Taormina, Sicily, Italy
On July 18th and 19th the wonderful Ancient Theater hosted the world premiere of the film “Devotion” by Giuseppe Tornatore, produced by Dolce & Gabbana, with the unreleased music by Ennio Morricone and the three-time Oscar winner Vittorio Storaro. The stars illuminated these dream nights, while a star (the Michelin one) shines on the wonderful terrace of the Belmond Grand Hotel Timeo which houses the Otto Geleng restaurant with its precious tables, silver, crystals, hand-embroidered tablecloths, an incomparable view of the coast and the spectacular cuisine of Chef Roberto Toro.
Toro landed in Otto Geleng after a long stay in Copenhagen, where he worked during the day and studied Danish in the evening: three years as commis at Noma and one year at Hilton, before moving to Louis XIII in Paris and Alajmo.
Roberto, congratulations on the star! Who is Otto Geleng’s clientele?
Thank you, it was truly a dream come true. Our clientele is truly international, so we have a great diversity of proposals on the menu, I would call it a cuisine of international products with a southern, Mediterranean breath and a tribute to my wonderful land.
Your signature dish?
“Otto di Mare”, a dish that contains eight types of fish that tell the story of the Sicilian sea: from the red shrimp of Mazzara del Vallo, to the shrimp of Acitrezza, it goes from cooking in oil to steaming, to the plate , all completed with a fish soup that enhances the scents and flavors and colors of Sicily.
Do you ever have free time for a weekend?
The work I do steals a lot of time from home and family, so I love to dedicate the free hours to my children Antonio and Salvatore.
What about a weekend out of the area?
I often go to Milan, the nerve center of Italian cuisine.
Do you document yourself or do you go to fortune?
I document myself and go around niche places.
One that hit you?
VUN by Andrea Aprea, two stars, in my opinion, well deserved. Deviled cuttlefish was fantastic.
Your restaurant has a Michelin star: what do you think of thoseTV battles between starred chefs?
Undoubtedly, television has brought people closer to food, but I think that certain limits have been exceeded and that certain performances lead to a surreal threshold, often sending distorted messages, which can be misinterpreted by those who would like to follow this career. One thing is the TV personality quite different from what is behind in the kitchen, his apprenticeship, his sacrifices, his continuous search to grow.
A dish that you love only if done by another person?
The spaghetti of wife Maria. It is of Sicilian origin, (laughs) well, so I can’t make them either …
What does not fit in your home fridge?
Everything in a tube … mayonnaise, ketchup, sauces. I prefer my ‘home made ‘…
An ingredient you love?
The tenerumi, typical long summer zucchini. They love water and are found in summer and early autumn. You will also find tenerumi on my menu.
Even in your recipe?
Of course, in a risotto with squid and ‘crusco’ pepper
RISOTTO WITH SQUID, TENERUMI AND ‘CRUSCO’ PEPPERS
INGREDIENTS FOR 4 PEOPLE:
320 g Carnaroli rice with Gallo reserve
500 g squid
800 g long white courgette
100 g soft leaves
450 g white onion
150 g carrot
100 g celery
0.70 g tomato paste
0.15 g squid ink
250 g cherry tomato
0.02 g garlic0.60 g pepper crusco
150 g lime
0.80 g Sicilian pecorino
0.80 g butter
Salt to taste
Pepper as needed
FOR THE VEGETABLE BROTH: Clean and cut 150 g of onion in half and then brown in a pan until lightly browned. At this point add celery, carrot, peppercorns and cold water, covering everything to cook for about 2 hours. Finally, filter the contents of the pan and keep warm.
FOR THE CREAM OF TENERUMI: Peel the zucchini and cut into small cubes. Proceed by cutting the tomatoes in half to put in a pan on a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and add 150 g of finely chopped onion. Leave to brown for a few minutes with the addition of half a clove of garlic together with the courgettes previously cut into cubes. Cover everything with the vegetable broth, mix and cook for about 30 min until the vegetable broth is completely absorbed. Then place the contents inside a blender and blend by adding extra virgin olive oil and leaves of previously blanched softeners and pass in cold water. Finally, filter the creamy mixture thus obtained with a chinoix. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
FOR THE RIPE OF SQUID Clean and cut 100 g of onion in very small brunoise. Then cut 300 g of squid into small cubes. Place the onion and squid previously cut into a pan with extra virgin olive oil and add the tomato paste by covering with water and mixing everything. Leave to cook for 30 minutes until the mixture shrinks. Then, off the heat, add the cuttlefish ink and the grated lime zest and mix everything with salt and pepper.
FOR THE VEIL OF SQUID: Place the remaining amount of cuttlefish inside a blender and blend everything until a velvety and homogeneous mixture is obtained; spread the mixture between two sheets of baking paper and beat until a thin layer is obtained. Place in a steam oven and cook at 80 ° C for 8 min. Then allow to cool and with the help of a pasta bowl (with a diameter of 14 cm) make four circular-sized plies.
FOR THE RISOTTO: Cut the remaining onion and brown until lightly browned; add the rice and continue toasting for about 5 minutes, adding hot vegetable stock gradually. Halfway through cooking add the courgette cream and finish adding more broth if necessary. Add some butter, Sicilian pecorino cheese, lime juice, salt and pepper to the mixture and mix everything.
FOR IMPACTING: With the help of a pastry cutter, arrange the risotto on the bottom of the plate and add squid ragout on top. Cover everything with the squid film and finish the dish with the previously blended sweet pepper until a powder is obtained.
INFO
Otto Geleng
Belmond Grand Hotel Timeo
Cesare Zucca
Travel, food & lifestyle.
Milanese by birth, Cesare lives between New York, Milan and the rest of the world. He travels up and down America, Europe and, of course, Italy.
He likes to photograph and narrate cities, cultures, lifestyles among discover traditional and innovative gastronomic delights. Cesare meets and interviews top chefs from all over the world, ‘stealing’ their recipes and telling everything in the ‘Non-Tourist’ style that his blog calls ‘Turista non Turista’
