Purists in Italy will tell you that cheese and fish or seafood do not work together and they will probably be right. But like in everything in life, there are always exceptions to the rule. The further South in Italy you go, the least the rule becomes rigid and there are examples of Sicilian dishes for example which break this rule. I have also come across stuffed squid with smoked provolone from the Campania region in Italy which proved exquisite.
When a three Michelin star chef of the calibre of Heinz Beck (see interview here) proposes a pasta dish which has as one of its main elements Grana Padano and then combined it with shrimps you need to stop and think. It is a dish that in a way challenges you. The German chef of La Pergola served this dish at Flemish Food Bash.
The cheese was not added at the end but was rather integrated into the pasta with the potatoes which was probably the reason why it worked so well.
Here is the recipe:
Serves 4
Ingredients
Pea Purée
- 500 gr fresh peas
- 20 gr onion
- 2 sheets of gelatin
- extra virgin olive oil
- salt
- pepper
Lime marinated shrimps
- 12 shrimps
- Lime juice
- Lime zest
- Extra virgin olive oil
- salt
Smoked potato
- 2 potatoes
- extra virgin olive oil
- salt
- 50 gr beech wood chip
Pasta dressing
- 100 gr Grana Padano, grated
- Freshly ground black pepper
Pasta
- 320 gr Gnocchetti di zita De Cecco
Method
Pea purée
Shell and wash the peas. Fry the onion over low heat with extra virgin olive oil, add the peas and the vegetable stock. Once cooked, mix all and add the gelatin previously soaked in cold water and squeezed. Pour the mixture in a syphon with 2 refills of gas.
Lime marinated shrimps
Clean the shrimps, de vein them and rinse other cold running water. Cut in half and marinate with extra virgin olive oil, lime juice and grated lime zest. Remove from the marinade when ready to complete the dish.
Smoked potatoes
Peel the potatoes, dice them and cook in boiling salted water for a few minutes. Drain them and season with salt, pepper and extra virgin olive oil. Place the wood chips in a hot over together with the potatoes and leave them to smoke for 3 minutes.
How to prepare the dish
Cook the pasta until ‘al dente’ in boiling salted water. Dress with the smoked potatoes, Grana Padano cheese and black pepper until they are amalgamated. Then put the pea purée at the bottom of the place, add the pasta and complete the dish with the lime marinated shrimps.
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