“Sea or mountain? One of the most popular question when it comes to travel, landscapes, products and also food and wine. My road trip to discover the most particular flavors and tastes also led me to taste dishes that best interpret the essence and intense flavors of the blue sea. Calls and scents of one of the elements that I love most in life. But the mountain has always inspired me, I have always loved to eat in those high altitude wooden chalets, in the old huts surrounded by the mountains where you can enjoy the traditions of mountain cuisine.
Here is a list of the 5 dishes that most remind me of these two elements: the sea and the mountains:
- The King Crab del Noma, Copenhagen. I am impressed with Redzepi’s signature dish: the King Crab. By scanning the QR Code on the phone found in the sand on which the King Crab was laid, it was possible to reconstruct its origins (it weighed almost 3 kg and came from Norway, in spite of traceability …). Impossible not to mention the king of the crustaceans of the North Seas.
- The lamb fillet from Inter Scaldes (Kruiningen, the Netherlands). Served with fennel, sea lavender, thyme and more chili peppers. A dish that reminds me of the mountains thanks to the strong and pungent aroma of thyme and the tender and tasty lamb meat combined with lavender that gives a touch of almost noble elegance to the whole, bringing me back to the expanses of lavender close to the sea almost up to smell it
- The hollow bone filled with a lamb tartare, mountain pesto, mountain pepper and an excellent sweet butter from St. Hubertus by chef Niederkoffler. The Dolomites are clear and visible on this plate. St. Hubertus has chosen to “cook the mountain” with local dishes, to promote territoriality and seasonality
- The crab salad from Il Faro di Capo d’Orso. The signature dish, incidentally also the dish I liked most about lunch: natural crab, grated lemon (Capo d’Orso lighthouse also has its own lemon grove), tomato confit, a consommé disc of jellied tomato , on which a sour cream, herring caviar and sea urchin is whipped. The lighthouse is located on the Amalfi Coast, precisely in Maiori. Overlooking the sea. With a breathtaking panorama. This until you get to taste the creations of Sodano: tasty, imaginative and in complete harmony with the flavors of the sea.
- The marinated shrimp, passion fruit seeds and Mauro Uliassi pink pepper oil. When I talk about the sea, I can’t fail to mention Uliassi that gives me endless emotions every time. Starting from the location between the canal port and the beach. A place that, as their website says, is always beautiful, in all seasons, with the wind or rain, with the snow or when the days are motionless in the summer sun.
