Then we were onto the first region of the tour, Le Marche, for calamaretti d'Anconetana. It was a dish with baby squid with tomato, olives, and crostini. It was also richly flavourful, and did not contain an overwhelming amount of garlic for the faint of heart. This kind of dish is entirely addicting to me, with a little bit of the sea cooked right into the sauce. The squid was tender and perfectly seasoned. The crostini were a nice accent, and understandable in a restaurant setting - but I preferred to dunk little bits of the bread from the table to soak up the sauce. Out of the table of six diners, I probably ate most of one of the two dishes served.
From there we moved onto the food of Puglia, for polpette di melanzane; eggplant fritters with rapini aioli. This was an immediate hit at the table, and suddenly the volume of joyful voices abounded like gleeful children. This dish tastes much different than it looks and sounds. It does have eggplant, but also a significant amount of ground beef. I wish it was sold on the street here in town, as a snack that you would want to enjoy everyday. Crispy on the outside, tender on the inside. Salty, but a little sweet. A little tangy and bitter with the aioli. Fantastic.
The only problem was trying to cut the stringy eggplant, to actually have a bite, even though it was extremely tender to eat. Although, the effort was well rewarded upon tasting the dish. And really, a little rustic this way, so it was a little more lovable since extra effort was required.
Next stop, Sardegna for culurgionis di patate Ogliastrini. One of the most enjoyable parts of the meal was Giuseppe's thoughtful descriptions before each course, and new additional wine-pairing. For this course he talked about "starch-on-starch", as this is essentially ravioli stuffed with potatoes. It was also served with roast pork and ricotta salata. This dish acted to emphasize the reality that every culture has a dumpling of some sort, and in a way, this is like a little like a perogie. Just a much more elegant and refined version.
I liked the dish. But I have to admit that for a dinner in which everything is served alla famiglia, I expected more pasta. Don't get me wrong, I was quite full by the end of the night. But I had 2 pieces of this pasta, and Jeff had three. It is certainly an extremely lovely pasta, but so labour-intensive, that it is too difficult to serve very much of it. I could have done without the calamaretti, or the polpette and had two pastas as a replacement of one. A little more gluttonous, but it would have felt a little bit more relaxed, as if mama was forcing me to eat! Mangia!
My favourite course was the saltimbocca alla romana con piselli e patate. Everyone loved these peas. They are certainly not something one would ordinarily have in a restaurant like Capo, as the rolling factor could certainly detract from a fine-dining experience. The accompanying sweet onions made the dish one which would convince anyone to eat their vegetables. I did need the crispy potatoes to serve the sauce accompanying the veal.
For me, the veal saltimbocca was the highlight of the night. It was dizzyingly spectacular. Rich, tender, flavourful, and I ate as much as I could. Even so, I could still eat more of it at this very moment. Every bite was better than the last one. The prosciutto was sliced so thinly, it was difficult to decipher the pieces of veal from the prosciutto. The sage came through singingly. This is the kind of dish I want to eat all the time, and the kind of dish I expect to have while in Italy. A simple, but memorable dish. Nothing complicated about it, just good food prepared well. I love that.
I have to admit that when I think of Italian cuisine, desserts rarely come to mind, except of course for gelato. Sure, there are great Italian desserts, but they are rarely sweet and are most often based on fruit. Refreshingly, this chestnut and white chocolate mousse was inspired by the montebianco of Valle d'Aosta. I think this dessert was overshadowed by the success of the veal, because it didn't have much impact for me. I loved the creamy white top, but needed a bit more to really fall in love (and I swear I do not have a gigantic appetite!). I would have loved for a large bowl to be plunked on the table, and have the server place it in individual bowls to fit the casual-ness of the evening. There was nothing wrong with it; I just won't be dreaming of it.
I haven't mentioned the wine pairings, but they were phenomenal (and available from wineboy), and a hit with everyone at the table. In fact, the whole concept was a hit, and it would be impossible not to have a spectacular time. There was even a goody bag with a recipe and pasta to try at home. It also helps to enjoy good food, with good friends. Even those we did not know, quickly became our friends! All in all the best part is the variety of foods and wines which were a part of the event; an outstanding value.
You too can enjoy a tour of Italy with chef Giuseppe di Gennaro, at the next tour on Tuesday, March 17 at 6:30pm. Contact Capo for more information.
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