A boy with an infectious enthusiasm: this is the impression you immediately get to know Cristoforo Trapani, executive chef of the restaurant The Magnolia of the Hotel Byron in Forte dei Marmi, a Michelin star. Despite his very young age (born in 1988), he has collaborated with some of the most important names on the national and international gastronomic scene, including Heinz Beck, Antonino Cannavacciuolo, Moreno Cedroni, Davide Scabin, Mauro Colagreco and recently Yannik Alléno le roi of the Pavillon Ledoyen in Paris.
A path among the stars that convinced him of the importance of enhance the raw materials of the territory, interpreting them according to the acquired techniques of haute cuisine, without ever resorting to fireworks. His is in fact a menu that ranges between the Neapolitan tradition and the influences of the land that welcomed him, Tuscany, in a balance of textures and flavors that always leaves those who taste it speechless, in a sort of gustatory ecstasy.
"For me, cooking is an experience of great pleasure, in which the customer must be exalted by the flavors and aromas of a dish, but being able to recognize the ingredients that make up the recipe. Mine is a clean kitchen, without pindaric flights. The foams, as I always say, remain those for the beard, which I use in the morning .
In the kitchen of Cristoforo enter raw materials supplied by small local producers, the vegetables come directly from Mother Felicia's garden, everything is chosen with obsessive care, with great respect for small production companies.
Among the favorite ingredients of Cristoforo Trapani could not miss the pasta, a love born in a cradle for him originally from Piano di Sorrento, a town on the sea of the Sorrento Coast. So loved that he has dedicated an entire menu to the genre, from appetizer to dessert: a crunchy rigatone, with tomato, with cream of buffalo mozzarella and basil and pastiera soufflé. A journey of memory to ancestral flavors.
For "La Cucina Italiana" Cristoforo has unveiled his recipe Crunchy courgette flower with ricotta from Garfagnana, anchovies from Viareggio and provolone del Monaco.
Ingredients
200g ricotta from Garfagnana, 10 courgette flowers, 5 anchovies in oil, 5 cherry tomatoes, salt, basil, sunflower oil for frying.
For the tempura
150 g cornstarch, 150 g 00 flour, 150g rice flour, carbonated water, ice.
For the Provolone del Monaco fondue
150 g cream, 150 g Provolone del Monaco.
Method
Open the flowers by removing the internal petioles. In a bastardella, add the three flours with sparkling water and ice, stirring slowly with a wooden spoon. Meanwhile, in a saucepan, pour the cream and add the grated provolone. In the meantime, bring the oil to fry at a temperature (160 ° C).
Immerse the open flowers in the tempura, removing the excess part with your fingers. After that, put the flowers in the oil and brown them, then remove them from the oil and dry them. Stir in the ricotta with salt, pepper and basil. Blanch the cherry tomatoes and make some petals.
Arrange the dish by alternating the courgette flowers with the ricotta, adding the cherry tomatoes, anchovy fillets and basil. Pour the fondue and eat the flowers with your hands.
