EATING AT KILÓMETRO CERO

A house guest handed me a sack full of walnuts. What a nice gift, just in time for holidays when I always buy a bag of walnuts. In my Spanish market, they are always “California Walnuts.” But these, said Mike, were grown and picked at a friend’s finca in Spain. Kilómetro cero! 

Walnuts grown in Spain, with a very low carbon footprint.

“Kilómetro Cero” is the Spanish manifestation of the locavore movement. The idea is to save the planet through a sustainable culinary experience—food grown and consumed within a 100-kilometer radius. (Although the walnuts came from near Valencia—more than 100 kilómetros from where I live—they were delivered by sailing vessel to a port close to me, thus reducing their carbon footprint.) 

Practitioners aim to support local farmers and small producers, minimize the environmental impact of transportation, emphasize seasonal foods, promote biodiversity and prevent the loss of ecosystems through the preservation of heirloom species, autochthonous livestock breeds, local styles of cheese making. Locally produced food is also likely to be fresher and tastier than that shipped long distances. 

Many of the precepts of Kilómetro Cero have been included in From Farm to Fork, a cornerstone of the European Green Deal, a series of policy initiatives proposed by the European Commission to make Europe climate neutral by 2050. 

From Farm to Fork, presented in May of this year, aims to increase the sustainability of food systems through a strategy to assure affordable and sustainable food, tackle climate change, protect the environment, preserve biodiversity and increase organic farming (including acquaculture). 

Clementines just steps from my kitchen. They are small mandarin oranges, similar to tangerines.

 

Like jewels, ruby-red pomengranate kernels enliven any salad. These fruit are from a friend's garden.

In my kitchen at kilómetro cero, I´m making salad. From a tree just steps from the kitchen, I picked clementines. I opened a pomegranate grown on a nearby friend’s property. I sliced avocados from Málaga plantations (my own tree has only two fruit). Dressed with my own extra virgin olive oil and a smidge of Sherry vinegar (ok, Jerez de la Frontera, provenance of Sherry, is 200 km. from my kitchen), my salad was finished with chopped walnuts, grown in Spain.  

A gorgeous salad for a holiday table, made with local ingredients. 

For the salad dressing, I've got fruity, fresh extra virgin olive oil. I picked the olives myself and took them to the mill.

Chopped walnuts add crunch. Almonds would be good too (I've got almond trees on the edge of my garden.)

Salad with Clementines, Avocados and Walnuts

Ensalada con Clementinas, Agucates y Nueces

Clementines are small mandarin oranges, similar to tangerines. 

I’ve used PX vinegar, made with Pedro Ximenez Sherry. It is slightly sweet, very mellow. Regular Sherry vinegar with a teaspoon of (local) honey is a reasonable substitute. 

Serves 4.

4-5 clementines or other tangerines

2 avocados

Lemon juice

1 pomegranate

1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

Salad greens

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon finely chopped shallot

2 ½ tablespoons PX vinegar

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

½ teaspoon salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon clementine juice

Peel the clementines and slice them crosswise. Discard any seeds. Slice the avocados and sprinkle them with a little lemon juice. Split open the pomegranate and remove seeds, discarding membrane. Place the seeds in a bowl.

Spread salad greens on a platter or on individual salad plates. Arrange slices of clementines and avocados on the greens. Spoon pomegranate seeds over the fruits. Sprinkle with walnuts.

For the dressing, combine in a small bowl the mustard, shallot and vinegar. Stir until mustard is smooth. Whisk in the oil, salt, pepper and juice.

Immediately before serving, spoon the dressing over the salad.

More about the European Union's Farm to Fork initiative:

From Farm to Fork--2030 Targets.

More colorful salads for fall and winter:

Waldorf Salad with Beets.

Pumpkin Taboulleh Salad.

Pear, Fennel, Walnut Salad.

Sweet Potato, Fennel and Clementine Salad.

More recipes with walnuts:

Turkey Breast Roulade with Spinach-Walnut Stuffing.

Walnut Torte.

Squab Stuffed with Apricots and Walnuts.