In the Kitchen Campania - Season 2 Episode 1, Chef Angelo Carannante, Caracol Bacoli (Na)

 I'm delighted to announce that the trailer for Season 2, Episode 1 of #InTheKitchenCampania has just been released! Join me and the amazing Chef Angelo Carannante as we dive into the vibrant flavors and traditions of Campanian cuisine. This latest episode will premiere tomorrow exclusively on my YouTube channel. It's a must-see for anyone who loves culinary arts and cultural adventures. Don't forget to subscribe so you won't miss any of the mouthwatering content I have planned!

Rediscovering Caracol - Caracol Gourmet, Bacoli (Na)

 

 

It’s as if I am rediscovering you and your cuisine, Angelo.

That is how I answered Angelo Carannante, chef of the Michelin starred restaurant Caracol Gourmet, during our after lunch chit chat that windy afternoon.

Rediscovering, reliving, and in some ways -silently celebrating- my latest lunch at one of Campania’s top restaurants.

My first visit was back in 2017.  I remember as if it were yesterday. Each yearly visit since then (minus 2020 due to Covid)  includes a steep downhill ride in the restaurant’s 4x4 (the only way to reach Caracol). Colorful, no frills, packed with flavor dishes. A wine list with international as well as local wines from Campi Flegrei.  And of course- the fantastic view. Definitely a stellar experience.

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Let’s rediscover together-

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My afternoon began with a sparkling wine by Corte dei Roberto, a sea truffle that had been steamed open on the grill, a lampuga (translated dolphin fish or mahi-mahi) kebab with teriyaki sauce, a fried ravioli filled with creamy codfish and a double buckwheat cracker with porcini mushroom.

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Oct-dog...a tasty play on words- The chef's octopus sandwich.

 Then on to the appetizers. 

Cod cooked in olive oil, centrifuged friarielli broccoli, celery root cream, and clam water. 

What do you think about when I saw cauliflower?  I bet you have never had it like this...

Here it is roasted and served with a tahini sauce, anchovy caviar, an almonds.  All blanketed with cauliflower foam.

First courses- I was treated to 2.

Spaghettoni with anchovies and mussels.

A pumpkin risotto with horseradish and smoked eel...

Second course. The chef mentioned to me that when one thinks of the cuisine Campi Flegrei, they think of the sea.  Many do not realize that the territory's recipe book also features a rich history of meats, vegetables and fowl.  Like this second course so flavorfully demonstrates.

Guinea fowl breast with a red mullet champagne and caviar nage.

All throughout the meal, I was treated to a glass of wine (or four) thanks to pairings by maitre sommelier Giannantonio Scotto Di Vetta.

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Pre- dessert.

Prickly pear sorbet with cinnamon and bottarga.

 Followed by a dessert inspired by the chef's trip to Brazil last year.

 In fact the dish is called Memory of a trip to Brazil-and it features coconut, cachaça and lime.

It was at about this point in the meal when a gentleman at the table to my right  spoke to me.

Are you writing a review? he asked.

No, I smiled back.  

I'm just rediscovering an old friend.  

Rediscovering, reliving, and in some ways -silently celebrating- my latest lunch at one of Campania’s top restaurants.

Chef Angelo Carannante and I

This Christmas -Buon Natale, Tutti - Part 1

I remember my first Campania Christmas more than 20 years ago.  Days and days of nonstop eating from the 24th of December to the 6th of January.  Flavors and recipes much different than I had grown up with.  I must confess that I love my turkey and stuffing, but I thought it would be neat to ask some of Campania's top gourmet chefs what dishes are found on their family's holiday tables.  What dishes they grew up with - what memories have followed them throughout their careers - what dishes they cannot live without.
It was interesting to note that at home - each chef sticks with tradition, and almost all of the dishes are prepared by their moms, mother-in-laws and/or grandmothers.

Chef Lorenzo Montoro

Chef Lorenzo Montoro ( Il Flauto di Pan, Ravello) is from Sarno.  His family is rooted in traditions from the Sarno region - they even own a farm that produces quality herbs and vegetables for many of the top restaurants in Italy.  Fried codfish, stuffed escarole, and fried eel are musts. Eel and river shrimp are typical farmer's dishes in the area since for many farmers, fish was out of their price range.  Another typical dish?  Broccoli, simply boiled and topped with lemon and olive oil.

Chef Domenico Stile

Chef Domenico Stile (Enoteca La Torre, Rome) is from Gragnano.  His family also sticks with tradition with dishes such as fried codfish and reinforcement salad.  This sald is quite popular during the season with ingredients such as cauliflower, Neapolitan peppers aka papacelle, green and black olives and capers. On Christmas Day?  Lasagna with meatballs ( made with ground beef and sausage), hard boiled eggs, and chiodini mushrooms.

Chef Angelo Carannante

Chef Angelo Carannante (Caracol, Bacoli). One of Carannante's dishes that he cannot live without is his mother-in-law's reinforcement salad.  It wouldn't be Christmas without  her version that includes anchovies.  The chef assured me that it is really really good!

Chef Antonio Lebano

Chef Antonio Lebano (Terrazza Gallia, Milan)  A few weeks ago I was in Milan and spoke with this young chef about his holiday traditions.  Lebano is from the Vesuvius area, and his eyes shone brightly as he spke to me about this Christmas Eve snack from his childhood.  Pane cafone, escarole, piennolo tomatoes (produced by his uncle) , and anchovies.  I made some myself today.  Fantasticaaa!

Chef Domenico Candela

Chef Domenico Candela (George Restaurant, Naples) Candela is from Marano, a small town in the Naples province.  And though he has spent years outside of Naples, primarily in France, his heart is rooted in traditions from his beloved Napoli.  So what can we find at his family's Christmas table? Many fish based dishes.  One that sticks out?  His mother's linguine allo scoglio - linguine with seafood such as mussels, shrimp, and  clams.

Chef Antonino Montefusco

Chef Antonino Montefusco (Terrazza Bosquet, Sorrento).  Montefusco shares with his diners a dessert that his mother has prepared for years during the holiday season.  Mostaccioli.  This typical Neapolitan recipe includes a dough that needs to rest for at least 5 days before baked, then glazed with white sugar and a cocoa.

Boun Natale, tutti!

Spaghetti Summer - Chef Angelo Carannante, Caracol, Bacoli (Na)

I reserved  a table for lunch online nearly two weeks in advance.  So the countdown began as soon as I received my confirmation minutes later.  There were many reasons that I was excited about returning to  Caracol for lunch; an extremely talented chef, a location fantasticaaa, a newly awarded Michelin star, one of Campania's top Maitre Sommeliers...the list could go on forever.  

So, as I sat down at my table two weeks later, my eyes quickly skimmed the menu for something particular.  Sure, I definitely was going to get the chef's tasting menu, but I wanted to make sure that it included...there it was!  Chef Angelo Carannante's pasta dish.  His spaghetti iodato.

Chef Angelo Carannante

This pasta dish was created by Carannante who was looking to create a pasta moderna - a modern pasta dish.  Something without toppings such as shellfish or other types of seafood.  Something, sleek, black, bare, with just a touch seaweed salad and lemon on top.

So Carannante got his brigade together and began trying out ideas - .  

Oyster sauce...mussel sauce...sea urchin pulp, anenome, then finally cuttlefish ink.  

Along the way a series of  tasting, testing and tasting again - to get the right balance.  

After trying it for myself I can definitely say that he succeeded.

Fantasticaaa!