Cera and the miracle of bread and fish

«My father was a fisherman, and he had to use the small fish that nobody at the market wanted». At the 15th edition of Identità Golose, the speech given by Lionello Cera, patron chef at two-starred Antica Osteria Cera in Campagna Lupia (Venice) started with a family flashback: «And my mother, who before that time used to run a small osteria in Vicenza, had the idea of selling cicchetti, small portions of fried fish». In order to build new memories, you necessarily need to start from the ancient ones, which act as a necessary springboard to strengthen the present and jump into the future.

The inclusion of the Venetian chef in Identità di Pane e Pizza, the section of the congress created in collaboration with Petra Molino Quaglia, is soon explained: «For me bread is a crucial element in the kitchen, and it’s always present in my dishes». So his Risotto con "pan e sardee" (that is to say bread and sardines) becomes a summary of bread and memories. It’s a seemingly simple idea, which creates a new memory with a contemporary original taste, but deeply rooted into the past.

It’s a dish full of virtuous technique and emotion. It vibrates in the palate thanks to the aromatic energy of the sardines, which explodes in the slowly cooked Acquerello rice prepared with a sardine and sea fumet and mixed with a concentrated cream of sardines, and in the fun crispiness of the sardines seared in the oven, chopped and then mixed with some oven-toasted bread. «I often use the inside part of the bread to make a neutral sauce that I use to thicken other sauces».

The final touch to the work, is given by a bread sauce and a white sauce made with iodine water and garlic.