general population, it is an unknown fish. The twin chefs maintain that the fish's shape surprises them, so much so that Sergio and Javier Torres took a photo holding it in their hands in the first days of spring when it arrived at the restaurant, awarded three Michelin stars. These and many other interesting facts can be found at the Global Seafood Expo, the most important fish fair, which has just begun at Fira Barcelona (Gran Vía) and will end on May 8.

But before sitting down at the tables of the two restaurants, we described what the ray looks like. It's brownish-black, with an elongated body and no jaw, and this very characteristic makes it unique, as it's the only fish we eat in Spain that doesn't have jaws. It also has seven gill openings on one side, which allow water to pass through to the gills, and it has no scales. Another defining characteristic: it's a parasite, meaning it pierces the skin of other fish or marine mammals to suck their blood, and that's how it feeds, without actually killing them. To do this, it uses its oral sucker and numerous denticles. "The color of the species is dark, but it has nothing to do with it feeding on the blood of other fish," says marine scientist Arnau Subías, who works at the Estimar seafood restaurant in Barcelona and manages the Instagram account @gastrobio, which he uses to spread the word about fish and seafood.

Its life cycle begins as a larva, which lives buried in the river bed for four to ten years. When the larva transforms, it becomes a juvenile larva and then migrates to the sea. From then on, while swimming in the sea, it pierces the skin of marine mammals and fish to feed. It can do so for ten to thirty months. And when the adult stage begins, it migrates again, but this time to the river again. It will do so in spring, which is precisely when fishing takes place in both the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. Uncaught specimens will die after laying eggs, from which new larvae will hatch, which will restart the entire cycle.

In Barcelona's Sants neighborhood, at the Cocina Hermanos Torres restaurant, brothers Sergio and Javier share the excitement that has driven them to include ray in their spring tasting menu. For many reasons. "It's a very exclusive fish, expensive to buy at source, because fishing it, which is done in rivers, is very complicated." A kilo of ray costs approximately eighty euros, explain the Torres brothers, who add that they learned about this fish thanks to their travels, which they dedicate to learning about dishes and products. Northern Europe, with its tradition of ray cooking, is where they tried it, and where they also met the producers. "It's the most important work we've ever done in our career as chefs, knowing who makes, who catches, or hunts the products that we later incorporate into our menu," they say. Such was the case with the ray, which they tried cooked à la Bordelaise, which is the name given to the recipe for cooking the fish in its own blood, the blood so vital to the life of the parasitic fish that, if it didn't suck it from other fish, it wouldn't survive. That's why it's popularly known as the Dracula fish.

The head, to prepare the bottom

There's another peculiarity about ray, this one more closely related to cooking. "While we can say that everything is used for many products, this isn't the case with ray, because the head is usually useless," say Sergio and Javier Torres, who add that they have made a special effort to reuse it, using the head to make one of the two broths included in the recipe.

Continuing, at the Enigma restaurant, chef Albert Adrià explains why rayfish, also known as the sea hare, are so difficult to prepare. The meat is very dry, and he rejects it for any other dish. Only a single part is used. Rayfish, in the case of the Enigma restaurant, is a dish that is not included on the menu; due to its high price, it is not included on the tasting menu.

And meanwhile, in Sent Soví's Book, the cookbook that celebrated its 400th anniversary last year, details the ray in three preparations. This fact confirms that it is an ancient fish, which was cooked and known in the Middle Ages, and at least among the wealthy classes, because the Feel Soví It collected recipes intended for the wealthy, those who ate fish especially during times of abstinence, and hence preparations made with fish are inferior, much inferior, compared to those made with meat or other ingredients. Be that as it may, the literal words of the 1324 recipe book are that, to prepare ray in a pan, "it is mixed with spices, agar, onion, and sugar." To continue, if it is roasted, "it must be well coated with wine so that it does not burn; and finally, if it is put in the oven in a casserole dish, it must be cooked in a mixture of white and Greek wine with onions, spices, and herbs: marjoram, parsley, mint, and oregano." The clarity with which the herbs are used—marjoram, parsley, mint, and oregano—is surprising, but it is also surprising that there are three different ways of cooking the same fish, which is totally unknown today.

New from the Torres brothers: a new restaurant

The brothers confirm they plan to open a new restaurant in Barcelona, ​​focusing on Catalan cuisine. They don't want to reveal the name or location yet, but they do confirm that it will be a casual-style restaurant, where they will continue to prepare the Catalan cuisine they learned with Professor and chef Josep Lladonosa, with whom they collaborate on the gastronomy awards that bear their name, and whose grand finale will be held in Barcelona.