A flavor-packed dish from chef Giuseppe Mulargia of Le Spighe Restaurant, FH55 Grand Hotel Palatino in Rome: octopus, turmeric potatoes and Roman guacamole. We pair it with Fiano di Avellino 2023 Antica Hirpinia.
Chef Giuseppe Mulargia is the winner of the prestigious“Cucina Italiana per Roma Capitale” award.
This delicious recipe of his is a tribute to the authenticity and freshness of local produce, designed to enhance seasonal aromas and flavors: fresh gutted octopus, turmeric-flavored red potatoes and a unique guacamole made with Romanesco broccoli.
Ingredients for 2 persons:
400 g fresh eviscerated octopus; 200 g Romanesco broccoli; 200 g red potatoes; turmeric; fine salt; ground black pepper; lime; 2 fresh mint leaves; ½ spring onion; green chili pepper; 1 clove poached garlic; extra virgin olive oil.
Directions:
For the octopus: Fill a pot ¾ its size with water, add 2 teaspoons salt and bring to a boil.
Dip the octopus 3 times holding it by the head making the tentacles curl, this step will allow the meat to remain more tender.
Cover with a lid and let it cook for at least 30 minutes.
Once cooked, let it cool and then cut it off, leaving the tentacles whole, keeping them aside.
For the creamed potatoes: Boil the potatoes with their skins on in plenty of salted water.
Once cooked, drain them, allowing them to cool, peel them off and cut them into coarse dice.
In a small frying pan, brown a clove of garlic in a little oil, add the potatoes, correcting with salt and pepper.
With the help of a blender, blend the potatoes, adding turmeric to taste until you reach a creamy consistency (you can help yourself with water).
Pour into a bowl and set aside.
For the Roman guacamole: wash and cut the broccoli into rosettes, cook it in plenty of water and drain it, keeping it crispy on the stem.
Once cold, place it in a blender and season with oil, lime, spring onion, green chili, mint and salt.
Blend for a few seconds leaving it “coarse,” and with the help of two dessert spoons make quenelles.
Plating: In a nonstick skillet with a drizzle of oil, brown the octopus tentacles until crispy on all sides.
Plate by placing the creamed potatoes in the center of the plate, lay the tentacle on one side and the quenelle of Roman guacamole on the opposite side.
Wine pairing:
(Edited by Stefania Vinciguerra)
Fiano di Avellino 2023 Antica Hirpinia
Bright straw yellow. Notes of yellow plum and almond stand out on the nose.
The taste is saline, fresh and pleasantly drinkable.
Production area: Irpinia, in the Docg area.
The area is one of the oldest nuclei of vine settlement, and is still characterized by the presence of centuries-old vine stocks in many vineyards.
The soil is of volcanic origin, loamy-sandy, rich in mineral elements, The vineyards are at an altitude of 500 meters and enjoy an east and southwest exposure.
Grape varieties: 100% Fiano from reproduction of bicentennial mother plants.
Guyot training system with planting density of 4000 vines per hectare.
Yield per plant is 1.3 kg and that per hectare is 60 quintals.
Harvest: by hand in small boxes
Production processes: fermentation in cement, maturation of 6 months in cement and aging of 3 months in bottle.
Serving temperature: 8-10°C
Recommended pairings: Fish dishes (baked, grilled or stewed, with shellfish, seafood), white meats and typical buffalo mozzarella.
