Читать книгу Made in Italy: Food and Stories - Giorgio Locatelli - Страница 64

Near to our house in London is a small Sardinian restaurant, a family affair, very local, offering simple things – the kind of place I used to know when I was growing up. We would often take Margherita there for a pizza, and the owner, who is also the chef, would always bring us out a plate of beautiful bottarga with carasau, the famous crisp bread of Sardegna. After a while, I got talking to him, and he told me he brings in the bottarga himself from Sardegna, where his brother still lives. So we started to buy some from him. I liked the way he served just a little of it before the meal, with a drink, and so we began experimenting with something you could serve to people in a Chinese spoon – one mouthful of flavour. In spring, when I believe the bottarga to be at its best, English radishes are also in season, and the two are just brilliant together. There is something about the heat that comes at the end of the radish that complements the salty bottarga experience, which carries on in your nose and mouth in the same way as that of truffles. Remember, though, that the radish and celery need only to be very lightly seasoned with lemon juice, as the bottarga is very salty.

As a variation, instead of the radish (which incidentally in my region of Lombardia we call rapanelli, not ravanelli), we often serve the bottarga grated over a salad made with two large fennel bulbs, sliced thinly, seasoned lightly and tossed with the lemon juice and half the olive oil. Then we deseed and quarter two tomatoes, again lightly season them, and arrange them in the centre of each plate. We mix the fennel with a bunch of chives, cut into batons, and pile it on top, scatter over 50g grated bottarga, and drizzle with the rest of the oil. Or sometimes we do it in exactly the same way, but with green beans instead of the fennel. Just blanch the beans for a minute or so in boiling water, then drain and refresh under cold running water.

24 radishes

2 celery stalks

juice of 2 lemons

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus a little extra for drizzling

50g bottarga

salt and pepper

Thinly slice the radishes, using a mandoline or knife, then cut into matchsticks and put in a bowl. Cut the celery into similarly sized strips and add to the radishes. Toss with the lemon juice and half the olive oil.

Make a mound of radish and celery on each plate and finely slice or grate the bottarga on top.

Season with black pepper and drizzle with the rest of the olive oil.