La Madonna’s Adrian Li puts a fresh spin on Caprese salad
Chef Adrian Li turns an Italian salad classic inside out at Melbourne restaurant La Madonna.
I wonder how many eventual partnerships between young chefs have been forged in the crucible of their first kitchens as apprentices? How many young men and women have said to each other over a knock-off beer following a hard dinner service: “One day we should do something together.”
Melbourne chef Adrian Li knocked an IT career on the head to retrain as a chef under a significant figure of the Melbourne restaurant scene of the ’80s, ’90s and noughties, Robert Castellani, at St Kilda institution Donovans.
And that’s where he met his friend and, yes, now business partner, Danny Natoli.
The pair, inevitably, did separate things after their time as apprentices in St Kilda – Li leveraged his Hong Kong heritage with a stint as executive chef at Prahran favourites Saigon Sally and Tokyo Tina. But the opportunity to do something together in a brand new kitchen – in a brand new, chic CBD hotel, Next – seemed the opportunity both had hoped for since peeling onions and preparing the soffrito at Donovans.
It’s a partnership that might not look right on paper, but Li reckons they have a synergy not often found with two chefs working together as equals in the kitchen and co-owners of a restaurant. They trust, he says, in the training and techniques the other brings.
“This adventure of bringing La Madonna to life gives us a fantastic venue to create something in the city we both adore. And to do it with Danny is just magic.”
While they’re an unlikely duo – Natoli’s heritage is Sicilian – the pair cook together intuitively, Li says.
The result, he says, is an “umami-rich Milano meets Beijing menu, riffing on classic dishes working playfully with ingredients. We have a particularly strong desire to flip the script on the typical hotel restaurant and bar.”
The backstory
“The dish isn’t really that complex,” the chef says, “but rather a beautiful representation of where we were when we conceived it. It was peak pandemic. The world was ending and we were broke.
“We had to come up with a menu for this big new project (La Madonna) and we could barely afford to pay ourselves.
“We like to use good ingredients, interesting ingredients. But what you can do with the cards you’re dealt is the true test. I like to think the dish is a good measure of what we do. We took a terrible tomato and then some great curd, a Japanese condiment that no one has ever heard of and mashed it together and made it delicious with, I believe, restraint and good technique.
“I like to think it’s a little bit Asian, reminiscent of Italian, but 100 per cent Melbourne.”
The produce
There’s not a lot to this dish. The stracciatella, a creamy/stretchy cows milk product, comes from Melbourne producer That’s Amore which has a great name for its Italian-style stretched curd cheeses. Olive oil is a robust style from Alto, in NSW. Two noticeably Japanese ingredients are white soy and yuzu kosho, both of which will need to be found at speciality Asian groceries or places such as Essential Ingredient. And basil oil, which you’ll need to make yourself from mild olive oil and fresh basil.
And tomatoes.
“Tomatoes … sure, there’s heirloom varietals and award-winning growers,” Li says.
“But you know what’s humble? That regular, kinda-floury, grainy tomato used in the Hungry Jacks burgers: strangely available all year round, regular, not very gourmet, not overly seasonal, not rare or hard to find.”
Refreshing attitude, for a chef.
“But what can you do with them? How do you make them good? What happens when there’s only 800 bucks in the bank and you can’t afford great produce to start planning your signature dishes?
“This is the secret to this tomato dish.”
The method
Grab your tomatoes and make tiny score marks in the top, to aid peeling.
“We then put them in the deep fryer where the skin just blisters and breaks and then straight into an ice bath. Peel them, taking extra care to make sure it’s smooth, perfectly round.”
Now there’s one caveat to Li’s great idea: you will need a vacuum sealer to properly compress your tomatoes.
“We negate the texture and flavour by compressing the tomato with white soy (aged in wooden casks) and a robust olive oil. The process seasons the under-ripe tomato, takes away the floury grain texture and absorbs the salty soy, contrasting with the natural umami and acidity through the fruit.”
After marinating/compressing under vacuum for at least three hours, the tomatoes are removed, hollowed out and stuffed full of creamy fresh stracciatella.
“After that, we flip them and sit them in a bath of basil oil which is spiked with yuzu kosho for a bit of cheeky spice.”
The twist
“This dish is essentially just a Caprese salad,” Li says.
“But visually it’s beautifully minimalistic and harder to eat. And I like that there‘s a bit of fun; the diner has to interact with it – discover what it is, (maybe try to work out how we made it) cut it open, spoon it on to bread, mop up the juices.
“And also, the flavours are pleasingly familiar – everyone knows tomato, cheese, basil and bread – but there’s something new too. And have you ever seen it presented so elegantly?”
The price
$22
“Someone suggested it’s kinda expensive for a Caprese? But is it? It’s not just a Caprese; it’s the expression of us. A little unexpected, but totally yum. Familiar yet something a little different. It’s really become a signature for the spirit of La Madonna.”
La Madonna’s Insalata “Caprese”
Serves: 4
INGREDIENTS
● 4 “gourmet” tomatoes about the size of a cricket ball
● 2 bunches basil
● 50g yuzu kosho
● 1 litre vegetable oil
● 80ml extra virgin olive oil (1)
● 60ml soy
● 300ml extra virgin olive oil (2)
● 2.5 litre iced water
● 200g stracciatella (the soft cheese at the centre of burrata)
● 8 slices of (insert favourite bakery) sourdough
● Salt
● Freshly ground pepper
METHOD
With a paring knife make a shallow incision at the base of each tomato (the part without the stalk). Heat vegetable oil to 180 degrees in a deep but narrow pot, enough to fully submerge a tomato.
Drop each tomato into the oil and wait for the skin to split, usually 30 seconds.
Retrieve and immediately plunge into iced water.
Once cooled, peel carefully and put the tomatoes into a vacuum bag with 80ml evoo (1) and 60ml of soy. Vacuum to compress tomato and marinate for at least 40 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat a pot of water and blanch, then ice the basil leaves. Squeeze all the water out and place into a blender with 300ml olive oil (2) and yuzu kosho.
Blend until oil becomes vibrant green then strain through a fine sieve. Set aside.
Remove tomatoes from the bag and, using a paring knife and spoon, cut out the top (around the stalk.) Keep working the blade around, cutting through the inner rib structure of the tomato until you can place a teaspoon inside and scrape out the seeds leaving a hollowed tomato shell. Turn the tomato upside down and fill the cavity with stracciatella, making sure it’s in all the nooks and crannies.
Flip the tomato into a bowl carefully, not spilling the cheese. Season with salt and pepper and then drizzle the yuzu kosho & basil oil around your work of art and stand back in awe of what you’ve achieved. Call your friends, take some photos.
Get your favourite sourdough, put it in the toaster to your preferred doneness and then slather the tomato on your toast.
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