Romagnolo, born in 1994, hotel school in Riccione, Jacopo Ticchi has his first experiences in the kitchens of the Romagna Riviera but immediately the choice is to jump over the hedge, try tastes, flavours, processing methods, cooking methods, international combinations. And at 18, as soon as he graduated, he took off for the Australian continent. Two years after the big step that will influence his culinary culture. He joins Pietro Leemann's team at Joia in Milan, the first European vegetarian restaurant to receive the Michelin star. Here he learns to express the principles of healthy, plant-based and planet-friendly cuisine, which exalts the raw material to its maximum which, in addition to the well-being prerogatives that distinguish it, must maintain a connotation linked to the pleasure of good food without leaving nothing by chance, from the search for raw materials to the food combinations, to the authenticity of the dish.
Four years of great training. The next step, driven by the desire to delve into new gastronomic aspects, is seen in Spain where Jacopo Ticchi comes into contact with the world of tapas, the typical food preparations of Spanish cuisine, originating from nineteenth-century Andalusia when they accompanied a good glass of Jerez sherry de la Frontera, consumed as an aperitif, as a starter or even as a main meal even if their origin derives from the ancient custom of Andalusian taverns of covering (tapar) the glass of wine with a slice of bread and ham to prevent flies and dust. And he transfers this world to Rimini at the Necessaire Bistrot which enjoys considerable success with the public.
His curiosity and his desire to experiment with new experiences therefore led him to create Trattoria da Lucio in 2019 where, together with Enrico Gori, he deepened his study on the maturation of fish. His cuisine stands out, in the chef's vision, in the exclusive use of large-sized local fish whose taste and consistency are enhanced thanks to the dry aging technique - Dry Aged, finding a sure reference in the experience of Josh Niland, chef of the Saint Peter of Sydney included in the “Ethical living” category of the 2019 World Restaurant Awards for its pioneering approach in the use of all parts of fish to reduce waste which has opened new frontiers in fish cuisine and in particular in research on fish maturing.
“Ours – underlines Ticchi – is a cuisine at the service of taste, concreteness, truth and zero waste, for us it is important to be able to enhance even the less noble parts of the product”. And at Trattoria Da Lucio consequently, with great courage, the offal of large fish - which in traditional kitchens are thrown away - take on the unusual dimension of protagonists of the menu: "our treasure", as Ticchi, with an effective image, defines them.
It goes without saying that the restaurant menu is a constant work in progress: the ingredients are only seasonal ones, cooked mainly with embers and the fire becomes "a magical element, which gives the product an ancestral sign".
Method of mixed fish liver pâté with toasted bread proposed by Jacopo Ticchi to the readers of Mondo Food this week draws inspiration from the desire to create a dish where the center is the liver "because - explains the chef - in Trattoria we preserve the livers of all the fish, even the smallest ones. The quantities of liver are scarce and it is necessary to accumulate it by freezing. In this recipe the liver is frozen very fresh to ensure that it maintains an intense aroma and to have a good pâté". Frozen livers can be used for this dish because for this preparation they are blended and emulsified.
One final note: Jacopo Ticchi belongs to a small group of young "courageous captains" that Gennarino Esposito, the great starred chef organizer of the most authoritative national gastronomic event, Festa a Vico, to which the biggest names of Italian starred cuisine are invited , brought together in an exclusive event “A promise is a promise” where they cook for a selected audience of journalists and gastronomes. Many promises of Italian cuisine have passed through here and several have gone on to become star chefs.
The recipe for mixed fish liver pâté with toasted bread
Toast the livers, which must have been washed in water and salt, in a non-stick pan and then blended with sweet Albana wine.
Apart from stewing the white onion with bay leaves and juniper berries for a long time. Combine the onion with the livers in a blender and emulsify while hot, adding cold butter which will sweeten the taste of the liver.
Season with salt and leave to cool.
Serve the cold pâté on hot toasted bread, a drizzle of oil and plenty of black pepper.
