16-04-2018
Morelli and Schiaffino during the four-handed dinner at Morelli Milano (photo by Devid Rotasperti)
Some stories, you must tell from the end. This is one such case. The image that struck me, from the four-handed dinner with Giancarlo Morelli and Peruvian Pedro Miguel Schiaffino at Morelli Milano is that of a dish with spicy rice and a frittata on top, which the chefs shared at the end of the service on the counter of Bulk, the bistro and mixology bar that makes an essential part of Morelli. A shot that represents their joint vision, interpreted in six dishes that are only geographically distant, and by a list of cocktails in which Pisco stood out.
A photo from Giancarlo Morelli’s travels to Peru Morelli and Schiaffino met when the starred chef from Pomiroeu in Seregno first visited Peru. «We shook hands and were friends right away. A union of souls», he says. This though the final sparkle was thanks to "chonta", tagliatelle made with palm heart from the Amazon forest, stripped by hand, with a local nut grated on top – a dish that left a mark in the heart of the chef from Bergamo.
A photo from Giancarlo Morelli’s travels to Peru
However, it was Beatrice Peruzzi, business partner of Morelli in Via Fioravanti, who acted as "Cupid" between Morelli and Peru. Ten years ago she was the one to instil in the chef at Hotel Viu the desire to discover the South American country when she arrived with Gastón Acurio’s jacket and a Peruvian cookbook.
Such ingredients of course include tapioca and yuca (also known as manioca) presented during the Milanese dinner in the shape of bread, and as a base for a cream on which they placed some snails.
Corvina, dandelion and Timut pepe
Morelli was fascinated by this focus right from his first journey to Peru: «In modern Peruvian cuisine – he says – there’s no space for egotism: young chefs do not want to transform a perfect gift bestowed by nature. The result of their humility is a sincerity that one can find in their dishes, it’s moving and unforgettable. Perhaps this is how who can be reborn: by choosing to take one step back».
Asparagus, masato and sea truffle (photo by Devid Rotasperti)
Translated into English by Slawka G. Scarso
Reviews, recommendations and trends from Italy, signed by all the authors of Identità Golose
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A journalist from Catania, now in Milan, she was born in 1966. «I travel, meet people and tell stories on Volevofareilgiornalista» and on numerous other publications