Piccante yet Piacevole, Chef Domenico Iavarone, Jose Restaurant, Torre Del Greco (Na)
This year the first dish of zuppa forte is yours ... as soon as I prepare it, I'll write you...
A message to me from Chef Domenico Iavarone of Jose Restaurant in Torre Del Greco. A message to me with a promise. A promise that this year I will be able to try his zuppa forte - his version of the classic humble Campania spicy soup.
To be honest, I had been waiting for this invitation for 2 years. This particular specialty is not always on Iavarone's menu. It's a seasonal dish with a history dating back to as far as the 1800s. Prepared during the cold months of late fall and winter. So it pops up from time to time - a fuori menu or special of the day. The dish is prepared with pork entrails, tomato concentrate, peppers, and lard. It's a spicy thick soup, designed to keep one warm, full, and happy on a budget. It's served between bread sandwich style, as a soup with thick crusts of pane, or with pasta - usually bucatini or spaghetti. It has many names as well - zuppa forte, zupp’ ‘e suffritt, cioffritto, zuffritto, sfrionzola.
Then, one late October afternoon, Iavarone sent me another message -
Domani e' pronta... It will be ready tomorrow.
Twentyfour hours later, I sat down at a table for one in the packed dining room of Jose Restaurant. The weather was unusually warm that Sunday afternoon, the 27th of October, so after speaking with Maitre Sommelier Pasquale Marzano and Sommelier Salvatore Maresca, we decided to pair a Campania white wine that had depth and structure to pair with Iavarone's zuppa...
The wine arrived - a Falanghina Beneventano from I Pentri Winery.
and so did Iavarone's zuppa forte.
The chef's version is a little lighter than the original family recipe - his father is a butcher, by the way. Instead of lard, the chef uses extra virgin olive oil to cut back on the calories. He also added a light and creamy yogurt sauce...pasta of choice? Spaghetti.
As I was finishing up the last mouthful, I felt my body temperature raising just a bit.Piccante ma piacevole - spicy yet pleasant...
Fantasticaaa!
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