Rubén López Mesa shares his tip for the best burnt Basque cheesecake

And he talks about his favourite Spanish dishes to cook at home.

Adam Liaw and Rubén López Mesa on The Cook Up. Credit: Jiwon Kim

--- Watch The Cook Up with Adam Liaw weeknights on SBS Food (Ch.33) at 7.00pm. Stream all episodes anytime at SBS On Demand. See Rubén López Mesa in the episode airing Wednesday 17 July ---

Since moving to Australia in 2009, Pinto-born chef Rubén López Mesa has been on a mission to promote Spanish cuisine.

After working in some of the country’s best restaurants, he founded Eat Spanish in 2018 to champion Spanish chefs and cuisine in Australia.

“It’s a super diverse cuisine. I think there’s a misconception that we have in Australia that Spanish food is just about chorizo but it’s not!” he exclaims. “Spain has 17 different regions and people from the northwest cook differently than the people from the southeast. In the north, you have the Atlantic diet, which is heavy on pulses, veggies, fish and seafood. On the east coast, you have the Mediterranean diet, which is olive oil, nuts, and starchy things like rice. This is where paella is from. Inland, you have more stews, broths, and second-class cuts of meat.”

He also loves that cooking Spanish dishes can be cheap, healthy and easy.

Rubén López Mesa on the set of The Cook Up. Credit: Jiwon Kim

He promises you can find almost all the ingredients you need at your local supermarket. “If I can do it while living 250 kilometres west of Sydney, in a small town with three shops, anyone can do it, especially if you live in a city!” says the chef, laughing. He recommends keeping on hand pimentón (or smoked paprika), good short-grain rice, olive oil (including a monovarietal Spanish olive oil) and saffron.

If you’re looking for special ingredients, Mesa often buys online from Made in Spain, Rodriguez Bros, Nomad Distribution and Fino Foods.

With the cold weather, Mesa suggests making comforting dishes like sopa de fideo (Spanish chicken noodle soup), lentil and chorizo stew or tortilla.

“Spanish omelette, or tortilla, has three ingredients: potato, egg and onion. Anyone can do that. In my opinion, it’s the official Spanish national dish,” he says.

For dessert, he can’t go past torrijas, which he compares to French toast. An old piece of bread is dipped in a mixture of milk, cinnamon and sugar, soaked in egg, fried in olive oil and sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar.

It's a recipe he shares when he joins Adam Liaw for a 'Zero Waste Dinners' episode on The Cook Up.

The ever-popular burnt Basque cheesecake is another favourite at home and at work.

Despite many recipes including flour, he makes his without, which he says makes no difference, other than keeping the cake gluten-free. His secret to the most luxurious burnt Basque cheesecake is to shave a few minutes off the recommended cooking time of most recipes, so the top of the cake will have its recognisable burnt shade, but the middle will stay creamy.

“It’s the way they serve it in San Sebastian, in the Basque country. They don't put any strawberry and raspberry jam with it because the sauce is inside. It’s the difference between having a cheesecake that is dry and one that is nice and moist,” he reveals.

“We always say that in Spanish gastronomy, the key moment is the sobremesa [the tradition of relaxing at the table after a meal]. We end up solving the world; we talk about soccer, politics, whatever; it's a very social thing. I think in Australia and Spain we have that in common, we love socialising by eating and drinking together,” he concludes.