Fantastic First, Chef Claudio Russo, Ristorante Il Pacchero (Sa)

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Another Saturday, another lunch in Salerno.  This time, a first time visit to Ristorante Il Pacchero. Though the rainy weather reminded me that it is still winter, the warmth inside said something totally different.  
I even accepted an invitation from Chef Claudio Russo to step inside the kitchen whenever I wished.  An invitation I accepted instantly since I noticed that the lighting was better for my snapshots.  
I entered just was the kitchen brigade as plating up one of my primi.
Chef Claudio Russo


  A first course pasta dish of Paccheri pasta with Coccio aka Sea Robin, Tub gurnard, Tubfish, Yellow or Grey gurnard . 
Pacchero pasta.  I have a love hate relationship with that particular format. I, personally, have yet to cook it just right at home, so I decided to watch closely as Russo and close friend Danilo Mertino prepared a first to remember.

They cooked the pasta for 17, yes, 17 minutes in boiling salted water before adding it into a saucepan laced with a delicious sauce.



In the meantime, a colorful blue plating dish, reminiscent of the nearby sea, was ready and waiting with a thin layer of raw sea robin.





Then, the pasta was placed carefully, one by one, on the plate...



sauce drizzled on top...


Russo and Mertino

confit tomatoes and sauteed sea robin complete the dish.




Fantastic.


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