Everything speaks of an extraordinary nature, uncontaminated and suggestive in Sappada, a mountain resort at 1.250 meters above sea level on the extreme border of Friuli Venezia Giulia, close to the Veneto. Framed by imposing Dolomite massifs, immersed in a landscape of pastures and fir and larch woods where you can meet ptarmigans, stoats, red foxes, and, high up, admire the superb vaulting of the golden eagles, Sappada offers its visitors a atmosphere of other times among pristine woods, waterfalls and alpine lakes, not forgetting that here are the springs that give life to the Piave, the river sacred to the country. A world distant from starry spaces from the polluted and frenetic city rhythms, which has the flavor of fairy tales where everything is beautiful, good and clean. If in winter it fascinates with its snow-covered slopes much loved by family groups for the ease of the ski trails, it is in the other seasons that it expresses its magic, in spring and autumn, when nature and its ancient traditions express themselves at their best.
This world can be found condensed in Mondschein, literally Moonlight, which refers to the dreamlike suggestions of an idyllic nocturnal panorama of the famous piano sonata n. 14 in C sharp minor, by Ludwig van Beethoven, but in this case it transports us inside a welcoming and refined hut that the Kratter family has managed since 1970. Originally it was actually one of the many refreshment points where skiers and hikers. It was Paolo, nephew of the founder, and father of the current chef Federico, in love with these mountains and their traditions who decided to move on decisively, transforming together with his wife Irene, the humble hut of the past into a refined sanctuary not only for food but also cultural in which the values of the Sappadese tradition are condensed, a place of the heart with a gourmet cuisine in a skilful balance between experimentation and authentic Alpine tradition based on local ingredients and the purest raw materials.
Today the kitchen is entrusted to the talented hands of his 28-year-old son Federico Kratter, who at a very young age first apprenticed in various mountain restaurants to then land under the teachings of chef Giancarlo Morelli, the former enfant prodige of Italian cuisine, one Michelin star, chef award-winning and successful entrepreneur with six restaurants and a long list of accolades in haute cuisine. An experience that allowed him to subsequently join the brigade of the Monegasque chef Alain Ducasse, collector of Michelin stars, 21 received throughout his career, patron of the legendary Le Louis XV of the Hotel de Paris in Monaco which he forged many of the chefs in Italy and abroad who today boast Michelin stars, at the head of a group which, with 1400 employees, controls 20 restaurants in various countries,
It is therefore with this exceptional background that the young Fabrizio returned to Sappada taking over the kitchen of the family restaurant, in which he poured his educational, cultural and technical experiences into the creation of dishes, in which he declines the tradition of a civilization peasant who knew how to respect her land and take care of its peculiarities with a cuisine with a strong innovative charge, research and innovation, cloaked in entirely contemporary elegance.
“The raw materials of our dishes – explains the young chef – are pure, authentic and natural, just like real mountain cuisine. Scrupulous research, safe traceability and constant experimentation characterize the products from regional farmers and producers that we visit regularly and to which we are linked, as well as by great mutual esteem, sometimes by a long friendship".
It is the "new taste of the Dolomites" as defined by the Michelin Guide, of a "high-level" cuisine.
The proof is in the dish proposed by Federico Kratter to the readers of Mondo Food this week, a refined venison carpaccio that will take you directly to the Dolomite woods.
The recipe for deer carpaccio
Ingredients for 4 people:
– 300 g venison loin
– 200 g porcini mushrooms
– 2 cloves garlic
– 3 pcs shallots
– parsley to taste
- oil
- salt
- pepper
– 100 gr black bread with cumin
Procedure:
Carefully clean and cut the porcini mushrooms, chop the shallots and brown them with a knob of butter in a pan, add the porcini mushrooms, deglaze with white wine, bring to the boil and leave to cool.
Clean the deer loin of excess fat. At this point, marinate the meat by combining it with the sautéed porcini mushrooms by adding a clove of garlic, chopped parsley, oil, salt and pepper.
Place everything in a vacuum bag and leave the meat to marinate in the refrigerator for at least 16 hours.
Cut the black bread into cubes and toast in the oven at 140°C for 12 minutes.
Implantation:
Cut the deer very thin and place it on a plate, polish it with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, a pinch of salt and pepper.
Garnish the carpaccio with a cream of onion, watercress and wine sauce
red to enhance the flavors.
Mondschein restaurant
Address: Via Dolomiti, 5,
39030 Sesto BZ
Phone: 0474 710322
