Sea snails, truffles, mantis shrimp, mussels...are just some of the ingredients capable of giving the perfect balance of flavor to this seafood first course created by Andrea Aprea. The chef gives us his recipe for replicating it at home.
All photos by Massi Ninni
The dish
Andrea Aprea's Ri-Sotto-Marino, the result of balancing flavor among 25 ingredients, is now a classic. It is cooked with 3 broths, of mantis shrimps, sea truffles, clams and mussels, then garnished with the same fish, scampi, shrimps, lupins, razor clams, oysters, various sauces, parsley, candied lemon, 3 seaweeds and squid ink powder (but I'm surely forgetting something). Where the binding is achieved almost without butter, through rice starch. A remarkably balanced fish explosion, almost an iodized monoflavor with slight hints of umami (plankton), acidity and sweetness (white wine and candied lemon).
It is evident the consistency with the style of a chef, who from the beginning works on the contemporization of Mediterranean cuisine through the renewal of its most typical and distinctive flavor principles. In this case, the exaltation of seafood through lemon, garlic and parsley, cornerstones of our seafood cuisine. Yet the outcome is stunning above all for its purity, to which the use of rice in the preparation of the dish's bases contributes.
RI - SOTTO - MARINO BY ANDREA APREA
Ingredients
- 90 g Carnaroli rice Riserva San Massimo
- 6 g shallots
- 20 g white wine
- Sea snail water
- Sea truffle water
- Mantis shrimp broth
- Scallop bisque
- 5 g of parsley sauce
- 5 g of mussel sauce
- 5 mussels in sauté
- 5 clams in sauté
- 1 raw mantis shrimp
- 1 raw razor clam
- 1 raw truffle
- 1 raw sea asparagus
- 3 pieces of candied lemon
- Fresh lemon
- Red sea lettuce powder
- Plankton and parsley powder
- Cuttlefish ink powder
For the sea snail water
- 1 kg of sea snails
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 5 stalks of parsley
- rice
- sea water
- extra virgin olive oil
Wash and carefully drain the sea snails, rinsing them several times. In a rondeau, prepare a base of garlic, oil and parsley stalks. Add the sea snails and rice, wet with a little seawater, cover and cook so that the snails release all their flavor. Strain with a fine chinois and reduce to desired consistency.
For the sea truffle water
- 1000 g sea truffles
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 5 stalks of parsley
- Rice
- Mussel water
- Extra virgin olive oil
Wash thoroughly and drain the sea truffles, rinse them several times and remove their shellfish. In a rondeau, prepare a base of garlic, oil and parsley stalks. Add the shells of the truffles and wet with one liter of natural water, mussel and clam water obtained from the sautés. Add the rice and sauté well for about 30 minutes on low heat with a lid. Strain with a fine chinois and reduce to desired consistency.
For the mantis shrimp bisque
- 2 kg of mantis shrimp
- 160 g leek
- 200 g celery
- 200 g carrot
- 150 g white onion
- 1 clove of garlic
- 1 piece of fennel
- 2 bay leaves
- 50 stalks of parsley
- 2.5 kg ripe tomatoes
- 100 g rice
- 200 g of brandy
- 100 g extra virgin olive oil
Stew vegetables cut into a mirepoix, roast mantis shrimp, add ripe tomatoes cut into pieces, caramelize, deglaze with brandy, flare, cover with 10 liters cold water and ice, add rice. Bring to boil, skim off impurities and simmer for 40 minutes, after which strain and reduce.
For the mantis shrimp stock
- 100 g celery
- 100 g leek
- 100 g onion
- 100 g of fennel
- Parsley stalks
- 1,500 g scraps of mantis shrimp
Wash and chop all the vegetables into mirepoix, combine in a saucepan with 3 liters of water and 500 g ice. Boil for about an hour and strain with a fine chinois.
For the sautéed mussels
- 2 kg mussels
- 1 head of garlic
- Chili pepper
- Parsley
- Extra virgin olive oil
In a casserole sauté garlic and chili pepper. Add mussels, previously washed and beard removed under running water, and parsley. Cover and allow to open.
For the sautéed clams
- 2 kg clams
- 1 head of garlic
- Chili pepper
- Parsley
- Olive oil
In a casserole sauté garlic and chili pepper. Add previously washed clams and parsley. Cover and allow to open.
For the parsley sauce
- 1 kg of parsley
- 1 clove of garlic
- 2 anchovy filets
- extra virgin olive oil
Wash and flake the parsley. Blanch it in boiling salted water. Separately prepare a sauté of garlic, oil, parsley stems and anchovy. With the help of a mixer, blend everything with oil until smooth or homogeneous. Strain through a fine chinois and chill.
For the mussel sauce
- 1000 g mussels
- 3 cloves of garlic
- Parsley
- Extra virgin olive oil
Wash the mussels thoroughly, discarding the beard. Lay on a perforated plate, add garlic and parsley, and steam in the oven at 100 °C for about 4 minutes. As soon as open, strip the shellfish from the shell. Prepare a sauté of garlic, oil and parsley stalks and blend in Vitamix until smooth and homogeneous. Strain through a fine chinois and chill.
For the red sea lettuce powder
- 500 g of red sea lettuce
Thoroughly wash and desalt the red sea lettuce, dry it in the desiccator at 47 °C for 24 hours. Blend and pass through a fine sieve.
For the squid ink powder
- 300 g potatoes
- 1 clove of garlic
- 40 g squid ink
- 600 g vegetable stock
Wash, peel and finely chop the potatoes. Prepare a sauté with the garlic clove, add the potatoes, vegetable broth and squid ink. Blend until smooth and homogeneous, spread on a plate, dry at 53 °C for 24 hours. Blend and pass through a fine sieve.
For the plankton and parsley powder
- 300 g of plankton
- parsley
Wash the parsley thoroughly, blanch it in boiling salted water, cool it in water and ice, lay it on a plate and dry it in the desiccator at 47 °C for 24 hours. Blend and pass through a fine sieve. Finally, add the necessary plankton.
For the candied lemon
- 3 organic lemons with thick peel
- 200 g water
- 400 g granulated sugar
Wash the lemons, cut off the two ends and remove the peel, making four vertical cuts. Combine the water with the sugar in a saucepan and melt over low heat, add the peels and bring to a boil. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes and drain the peels on a sheet of baking paper, spacing them well apart. Repeat 2 times, always using the same syrup and making more as needed. Cut into cubes about 2 millimeters on a side.
In a copper saucepan sauté the shallots for a few moments, add the rice with a little salt and toast well.
Deglaze with the white wine and cook with the mantis shrimp broth and sea truffle water for 13 minutes, being careful not to overwater the rice toward the end of cooking. Stir in the pulled sea snail water, garlic oil and lemon peel. Arrange the mantis shrimp with the raw and cooked shellfish, candied lemon and sea asparagus on the bottom of the plate. Add the parsley and mussel sauces and the mantis shrimp bisque on top of the rice. Finish the dish by playing with the colors of the three powders.
Address
Andrea Aprea Restaurant
Corso Venezia, 52, 20122 Milan MI
Phone: 02 3827 3030
