Do you think that Tuscan cuisine is all about ribollita, pappa al pomodoro and Fiorentina steak? Think again! Here is an example of fusion cuisine proposed by Chef Nicola Angelini from the Dama Dama Restaurant in Porto Ercole, one of the sea villages located in rustic Maremma Tuscany.
Tempura of friggitelli peppers with creamy codfish and pepper mayonnaise
CREAMY CODFISH
Ingredients
400 gr codfish
150 ml water
1 tuft of parsley
100 ml extra virgin olive oil
½ clove of garlic
100 ml milk
Salt & pepper as needed
Method
Cut the previously soaked codfish into small pieces, put it in a pan with milk and cold water, salt slightly and make it boil.
Once in a while, remove the foam that forms at the top.
Cook the codfish for about 20 minutes until it is well cooked and tender, drain it and clean it removing the fishbone and the skin.
Mix the codfish energetically adding the olive oil; you will obtain a compact, homogeneous and shiny cream.
Use two spoons to create small quenelles. Finally, add grinded parsley and garlic.
TEMPURA OF FRIGGITELLI
Ingredients
2 friggitelli peppers
150 gr. “00” flour
20 gr. Potato starch
50 ml cold sparkling water
Method
Cut the friggitelli in stripes. On the side, mix flour, potato starch and cold sparkling water.
Once you have mixed these well, pass the friggitelli in the mix and fry them in abundant extra virgin olive oil until you get a golden crunchiness.
Drain them and put them on draining paper, adding salt as needed.
PEPPER MAYONNAISE
Ingredients
1 egg yolk (room temperature)
2 gr white vinegar
15 gr lemon juice
100 gr seed oil
Salt & pepper as needed
1 red pepper
Method
Divide the egg yolk from the egg white. Put the yolk in a bowl, add salt and pepper, add the vinegar and mix everything with a mixer.
As you are beating the ingredients, add some oil to get a foamy and dense mix; finally add the lemon juice.
At the end, add the pepper coulis that you will have previously parboiled and emulsified with extra virgin olive oil.
Buon Appetito!
For more recipes from Maremma Tuscany with an international touch, visit Dama Dama’s “Recipes of the Month”
