Amazing Appetizers - Foglia di "Grano" - Chef Roy Caceres - Metamorfosi Ristorante, Rome

I have many   memories of a cooking class I attended a couple of weeks ago with Michelin star Chef Roy Caceres.  One tasty one includes this amazing appetizer with simple but flavorful ingredients, detailed step by step instructions, and time.  It's called Foglia di "Grano" ( leaf of wheat) with red tuna and herbs.
Here's the recipe:

Ingredients for 5 people:  10 leaves of chard (previously blanched in boiling water), 400 grams of Mediterranean red tuna, 5 grams of coriander, 1 spring onion, 10 grams of lemon peel which have been marinated fin  its juice for at least 1 month (peel the lemon peel without the white portion of the  peel and cut into strips,   vacuum  seal with filtered lemon juice and sugar  -50% of the  weight of the juice), salt, soy sauce, 1 lime

For the herb mixture: Make a salad with herbs and aromatic seasonal salads varying the flavor and mixing them according to their intensity

For the Foglia di grano pasta dough: 5 gr Manitoba flour, 85 grams of flour 00, 25 g of egg yolk, 25 g of water, 20 grams of milk, 1 g of yeast, 3 grams of salt, powdered anise and fennel.

For the chickpea purée: 100 grams of cooked chickpeas, 80 grams of cooking water from the chickpeas, salt, extra virgin olive oil, Calabrese red chili pepper powder, aromatic extra virgin olive oil with garlic

For the lemon gel: 100 grams of lemon juice, 50 g water, 15 g sugar, 25 g  marinade juice, lemon peel with its juice, 2.6 g agar agar

Instructions:

For the Foglia di grano pasta dough: Mix the ingredients and create a smooth and homogeneous mixture, let stand in refrigerator for at least 6 hours. Roll out the dough thinly and attach the chard leaves with the help of a very watery batter of flour and water.  Cut the leaves keeping their characteristic shape.

For chickpea purée: Use a Thermomix to blend the chickpeas with their cooking water.  Add  a little extra virgin olive oil and extra virgin olive oil flavored with garlic, pepper and salt. settaccio move everything to the end and store in refrigerator until ready to serve.

For the lemon gel: Hydrate the agar agar with water, mix with the other ingredients bring to a boil, allow to cool until it becomes gel.   Then  blend it  with an immersion mixer  until it is creamy, smooth and homogeneous.

Plating and serving:
Cut the red tuna in large cubes and season with strips of spring onion, chopped coriander, candied lemon peel, salt, black pepper, and a little soy sauce.

Cook the leaves of wheat on a hotplate (dough side down).

Put the salad mixture and seasoned tuna on a plate.

On top of the tuna add the  chickpea purée.   Finally, gently  lay  the cooked leaf of wheat on top with  a drop of lemon gel.

Chef Caceres advised us to go at it...free style!
We did!

#kitchentalk - Cooking Gourmet with Chef Roy Caceres, Metamorfosi Ristorante, Rome

 I was an hour ish late for Michelin star Chef Roy Caceres's (Rome's Metamorfosi Ristorante) two day cooking class at Dolce e Salato Scuola di Cucina e Pasticceria in Caserta.
I tried to enter without being noticed, but as I opened the door the room was silent, except for the whirr of the mixer that the chef was using to mix  pasta dough.

Buongiorno...scusa Chef...was all I could whisper as I headed to the back of the class.  Caceres nodded, watched me sit down and then picked up with his lesson.

I sat down in the back, but it wasn't long as I made my way to the front row so as not to miss a beat of the chef's lesson.  I was assai curious as to what made this Colombian born chef tick.

The  small recipe book in front of was like a scorecard.  Caceres skipped from one page to the next and then back again, checking off  recipe items as he went along. The chef was preparing six dishes at once.

Many required a Thermomix, like his anchovy mayonnaise, black olive oil, and turnip green sauce to name a few.

Many ingredients needed to be vacuum packed such as his beef fillets and  bananas.
All dishes required his  his attention, expertise, and patience.

Minutes turned to hours...my respect for Caceres turned to admiration, especially when he put aside the Thermomix for awhile and started rolling out the pasta he had prepared earlier.

This is gourmet cooking.  And gourmet cooking takes not only know how..but time.

And It was time to put these pieces together. Like his Foglia di 'grano', leaves of 'wheat' with red tuna and herbs and creamy chick peas....

Or his "Pomodori vestiti" 'dressed' tomatoes with anchovies, burrata and turnip greens...

Mozzarella and Spinach with olives and bread...

I looked at my watch.  Caceres hadn't finished, but it was time for me to leave.  I tried to leave without being noticed.
I tried...but as I got to the door, I caught the chef's attention , waved and  mouthed a ciao...
ciao and grazie...

Fantastic Firsts - Risotto with Quail, Chef Vincenzo Guarino, Ristorante L'Accanto (Na)

One of the first dishes that I ever had at Ristorante L'Accanto was a mean risotto with baby eggplant, a mozzarella di bufala mousse, and red shrimp.  That was over a year ago, but I still remember the presentation, the flavors, and the rice - cooked to a perfect al dente by Chef Vincenzo Guarino.

Chef Vincenzo Guarino

That's probably why there was a silent excitement when this particular dish was placed down in front of me.  Another risotto creation by the Michelin star chef.  One that I was sure would not disappoint.  Risotto with quail.

Simple colors...the white of the rice.  Creamy white with a tint of brown.  Brown from a beef reduction drizzled carefully around the plate.  In the middle, quail topped with grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese which let out an incredible aroma.  An aroma that blended with with the grated apples that not only decorated the dish, but served to give, what I believe a tarty flavor to the dish.

I'll have to ask Chef Guarino next time...

Indian Summer - Seafood by the Sea- Chef Vincenzo Guarino, L'Accanto Ristoranto (Na)

It's this time of year that one is ready for the fall season.  But sometimes in Campania, the thermometer does not jive with the calendar.  Here we are experiencing an Indian summer which has extended the tourist season in many beach towns.  Especially last weekend in Seiano di Vico Equense (Na), a small town on the doorstep of the Sorrento Peninsula.   There, at L'Accanto Ristorante located in the spectacular albergo Grand Hotel Angiolieri, I sat down at a small table on the terrace overlooking the sea and almost forgot that it was October...at least for a few hours.
One of the first dishes I was served by Michelin Chef Vincenzo Guarino was a super size seafood appetizer.
 No one leaves my restaurant hungry, Guarino told me later.
So what was on this dish that was not only a joy to look at, fun to photograph, but packed with flavor?

Bite sized pieces of slightly sauteed red mullet, fresh fennel, shrimp, mandarin oranges...

Beet wafers...

Homemade Greek yogurt...

Bite sized pieces to enjoy slowly, one at a time...
while looking out over the terrace...
out to the sea with a perfect view of Mt. Vesuvius...
and a glass of wine...

Indian Summer...

A New Season - A New Menu Continues - Cannellone with Ricotta and Squid - Chef Salvatore Bianco, Il Comandante Ristorante (Na)

Our conversation began in the Beluga Sky Bar and Restaurant located on the 9th floor of Hotel Romeo.  A chat over a caffe' in which I learned quite a bit about Chef Salvatore Bianco's culinary background, his love of  Campania, and his respect for quality products and attention to detail.  The conversation moved from Beluga to the kitchen  and then the dining room of Il Comandante, the hotel's gourmet restaurant where Bianco prepared four dishes  for me that would appear on the Michelin star restaurant's menu very very soon.  (I wrote about his pasta with beans and mussels here)

So as the sun was setting, I ignored the spectacular view outside the window and concentrated on the plate in front of me.  A primo piatto - a first course pasta dish.

Cannellone, I was told.  Moving in closer I noticed that there was a lot going on in this plate,  and I had the chef by my side to answer my questions about every tasty forkful.
Cannellone - a single piece of handmade pasta stretched across the plate packed with flavorful buffalo milk ricotta cheese. lemon and spring onions.

Bianco added squid which had spent several seconds in a hot skillet.  Just enough time to curl up, remain tender and maintain it's salty sea flavor.  He even used the squids liver to make a creamy paste to accompany the dish.

The black disks?  A gelatin  that he made with a broth containing  the squid's black ink.

Dried peas were used to make the creamy sauce that the cannelloni sat upon.

A fantastic first sure to brighten up any autumn evening.
Certainly enough to draw your attention away from the bay of Naples...even if just for awhile.

A New Season - A New Menu - Pasta with Beans and Mussels, Chef Salvatore Bianco, Il Comandante Ristorante (Na)

The seasonal shift from summer to autumn  is always an interesting period - at least for me.  The temperature drops a few degrees Celsius, harvest season begins, and chefs add new items to their menus.

A couple of days ago I stopped by to visit Michelin star Chef Salvatore Bianco at Il Comandante Ristorante located in 5 star luxury Romeo Hotel for a chat and to see what his plans were for the fall.

Chef Bianco gave me a sneak preview of four dishes that ready to hit the dining room. Here's one.  A classic Neapolitan dish with a twist.  Pasta e fagioli con le cozze.  Pasta with beans and mussels. 

At first glance, I couldn't help but be taken in by the colors displayed in the ceramic dish placed down in front of me- white, purple, orange, green.  An extremely stark contrast to the sleek black interior design of the hotel's restaurant.  Bianco described his dish.  

Fresh mussels which rested in a delicate Controne bean soup.  Red lobster roe, purple potatoes, and dried tomatoes.  Ok, I get it...but the pasta?  I wondered.  Here's where it got more interesting.  On the side was a small bowl with Il Commandante's puffed pasta.  Puffed pasta made with red hot chili and toasted sesame.  

Puffed pasta which, Bianco instructed, was to be carefully added to his colorful creation.  To mingle, blend, meld with the heat of the dish to become a delicate but powerfully flavorful re-visitation of a classic dish that has been prepared in his family for generations.  

A new season...

A new menu...

A new look...