His is one kitchen without physical boundaries, in the sense that there are no formal divisions between the stove and the dining room, to the point that some dishes are started by the kitchen and defined at the customers' table, so there is no formal distance between the restaurant staff and their customers. It is the attestation of a philosophy of life in which his strong Neapolitan radiance with the consequent propensity for human relationships marries a rigor of great professional level which led him to the top of Italian cuisine and to be awarded two Michelin stars. Rocco De Santis, chef of the prestigious Santa Elisabetta Gourmet Restaurant, of the Brunelleschi Hotel which overlooks a welcoming square in the historic center of Florence, a few steps from the Duomo, Palazzo della Signoria and the Uffizi Gallery, which incorporates a semi-circular Byzantine tower from the XNUMXth century and a medieval church in its façade, this philosophy is brought with a family from a rural town in the South, with ancient and handed down culinary traditions, where everything was produced at home, from fresh pasta to desserts. But also by the great masters who opened their doors to him by introducing him to great cuisine, starting with Gennaro Esposito the two-starred high priest of the Torre del Saracino in Vico Equense and a person of stellar humanity, to continue with Lavarra Pine, two Michelin stars passed from Rossellinis in Palazzo Sasso in Ravello to the Regent Four Seasons in London and Toto's in Knightsbridge, with Georges Blanc, three Michelin stars in the restaurant that bears his name in Vonnas, with Andrew Aprea another successful Neapolitan chef who settled in Milan where he has long been certified with two Michelin stars, e Pierfranco Ferrara of the lighthouse of Capo d'Orso (Sa).
Rocco De Santis makes no secret of his strong bond with his origins. “Campania inspires me with emotion and ease: the sea, the mountains, places and people come together as ingredients of a recipe that lives on my plates. My teachers have passed on to me the great respect for KNOWLEDGE, which I place at the basis of the creation and reworking of my traditional dishes aimed at innovation".
But be careful: obviously the territory is a starting point, certainly not its cage. In the refined Florentine atmospheres, the chef from Campania has developed a cuisine based on essentiality, on dishes centered on one product, with two or three others to act as a support. It is based on a substance, on something that goes beyond the ingredient and is characterized by the contrasts between acidity and sweetness, cooked and raw, flavor and lightness.
Features that the Michelin guide clearly highlights: “The Pagliazza tower, probably of Byzantine origins, had many uses; in the twelfth century it was also a women's prison, but today it houses one of the most interesting gourmet restaurants in the city. In the cuisine there are some references to the region of origin, but it is in the explosion of flavours, in the imagination and concreteness of even creative dishes that Rocco De Santis expresses the characteristics of one of the best Italian gastronomic traditionsthat bell. The service takes place at excellent levels and – considering that there are only a few tables available – reservations are strongly recommended!”
If cooking is one of its pillars, the other is its staff, to whom it has managed to convey its ideas and enthusiasm, fueling a dialogue and group pride that has borne fruit. Fundamental to the conception of him is the role of Maître, Alessandro Fè because "the amalgam between dining room and kitchen is very important", dining room and kitchen must work in symbiosis in the scientific knowledge of the ingredients, in knowing how to present the dish. The chef generously pays him credit "He arrived four years ago like me, we worked together, the escalation that led to the stars belongs to both". Chapeau!
This whole philosophy is perfectly expressed, for example in his famous Pigeon brought decomposed to the table and several times in different dishes, garnished only at the last with its sauce, or in the risotto that comes out of the kitchen in the pot and is creamed at the table and even in serving the bread that is cut at the last moment in front of the customer. In short, a service that becomes warmly attentive and aims to involve the diners, who are no longer considered only recipients of the dishes that are served to them but companions on a gastronomic journey of sensations and atmospheres that unfold before their eyes.
In the recipe for red mullet in a bread crust proposed by chef Rocco De Santis for Mondo Food readers, the chef has managed to bring together taste and aesthetics in a single creation, creating a dish that is nothing more than a painting to eat. And if you ask him the philosophy that underlies it, he replies with three words that however summarize his entire long and important culinary career: tradition, modernity and innovation.
The recipe for red mullet in bread crust, Nubia garlic sauce and raisin and pine nut pesto
Ingredients for 4 people:
8 mullets, lemon, fennel, extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper
For the red onion compote from Tropea
One kilogram of onions, 100 g of sugar, 100 g of glucose, 50 g of Sherry vinegar
For the saffron bread
600 g of flour, 250 g of water, 15 g of saffron pistils, 15 g of brewer's yeast, 10 g of salt,
10 g of granulated sugar, extra virgin olive oil
For the mint pesto
200 g of mint leaves, 60 g of extra virgin olive oil, 40 g of ground almonds, 40 g of oil
of seeds, 20 g of basil, a clove of blanched garlic
For the raisin and pine nut pesto
150 g of raisins, 14 g of extra virgin olive oil, 50 g of pine nuts, 50 g of grape vinegar, 50 g of
stale bread, 30 g of very fine desalted capers, one desalted anchovy, mint
For the Nubia red garlic sauce
100 g of peeled and cored garlic cloves, 50 ml of cream, 50 ml of milk
For the garnish
4 sprigs of mint, 4 garlic flowers, 4 chives stems
Method
Peel the onions, wash them and cut them into thin slices with the help of a mandolin, boil twenty milliliters of water and the vinegar then blanch the onions for a few minutes. Pour the other ingredients into a bowl, add the drained onions, cover with plastic wrap and leave to macerate for six hours.
After the maceration, transfer everything into a pan and boil over low heat until they have taken on the typical consistency of the compote.
For the saffron bread, pour the flour into the basket of a mixer, add the yeast dissolved in a little warm water and the sugar. Start kneading at moderate speed then add the saffron, diluted in a spoonful of water, and the rest of the ingredients; work until you get a soft mass. Transfer the dough to a wooden work table dusted with a little flour and work it by hand just long enough to make it even more homogeneous, then put it in a plum-cake mold greased with extra virgin olive oil. Leave to rise for about two hours then bake in the oven at 180°C for 45 minutes. Once cooked, take it out of the mould, let it cool and then use a slicer to cut it into slices just under 3 millimeters thick.
Blanch the mint and basil leaves, cool them in water and ice, squeeze them well and mix them with the rest of the ingredients. Blend everything with an immersion mixer and place in the freezer for about two hours. Stir vigorously by breaking the ice crystals to obtain a creamy pesto.
Leave the raisins to soften in warm water for about 20 minutes and soak the stale bread in the vinegar; meanwhile toast the pine nuts in a non-stick pan. When the raisins are well hydrated, squeeze them and pour them into the glass of an immersion blender with the rest of the ingredients, blend for a few minutes to obtain a homogeneous mixture. Blanch the garlic three times, always starting with cold water; pour the cream and milk into a saucepan, add the blanched garlic and leave to cook over low heat in infusion for about twenty minutes. Blend and keep aside.
Fillet the red mullet by removing the central bone but taking care to leave the two halves joined to the tail. Season with salt, pepper, the grated lemon peel and the chopped fennel. Brush the skin with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil then lay one side on a slice of saffron bread and, with the tip of a knife, cut the bread along the length of the fish, reaching the base of the tail. Procedure in the same way for the other side. Pour a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil on the bottom of a pan, heat it and brown the mullet on both sides, browning the bread slightly so that it adheres perfectly to the skin and is crunchy.
Spread the mint pesto with a spatula on the bottom of each plate, arrange a spoonful of the raisin and pine nut pesto on top and place a red mullet on top. Finish with a few drops of garlic sauce, a little red onion compote, sprigs of mint, chives and garlic flowers.
Santa Elisabetta Brunelleschi Hotel Restaurant
Piazza Santa Elisabetta, 3 – 50122 Florence
Tel. 055/2737673 – info@ristorantesantaelisabetta.it
www.ristorantesantaelisabetta.it
