In the beginning they opened the locks of fine dining to freshwater fish, leaping in the river below; but the current continues to flow, brought in by a new generation. From heroic restaurant to a place of excellence, history, and current events of Serva family's La Trota.
La Trota
The story
The story of La Trota of Rivodutri is somewhat reminiscent of Il Pescatore of the Santini family, the Trota of Rivodutri affair. Here, excellence is rooted in an aquatic and family history. During the 1960s, parents Emilio and Rolanda set up their little country trattoria on the banks of the Santa Susanna canal, whose source, a few hundred meters away, is one of the most bountiful in Italy, famous already during Roman times when matrons flocked to it while breastfeeding. That plain, often flooded, had been reclaimed with the start of the Marmore Falls, becoming very fertile, to the point that grass grows here year-round, and shepherds no longer need to rely on transhumance.
"Back then, that kind of place on the river bank the water was called 'the shrimp' or precisely 'the trout,'" Maurizio Serva, chef alongside his brother Sandro, recalls today. "Mom would make fresh pasta while Dad would run the grill. He was always a go-getter, and while working as a driver, he had started to dig the foundations to build something of his own. But the entire dining room used to be where the bathrooms are currently located. The river gave us the fish and acted as a refrigerator for the (wine) bottles, which were stored in baskets and placed in the water to keep them cool. They were simple peasant wines. Then there were the cages and nets for [catching] the eels, trout, and shrimp; when they were needed, we would go down to the market with the net. It was our market. And we lived there as well, so we grew up among the tables, and when I started [studying] Economics after high school, I didn't hesitate to go back to my roots alongside Sandro after passing a few exams." 
Just like their parents, Maurizio and Sandro are self-taught, having dined in the best Italian restaurants, but only as customers. "And that was what paradoxically helped us create a personal-style cuisine, which did not follow the current trends." Their cuisine was the starting point for freshwater fish, which had always been mistreated. A challenge bordering on heroism in the middle of nowhere in Rivodutri. "At first we kind of gave in to customers, if they asked for lobster, we would buy it. And it was a place that ran well. Then at a certain point, in the late 1990s, we decided to go our own way and it meant closing a thriving business and starting again with an extremist dining offer, which cost us a good part of the clientele. Sandro and I shared the kitchen, with no fixed roles, but we kept the [chef] jacket handy on the pass; if necessary one of us would wear it and do what was needed. For us, who were already harvesting crayfish with our hands at the age of 15, it would have made no sense to put sea bass on the menu. The river had always been our world, and where already in the 1400s, popes would send their men to catch the best shellfish: St. Francis' favorite dish was pike pie."
Thanks to that crystal-clear, source concept, the venture was quickly awarded by critics: La Trota is not just another fine dining restaurant, but a unique restaurant in the national scene, which has gradually perfected its dining room, wine cellar, the ambiance, along with its beautiful summer terrace and the soon-to-open guest rooms in a villa. The children, Amedeo and Michele, who have elegantly and knowledgably taken over the service and wines after graduating from college, also put their own spin on it, opening a panoramic glimpse into the future.
Crediti: @Officina Visiva
The restaurant
Meanwhile, the kitchen continues to flow without losing its identity. It deeply analyzes the qualities and flaws of products only used in the past in trattorias, often misunderstood and mortified by a series of mistakes. "With the exception of eel, the fundamental problem with freshwater fish is its neutral flavor. It’s hard to work with it, since cooking is about contrasting and balancing; without bold flavors, there’s the possibility that you cover up the (taste) of the product or cook up dull-tasting dishes. You must work on the aromas, adding smokiness or spices, to enhance flavors and work toward a sweetness." And in fact, a sweet element such as the original freshwater is not missing in any of the dishes, especially such as fruit balanced by measurably acidic elements, while the sapid component remains very low to avoid distortions. "These are lean meats: salt kills them. And the fillets are thin, so that prolonged cooking is enough to make them stodgy."
The result is an original taste paradigm, all about the redemption of delicacy and lightness, as calm and reflective as its places of origin, kindled by a humble poetic vein. There are also spontaneous oriental influences, seen in the short preparation and cooking times of certain dishes, such the eel and the griddled ravioli. "But the idea now is to work on wetland herbs, like freshwater celery, which used to be used in salads here, with its sticks that almost look like reeds. Then spring watercress and other wild herbs that I learned about from talking to older people in the village, so that we can offer the bounty of the water and the river habitat." There’s also a bit of meat on the menu and it comes from farmers who raise the animals on demand. There is mutton and pigeon, but also mallard; the fish today is provided by fishermen's cooperatives.
The two tasting menus offered are: Water and Earth, both at 140 euros; it is possible to order three or four individual dishes from them at 100 and 120 euros, respectively. They compose in their own way a crescendo, from the whispered delicacy of the appetizers to more intense and even newer dishes, always consistent in their philosophy.
Zuppa Inglese
Dishes
The "Serva Code" begins with a study of every [fish] variety. Catfish, to say. "I have tried everything (to cook it), but it’s hostile because it is a muddy, bottom fish. The herbal infusion was not enough [for it], and I even got ringworm." In the 2021 version, the dish is marinated for four to five days in rose vinegar, orange blossom water, lemon balm, star anise powder, and orange peel to impart lightness. "Another problem with these fish is the skin, because they have no scales, so the crispy factor is missing, and it becomes gummy. Hence the caramelization and burning." Almond milk, which evokes the marinating process, and the tart sweetness of green apple in osmosis of its juice, finish up the dish.
Catfish with almond milk and green apple
The carp's poppy seed crust derives from the necessity to make the skin crispy. "But it does not alter the flavor, because the essential oils are not released while chewing. And it's a fish that when filleted looks like yellowtail." It is enhanced by a light cooking, pinkish to the core. And the red turnip mayonnaise plays on the muddy element, which doesn’t have an earthy element at all, with an herb and caper ristretto and potatoes to mellow it out.
Carp, red turnip mayonnaise
Among the restaurant's signature dishes, dating back to 2001, is tench soup, a bottom fish that lends itself to soups and sauces, like a freshwater redfish. Maurizio makes a classic consommé with it, roasting the bones and clarifying the whites and flesh, which is percolated with a mix of spices in the Neapolitan coffee pot for a smooth, harmonious, accelerated brew. It is used to bathe very fine raw capellini in it, like those we ate as children, entirely cooked in front of the guest on the spot. A dish to be remembered.
Tench soup with a spicy twist
The char tortelli, plated in an oriental style, were born after tasting a pear that had been previously cut with a garlic knife, delicious. "We were looking for a stuffed pasta to be made with a slightly fatter fish – partly knife-chopped, partly lightly smoked – with cassava acting as a binder and the fish roe treated like the Chinese centennial egg."
Trout tortelli, pear, bear garlic, black tea @Artivision
The eel dish is inspired on the wasabi-like taste of spring watercress; slowly roasted on a bed of bay leaves, perfectly defatted and glazed with a mock honey syrup infused with citrus and dandelion, finally caramelized under the salamander. It is served along with kiwi, which is cooked to reinforce its acidity.
Coppa, fennel, and pine needle fagottini
A recurring motif of the meal is the stuffing, intended to elicit a surprise effect. "Just like in Renaissance banquets." In this case it is fennel stuffed with brown trout. "Among our historic dishes is the trout with foie gras escalope, which we continue to serve as an appetizer. And we may do so with a freshwater fish. In this case, however, the idea was to barbecue a vegetable and a fish, which would disintegrate without its skin. We marinate it in a balanced salt, then add herbs and citrus zest and place it in hollowed-out fennel; we then add a pineapple glaze for acidity and sweetness."
Artichoke egg
The same pleasure of discovering what’s hidden is present in the other signature of the house, the very elegant Artichoke Egg, a contraction of typical preparations under the classicist guise of a Villeroy. "The recipe was born during Easter when people eat eggs and artichokes. Artichoke frittata is delicious, but heavy because of the simultaneous cooking of egg whites and yolks. We wanted to recall the Roman-style recipe with mint and the Jewish-style one through frying, plus Jerusalem artichoke puree, for reasons of texture reasons; the yolk is present as a sauce." The artichoke ab ovo in a palette of elegant textures.
Artichoke egg
The cardoncello mushroom is also stuffed, baked in foil with standing aromas to keep its shape, and stuffed with snails cooked as established by tradition (in a tomato sauce), to reconstruct their habitat by using “fake earth” made of chestnut flour and dried porcini.
Porcini and snails
Also, from the Earth menu comes the dried lentil flour pappardelle topped with a vegetable jus that tastes meaty due to its extreme concentration; it is lightened by the addition of rosehip drops and milk cauliflower puree, plus a sprinkling of lovage for bitterness.
Citrus, salt white chocolate, mango, black olive ice cream
Sweet garden
Finally, the dessert of salted white chocolate cannoli filled with mango, black olive ice cream and citrus soup, inspired by the local salad, provides refreshment. Just before ending the meal with the all-vegetal petit fours.
Address
La Trota
Via S. Susanna, 33, 02010 Rivodutri RI
Tel. +39 0746 685078
