Dishes
| Dish Name | Restaurant | Chef | Year | Month | Description | Photo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sea Urchin Egg Risotto | Varoulko, Mikrolimano, Piraeus, Greece | Lefteris Lazarou | 2015 | 12 | Chef Lazarou manages to add the sea urchin eggs to the dish in such a way that they retain their velvety texture and flavor. In addition to the taste, the dish is colorful and a delight of the eye. It could become a painting and decorate a villa near Ercolano. |  |
| Tortelli di zucca - tagliatelle con culatello | Trattoria La Bucca, Zibello, Italia | Miriam Leonardi | 2006 | 07 | The tortelli are the elongated shapes on the left, and they are filled with pumpkin paste. The tagliatelle, on the right, are served with fresh butter, grana and culatello trimmings. |  |
| Culatello di Zibello | Trattoria La Bucca, Zibello, Italia | Miriam Leonardi | 2006 | 07 | The culatello dish is a starter in Italy, and what a wonderful starter it is! Tender and sweet, it melts in your mouth and releases the flavors of the cured meat. A little butter on the side creates the perfect harmony. Prosciutto is a lot tougher, while jamon iberico (pata negra), is more dry than the culatello. |  |
| Eel and peas (Anguilla con piselli) | Trattoria La Bucca, Zibello, Italia | Miriam Leonardi | 2006 | 07 | The eel is born and raised in the river Po, a few hundred meters away from the trattoria. The peas (piselli) are grown locally and are sweeter than honey. |  |
| Red mullet fillets fried “tempura style” and served on a bed of a light risotto with saffron and gentle spices | Arabesque Restaurant in American Colony Hotel, Jerussalem, Israel | David Dides | 2016 | 12 | “Red mullet” is known as “Sultan Ibrahim” in the middle east, apparently because it was the Sultan’s favorite dish. I may not be a Sultan (in my current incarnation) but I also like red mullets, and David’s dish is now one of my absolute favorites. First of all, the tempura was executed in a perfect way, making the fillets soft, juicy, delicious and light, very light. The risotto complemented the fillets in a subtle way, without overpowering the taste of the fish. Another interesting aspect of the dish was the slices of fresh orange, which provided enough acidity to counter the “oily” touch of the tempura. |  |
| Kokotxas de merluza al pilpil con almejas de cuchillo - “Hake kokotxas with clams.” | Restaurante Boroa Jaretxea, near Bilbao, | Jabier Gartzia Ruiz | 2015 | 1 | Kokotxas are delicious parcels of meat full of gelatin, extracted from the chin of the fish. I got to know kokotxas in 2003 in the Basque country, and ever since I suffer from “kokotxas deprivation” syndrome.. |  |
| Smoked eel and avocado in spiced apple veil over foie gras in citric aroma - Anguila ahumada y aguacate en velo de manzana especiada sobre foie gras en aroma de cítricos | Restaurante Boroa Jaretxea, near Bilbao, | Jabier Gartzia Ruiz | 2016 | 11 | Smoked eel is a delicacy on its own. With the avocado mousse it gets a buttery extra smooth taste, the slice of foi gras explodes the flavor profile, and the film of quince injects acidity to the mix. What a dish! |  |
| Cod tasting (grilled, vizcaina and pil pil) | Restaurante Boroa Jaretxea, near Bilbao, | Jabier Gartzia Ruiz | 2016 | 11 | The first preparation starting form the left is pil-pil, which is a traditional Basque preparation. The sauce is an emulsion of olive oil and the cod’s juices. The second preparation, in the middle, is “vizcaina”, another local preparation, with a thick red sauce. The purists say that the sauce should be made only with red peppers, that is without any tomatoes. The last preparation, on the right, is grilled. This is a “nowhere to hide” preparation. The smallest fault of the fish will reveal itself on the grill, as well as the cook’s ability to maintain all the juices and aromas of salt cod’s most expensive cut. |  |