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Chef Marcello Romano's recipe for Gragnano paccheri with zucchini and crab cream evokes the flavors and aromas of the sea and the vegetable garden

The chef of Salone Eva on the scenic terrace of the Hotel Hassler in Rome offers a cuisine that is divided between tradition and innovation with veins from Campania such as the Paccheri dish with zucchini and crab

Chef Marcello Romano's recipe for Gragnano paccheri with zucchini and crab cream evokes the flavors and aromas of the sea and the vegetable garden

Winds of refined and modern Neapolitan style blow on the terrace of one of the most prestigious hotels in the capital, the Hotel Hassler strategically located on the top of the Spanish Steps, one of the most evocative places in the Eternal City, which over time has hosted the largest Italian and foreign political, economic and cultural celebrities: heads of state, government officials, artists such as Pablo Picasso, the Kennedy family, Prince Rainier of Monaco and Grace Kelly, Richard Nixon, Audrey Hepburn, Federico Fellini, Igor Stravinsky, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Steve Jobs, Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Madonna, Bill Gates, Melanie Griffith, Antonio Banderas, Hugh Grant and George Clooney.

Next to the iconic starred restaurant Imago listed among the "Top 95 restaurants" in the Conde Nast Traveler's Hot List, entrusted to the expert hands of executive Chef Andrea Antonini, on the terrace of the hotel which spectacularly sweeps over the roofs of Rome, chef Marcello Romano , Neapolitan by origin but solidly anchored for twenty years now at the Hassler, ensures, in the Salone Eva, a culinary proposal that is divided between tradition and innovation, Italian and Roman, with Campanian veins as a reminder of its origins, throughout the span of the day. A gourmet cuisine that ranges from breakfast, to lunch, to dinner but which extends not only to hotel guests but also to external guests the possibility of tasting wines by the glass, cocktails and snacks after the theater accompanied by live piano music in a young and modern environment but also elegant and discreet in which to breathe a genuine homely atmosphere.

The rule is in fact that of rigorously preparing dishes with seasonal products, fresh and genuine, balanced but with enveloping flavours. The common thread and the most authentic essence of the whole proposal is the Italian spirit both in terms of raw materials and combinations that bring to mind vivid memories of family lunches and dinners, without neglecting some international influences with to the presentation and the simple but rigorous mise en place.

From the Salone menu, Eva Marcello Romano offers Mondo Food readers a recipe that evokes flavors of the sea and the garden in a happy combination of freshness and pleasantness designed for those who stay in the city in these sultry August days.

The recipe for Gragnano paccheri with Roman courgette cream and crabmeat

Ingredients for 4 pax

For pasta

400 g Half paccheri from Gragnano

For the courgette cream

1 kg of Roman courgettes

150 g of spring onion

20 g of extra virgin olive oil

Sale

For the crab broth

2 kg of crab

400 g of celery

400 g of carrots

200 g of onion

To cream

Minced garlic

Fresh chilli

Extra virgin olive oil

For garnish

400 g of Roman courgettes

8 pcs of courgette flowers

Black olive powder

Parsley

Method

For the courgette cream: wash the courgettes, cut them into small pieces and blanch them quickly in salted water. Let them cool in water and ice.

In a saucepan, brown the finely chopped spring onion with oil, add the blanched courgettes and cook, adding a glass of vegetable broth.

When the liquid part is finished, use a blender to obtain a completely smooth cream.

For the crab broth: put the washed and cut into pieces vegetables in a tall pot, add the crab and cover with cold water, bring to the boil. After about 10 minutes, recover the crabs, use the tongs to extract the pulp and set it aside. Put all the crab scraps back into the water and continue cooking for about two hours over low heat.

Once cooked, filter everything in order to have a broth without impurities.

Cook the pasta in salted water until it is very al dente.

In a pan, brown the oil, garlic and chilli pepper. Add the pasta and part of the broth, over high heat start stirring by adding the zucchini cream.

In a pan, sauté the courgettes, previously finely chopped, with the oil, salt, pepper and chopped parsley. Arrange the sautéed courgettes on top of the pasta, add the crabmeat, the olive powder and the flowers seasoned with oil and salt.

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