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Goodbye to summer and welcome autumn with the recipe for scallops, parsley root and peppers by chef Valeria Dell'Amico

Goodbye to summer and welcome autumn with the recipe for scallops, parsley root and peppers by chef Valeria Dell'Amico

The recipe for Scallops, parsley root, BBQ pepper sauce by chef Valeria Dell'Amico, born in 1980, owner of the Il Narciso restaurant in Marina di Carrara, is a farewell to summer and at the same time a welcome to autumn. Already the name of the place located in the context of a refined bathing establishment that overlooks the fine and golden beach of one of the most beautiful stretches of coast of the upper Tyrrhenian Sea on the other looks at the extraordinary white of the Apuan Alps that stand out behind it, with the historic marble quarries that have supplied the greatest sculptors over the centuries. The name is an eloquent business card of the chef's philosophy, a tribute to Herman Hesse's Narcissus and Goldmund - a fascinating metaphor of the contrast between study and asceticism, pleasure and exploration, reason and emotion that dwell in the human soul, two aspects that do not will never be able to interpenetrate - and which in this case is reflected in a gastronomic project based on her perfectionist and passionate nature, in which the studies and the most disparate experiences gained over the years converge, with all their cosmopolitan nuances that allow her to look at her own land without feeling too rooted or tied to the native taste, placing itself between modernity and creativity precisely because of this limited sense of belonging to one's land, rediscovered only in adulthood

University studies in Law, passionate about wine, graduated with the AIS and the Onav, experiences in Thai catering to refine the use of spices and cooking, then attending the hotel institute, a classic pastry making course in La Spezia , a training course with Breschi of the starred L'Oca Bianca of Viareggio, a Master's degree at the Alma school, a specialization course in pastry making at Cast Alimenti, a university course in Clinical Psychology at the University of Pisa, not completed, five years in Mexico in Playa del Carmen, as a restaurant consultant, a post-school teaching position in cooking and pastry making in Carrara, and then perhaps the most important formative moment of his career, that in the legendary "Locanda dell'Angelo" in Ameglia with the starred chef Mauro Ricciardi , heir and successor of the great Angelo Paracucchi, one of the fathers of the "new Italian cuisine" set in the gallery of sacred monsters such as Gualtiero Marchesi, Luigi Carnacibna, Nino Bergese.

Here disparate thoughts and cultures gather on the stoves of Narciso and find a moment of synthesis in a researched cuisine, on the raw material, which is often local, which draws heavily from that extraordinary fish reserve constituted by the Tuscan-Ligurian sea, in the vegetables that come from hydroponic agriculture, or in the self-produced sprouts from the small vegetable garden located inside the bathing establishment. Especially in the use of spices and aromatic herbs which constitute an important note in his cuisine, which finds application in broths, fermentations, and in all savory and sweet preparations.

And in any case Valeria Dell'Amico's goal is to make a raw material unique in all its essence, through the breakdown of taste and its various processes, as well as consistencies.

Finally, let's not forget the benefits of this recipe for our body. Scallops are bivalve muscles low in saturated fats, lipids which if consumed in excess can endanger the health of the heart and arteries. On the Humanitas website we read that they represent a source of omega 3, fatty acids allied to cardiovascular health, and potassium, which protects the heart and arteries by controlling heart rate and blood pressure. These molluscs - underlines the Humanitas website - also provide high quality proteins, B group vitamins (important for ensuring a good metabolism), magnesium (involved in numerous processes inside and outside the cells), phosphorus ( important for the health of bones and teeth) and selenium (micronutrient with antioxidant functions).

The only contraindication, however, concerns the fact that they are rich in cholesterol, so it is not recommended for those who have problems to eat more than 250 grams and they are also rich in sodium, a potential enemy of the cardiovascular system.

Finally, a good nutraceutical contribution also comes from the parsley root rich in mineral salts including potassium and magnesium, vitamin C and other important micronutrients such as folic acid and zinc.

Scallop Parsley Root BBQ Pepper Sauce Recipe

Scallop and parsley root – explains the chef – represents my cooking philosophy, aimed at using every part of the ingredient, trying to express my idea of ​​taste balance, playing with the different consistencies and aromatic notes.

ingredients for four people

12 fresh scallops without coral

4 parsley roots

4 red peppers

extra virgin olive oil

Maldon salt

Pepe

Cocoa butter

12 watercress sprouts

Method

Wash and peel the parsley roots, vacuum-pack them with extra virgin olive oil and salt and cook them at 85° for an hour and 30 minutes, cool them quickly in water and ice

For the BBQ pepper sauce, cook the peppers on charcoal in the big green for 30 minutes, leave to smoke overnight, the next day peel the peppers and blend them with oil and salt and season with pepper, pass through a sieve and put in bottles .

Clean the scallops, remove the coral (we will use it by drying it and then powdering it) and put the walnuts in a hot pan, cooking them for a minute on each side in the cocoa butter away from the heat, then we will salt them with Maldon salt

Plate finish

We pass the parsley roots in the pan with the scallops previously cut lengthwise on the plate, we place the root on top of the scallops and dots of pepper barbecue sauce, we add the watercress sprouts for the fresh and pungent note and a little coral powder for the savory and marine note

Il Narciso Restaurant

Viale Amerigo Vespucci – 3254033 Carrara (MS)

Tel. 351 0025490

E-mail: ilnarcisocarrara@gmail.com

website: https://www.ristoranteilnarciso.it/

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