East winds blow over the starred restaurant L'Aria, immersed in the botanical garden of the luxurious Mandarin Oriental resort on Lake Como. With the arrival of Chef Massimiliano Blasone, who arrives on the shores of Lake Como after having participated in the success of many restaurants, including the launch of the Roman outpost of the international restaurant brand, ZUMA, the most fashionable Japanese restaurant in Rome located on the of the prestigious Maison Fendi in the historic center, the restaurant concept veers decisively towards oriental influences in flavors and techniques, with particular attention to Japanese influences with a lively and informal approach.
One could say the right man in the right place. With that Asian name of the property, who better than Blasone could interpret the refined culinary atmospheres of an innovative, cosmopolitan proposal, even in the exaltation of flavors and quality of the best seasonal local ingredients, which introduces the discovery of new tastes and surprising experiences on the palate?
In fact, Massimiliano Blasone is a man of the world, who boasts in his curriculum, in addition to the important experience of Zuma, having worked with Heinz Beck at "La Pergola", with Ciccio Sultano at the Duomo restaurant in Ragusa, with Heinz Winkler in Germany, having supported challenging opening projects in the United States, United Kingdom and Italy, having been Executive Chef at Apsleys Restaurant (Heinz Beck's restaurant inside the Lanesborough Hotel) awarded a Michelin star after only 4 months after opening in London.
This background accompanies him in his new role of guide in the kitchen of L˜aria. Dynamic and innovative, Blasone creates dishes rooted in Italian tradition but strongly influenced by his experiences abroad. An attentive admirer of contemporary cuisine, Blasone creates an elegant interpretation of culinary contaminations for the international audience of the luxurious resort that hosts the restaurant.
An example for his «Sea Bass Chileno Jalapeño», a refined cut of delicate and juicy fish resulting from a marinating of the fillet carried out in several steps, with brush strokes even during cooking on the Robata grill, to guarantee a shiny appearance on the outside and a It is extremely soft inside. Proposed with the unprecedented thrust of the Jalapeño sauce, a touch of wing that gives an exotic note by making the delicacy of the sea bass dialogue harmoniously with the decisive presence of the sauce and the crunchy part of the vegetables.
Fish is undoubtedly the main ingredient of his dishes with a declared primary focus on the sustainable and quality choice of suppliers. This means that there is no precise geographical connotation of the raw material. Italy – recalls the chef – is bathed by five seas and each has unique fish qualities. “We have suppliers from Rome, from Terracina, from Chioggia obviously we also use international suppliers especially for products such as blue fin tuna or Pacific amberjack”.
One travels the world in his kitchen but also remains firmly at home with immediately perceptible flavors such as with his "Spaghetti, scorpion fish, roasted pepper, Romanesque courgette" which have their strong point in the fresh spaghetti, handmade in his kitchen , as well as all the pasta on the menu. Not being dried, the spaghetti maintains a particularly pleasant softness, which marries the delicate flavor of the fish and which finds a note of freshness in the Romanesque pepper and zucchini, slightly bitter, roasted, reinforcing the link with tradition.
The recipe proposed this week is in line with the chef's "contaminative" philosophy, which aims to create an ideal bridge between traditional Italian cuisine and the many variations of flavor that can derive from components of Japanese cuisine, all however aimed at to bring out real and new flavors of the subject matter.
Amberjack recipe, green chilli, ponzu
Ingredients:
A 4-6 kg Hamachi Amberjack (two options: Mediterranean Sea, more delicate, or Pacific Ocean, Japan origin 4-6 kg, more balanced as it has more flavor due to the fat component)
Ponzu sauce: 100ml (Usukuchi soy sauce 300ml – Tamari soy sauce 120gr ml – 60ml sake – 100ml rice vinegar – 80gr dried tuna flakes – 6 oranges – 2 pieces of kombu seaweed)
120 g of fresh green chilli
260 g of shallots
Fresh radish 5 pcs
Mixed salad herbs to taste
Procedure:
Clean the amberjack by filleting it, cut into chunks and blast chill to eliminate any form of bacteria, a blast chilling cycle at -30 degrees for 24 hours would be preferable.
Then defrost and make slices 3 cm high and 5 cm wide and keep in the fridge with cling film.
For the ponzu sauce, flambé the sake and mirin to remove the alcoholic part, squeeze the oranges and put the peels aside without the white part; add all ingredients in a container and preserve for 24 hours.
Then filter with a very fine sieve and keep in the fridge, cut the green pepper in half and remove seeds and white parts, cut it into very small cubes, chop the shallot and mix (always keep in the fridge).
Clean the radishes and cut them into thin slices, put them in water and ice.
Clean the field herbs and store in the fridge with wet paper so that they can maintain their freshness.
Plate execution:
Take a flat plate with a base, arrange 7 slices of amberjack as desired, put a teaspoon of our chilli and shallot mixture on each slice, put a slice of radish on each slice, finish by pouring the ponzu sauce, taking care not to touch the amberjack slices.
Finish by adding the herbs, which will have both a decorative and tasteful function.
