The future of fresh pasta

German chef Heinz Beck, working at La Pergola in Rome for 21 years is with two of his trusted collaborators: «Sous-chef Giovanni Solofra and Heros De Agostini, with me since 1994. I will speak now, and they will work», he jokes, bringing his 3-Michelin star humour overseas. The lesson is focused on two beautiful dishes, «One is more contemporary. The other, is not really traditional but can be made at home».

For The Sea, he uses a lyophilising machine in this case to transform purple potatoes and scampi claws into a cube which will be later demolished thanks to a jus of crustaceans in a bowl with small scampi, clams, chervil, dill and edible flowers. «It’s like feeling the waves, the rocks, in the palate». Very true: a subtle and very aromatic iodine note emerges in the mouth. This is also «A dish thanks to which you give the body what it lost during the day: magnesium, potassium…».

The idea for the second dish, Fagottelli with butter and Grana Padano with a parsley sauce and Calvisius caviar was born one night: «When I return home after work, I often prepare a stock with boiled capellini pasta, as in a soup, which is very popular in Italy. I then add Grana Padano and a little oil. That’s it. Except I wanted to update my night version which is not worthy of a 3 Michelin star restaurant».

On closer inspection, the dish is also an evolution of his very famous Fagottelli alla carbonara, were born thanks to this idea: «Why should carbonara be so heavy? The solution is putting the sauce in the filling». In this case we have cream, Grana Padano, whipped cream and a pinch of salt inside. The parsley sauce balances the sweetness with a pleasant bitter wave. Then there’s the blessed small heaps of Calvisius caviar: «I once used Iranian caviar», said Beck, «Yet Italian caviar can also maintain high hygiene standards, it’s safer for my clients».

It’s now the turn of Andrew Zimmermann, ex musician, winner of Iron Chef and rising star in the Italian-Asian scene in Chicago with Sepia, «A very nice restaurant indeed», certifies Paolo Marchi. The lesson starts with a small typo: "Tortoloni" which are in fact tortelloni. This offers the chance to introduce an important theme, as pointed by Marchi: «How thick should pasta be? I think it should be thin because the taste of the filling must prevail, or you’d use dry pasta».

Zimmermann agrees and seasons his preparation of fresh pasta with fun anecdotes such as: «I’ve never used the gestures of Italian women but trust me, my pasta is just as good». Or, «If you can’t close the Tortoloni, take a small child, with his miniature hands he’ll know how to close it better than an adult». However, it would be hard to hand all that goes around fresh pasta to a child: the Tortoloni are cooked with a sweet potato miso, with matsutake mushrooms, kombu dashi and spruce.

This dish combines the guy’s two great passions: Japan/Asia and Italy. And it is born from a classic format from Northern Italy, tortelloni served in broth, often paired with seasonal mushrooms. The salt from the red spruce ties the Japanese mushrooms with the sweet potato. The white miso is used in the sweet potato dough and the mushrooms will float in a light kombu dashi, a trick that adds a strong umami flavour. Great balance and lightness.