Tommaso Luongo, executive chef of the venue, is emerging through a plant-based cuisine made up of substance and technique, where taste is perceived at its fullest. Green Michelin star, love of the land and endless elegance live together in the Botania Relais & Spa in Ischia.
The facility
While crossing the sea towards Ischia, one is enchanted by the extraordinary vegetation that 'stains' the land. Many do not know it, but this strip of land in front of the Gulf of Naples is not only an island devoted to fishing and holidaying; it is also a place of rural and deep traditions, as is shown by the famous recipe for "coniglio all'ischitana" (Ischia-style rabbit).
In 2011, the project of the Botania Relais & Spa, a three-hectare park created by the Polito family - the same entrepreneurs of the Therasia Resort Sea & Spa, which on the island of Vulcano features two Michelin-starred addresses, Cappero and Tenerumi with Davide Guidara's vegetable cuisine - was inspired by the products of the earth and the unspoilt nature that dominates Ischia.
At Botania, owners have also decided to focus on a fine-dining restaurant with a purely vegetarian and vegan flavour, Il Mirto, which a year after its opening -in 2022- received a Michelin green star (the only one on Ischia) thanks to the extraordinary talent of Tommaso Luongo, a chef from Ischia trained by his grandfather from birth to become a professional cook.
The chef: Tommaso Luongo
"As a child, my grandfather, who was a fisherman, would make me fillet fish, and I would linger and stare at him when he cooked." Although seafood was his first great love - including a 10-year stint as sous chef by Pasquale Palamaro at Indaco, awarded a Michelin star - Tommaso has gladly accepted the Polito family's challenge to focus on vegetables, in this case having as his background the advice of his grandmother, a farmer.
"When I first arrived here, I was only the cook at Corbezzolo (one of Botania's other two restaurants, author's note) then the Politos made me this proposal, which I gladly accepted, having never made such dishes. It fascinated me and to this day I am happy with the path I am on," Luongo tells us, who then continues: "I want to make people aware of the fact that plant-based cooking is the future. A product like, for example, cauliflower or broccoli can be used in their entirety, without discarding even the leaves."
In this way, Tommaso al Mirto articulates his culinary philosophy by putting one or at most two ingredients in the recipes, but enhancing them to their fullest, extracting the humors and flavors of the dishes through multiple processing. A plus? Being able to count on "zero metre" raw materials, thanks to his own vegetable garden inside the Botania Relais. Not only that, Tommaso Luongo is also the executive chef of the entire facility, which in addition to the previously mentioned Corbezzolo, also counts Nonna Marì, where a real "home kitchen" is staged overlooking the Gulf of Naples with an enviable view.
Even breakfast-which is served amidst birdsong and a veranda surrounded by nature-is under the supervision of the Ischian cook among homemade breads and pastries, the smoothie corner and the savory side full of mozzarella and buffalo ricotta cheese, not forgetting the "egg menu," which are cooked strictly express.
What it's like to eat at Mirto at Botania Relais & Spa
There are three tasting menus at Mirto : Euphoria Veg, Green Joy and a third one, where you can have a mix of the two paths in four courses (while in the first two there are seven courses).
The amuse bouche immediately reveals Tommaso's sensitive and rigorous hand, with the playful tastes of first marinated, then dried and finally grilled "Pomodorino", "Pizza di scarola" with motto cotto, with olives, capers and cherry tomatoes or a "Sfogliato" reminiscent of Neapolitan tarallo with almonds and pears. Original (as well as delicious) is the "Passeggiata nell'orto", "Walk in the garden", a breadstick where there are several drops flavored with salted lemon, helichrysum, santolina, marjoram, mint and thyme.
The chef's wit continues in the "Tortello fritto", "Fried tortello" stuffed with bitter herbs, salted lemon cream and Neapolitan friarello: a tribute to the two culinary traditions of the Neapolitan inhabitants: first called "mangia foglie", "leaf-eaters" and then "mangia maccheroni", "macaroni-eaters". Among the appetizers, the best is the "Zuppa di piselli", Pea Soup, a base of fresh peas and a cream of fermented peas, a broth made from the pods of grilled cooked peas, and finally an oil also made from the cooking process. It is an umami dish that is appreciated spoonful by spoonful, with the legume coming out in all its cooking and texture.
This is followed by the Grilled leek with a fermented sesame cream, marinated sesame sauce, fried seaweed, and their salad. The sour note takes the stage here, while the texture of the leek is noteworthy. Another preparation that highlights the chef's technique and study, is the "Ris8 passaggi", (read "ris-otto"), eight steps all based on Carnaroli and Venere rice, across different marinades and fermentations: if the Carnaroli gives creaminess, the Venere becomes crunch and pleasant in the mouth.
Among the main courses, " Funghi e Arachidi", "Mushrooms and Peanuts " is a dish that takes advantage of the textures and flavors of Pleurotus mushroom, first oxidized and then grilled and glazed with a mushroom reduction; at the base, however, there is a mix of sautéed champignons and pioppini, and a cream of mushroom, peanuts and mustard. Remarkable savoriness and essentiality of concept and product.
Pears and Aniseed, "Pera e anice " is the vegan dessert that always plays on the two ingredients being meticulously crafted, yet then dinner is concluded with the chef's "spaghettata," when at the table he whips up Spaghetti with soy milk, turmeric, lemon, and vanilla, a dish that takes its cue from a typical Ischian dessert.
Corbezzolo's proposal
Instead, at Corbezzolo we find a purely seafood cuisine, where Tommaso also gives us gastronomic cues that are never trivial, such as the Grilled artichoke, shrimp and orange, the "Ris-orto (a play on words risotto and orto, garden) alla pescatora" (new on the menu) or the Spaghetti alla "Nonno Tommasino," a tribute to his grandfather and of reassuring goodness. "When my grandfather would come home with unsold fish, he would always make this recipe with a sauté of garlic, oil, chili peppers sprinkled with cherry tomatoes and flavored with rockfish like mullet."
Nonna Marì, on the other hand, represents the best of Neapolitan flavors: from "Bruschetta" with broad beans and bacon (typical of Ischia) to "Caprese" with three different types of tomatoes (yellow, pachino and auburn) to the great classic, "Coniglio all'Ischitana", "Ischia-style rabbit", which Chef Tommaso proposes in the version with tomato, showing all the love he has for his island - a feeling so great that we, too, will carry it with us for a while.
Contacts
Botania Relais & Spa
Via Provinciale Lacco - Fango, 284, 80075 Forio NA
Phone 081 997978
