Fantastic Firsts, Chef Antonio Mellino, Quattro Passi, Nerano (Na)

A spectacular Saturday Stellato on the Sorrent coast.  I chose the tasting menu for lunch that afternoon at Quattro Passi in Nerano (Na).  A tasting menu that included three first course dishes prepared by Chef Antonio Mellino which paired perfectly with a fresh spring breeze and a glass of Fiano di Avellino.

Here's a look!

First up, plin pasta filled with cacio e pepe - (pecorino cheese and pepper).  The chef served in a light clam broth with fennel.

Then - my first alla Nerano of the season.  

Pasta alla Nerano is a dish prepared with fried zucchini and Provolone del Monaco cheese.  No visit to the area is complete without it.  

The dish is usually prepared using spaghetti, but Mellino decided on linguine.

Next, an unexpected treat served on an enormous white serving platter. 

 A risotto, a lasagna, a risotto lasagna.  Chef Mellino took all the ingredients of a Neapolitan lasagna - meatballs, cheese, tomato sauce, hard boiled eggs, and ricotta cheese - and shrunk them down.  

Their miniature size  was packed with massive flavor.

Fantastic!