A second course turned into a starter, golden shell and juicy filling: Luca Pezzetta fries up a great classic, demonstrating how, at Clementina's, memory is in motion. We reveal the recipe, ideal as much for a dinner with friends as for a variation on the theme in the holiday menu. And there's also the wine pairing.
Portrait of Luca Pezzetta: @Slevin
Fried photo: @Romanogmt
The fritto
Say “coda alla vaccinara” and you think of the poor cut made noble by folk wisdom, the juiciness of the tomato sauce that calls to the call of the scarpetta, the magic of the trattoria in the Capitoline alley. Say “coda alla vaccinara” and you don't think of a fried fish with an extroverted filling, but maybe you should. Yes, because one of the best “tails” in Lazio is eaten in a pizzeria, and not even in the center of Rome.
To taste it, one must dock in Fiumicino, where Luca Pezzetta continues to push the envelope beyond the porthole of the thin round. With Clementina, his school of leavening has gained proselytes among foodies-from simple enthusiasts to industry veterans-shifting the focus not so much to the disc or topping as ends in themselves, but to the culinary fusion of two technically complementary elements.
If not, Luca's menu is also filled with Italian-style croissants, savory pain suisse, panettone as dessert and -indeed- “supplì sfera,” including that of coda alla vaccinara. This is where I will have you: it is going to be a matter of seconds, precisely those few seconds it takes for the knife to break through the gaudy breadcrumbs by releasing a “lavish” jet. The outcome is an appetizer dressed up, tradition packed in a glowing shell. Golden rule, use the spoon to best scoop up the genuine sauce at the bottom.
Beyond classic pizzeria starters, Luca teaches us how to fry a “main course,” making it current in form and concept. Confirming that memory is always in motion.
The recipe
Ingredients for 4 people
- 2 beef tails
- 1 celery
- 8 carrots
- Extra-virgin olive oil to taste
- Salt to taste
- Black pepper to taste
- White wine for blending q.b.
- 700 ml of tomato puree
- Cocoa beans to taste
- Bitter cocoa to taste
For frying
- 1 liter sunflower oil
For the batter
- Water and flour
- Fine homemade breadcrumbs to taste.
Preparation
Wash the carrots thoroughly, remove the ends and scrape them with a vegetable peeler. Peel the leaves off the ribs and remove the filaments and the white end. On a work surface, cut the vegetables into small cubes. Take a large, high skillet, add the extra-virgin olive oil and brown the tail, over high heat, turning it to seal all its parts. Deglaze with wine, add half the amount of carrot and celery and let them wilt. Then add salt and pepper, the tomato puree and the remaining amount of carrot and celery. Let the tail cook for about 6 hours on a very low flame. Turn with a ladle once in a while. In case the sauce gets too dry, add a little boiling water. The meat is ready when it comes off the bone: strip it and discard the bones. Let it cool and prepare a slow batter of water and flour. Take 80g of meat with your hands and create small “tail balls.” Dip them in a “veil” of batter and, then, quickly in breadcrumbs. The balls should be fried in sunflower oil inside a large frying pan for 6 minutes at 165/170°. The suppli should be completely covered by the cooking oil. Dab well, finally, with fried paper.
Dish composition
Start the plate with the tail sauce, cocoa beans and place the ball supplì with vaccinara tail in the center. Complete the dish with a little bit of bitter cocoa.
Recipe by Luca Pezzetta. Many thanks to Elisa Bastianelli and Daniele Mari, key figures in Clementina's kitchen and beverage offerings, respectively.
Recommended wine pairing
Cesanese del Lazio Igt
Contact
Pizzeria Clementina
Via della Torre Clementina, 158,
00054 Fiumicino (RM)
Phone: 328 818 1651
Open for dinner (from 5:30 p.m.)
Open for lunch only on Saturdays and Sundays
