Bottoni di grano arso (burnt wheat pasta), buffalo ricotta, lemon, red shrimp | Pasquale Tozzi

“A trip to the south: Bottoni di grano arso (burnt wheat bottoni), buffalo ricotta, lemon, and red shrimp is a dish I created to remember my homeland, Campania, and more precisely, one person, my mother.” These are the words ofPasquale Tozzi, chef at Ristorante Il Pescatore and Ristorante Magnolia. “On Sundays and holidays, such as Easter, she always made me tortelli with buffalo ricotta, tomato sauce (cooked slowly for at least 4 hours), salt, oil, pepper, and fresh parsley.” Chef Pasquale Tozzi's idea comes from the past, but looks to the future, because he wants to give the dish a contemporary twist, with burnt wheat flour, widely used in Puglia, bouillabaisse, a French fish soup, homemade candied lemon, and red prawns from Mazara del Vallo. The first course can be ordered from the menu at Il Pescatore restaurant, but also from the Lasciati guidare tasting menu, one of two tasting menus, where the chef has free rein to express himself.

RECIPE

Ingredients for 4

For the burnt wheat bottoni

• 150 g burnt wheat flour
• 50 g strong flour
• 50 g semolina
• 105 g egg yolk
• 75 g whole eggs

Procedure

Knead all the ingredients together without overheating the dough. Leave to rest for at least half an hour in the refrigerator.

For the ricotta

• 300 g fresh buffalo ricotta cheese
• Salt to taste
• Pepper to taste
• Parsley to taste

Procedure

Open the ricotta and leave it to dry for at least one night in the fridge on a perforated tray. Season with salt, pepper, and chopped parsley.

For the bouillabaisse

• 1 ripe tomato
• 1 carrot
• ½ fennel
• 1 orange peel
• 1 g Garda saffron pistils
• 500 g sea fish carcasses
• 1 bay leaf
• Thyme to taste
• 50 cl vermouth
• 1 onion
• 1 clove of garlic
• 2 l water

Procedure

Brown the vegetables and orange peel, add the fish and shellfish trimmings. Deglaze with vermouth, add the herbs and saffron. Cover with cold water. Simmer for an hour.

Strain and reduce.

For the candied lemon

• 1 untreated lemon
• 1.8 kg water
• 680 g sugar
• 35 g salt

Procedure

Leave the lemons in water overnight. Cut them into wedges and place them in a syrup made with water (500 g), sugar (200 g), and salt (10 g). Bring to a boil. Drain the lemons and leave to cool. Prepare the same syrup with water, sugar and salt. Add the lemons. Bring to the boil. Drain the lemons and leave to cool.

Prepare a syrup with 300 g water, 80 g sugar and 5 g salt. Bring to the boil. Add the lemons. Bring back to the boil and remove immediately from the heat. Leave the lemons to cool in the syrup.

Dish composition

• 6/8 red prawns from Mazara del Vallo
• Salt to taste
• Pepper to taste
• Extra-virgin olive oil

Procedure

Cook the bottoni in boiling salted water. Drain and toss in a pan with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil. Arrange on a plate.

Season the shrimp tartare with extra-virgin olive oil, salt, and pepper. Place on top of each bottone. Cut the lemons into concassé. Place a square on top of each bottone. Pour the hot bouillabaisse into the center of the plate.