{"id":39467,"date":"2017-10-30T08:00:55","date_gmt":"2017-10-30T14:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/?p=39467"},"modified":"2017-11-15T15:58:39","modified_gmt":"2017-11-15T22:58:39","slug":"slice-of-spain-found-in-calgary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/2017\/10\/30\/slice-of-spain-found-in-calgary\/","title":{"rendered":"Slice of Spain found in Calgary"},"content":{"rendered":"

C<\/span>hef Kai Salimaki of Ox Bar de Tapas in Calgary, recently visited Spain bringing back a few secrets of the Spanish cuisine with which to tempt local diners.<\/p>\n

S<\/span>alimaki visited the Basque country of Spain, which comprises the the coastal city of San Sebastian, the traditional ‘Running of the Bulls’ city of Pamplona, and the beautiful Pyrenees Mountains.<\/p>\n

Discovering a few new tricks to employ in his kitchen at Ox bar de Tapas, Salimaki also learned how straightforward the Spanish cuisine really is.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe cuisine is very simple, backed with bold flavours and the freshest ingredients around,\u201d said Salimaki.<\/p>\n

In Salimaki\u2019s opinion, the leading ingredient to the cuisine is smoked paprika.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s everywhere. It\u2019s cooked in dishes, sprinkled on top of dishes and made into oils,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cChorizo, the famous Spanish sausage, is predominantly spiced with smoked paprika, and it comes in sweet and spicy forms.<\/p>\n

Paella, the famous rice dish that every region of Spain claims as its own, originated through the combination of smoked paprika and bomba rice, the ingredients which give it its traditional taste.<\/p>\n

\u201cNext is the Spanish saffron. It is extremely expensive but worth it,” he said.<\/p>\n

Lastly would be the ‘soccarat,’ the crispy layer of rice at the bottom of the pan,\u201d the chef said.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo achieve a great crust without burning the paella is a hard technique to master,\u201d Salimaki said.<\/p>\n

He also expressed admiration for the hospitality and lifestyle of Europeans.<\/p>\n

\u201cEurope knows what it\u2019s doing. They work to live, where back in North America, it is the opposite, we live to work.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople here are so caught up in their careers and ambition that they forget to live.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ox and Angela reopened in the spring of 2017 as Ox Bar de Tapas, at 528 17th Ave. S.W.<\/p>\n

Major renovations were done to the front of the house and a wall separating the bar known as \u201cOx\u201d from the dining room known as \u201cAngela\u201d was removed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey opened up the whole space and made it lighter and more inviting,\u201d said Salimaki.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe open kitchen allows us to engage with customers and I think we are attracting a new clientele,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Next to the patio, on the left side of the front of the royal blue building, Salimaki has a garden thriving with fresh herbs he uses in many of his dishes.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Upon taking over the kitchen from the previous chef, Salimaki said that he knew he was going to be keeping at least 25 per cent of the original menu.<\/p>\n

\u201cDishes such as the tortilla, churros, paella, pan con tomate, croquettas are all quintessential Spanish dishes,\u201d said Salimaki.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I made any changes to these, it would have been how I thought they should taste according to my palate,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Ox Bar de Tapas is an affordable option for students on a budget when dining out as the entire menu has tapas ranging from $2 to $18.<\/p>\n

University of Calgary student, Teodora Jokic, was crazy about Ox since the first time she went for the sangria and the Spanish table, (a selection of Salimaki\u2019s favourite dishes).<\/p>\n

\u201cYou pay for what you\u2019re hungry for,\u201d said Jokic.<\/p>\n

\u201cI came to Ox in the summer and stayed for hours, soaking in the Spanish way of life in a Calgarian restaurant. It just has that effect on you,” Jokic said.<\/p>\n

Reserve a table in the little blue restaurant on 17th today at\u00a0http:\/\/www.oxtapas.com<\/p>\n

\"\"
A statue of Mary is surrounded by candles, a bucket of ice to hold white wine in and ambient lighting hugs the statue at Ox Bar de Tapas in Calgary on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2017. The new renovations brought many new decorations including this statue of Mary, a few crosses, candles, succulents, and a metal statue of an ox that resides at the front door of the restaurant. (Photo by Kelsey Lyle\/The Press)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chef Kai Salimaki travels to the Basque country of Spain discovering secrets of the Spanish cuisine learning more than just about food along the way. [ READ MORE ]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":398,"featured_media":39987,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"_ef_editorial_meta_text_assignment-slug":"S2 Chef Kai Salimaki","footnotes":""},"categories":[9,10],"tags":[259],"class_list":{"0":"post-39467","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-image","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-life","8":"category-mission","9":"tag-food","10":"post_format-post-format-image"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39467","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/398"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39467"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39467\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40379,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39467\/revisions\/40379"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39987"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39467"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39467"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39467"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}