Tutto genius and wildness, provocative, mocking, ironic, always ready to surprise you (and be surprised) Davide Scabin returns to the stage of Italian cuisine after a year of absence from the scene.
The spotlights turned off a year ago on his legendary Combal.Zero in the prestigious headquarters of the Museum of Contemporary Art of the castle of Rivoli where, over time, they had rested two Michelin stars, then reduced to one in 2015 amid protests and the indignation of many, gratified by 3 forks from Gambero Rosso, from 3 hats from L'Espresso and so on, with national and international awards, such as the 28th place at the “50 Best Restaurants”, they are now back on at the Central Market of Porta Palazzo in Turin. A 4.500 m28 structure divided over three floors with XNUMX artisans' workshops, classrooms, laboratories and a Spazio Fare dedicated to events.
Like the Arab Phoenix, this unpredictable and improvident chef rises again with a twist, after leaving everyone in suspense about his surprise destinies.
"I'm starting from myself, and I've never been so true" he declared to Corriere di Torino, a statement that immediately arouses curiosity, given the character and, to tell the truth, the title of the restaurant this time centered on him "Scabin QB” seems to underline his intentions.
Meanwhile, that QB takes on the meaning of a declared irony towards the proportions of the raw materials, the spices, the condiments in the recipes. Here there will be no Quanto Basta, nothing will be adapted to individual needs but we will proceed in the opposite direction. Gentlemen, get ready. Whoever comes to this restaurant should know that you eat what the convent will prepare, which will have two spaces, one on the ground floor of the Central Market where the Del Cambio Pharmacy once stood and one on the terrace on the second floor of the Palafuksas.
Scabin QB will not have a menu, but a dish of the day, obligatorily served only in portions for four people.
While the whole world of catering sees the light again and studies how to satisfy the tastes of customers, Scabin as a disheveled chef launches the challenge of intransigence. «Gastronomy must go back to the root of things and to real sustainability - we resume from the interview with Corriere di Torino - To propose, as I will do, dishes of absolute excellence and at a truly accessible price, I have to reorganize the kitchen with few things: buy, cook , serve and finish. Let me explain better: if I buy, as I will, moeche or a whole shoulder of lamb, the dish of the day will be moeche, or lamb shoulder. Stop. And those who don't like these dishes will come to Scabin QB when the proposal of the day is to their liking. Because, if it takes me eight hours to prepare the real “raù alla napoletana”, it is right that the customers who want Scabin QB that week want to taste it because they are crazy about that dish».
This means that the great Chef will devote himself body and soul to his restaurant, open kitchen and permanent presence at the stove and grilled on the terrace.
In practice, the atmosphere that you will breathe at Scabinn QB will be that of a family, or a lunch at a friend's house. You go and eat what the house offers, based on what the season offers with an eye to traditional recipes that will travel between memory and the ever-unpredictable experimentation of the Chef.
The recipe that we are publishing for this weekend is his Schnitzel, a coup of real gastronomic theater that the great chef has kept on the menu for years. “The full name of the dish – says the chef – is Fillet of Piedmontese veal from Fassona. We have transformed this meat into breaded meat, in a Milanese, which is then finished 'in the fireplace' over steaming herbs that give the dish something atavistic”.
The recipe: Fillet of Piedmontese veal from Fassona
Ingredients:
200 g of Fassona fillet
Flour
2 Eggs
Sale
80 g of bread sticks to crumble
50 g of breadcrumbs
Chamomile powder
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Butter
Kratom
Garlic
Rosemary
Pepe
Method
Break the egg into a bowl and add a pinch of salt. Beat the egg and dip the previously floured fillet in it, then pass it in the crumbled bread sticks. Let it rest for about twenty minutes then dip the fillet again in the beaten egg and this time roll it all over in the breadcrumbs which will have been flavored with the chamomile powder.
After having left the fillet to rest for a good half hour, put it to cook in a pan where you have heated it and added a few knobs of butter, two cloves of garlic and a sprig of sage. Cook both sides by adding more butter and with the cooking sauce helping you with a spoon, continue to constantly wet the fillet
Place two sprigs of sage, two sprigs of rosemary and two unpeeled garlic cloves in a pan, add salt and pepper, then add the fillet of meat for 4 minutes at 190°, then leave everything to rest in the open oven for a further 10 minutes.
Here comes the magic touch. The herbs are taken, placed in a dish and set on fire with a cooking torch. Place the quartered fillet on top so that it receives and absorbs all the smoke from the burnt herbs.
And you will be immersed in a cloud of flavours.
