The Tuscan chef's restaurant, in addition to a menu of the most iconic dishes linked to the territory, offers Espressione Vegetariana, ranging with creativity and unexpected combinations of ingredients.
Dishes pics: Stefano Caffarri
Modena is in the heart of the Emilian food valley, and the old town center, split in two by Via Emilia, is full of traditional restaurants (and pizzerias, which I wrote about here) that serve almost exclusively fresh pasta, cured meats, fried gnocchi, and crescentine, leaving almost no room for veggies. Among the few exceptions is a haute cuisine establishment (with a Michelin star) that (also) offers a vegetarian menu: L'Erba del Re by Luca Marchini.
The chef and the restaurant
Luca Marchini is a chef originally from Tuscany, now settled in Modena. In one of the city's nightlife areas, he has created a trio of restaurants to satisfy all tastes: L'Erba del Re, opened in 2003 and awarded a Michelin star in 2008, Trattoria Pomposa, which recently celebrated 10 years in business, and the latest arrival, Pizzeria Tre in Pomposa, where classic pizzas are served alongside those featuring traditional Modena ingredients. The chef's group of businesses also includes: Amaltea, a cooking school, Bottega da Re, a line of products preserved in glass jars, such as ragù and salsa verde, Forno da Re with biscuits and baked goods, as well as Living – Modena Lounge Bar and Sottoluce, respectively the all-day bar and restaurant inside the RMH Modena Raffaello hotel.
L'Erba del Re is not visible from the outside except for small signs on the windows, where cream-colored curtains provide intimacy and privacy to guests. There are just a handful of tables, with attentive, unobtrusive waiting staff, who set the pace of the meal with perfect timing. There is an à la carte menu and three tasting menus: Espressione (€165, wine pairing €90), which brings together dishes inspired by the chef's latest creations; Un salto nel passato (€130, wine pairing €70 - or 4 courses €110 and wines €60), the restaurant's classics that reflect the territory; and the new addition, which we will tell you about below, Espressione Vegetariana (€130, wine pairing €70).
The menu
Espressione Vegetariana menu is the result of a creative journey undertaken by chef Marchini and his team. It is not the result of a desire to create a vegetarian menu or jump on the bandwagon, which has been very popular recently, but rather a tasting menu that has found substance and shape in a natural way. The chef's thoughts were already moving in this direction, hence the idea of further developing existing dishes and bringing them together in a sequence. The aim is to enhance the vegetable ingredient, making it the star of the show rather than relegating it to a supporting role. All this is done with balance, pampering the guests and trying to surprise them with unusual and unexpected combinations of ingredients—without trying to impress at all costs.
The dishes
After the welcome, the meal begins gently with a very light herbal infusion, a caress to prepare us for a rollercoaster of more or less intense flavors.
Reading the name of the first dish might make you turn up your nose, as your palate struggles to combine celeriac, hazelnuts, grapefruit, and coffee, but the interplay of contrasts and nuances is fun and unexpected: the sweetness of the celeriac, the toasted notes of the hazelnuts, the acidity of the grapefruit, and the bitter finish of the coffee create a bizarre but refined balance.
The cheese cart is not what you think it is, but rather everything you think it is, summarized in a single dish: 3-month aged pecorino cheese, primosale vaccino cheese, Gorgonzola cream, gin gel, and burnt cream powder for a bitter touch that breaks up the intensity—and recalls the wood color of the cart itself. An interesting and delicious final harmony.
Radicchio and raspberries is one of the most noteworthy dishes, even from an aesthetic point of view: the bitterness of the radicchio blends with the acidity and sweetness of the raspberries, while the different textures and the temperature of the raspberry sorbet amplify the complexity.
Another (successful!) experiment by chef Marchini is the dish dedicated to pasta: for a few minutes, I felt like I was in a food hall in a large Asian city, but with a flavor we know well: garlic, oil, and chili pepper combined in ravioli, like gyoza. Delicate, but with just the right amount of spice.
Cooked wheat with fenugreek, pollen, and frozen lemon is a dish with a strong sour taste, bold but pleasant overall. However, the balance between the very strong flavor and the portion size may vary depending on individual tastes. Personally, I would have preferred a smaller portion.
With Zuppa di fagioli (bean soup), the idea of traditional legume soup is reinterpreted with different textures and varieties, revealing the richness of flavor and nutrients that a single ingredient can offer.
The meal concludes with Finocchio, mulled wine made with Lambrusco di Modena. In this dish, the sweetness of fennel meets Lambrusco transformed into mulled wine, in a combination that reminds us of where we are and envelops the palate with intense, spicy aromas.
Aged garlic and coconut: certainly not a traditional dessert, unlike the “zuppa inglese” or Torta Barozzi found in this region, but a finale that leaves a lasting impression: the aged garlic loses its pungent note to reveal its delicacy, while the coconut balances everything in an unexpected way with its freshness.
A lovely ending to a menu that showcases excellent technique in pursuit of taste, and a surprising ability to combine textures, temperatures, and nuances of flavor. In retrospect, the impression is that the dishes are the result of a meticulous process of research to achieve the best combination of ingredients, and above all, it is clear how much the chef and his team enjoyed creating and refining the recipes, striking a balance between a desire to be daring, to test themselves and to satisfy the customer.
Address
L'Erba del Re
Via Castelmaraldo, 45, 41121 Modena MO
Phone: +39 059 218188
