El Navarrico Romesco Sauce

El Navarrico are based in San Adria, a village in the south of Navarra, surrounded by the Ebro and Ega rivers. Here, the fertile soil is ideal for growing vegetables. Combine this with an abundance of water, and you have the perfect place for a canning operation to thrive.

In 1951, at the time El Navarrico was founded, if a family owned a simple, manual can closer – they were considered a factory. On the ground floor of the family home, the newly wed José Salcedo and Amalia Herce, began their business. Amalia cleaned and boiled the vegetables, then José closed them into cans when he returned home, after his day job in a factory. Their original home is now a local museum, La Fábrica Vieja, where visitors can gain a fuller insight into the history of the region.

What makes this story even more intriguing is that it is Amalia who played the most pivitol role in this evolving business, at a time when it was especially difficult for a woman to be in business. She was charged with the purchase of all the raw materials and was in control of the production, while also raising three children, and running the household. Amalia employed local women who worked an 8-hour day rather than the usual 12 hours, and she sorted out child and medical care. Unheard of conditions at the time!

When their children (Carmen, José and Conchi) grew up they joined El Navarrico, which by then, through hard work and industry, and their outstanding quality products, had grown successfully to a size that necessitated re-location into an actual factory. José and Amalia’s children have now been joined by the third generation. They too share the same dedication to produce the highest quality product, with minimal intervention, from the field to the packaging. And how do we see this manifest itself at El Navarrico when this style of production has in many cases changed so much over the years? On the factory floor, only women, with their nimble hands are involved in skillfully processing all the vegetables. The day we visited they were very busy with the artichoke harvest – these were both trimmed and put into each can by hand. Deeply rooted in their history, the El Navarrico founding family continues to honour their proud heritage by producing the same fabulous product with just as much love and care, as José and Amalia did.