The titanic Lombardo

Christ stopped fifty-four point one km before – so much for good luck. You try and convince the son of the Almighty to get from Eboli to Caggiano, three thousand souls (2864 in fact) clinging to the highest peak in the province of Salerno. With the Alburni mountains opposite, while one can only imagine the bay of Paestum behind the rocks, though without any nostalgia as the view is breath-taking, nonetheless, and the air is sparkling, preserving the liveliness.

«What are you doing here, come to New York, or perhaps Paris», or even Milan if you want to stay in your country. This is the same old story Vitantonio Lombarbo, starred chef based in Caggiano, has to listen to regularly, just like all the chefs who partly because they’re mad and partly because they are giants, decided to stay in their small villages. «They are the mad ones», he repeats to himself when he looks, with a warm heart, at the edge between the mountains and the sky, from the windows of Locanda Severino, a few steps from home, where Giulia and Nicolina wait for him, having his love next to him, without the need for endless commuting.

Caggiano in other words, perhaps is not the centre of the world yet it is certainly the heart of all the Lombardo-universe where Locanda Severino shines like the most southern star in Campania, almost in Basilicata, «now that even my dear friend Frank (Rizzuti) is no longer with us». The news is that not only the chef from Lucania stays there, but in order to restate this fact he recently renovated the inn named after the excellent village carpenter, whom everyone respected and adored, just like one should with the great master artisans.

The chef indeed took a long journey before returning here. A sequence of masters, so long half would have been more than enough, from Paolo Teverini to Silver Succi, from his national eminence Vissani, to his genius Davide Scabin. «Feeling first, friendship later» and then what can you say? First the need to say thanks, to offer a homage to a friend, this is how Pizza in black was born, fried pizza with a dough made with vegetal carbon dedicated to the leader of Combal, quoting in a very open way the master’s very famous Black is black.

Both dishes have been successful, have provided a lesson and have been explained at Identità Golose both at the latest eleventh congress, which has just taken place, and in the Big Apple. Lombardo’s total black is a very light version of fried pizza, which may sound as an oxymoron though in fact it isn’t. «This black is entirely given by products from my land, the black is indeed made with active carbon», something everyone does now, though only after him. A first-birth that began in the oven (nothing against wood ovens: «do not speak ill of them, for God’s sake, let’s clean them, rather»), from the combustion of wood without the use of fire, which is burnt and then powdered.

In other words, this ingredient doesn’t only give colours but also «digestibility to the fried pizza, which usually makes you think of something heavy». The carbon therefore ends up in the dough made in 36 long hours of leavening at controlled temperature (7°C), and then fried. Black, it’s a known fact, always looks good, the same goes for Lombardo’s dish, which is always in the menu, yet always different. «The topping is a variation of truffle, a rich product from our territory which changes flavours depending on the variety available at the time».

Indeed, the topping is made with an elegant truffle sauce, in the French style, but using Aglianico instead of Port. And then there’s fresh truffle, and also truffle caviar (the juice is spherified), and mixed with ricotta whisked with fresh cream and cheese. Keeping it short, the aroma arrived very much ahead. Even before anyone would get back on his way.