News published in Valencia City
The restaurant Contrapunto Les Arts, located in the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia and managed by Gourmet Catering & Eventos, accompanies the representation of Giulio Cesare in Egitto with a menu inspired by the flavours, spices, and products of the eastern Mediterranean. The proposal will be available from 28th February to 13th march, coinciding with the dates of the representation. The gastronomic proposal extends beyond the stage, the intensity of the score of Georg Friedrich Händel and contributes to convert the evening in a historic journey and sensory.
Giulio Cesare in Egitto is one of the major peaks of the baroque operatic part of the historic meeting between Julius Caesar and Cleopatra to offer a reflection on the power, seduction, and the geopolitical importance of the Eastern mediterranean in the history of the West. To accompany the representation, Contrapunto Les Arts proposes a contemporary interpretation of Mediterranean-inspired flavors that unite Rome and Egypt, in the living tradition, spices and local products.
A beginning full of nuances
The gastronomical tour opens with eggplant, feta cheese, pomegranate, papadum and mayonnaise peanut, a starter that evokes the cultural richness of Alexandria by the contrast of textures and spices. Creamy, fresh and slightly spicy, the dish connects to the inheritance east of the Mare Nostrum.
As a pairing proposes a wine valencian, the Negre 2019 Vinya Alforí, a wine valencian balanced and elegant, it adds freshness to the whole.
Millennial tradition reinterpreted
As a main dish, the proposal presents shoulder of lamb with low-temperature cooked kamut.
The lamb, the protagonist, in the kitchen, roman and egyptian, symbolizing the feast and the celebration. The kamut introduces a wink direct to antiquity: considered one of the most ancestral cereals grown in the eastern Mediterranean, its origin dates back to the earliest civilizations of agriculture. Of firm texture, and taste slightly nutty, this grain millennial connects the present with the story that inspired the opera, providing depth and character to the dish.
The pairing expected to Sea Vins Negre 2023, a mediterranean wine structured that enhances the juiciness and the nuances of the lamb.
An end-of-oriental inspiration
The outcome sweet pays homage to the opulence of the east and a dessert to a base of dates, chocolate and stracciatella. An ending that combines strength and delicacy, as the duet between Caesar and Cleopatra, paired with Moscato Extra Primitivo Quiles, made with muscat of Alexandria.
The special menu Giulio Cesare in Egitto will be available in Contrapunto Les Arts from February 28 to march 13, by 39,90 € without pairing or 55,00 € with wine pairing included. An invitation to enjoy the opera of Handel from the auditorium up to the table, celebrating the intersection of cultures, flavors and sounds that defined the essence of the Mediterranean.
Read the full article here: The restaurant Contrapunto Les Arts offers a special menu with a reason of “Julius Caesar” Handel – Valencia City