Antonio Tardi: July 2009

February 2010

Pan Seared Sea Bass
White Asparagus, Norcia Winter Black Truffle, and Chestnut Sauce scented with Thyme

Ingredients:
4 pieces of Sea Bass (about 6 oz. each)

12 White Asparagus spears
1 Black Truffle from Norcia (about 2 gr.)
100 gr. Extra Virgin Tuscan olive oil

Sea Salt and Fresh Ground Black Pepper
Fresh Mixed organic local greens, for garnish

For the chestnut sauce:
400 gr. Boiled Chestnut, skinless
1 small Spring Thyme
1 Bay Leaf
300 gr. Extra Virgin Tuscan olive oil
10 gr. diced Onion
1 Garlic clove, chopped
10 gr. Sherry
200 gr. Vegetable stock
Sea Salt and Fresh Ground Black Pepper

Method for Chestnut Sauce:
Tie together thyme and bay leaf, reserve. Into a skillet add some of the olive oil over medium heat. Add chopped onion, garlic and the herbs tied, then stir fry for 1 minute. Add the chestnut and stir fry for 5 minutes. Pour the sherry and let evaporate. Pour the vegetable stock, salt and pepper; simmer for 20 minutes or until the are well-cooked or mashed. Check for seasoning. Puree together using a small blender to a smooth consistency. Reserve hot.

Wash and pat dry the mixed greens; reserve.

Wash and rinse the asparagus in cold water; remove the woody stem at roughly 1-inch. Pan fry the asparagus with the olive oil and garlic until al dente. Flour to taste with sea salt and fresh ground black pepper; reserve hot.

Season the sea bass with sea salt and fresh ground black pepper; add a tablespoon of olive oil to a non-stick frying pan, when hot add the sea bass (skin side down). Cook on both sides for 2-3 minutes or until the skin is golden brown. Remove from the pan and drain the excess oil.

Plate the food according to the picture; garnish with winter black truffle and with a few mixed green leaves. Sprinkle with olive oil and serve immediately.

Suggested wine pairing with Paolo Verrazzani:
Jerman Vintage Tunina 2007 Friuli Italy

Tasting notes: Vintage Tunina from sauvignon grapes, Chardonnay with Ribolla Gialla, Malvasia Istriana and Picolit added. It should be noted that this is a genuine field blend. It has a brilliant straw-yellow colour with golden highlights. Its aroma is intense, full, with enormous elegance and persistence, with hints of honey and wild flowers. Its taste is dry, velvety, and very-well orchestrated, with an exceptional persistence due to its particularly full body. It is paired with truffled first courses, with a great variety of fish dishes, especially oven-baked fish and fish in sauce, and it can easily be enjoyed with white meats.

January 2010

Carloforte Tuna Carpaccio
Fagioli Zolfini del Pratomagno, Red Onion and Mixed Organic Greens

Ingredients:
320g Tuna of Carloforte (or Blue Fin grade tuna)
100g Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Sea Salt and Fresh Ground Black Pepper to taste
120g Zolfini beans
2 Garlic cloves
1 Bay leaf
1 Small bouquet garni (Sage, Rosemary, Thyme)
1 Small stack of Celery
1 Small Red Onion
4 Small Cherry Tomatoes
1 Small Lemon

Method:
Soak the zolfini in water overnight and keep it in a cool area. Drain and wash it, then put it back in a soup pot, cover it with cold water, add 1 garlic clove, bay leaf, part of the bouquet garni and the celery. Bring to a boil, then clean the dirty water on surface. Lower to a simmer and cook the zolfini for about 45 minutes to 1 hour or until tender.

Before you take them off of the fire, flavour to taste with salt and add some of the extra virgin olive oil. Cool down and put aside 25 single zolfini beans for plate decoration.

Cut the tuna in the shape of a rectanglur 4 cm long, 1 cm wide and 1 cm thick. Rub with salt and pepper, put on the stove a frying pan with some olive oil, bring it over medium-high heat, add one garlic clove with skin and rosemary, then start to sear the tuna for 1 minute (about 25 seconds each side). The tuna is to remain pink. Reserve.

In a mixing bowl add the mixed greens, red onion cut in julienne style, and the cherry tomatoes. Toss together with fresh ground black pepper, sea salt, extra virgin olive oil and some lemon juice drops. Reserve.

Slice the tuna and dress the plate according with the picture.

Buon appetito e Felice Anno Nuovo Con Antonio!

Suggested wine pairing with Paolo Verrazzani:
Bianco Pomedes Scubla Colli Orientali del Friuli Italy. Grapes: 65% Pinot Bianco, 25% Friulano, 10% Rhine Riesling.

Whole grapes gently pressed; the must is then decanted at low temperature and left to ferment in French oak barriques and tonneaux, halkf new and half used. Aging lasts 8 months with frequent batonage; assemblage lasts 10 months in steel tanks and contact with the noble lees is assured. Finally the wine is refined in the bottle for 3 months. Strong colour, full perfumed bouquet, aromatic, fruity and complex flavour with a long, lingering finish. Important first courses (including those with a truffle aroma) or elaborate fish dihes.

December 2009

Egg Mollet
Truffled Yam Puree and Traditional Aceto Balsamico Sauce

Before & After

Ingredients:
4 Eggs
1 Egg Wash
100g Panko Bread Crumbs
50g All-Purpose Flour
50g Unsalted Butter
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 Whole Black Truffle (approx. 3 grams)
500g Yellow Yam
50g Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena
200g Chicken Stock

Method:
Combine the chicken stock with the Aceto Tradizionale di Modena, then bring to a boil, and continue to simmer until the mixture has thickened. Reserve hot.

Bring to boil some salted water, peel the yams and cook until soft and tender. Drain it and mash, add half of the truffle chopped, and the butter. Salt and pepper to taste. Reserve hot.

Soft boil the eggs (eggs mollet) five and a half minutes, drain, cool down and peel gently, then pat dry. Rub the eggs in the flour, then egg wash and then bread with the Panko bread crumbs.

Thinly slice the rest of the truffle, reserve.

Deep fry the eggs in oil at 380 degrees F for about 2 minutes or until golden brown.

In a pasta bowl place the sauce, mashed yams, egg and the truffle according to the picture.

Enjoy!

Suggested wine pairing with Paolo Verrazzani:
Chianti Classico Brolio 2007, Toscana, Italy. This wine shows a deep, concentrated ruby red appearance, aromas of red berry forest fruits and cherry, and a powerful balanced palate with backbone and full body that is every bit as impressive as its polyphenolic structure. This is a leisurely wine strong and forthright.

November 2009

Tradition: a long-established method or style passed on from one generation to another. Transgression: act of going beyond the limits set by a principle or standard.

Change is required for progress, and so altering customary approaches becomes necessary for new ideas to take form. It does not have to be something feared, and instead can be a lot of fun! Take for example the traditional dish of Spinach and Ricotta Cannelloni, and compare it to a new take on Orange Duck. Are you ready for an adventure Con Antonio?

Spinach and Ricotta Cannelloni
in a lake of Tomato Sauce

(Serves 4 people)
Ingredients:
20 Cannelloni Tubes
1/2 Nutmeg, grated
500g Fresh Ricotta
100g Parmesan Cheese, grated
400g Fresh Spinach
2 Garlic cloves, chopped
Fresh Basil
Sea salt and Fresh Ground Pepper

For cream sauce:
1/2 litre Cream
150g Fresh Parmesan Cheese, grated
1 tbs. Butter
1 tbs. Onion, finely chopped

For tomato sauce:
1 kg. Tomato San Marzano
1 Yellow Onion, chopped
1 Fresh Green Bay Leaf
3 tbs. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 Garlic cloves, chopped
Basil
Sea salt and Fresh Ground Black Pepper

Method:
Bring to boil salted water, add the cannelloni tubes and cook for about 6 - 8 minutes. (Do not cook the cannelloni well-done, keep it al dente). Remove the cannelloni from the water, drain and cool down with cold water. Reserve.

Wash and pat dry the spinach. In a 14-inch saute pan over medium heat, add the olive oil and two chopped garlic cloves then cook until golden brown. Add the spinach, stir, then flavour to taste with salt and black pepper. Cook for 3 minutes. After, cool down and drain the excess water from the spinach (especially if you used frozen spinach!). Add the ricotta cheese, salt, black pepper, parmesan cheese and nutmeg, then mix together. Put the cheese mixture into a piping bagand squeeze it into the cannelloni and reserve.

For the cream sauce:
In a small sauce pan over medium heat, add the butter and the onion, cook until golden brown. Add the heavy cream. Bring to a boil, add the parmesan cheese, then stir together for about 3 minutes until smooth. Reserve hot.

For the tomato sauce:
Wash and dry the tomatoes. Cut in 1/2-inch diced shape. In a medium sauce pan over medium heat, first add the olive oil, garlic and onion. Cook until soft golden brown. Add the tomato. Cook for about 15 minutes, then add the bay leaf and basil. Flavour to taste with sea salt. Remove from the fire, remove the bay leaf, and mix together with a hand blender. Reserve hot.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Butter a 10- by 14-inch baking sheet and lay the cannelloni next to each other. Glaze with the cream sauce (help yourself with a small brush), sprinkle with parmiggiano-reggiano and place in the oven for about 15-20 minutes or until golden brown on top.

To finish the plate:
Place the tomato sauce into a pasta bowl, then place the cannelloni next to each other according to the picture. Sprinkle with some parmiggiano-reggiano cheese. Serve hot.

Buon appetito!

Suggested wine pairing by Paolo Verrazzani:
Vinnaioli Jermann Chardonnay 100%, Friuli, Italy. This chardonnay from chardonnay grapes has been vinified as a white wine. Its colour is a brilliant yellow with greenish highlights. The aroma is intense and fruity with hints of young banana and golden delicious apple when mature. It is lightly aromatic with excellent persistence. This wine noticably exalts the natural aromas of the grape variety.

Orange Duck
Lacquered with Chestnut Honey, Cauliflower Creme Brulee and Orange Caviar

(Serves four people)
Ingredients:
4 Duck breasts
50g Chestnut Honey
10g Mixed Herbs (Rosemary, Thyme, Bay Leaf)
5g Balsamic Vinaigrette
10g Extra Virgin Olive Oil
8 Asparagus spears, peeled
Sea salt and Fresh Ground Black Pepper

100g Cauliflower puree
1 Egg
20g Heavy Cream
5g Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Sea salt and White Pepper to taste
A pinch of fresh grated nutmeg
A pinch of Dark Sugar

250g Orange Juice, no pulp
2g Algin (a natural product extracted from brown algae)
500g Water
2.5g Calcium Salt

Method:
Mix the algin with 1/3 of the orange juice. Mix in the remaining orange juice and blend. Dissolve the calcium salt in the water. Fill a syringe or squeeze bottle with the orange and algin mixture. Expel it drop by drop into the calcium salt base. Remove after one minute, strain then rinse the resulting "caviar" in the cold water. Reserve at room temperature, ready to be served. (Note: Algin gels in the presence of calcium salt).

For the cauliflower creme brulee:
Cook the cauliflower in boiling salted water until soft. Drain then plunge in iced water. Drain again from the iced water, then pat dry and mix together with the egg, heavy cream, parmesan cheese, nutmeg, salt and pepper in a robot coup or blender until smooth. Place the cauliflower puree in the mould and bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees F or 160 degrees C. After cooked take out from the mould, and sprinkle with the dark sugar and parmesan cheese, then using a kitchen torch, melt the sugar and parmesan cheese to form a crispy top. Reserve hot, ready to be served.

For the duck breasts:
Use a sharp knife to score the skin side of the duck breast in two directions, about 6 slashes per direction. Season the breasts on both sides with salt, pepper, honey and balsamic. Heat a frying pan over medium heat and pan fry the breast skin side down, until golden brown and crispy. Cook until medium, about 6 to 8 minutes on each side. Reserve hot.

For the asparagus:
Peel and wash the asparagus. Heat a frying pan over medium heat and stir fry the asparagus with olive oil. Flavour to taste with salt and pepper. Reserve hot.

To finish the plate:
With a sharp knife, slice the duck breast trying to obtain 5 slices from each breast. Plate the duck, caviar, asparagus, and creme brulee according to the picture.

Buon appetito e buona anatra! Ciao e alla prossima ricetta Con Antonio!

Suggested wine pairing by Paolo Verrazzani:
San Michele Appiano - Sanct Valentin Chardonnay 2007, Trentino Alto Adige, Italy. A wine of international style, produced exclusively in good vintages from the best grapes, this vouches for its excellent reputation. With an accentuated vanilla fragrance as the result of maturation in small oak casks, and strong aromas of ripe fruits. This chardonnay stays on the palate, juicy and sumptuous, pleasantly rich. Its superior quality distinguishes it from the rest. A chardonnay for those in search of a really unique wine, to enjoy either by itself or as an accompaniment to haute cuisine dishes. This wine becomes an even more special experience after several years in the cellar.

September 2009

From a young age, I developed a deep appreciation for food - spending time in the fields with my family sowing seeds, harvesting, and then enjoying the fruits of our labour. My grandfather always taught me that great meals start with great ingredients. One of my favourite vegetables is eggplant, and is partnered with callaloo this month, to complete a very light and healthy dish. Callaloo is a popular, green leafy vegetable similar to spinach that is used widely throughout the Caribbean. If you would like me to prepare this dish for you, come to see me at Beaches Turks & Caicos and it would be my pleasure. I hope you will enjoy.

Grilled Eggplant with Pan Seared Feta Cheese
Tomato fresko compote and callaloo sauce

(Serves 4 people)
Ingredients:
1 Eggplant (about 1 lb)
1 tbs. chopped Garlic
1 tbs. fresh Oregano
1 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
8 oz. Feta Cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup Vegetable Stock
2 Vine ripe Tomatoes
8 oz. Callaloo or fresh broccoli rape

Method:
Clean the callaloo leaves, wash and drain, then chop the callaloo. Place a sauce pan over medium heat, and add olive oil and some of the garlic in the sauce pan until golden brown. Then add the callaloo, stirring continually, and the vegetable broth (for a better color result use warm vegetable broth), add salt and pepper to taste. Cook for 3 minutes.

Place the callaloo mixture in a blender and blend until smooth.
Reserve the callaloo sauce warm.

Wash and pat dry the tomatoes, take out the seed and dice (“matignon shape”). Drizzle with olive oil, salt, pepper and fresh oregano, toss to coat, reserve at room temperature.
Place a grill pan over medium-high heat or preheat a gas or charcoal grill. Cut the eggplant in a round shape 1 inch thick. Drizzle olive oil over the eggplant, add the garlic, oregano, salt and pepper, then toss to coat. Grill the eggplants until tender and grill marks appear, about 3 minutes per side, take off from the grill and reserve warm.

Place a frying pan over medium heat, with a little olive oil. Cut the feta cheese in a rectangular shape ½ inch thick – 2 inch wide. Sear the feta cheese until the surface is golden brown about 1 minute each side and reserve warm.

Grand finale…

With a spoon, place the callaloo sauce in middle of the plate (try to make a perfect circle), add the grilled eggplant right on the middle, place the feta cheese and for the garnish top with the matignon-shaped tomatoes. Sprinkle some nice extra virgin olive oil around and serve immediately for the joy of you and your guests.

Buon appetito!

Suggested wine pairing by Paolo Verrazzani:
Alastro 2008 (Italy) - Azienda Agricola Planeta Sicily, Italy. This wine is 70% Grecanico and 30% Chardonnay. With an intense straw yellow colour, intense and soft nose with hints of peach, pink grapefruit, vanilla, jasmine and green tea, the palate embraces it with a floral and complex finish.

August 2009

In our gastronomic journey this month, we explore one of the most beautiful places of the Amalfi Coast - Cetara, where the alici (anchovies) are the crown ingredient of the local cuisine. Colatura di alici is a strong, salty, clear liquid sauce made from the juices of salt-packed anchovies. This artisanal product from Southern Italy is the modern equivalent to the ancient Roman garum and is similar to Asian fish sauce.

Linguine with Ragout di Alici
Cherry tomato, bell peppers, and colatura

(Serves 4 people)
Ingredients:
400g Linguine
500g Cherry tomatos, halved
300g Red or Orange bell peppers, diced
5 cloves Garlic, chopped
5 tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
4 deboned fresh Anchovies (alici), diced
(may be substituted with Flying Fish)
4 tbsp. Salt
1/2 cup Dry white wine
1 cup Panko bread crumbs
(may be substituted with regular bread crumbs)
1 cup All-purpose flour
2 Eggs
1 bunch Italian parsley
1 tsp. Colatura di alici of Cetara

For garnish:
4 deboned fresh Anchovies
1 bunch Italian parsley
1 small sprig of rosemary

Method:
In a 14-inch sautee pan, place three tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and half of the chopped garlic. Place over medium heat, and cook slowly until medium golden-brown. Add bell peppers and cherry tomatos. Cook for five minutes.

In another small sautee pan, place two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and the rest of the garlic. Place over medium heat for two minutes. Add the diced anchovies and cook for two minutes, stirring frequently. Add the white wine and reduce. Add the anchovie mixture to the bell pepper and tomato sauce, and simmer for three minutes over low heat.

Bring four litres of water to boil, and add four tablespoons of salt.

To prepare garnish, first ready the egg wash by whisking the two eggs together in a bowl. After, flour the fresh anchovies, then place in egg wash, then bread the anchovies with the bread crumbs. Deep fry breaded anchovies for three minutes in hot oil (approx. 360 degrees F), or until golden-brown. Reserve hot.

Drop the linguine in the boiling water, cook according to the package instructions, until "al dente". Drain the linguine and toss into pan with the anchovie mixture. Add the colatura di alici, parsley, flavour to taste and stir to coat.

Place the linguine in a plate, and garnish with the breaded anchovies, according to picture. Sprinkle lightly with parsley, and serve immediately.

Suggested wine pairing:
Fiano d'Avelino (Italy), Chardonnay (USA), or Riesling Alsace (France)