2016 dish by dish (3)

Giorgio Damini, Damini & Affini, Arzignano (Vicenza)

My caesar salad – The idea certainly came after my experience in London, when I discovered how a sauce is capable of totally changing a salad’s taste. I thus tried to enhance all the ingredients by dividing them one by one, without mixing anything, then some butcher’s technique with the dehydrated meat instead of the chicken and, finally, Eugenio Pol’s bread

Alessandro Dal Degan, La Tana, Asiago (Vicenza)

Flambé raw duck, Jerusalem artichoke, beech leaves and mountain ash – It’s a dish that represents the cold season and the monochromatic winter thanks to its bitter-salty notes and its colours. A homage to slowness

Alessio Longhini, Stube Gourmet dell'hotel Europa, Asiago (Vicenza)

Carnaroli rice mixed with a cream of Jerusalem artichoke, raw amberjack, stout caramel, salmon roe – A dish that reflects my experience. It unites different flavours and textures

Alfio Ghezzi, Locanda Margon, Trento

Non aglio e olio, non cacio e pepe, ma insolito Trentino - Spaghetti Monograno Felicetti, TrentoDoc Ferrari Perlé, Trentingrana and extra virgin olive oil Garda Trentino Pod Uliva... A dish that is born thanks to the inspiration given by Bottura: «...are we really sure tradition respects a territory?». And is prepared with the techniques used for two classics, aglio e olio and cacio e pepe, though interpreted in the style of Trentino

Giuliano Baldessari, Aqua Crua, Barbarano Vicentino (Vicenza)

Mungotto with scallops, sagebrush and clay – I present it because it offers an excellent different interpretation of risotto. Mungotto is the name I gave to "risotto" made with mung beans instead of rice

Lionello Cera, Antica Osteria Cera, Campagna Lupia (Venezia)

Cold spaghetti with cauliflower, champagne rosé, scampi and oyster – A dish born after cooking cauliflower and squilla mantis shells. I thought of adding some acidity so I reduced some champagne with star anise. Then the raw scampi tartare and a piece of oyster to recall the sea

Nicola Dinato, Feva, Castelfranco Veneto (Treviso)

Risotto with broccoli from Bassano, squilla mantis, mandarin, anchovies - "...with tangerine trees and broccoli skies...". This is an edited version of a verse from The Beatles’ Lucy in the Skies with Diamonds. We present the Italian essence in a wintery first course that is inspired by the local territory (broccoli from Bassano del Grappa, squilla mantis from the Lagoon of Venice), but other areas too (Sicilian mandarins, anchovy colatura from Cetara). All this united by a great rice, namely Principato di Lucedio

Giuseppe D’Aquino, Oseleta, Cavaion Veronese (Verona)

Spaghetti with piennolo tomatoes, burrata and lemon zest – A simple dish that has become a must at restaurant Oseleta. A dish which, according to many, deserves the trip alone

Riccardo Gaspari, El Brite de Larieto, Cortina d'Ampezzo (Belluno)

Mountain spaghetti – The aroma of the woods challenges Italian tradition in a simple recipe of spaghetti garlic and oil

Donato Episcopo, La Corte dell'hotel Villa Abbazia, Follina (Treviso)

Almonds from Toritto, compote of “paradiso” figs, bay leaf sponge and moka ice cream – This dessert was born from a whim of my mother’s who, when I was leaving for a trip, decided to hide a jar of dried figs in my suitcase. I remember that as a kid, when I visited my aunts or grandparents, they used to serve dried figs with an almond in the middle and a small piece of bay leaf with coffee (a custom of my homeland, Salento)

Alberto Basso, 3Quarti, Grancona (Vicenza)

Rice and milk, honey, raspberry beer spheres, raspberry and currants – Rice and milk is about tradition, a poor food par excellence in our area. We thus started from this and from simplicity and created an unusual dessert and in some ways extreme too. The rice is cooked in milk and creamed with gorgonzola, to add a touch of sapidity, plus wood honey from Rigoni di Asiago. We serve it with dehydrated raspberries, currants and spheres of raspberry beer

Nicola Portinari, La Peca, Lonigo (Vicenza)

Chargrilled eel with guava and tamarind – Guests have a difficult approach with eel because of its fatness. Hence the challenge of creating a dish worth recommending in order to be later praised and desired again. It is crispy outside and soft inside, with the guava’s fresh tannins balancing the fatness of the eel and the tamarind sweetening and making the rustic and lightly earthy flavour more elegant and velvety

Leandro Luppi, Vecchia Malcesine, Malcesine (Verona)

Open raviolo made with spaghetti, lake and saffron – An obvious tribute to Marchesi’s Raviolo aperto and Scabin’s vacuum cooked spaghetti. Plus my lake

Lorenzo Cogo, El Coq, Marano Vicentino (Vicenza)

Return to sapidity – Anchovy preserved in salt, turnip, tarragon, fermented kiwi, petals of artichoke and sea grapes

Piergiorgio Siviero, Lazzaro 1915, Pontelongo (Padova)

Scam-pato verso i colli – Scampi from Chioggia toasted in saor, salted walnut and dandelion, chips of Jerusalem artichoke. Leaving the valleys of Chioggia along the Bacchiglione river, a journey full of my homeland’s history and territory

Massimiliano Alajmo, Le Calandre, Rubano (Padova)

Almond mozzarella – A fake mozzarella made with a cooked dough of sugar, honey and egg white puffed as in cotton candy, without colorants or other artificial additives. The aromatic structure of this dish recalls a real mozzarella thanks to the presence of water, extra virgin olive oil, oregano and candied vegetables. Irony and imagination make it possible to dress up an almond and project it into a new dimension, so that people can rediscover in a few seconds the texture, aroma and look of milk in a dessert that hasn’t got the slightest touch of it – photo by Bob Noto

Pierchristian Zanotto, Gambrinus, San Polo di Piave (Treviso)

Gamblù – This is our vegetal "blue cheese" refined with organic rabosa grapes, celeriac and pink pepper bread. Following our ethical and responsible cuisine project, without forsaking the deliciousness of great cheese

Oliver Piras e Alessandra del Favero, Aga dell'hotel Villa Trieste, San Vito di Cadore (Belluno)

Linguine, blueberries, hop and raw beef sausage – We recreated the same PH as tomato using two types of blueberries and the seasoning recalls the classic sauce from the Campidano valley, where I come from

Fabrizia Meroi, Laite, Sappada (Belluno)

Piatto del Piave – Lightly marinated artic char, yogurt aromatised with river camomile, sauce of sweet potatoes and oil with watercress, meringues with spirulina seaweed and sparkling sweet.
This dish is dedicated to the river that is born in Sappada. Moreover, 2015 was the 100th anniversary of the First World War in Italy, a historic event in which the river Piave had a main role

Corrado Fasolato, Spinachile Resort, Schio (Vicenza)

Red mullet filet with iceberg of winter vegetables and moka of forest sprouts – It’s a red mullet cooked at low temperature and then put on an iceberg of vegetables (blended and syphoned at -40°) and a thick hen broth. On top of all this we pour an aromatic extract of forest sprouts with fresh curls of chestnut wood. The heat melts the iceberg and all the ingredients turn into a soup

Andrea Stella, Dalla Libera, Sernaglia della Battaglia (Treviso)

Puffed potato gnocchi with anchovy from Cetara and puntarelle – My aunt Libera prepared excellent gnocchi already fifty years ago; so I decided to present them in a new shape and texture. They are puffed in the oven while the base is made with anchovies from Cetara which are typically less salty than others. The crispiness is given by the puntarelle

Michele Cella, Basilico Tredici, Treviso

Rice, charcoal, salted cod and “saor” – I’m particularly fond of this dish as it was awarded as the best recipe in the sixth edition of the Festival Triveneto del Baccalà. It fully represents my philosophy in the kitchen, as there are some local products I love. It reflects my interpretation of tradition – photo by Tobia Berti

Francesco Brutto, Undicesimo Vineria, Treviso

Sour rice – This rice is cooked in fermented pomegranate juice and then seasoned with three powders: fruits of the forest, hibiscus and burnt zest of chulo key lime. What interests me it’s the different acidities composing it, which are definitely different and all recognisable: the acid-sweetness of the pomegranate, the acid-bitterness of the powdered lemon. All the ingredients are homemade

Alessandro Intini, Nidaba, Montebelluna (Treviso)

Chargrilled vegetables, pumpkin and miso purée, saké gel, black cabbage, fried spinach – There’s nothing simpler than feeding oneself from what the earth offers, there’s nothing harder than doing so

Andrea Asoli, Serena Baiano, Michelangelo Doria, Sabina Joksimovic, Venissa, Venezia

Pazzi "a' …mare" - Ruotepazze Benedetto Cavalieri, seafood, water of date tomatoes and coral sand. The seafood changes texture, becoming a gel and filling the wheel-shaped pasta which is mixed with the water from the molluscs. The sea bursts in a mouthful

Giancarlo Perbellini, Casa Perbellini, Verona

Smoked quail, confit tomatoes, artichokes, pistachios and cream of Grana Padano – Already in the menu before 2016, a big success in 2015, this dish marks the new work at Casa Perbelliniand was praised by all our guests so we’ll keep it as long as artichokes are in season

Italo Bassi, Confusion Lounge, Verona

Salmon in guacamole sauce wrapped with rice paper, with ponzu gelatine, toasted almonds, ikurae and leche de tigre with mango – An interpretation of a simple salmon tartare crossing our borders. East and Central America meet in one sole dish

Matteo Rizzo, Il Desco, Verona

Parmigiana with black cod and its tripe – I present it due to its connection with my family’s history. It expresses my experiences and ideas

Simone Lugoboni, Oste Scuro, Verona

Steamed Breton lobster on Jerusalem artichoke cream and chips aromatised with orange – A seasonal dish (Jerusalem artichoke and orange) which enhances Breton or blue lobster (much better than the Canadian one) and reminds me of my work experience in France when I was young

Norbert Niederkofler, St. Hubertus del Rosa Alpina, Badia (Bolzano)

Snails with parsley root, wild broccoli and venere rice – The idea for this dish? Slow down a little bit in our life: there are many beautiful things worth seeing and enjoying and we should take some time to appreciate these moments. The concept of Cook the Mountain is as strong as ever in our work and now, with the arrival of Care's we complete it with a work focused on a sustainable and educated future. These are our thoughts for tomorrow - photo Daniel Töchterle

Giorgio Schifferegger, Valier dell'hotel Four Points, Bolzano

Octopus, fregola and horseradish – That is to say my octopus dressed up as a goulash

Federico Belluco, Dopolavoro Dining Room, Venezia

Raw amberjack with emulsion of mussels "au gratin" – This dish was born to recall one of the greatest classics in Italian seafood cuisine, mussels au gratin from the bacari in Venice. In this new take, however, they become the seasoning for the raw fish

Alessandro Gilmozzi, El Molin, Cavalese (Trento)

Tosella cheese, freshwater sardines, birch, sorrel and white lichen – My idea behind this recipe is enhancing a cheese made with the first curdle. It is matched with candied birch, an ice cream of freshwater sardines and spheres of sorrel extract. Finally there’s the white lichen which makes everything magic thanks to its scents of mushroom and earth from the Dolomites

Martin Obermarzoner, Jasmin dell'hotel Bischofhof, Chiusa (Bolzano)

Balfego red tuna and foie gras de canarde fillet – A magical dish from the even more magic Anne-Sophie Pic. I had it at her restaurant and I was so impressed I wanted to create a homage. Hence the dish, in our interpretation

Chris Oberhammer, Tilia, Dobbiaco (Bolzano)

Smoked local venison with polenta and mushroom pie, beetroot cooked in red wine – It’s the dish I’m most fond of, given it recalls some of the traditions from my area, the use of game in cooking and smoking, as with speck

Enrico Croatti, Dolomieu del DV Chalet, Madonna di Campiglio (Trento)

Turanici with squilla mantis and rosole – Recalling the classic small maccheroni with squilla mantis typical of the coast in Romagna... Rosole is a wild herb used raw and slightly marinated with salt and oil to make the classic cassoni from Romagna... Rediscovering turanico, an ancient and forgotten wheat variety... The real simplicity is supported by the soul and a culinary history that will have no end

Alessandro Bellingeri, Osteria de l'Acquarol, Panchià (Trento)

The expression of Temolo: raw, cooked and marinated – With this dish I wanted to recreate a barbecue in the woods after a day spent fishing

Matteo Metullio, La Siriola del Ciasa Salares, San Cassiano (Bolzano)

Cotechino, scampi, yuzu and green tomatoes – The idea comes from my long desire to include boiled meat in the menu. As it was recently Christmas, I thought of cotechino. Moreover it’s not the first time I match fish and meat. I respectively pair them with classic elements: hence the union of citrus fruits and seafood (scampi and yuzu) and boiled meat and mostarda (cotechino and green tomato chutney)

Gerhard Wieser, Trenkerstube dell'hotel Castel, Tirolo (Bolzano)

Artic char filet with local carrots and chervil – It’s a typical local dish. I only use local carrots produced by my favourite farmer and artic char from Val Passiria

Stefano Ghetta, L Chimpl da Tamion del Gran Mugon, Vigo di Fassa (Trento)

Celeriac, Trentingrana and truffle – I’m proud of this recipe because you can make a very elegant dish with a poor ingredient as celeriac, thanks also to Trentingrana and some precious truffle

Mario Porcelli, Alpenroyal, Selva di Val Gardena (Bolzano)

Crest of fresh pasta, oxtail, porcini, truffle and carrots – The pasta crest has certainly some unmistakable flavours that, put together, create a captivating culinary experience. The aim is to unite classic and modern cuisine, as with the stew (the pasta’s stuffing) and the cream of carrots cooked at low temperature

Josko Sirk e Alessandro Gavagna, La Subida, Cormons (Gorizia)

Friuli and its roots – Rose from Gorizia, crispy petals, roots dampened in grape vinegar and cherry honey; lightly fermented brovada; Jerusalem artichoke, its heart al dente, the skin crispy; horseradish, softened in natural yogurt; boar meat ciccioli, playing with flavours. An alternative way to build a vegetarian dish, in terms of philosophy rather than taste. Finally there’s the wild boar, the last link in the chain, which feeds itself with all the above-mentioned ingredients – photo by Sergio Coimbra

Antonia Klugmann, L'Argine, Dolegna del Collio (Gorizia)

Rose from Gorizia, venison, pollen and blueberry broth – The dish is almost entirely raw. Blueberries are the most cooked ingredient!

Ilija Pejic, Ilija al Golf Club, Tarvisio (Udine) 

Mackerel, beetroot and fermented ricotta sandwich – Over here, we once used to eat lots of sandwiches with mackerel, cheese and pickles. I wanted to give new lightness and dignity to this recipe. Hence the mackerel is cooked in oil, the fresh ricotta has a note of acidity and the beetroot is seasoned with star anise. And of course there’s a slice of crispy bread