At the age of 36, Marco Lagrimino, Chef of the “L'Acciuga” restaurant in Perugia – the name itself is a bold bet in a gastronomically sleepy city like the Umbrian capital – can boast the merit of having brought a touch of modernity to the city of international allure that was needed.
Originally from Castiglione in Teverina, a peaceful village in upper Lazio on the border with Umbria, the Chef has an underlying restlessness that prompted him from an early age to abandon his agricultural studies to follow a cooking vocation that interested him more than everything else. After completing the course at the Istituto Alberghiero in Viterbo, he had his first training experiences in the brigades of hotels and resorts in the area, where he immediately learned "the harsh discipline and the frenetic rhythms of certain cuisines".
But in his desire to grow, he immediately understands that it is necessary to broaden his horizons and face paths of great international schools in order to be able to refine his gastronomic culture. The first experience is in Germany then moves on to England and immediately aims high entering the brigades of some of the best starred restaurants in the capital from Nobu a Michelin star to Berkeley Street, where he learns the philosophy of fusion cuisine between East and West; to Sketch, two Michelin stars, one of Pierre Gagnaire's establishments, where he works for almost a year in the fish shop. A passage that will be congenial for him to open the doors of Heston Blumenthal's court, in his restaurant inside the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Dinner by Heston two Michelin stars, where he learns the great techniques that will definitively mark his future path .
He then returns to Italy, but for a short time, because he immediately leaves again for London for a stimulating experience at The Modern Pantry, a very popular eclectic place, where for a year and a half he works as a souschef alongside Anna Hansen, the famous chef fusion that the great Peter Gordon had wanted at his side to open the Providores, nominated for his merits Member of the Order of the British Empire. Not satisfied, always animated by her restlessness, which is a desire for knowledge, he then wanted to compare the fusion experiences lived in Europe by going to Southeast Asia to closely study cooking methods, combinations and treatment of raw materials. Finally, we find him in the refined Osteria di Volpaia in Radda in Chianti before settling in Perugia where he offers a cuisine with a personal vision, with dedicated attention to the territory and the seasons, combined with seafood.
For the readers of Mondo Food, the Chef suggests a dish inspired by the flavours, scents and colors of spring, where the protagonist is wild garlic, a wild but more delicate variant of common garlic, a versatile herbaceous plant in the kitchen rich in beneficial properties .
His recipe "Nido di primavera" plays on the contrast of the sweetness of the peas, the bitterness of the herbs and the aromaticity of the wild flowers, enriched by the creaminess of the egg and sheep's milk ricotta, which in spring has more herbaceous and fragrant, with hints of acidity given by sweet and sour lemon, all to create an intriguing harmony for the palate. A Botticelli palette that inspires sensations of nature at the mere sight.
Marco Lagrimino
THE RECIPE OF THE "SPRING NEST"
1 PORTION
Ingredients for the salad
– 6 wild poppy leaves
– 4 plantain leaves
– 2 bulbs of wild garlic
– 10 Borage leaves
– 6 Amaranth leaves
– 8 Cicerbita leaves
– 6 Borage flowers
– 2 Calendula flowers
– 3 Mallow flowers
Ingredients for sweet and sour lemon
– 100 g of finely sliced lemons
– 100 g of water
– 50 g of White Wine Vinegar
– 25 g of cane sugar
Other ingredients
– 1 Egg
– 100 g of new peas
– 20 g of Sheep Ricotta
METHOD
For the lemons:
Put the sliced lemons in a glass jar
Separately, bring the water to the boil with the vinegar and sugar.
Pour the liquid over the lemons, and leave to cool until it reaches room temperature. Leave in the refrigerator for at least 48h.
For the mixed salad:
Thoroughly wash the wild herbs, and dry them.
For the Peas:
Blanch the peas in water and salt for 5 minutes. Drain and cool in cold water. Put half of the peas in an immersion blender glass, add a spoonful of water and blend until you get a smooth cream.
For the dressing:
In a bowl, combine: the cream of peas, half of the remaining peeled peas and 5 g of chopped sweet and sour lemons.
Fix with salt and oil.
For the Ricotta:
Bake at 180 degrees for about 12/15 minutes until a sea bream crust forms.
For 64° egg:
Cook the egg in the roner at 64° for 40 minutes.
PLATING:
Arrange the mixed salad in a bowl. Season the mixed salad with the dressing, open the egg delicately and place it in the center of the nest.
Alternate around the egg, the ricotta into small pieces and the flowers.
