Pasta alla trabaccolara is a dish that links the city of San Benedetto del Toronto and the city of Viareggio, both seaside cities very dear to the Chef. The origin of this recipe dates back, in fact, to around the 20s and 30s when the sailors of San Benedetto began to migrate to Viareggio aboard the trabaccoli, particular boats typical of the Adriatic. The first documents that speak of boats "for use as a trabaccolo" date back to the second half of the seventeenth century. From the eighteenth to the twentieth century, goods traveled from one port to another on these boats. They were real cargo ships that always sailed fully loaded, legal goods and, often, also contraband, the double bulkheads built on board were famous. Not only was the hold filled but often the deck was also filled with goods and the skill of the captains was legendary.
In line with the history of these glorious but poor boats, the recipe proposed by chef Federico Del Monte, from the Marche, is simple but tasty and involves the use of cherry tomatoes and poor fish. The Chef reinterprets it by making fresh egg pasta, typical of his land, the Marche, and adding, in addition to the poor fish, a sea extract, or a very concentrated sauce made with fish bones.
A dish that the Chef puts on the menu exclusively during the period in which he manages to find fresh tomatoes at the market.
Born in the Marche, from Fano, adopted by Rome and with an almost obsessive relationship with the sea, Federico Del Monte, after his hotel studies, began to tour high-level kitchens at a very young age, mainly in Italy and England, such as The Dorchester and Zafferano in London, Povero Diavolo in Rimini, Anthony Genovese's Pagliaccio, Settembrini and Chinappi, in Rome. Experiences that have left their mark on his soul and his cuisine and that have pushed him to find the way and the determination to create something totally personal. The first experience in total autonomy was born in Fano with Vicolo del Curato. A family-run restaurant - his sister Beatrice is in the dining room - with a proposal that already speaks of sustainability, freshness and simplicity. The awards are not long in coming, but the desire to be known by a wider audience and the love for Angelica Lofoco, the current mother of his children, push the Chef to move to Rome where he immediately lives the Prati neighborhood at 360°: from dawn on his bicycle to reach the Rionale market, until late at night with the closing of the shutters and the last chats in front of a glass of wine. Finally he lands and settles at Acciuga where he offers an intelligent search for a sometimes "poor" but very tasty fish, in a menu with open formulas in order to adapt to daily arrivals. With a peculiarity: his origins from Fano are expressed in some recipes from the Marche, starting with the famous brodetto.
The Gambero Rosso Guide underlines the great respect for sustainability and ethics in his cuisine which “selects the best products from the fish market every day based on their origin - farmed products are strictly banned - and the size compatible with the right cooking point. His signature is printed on one of the two tasting menus with glasses of wine to match, but it can also be found in tasty preparations such as the maritozzo stuffed with fish, spaghetti cacio e pepe with cuttlefish quarter, brodetto alla fanese which is a legacy of his origins in the Marche region and in the plate of three raw fish that he selects every day for enthusiasts”.
Federico Del Monte loves to present the cuisine of L'Acciuga with a claim that condenses his entire gastronomic philosophy: "We are what you see, the choice of our catch listens to the sea and its times, nothing more, it tells us what to propose on our table". In short, a cuisine made of immediacy that follows the course of the sea like its waves and picks its fruits, but, be careful, behind this apparent simplicity hides a great school and a great study of the raw material and its cooking and the ability to enhance all its aromas.
The recipe for pasta alla trabaccolara
Ingredients for people 4
For the dressing
oil
onion
garlic
Chili pepper
lemon peel
parsley
tomato concentrate
White wine
vinegar
1/2 kg of clams
1/2 kg of squid
1/2 kg of whole prawns
1 fishbone from any fish (sea bass, sea bream or scorpion fish – you can ask for them at the fishmonger's)
For the noodles:
250 g semolina
750 g 00 flour
10 egg yolks
9 eggs
sale
oil
Method
For the tagliolini, combine all the ingredients, knead and shape the fresh tagliolini into an irregular shape.
Fry the garlic, onion, lemon peel and chili pepper in oil. Add the tomato paste, white wine and a drop of vinegar. Add the fish bone to toast. When it dries, add the ice and let it reduce for about 50 minutes over medium heat. Filter the liquid obtained and reduce further.
Separately fry the garlic and parsley and add the reduction. Here sauté the pasta after cooking it in boiling water. Add the prawns, squid and clams previously seasoned with oil and salt in the creaming.
Anchovy Restaurant
Vodice Street 25,
Rome, 00195
Phone: + 39063723395
WhatApp: +39063723395
Email: info@acciugaroma.it
