- As every year, these culinary creations from local bars and restaurants will be compiled in a recipe booklet that will be available free of charge
In April, at El Poble Nou de Benitatxell, a thousand broad beans (en abril, en El Poble Nou de Benitatxell, habas mil). The Mitjafava Fest is such an important event in the festive calendar of the town that, if necessary, even the proverbs are adapted. The fact is that ‘faves pobleres’ have their own name and endless culinary possibilities that are demonstrated every year by the local restaurants and bars during the big week that the municipality dedicates to this legume.
With it they cook the traditional ‘arròs amb fava’ (rice with fava) in the Gastronomic Broad bean Days, which have been held throughout the week; but they also bring out their creativity and ingenuity and prepare delicious and original tapas, known as tapifaves, which can be tasted this Sunday, April 6, at the Tapifava Festival. All the recipes have the broad bean as the main ingredient, and all of them are collected in a recipe booklet in which the restaurateurs share their recipes with the whole town as an act of love for the product.
‘It is incredible that such sophisticated and original dishes can be made from such a humble legume. I am convinced that residents and visitors will enjoy the day and the gastronomic creations in the form of tapas that fuse traditional cuisine with the most innovative’, said the councillor of Festivities, Mayte Roldán.
This Sunday, tapas as suggestive and original as those of Restaurante La Cumbre, with its dried broad bean taco, its cream and jam with smoked mackerel and its brioche bread with broad bean, onion and caramelised pod with truffle mayonnaise, will be available for tasting.
Tradition will be a safe bet with the broad bean rolls and the mini broad bean burger of Ca Toni Mònica; the broad beans with cuttlefish and the broad bean omelette of Entreibéricos; the broad bean coca of La Coqueria or the squid with broad bean of Amar lo fresco.
In other cases, this legume travels as far away as Asia or Italy to offer international dishes such as the Xiao-long-bao with pork and broad bean stuffing from Beniasia restaurant; the focaccia of tender broad bean mousse with flamed aubergine, roasted pepper, dried tomato and salt and the rice risotada with fava pelà from Pizzeria Antiquary Restaurant, or the vegetarian broad bean spring rolls and spiced broad beans from Sofia Restaurante Asiático Sabores.
There are also healthy and tasty vegan options such as the healthy broad bean falafel with tahini sauce and the homemade broad bean and oyster mushroom burger from La Despensa or the Vol-au-vent with broad bean hummus from La Cuina de Xaro.
The tapifaves can be tasted at a price of 2 euros per tapa on Sunday April 6th at Les Pesqueres square. On that day, Benitatxell will become a culinary showcase with good music and an unbeatable atmosphere.
The day will start at 10am with brunch and bar service provided by the Peña Taurina El Portalet of Benitatxell. The tapas will be served from 11am, and from 12:30pm, the tapas will be served with musical accompaniment by Oxigen. As the icing on the cake, at 1:30 pm the prizes will be awarded to the winners of the homemade wine contest and the contests for la fava més llarga y la fava de més gallons. (the longest broad bean and the broad bean with more seeds).
On Friday 4th and Saturday 5th there will also be numerous gastronomic and festive events. The weekend will start with the showcooking of the chefs Ferdinando Bernardi and Ausiàs Signes and the concert by Estela Malonda on Friday.
On Saturday morning there will be a craft market and fun rides for the youngest ones. The BioMoscatell association will offer two guided tours: one of the experimental broad bean field at 11am and ‘ Muscatel with the 5 senses’ at 12.30pm. And to round off the morning, the Grup de Danses Morro Falquí and the Colla La Llebetjà from El Poble Nou de Benitatxell will offer a popular dance, followed by a performance by the Muixeranga of La Marina Alta.
The afternoon will begin with a children’s playroom service and a children’s show with Ramonets. Finally, in the evening there will be music and tapas at Les Pesqueres square with performances by Sandra Monfort, Soulomonics, La Xe-ranga, Primavera Valenciana and DJ Trapella.
