Burrata soup with mackerel

The 8th of June is the World Oceans Day. Every noteworthy element has a day dedicated to it and the sea is of course no less. The day represents a spotlight on the importance of sea preservation and the theme for 2015-2016 is healthy oceans for a healthy planet.

The ocean gives according to need: it mitigates the climate, feeds millions of people and is a priceless source of medical compounds, many of which still need to be discovered. Yet oceans are drowning in micro-particles of plastic and in the pollution due to fossil fuel, they are stunned by drilling and deprived of their fish fauna. It is a multifaceted problem and the solution is complex yet democratic as it involves everyone, including the restaurant industry.

Cooking can do a lot to enrich gastronomic culture and facilitate a more sustainable fishing; chef Fabrizio Ferrari said no to the mad fishing of species such as red tuna and made space in his fridge for blue tailed fish, mullet, bonito and many other poor yet extremely tasty fish, when cooked properly. «Mullet stinks and tastes of metal yet if you marinate it and then blanch it, it becomes a very elegant dish with a very low cost» says Ferrari, who continues «my cooking is founded on fish, I respect it and waste nothing, making fish cakes and soups with scraps».

Fabrizio Ferrari will present a new dish at Identità Expo: Burrata soup with mackerel. Mackerel, a poor fish with a strong taste, is wrapped in a breading made with stale bread (nothing must be wasted) and parsley, wisely paired with the delicious yet delicate flavour of burrata, and made lighter thanks to the freshness of peaches.

Chef Fabrizio Ferrari

INGREDIENTS
500 g burrata
1 kg mackerel
2 l rapeseed oil
250 g shallot
3 medium sized nectarines
½ l water
250 ml apple vinegar
250 ml white wine
300 g white sugar
1 kg parsley
200 g bread
petal/sprouts

METHOD
Blend the burrata with some milk, so as to make it liquid. Meanwhile, blanch the parsley, remove the water and leave it to dry (for at least 20 hours) then pulverize it. Clean the shallots and cut them into four wedges. Bring the mixture of apple vinegar, white wine and sugar, to the boil, immerge the shallots and simmer for 3 minutes. Turn off the fire, leave to rest for 30 minutes and finally drain.
Clean the peaches and slice them, put them in a vacuum pack with extra virgin olive oil and seal the pack. Clean the mackerel, leave it to marinate in brine for 5 minutes, place it on a backing tin with holes and leave it to rest for at least 8 hours in the fridge. Divide the filets into halves following the bones and remove the latter with another cut. Bring the rapeseed oil to 150/160°C and fry the fish for 30/40 seconds.
Add breadcrumbs of stale bread and the powdered parsley. Alternate the ingredient clockwise on the plate: 5 slices of peach, 4 of shallot and 5 pieces of mackerel. Using a sauce bottle, pour the liquid burrata in multiple spots in the openings left between the ingredients, so as to create a uniform bed. Sprinkle more breadcrumbs and parsley and finish with the petals/sprouts.