Melbourne chef Guy Grossi’s baccala tortellini
Melbourne chef Guy Grossi celebrates Venice with his baccala tortellini.
Italian restaurant dynasties are thin on the ground in Australia. Two generations, sure, but three?
But those of us with long memories recall the late chef Pietro Grossi, who passed in 2003, having arrived in Australia in 1960 with wife Marissa to start a new life, cooking and eventually owning restaurants with two of his children, Guy and Elizabeth, both born here. This is important Melbourne history: Pietro arrived in Australia at the invitation of Mario Vigano, grandfather of the late Mietta O’Donnell, to cook at Vigano’s restaurant, Mario’s, in Exhibition Street.
Pietro’s career later took him on to work for Leon Massoni at Tolarno, in Fitzroy Street, and then to join Massoni as a partner further down the street at Cafe Massoni. Son Guy spent part of his apprenticeship in the kitchen with his father and, subsequently, Guy and Pietro bought their first restaurant together, Quadri, in the blue-chip suburb of Armadale.
Eventually, the pair launched Epoca, Pietro and Cafe Grossi, all of which involved Pietro’s daughter, Guy’s sister, Elizabeth. They were just getting started. And Guy has, through sheer hard work, talent and an eye for what works, ascended in his 50s to the status of elder statesman of Italian food in the country he was born. Nature being what it is, Guy has two adult children of his own, Carlo and Loredana, and both work in the family business, now something of an empire built around the iconic Bourke Street institution Florentino, which the family bought in 1999.
A fourth generation seems entirely plausible.
“Growing up in an Italian family in the suburbs of Melbourne has always been a cornerstone of my identity through my food,” says Grossi. “Regardless of whether the recipe is rustic and simple or more sophisticated, I always want there to be a thread back through time that connects to that Italian heritage. This, and a deep appreciation for the seasons, has really guided the philosophies of all our kitchens and indeed our sense of hospitality in our dining rooms.”
THE BACKSTORY
Grossi’s parents met in Milan; he from Puglia, in the south, and she from the Veneto, in the north.
“My mother comes from the Veneto so, as you can imagine, I’ve spent a lot of time in the region. When we realised that it was Venice’s 1600-year birthday this year, we wanted to mark the occasion with a very beautiful, elegant dish. Baccala had to be the central ingredient, teamed with our signature pasta that we make for Florentino Upstairs.”
Two of Italy’s greats on a plate sounds like a good solution to us.
“The dish is elegant and rich and captures the flavour of Venice teamed with a Melbourne attitude, I think. The richness of the dish itself helps it sit nicely into a multi-course menu and is wonderful in the warmer months to replace a richer ragu style of sauce.”
The addition of local caviar – Yarra Valley Salmon roe – rounds the dish out nicely, adding a beautiful, salty foil to the creaminess of the sugo.
THE PRODUCE
“Depth and layers of flavour are important to us when we bring a dish together. The pasta dough is the foundation of the dish and here we love to use a local flour that is milled fresh.”
For this particular recipe, Grossi uses Bellata Gold durum semolina, a fantastic grassroots producer from Tamworth. The flavour and texture from the flour has a fullness that, when you build the dough with yolks only, creates a very luscious version of pasta.
“The dish is finished with a great full-flavoured butter from St David’s Dairy, a micro dairy in the heart of Fitzroy. It’s infused with a fine fish broth and enriched with Yarra Valley Salmon caviar, giving the dish a slight smokey, salty edge.
“This salmon roe is an artisan product we’ve been using for almost 20 years now. They’re great pioneers.”
Indeed, it is found in restaurant kitchens all over the country for good reason.
THE METHOD
The big tip here is the preparation of the cod itself.
“Creating a soffrito from onions and garlic, we let that cook down, releasing wonderful natural sugars. That is then hit with the cod and cooked slowly with milk and stock, really creating delightful flavours. The key to the sauce is to very gently simmer, keeping the flavours sweet and delicate.
“I find that with all dishes that have these subtle yet complex flavours, giving special attention and patience at each step is key to the best result when they are brought together.”
THE TWIST
“Here we are taking baccala – a product that has a beautiful history born from necessity. The fish was salted to help make the long sea voyages and thus became a staple throughout many sea ports working its way into many cuisines around Europe. The humble ingredient is elevated into an elegant expression using beautiful local products and craftsmanship, making it fit for a Doge of Venice.”
THE PRICE
This is one of the dishes on the six-course tasting menu at Grossi Florentino Upstairs: $180.
Tortellini di Baccala, saffron and caviar
Serves 6-8
Pasta filling
INGREDIENTS
● 100ml olive oil
● 3 garlic cloves chopped
● 200g onion finely diced
● 1kg baccala fillet (salt-dried cod)
● 500ml olive oil
METHOD
Place the baccala fillets into a large bucket and cover with cold water and refrigerate. Change the water in the baccala three times a day; do this for three days to remove excess saltiness.
Skin and pin bone the baccala fillets, cut the fish into roughly 2.5cm dice. (Need about 800g fish.)
Heat a braising pot with 100ml olive oil on moderate heat and saute the garlic and onion without colour for a few minutes until the onions have softened.
Add the baccala and mix in and cook for a few minutes, pour in enough water to just cover and allow to come to the boil, reduce heat and simmer gently for 30 minutes.
Strain the liquid, keeping it in reserve. Divide the mix into two. Blend one part of the baccala in a food processor emulsifying with the olive oil and some of the poaching liquid to end up with a smooth paste. Mix into the two baccala mixtures together so that the mixture has some texture.
Keep refrigerated in an airtight container until needed.
Saffron pasta dough
INGREDIENTS
● 500g durum semolina
● 425g egg yolks (approx. 20)
● 25ml water
● 1g saffron threads
● 5ml extra virgin olive oil
● 5g salt
METHOD
On a low to moderate heat toast the saffron threads in a pot without losing any of the colour from the threads, add the water and mix in, reduce the heat to low and allow to infuse for a minute until the water has turned a bright yellow, allow to cool completely.
Place the durum semolina, egg yolks, saffron-infused water, olive oil and salt into a mixing bowl with dough hook attachment and mix on slow speed until a dough has formed. Remove the dough from the bowl and knead on a clean workbench to form a smooth dough.
Wrap in cling wrap and leave to rest in fridge for two hours before laminating.
FOR THE PASTA
Fold in the pasta machine and continue to roll and fold the pasta through the machine many times to “laminate” the pasta.
Roll out the dough to a thin sheet and cut out 7.5cm diameter circles. Place 20g baccala mixture into the centre of the circle, dip your finger into a glass of water and slightly wet the pasta dough around the edge of the pasta (this will make the pasta stick together), fold the circle in half pressing down, then fold the straight edge of the semicircle forward halfway to the top and taking the two points curl the pasta forward and join the ends together by pressing the pasta together between the fingers.
Place the tortellini on a tray dusted with durum semolina and refrigerate until needed.
Butter Sauce
INGREDIENTS
● 30ml olive oil
● 2 garlic cloves chopped
● 150g onion finely diced
● 3 anchovy fillets chopped
● 15g capers chopped
● 10g coriander stems roughly chopped
● 10g flat leaf parsley roughly chopped
● 2 lemons, zested
● 350ml white wine
● 350ml fish broth
●350ml buttermilk
● 50g unsalted butter, 1cm dice
● Sea salt
METHOD
Heat the olive oil in a pot on a moderate heat, mix in the garlic and onion and, stirring, cook until the onions soften without colour. Mix in the anchovy, capers, coriander and parsley, cook for a minute, stirring. Add the white wine and bring to the boil then add the stock, buttermilk and lemon zest, allow to come to the boil then reduce heat to a simmer and reduce by half.
Strain the sauce through a strainer into another pot.
Place the sauce on a moderate heat and bring to the boil, add the butter a bit at a time, whisking in to emulsify and thicken the sauce slightly. Adjust seasoning if necessary.
TO SERVE
● 75g unsalted butter
● 30g Yarra Valley salmon roe
● 20g Avruga (herring) caviar
METHOD
Warm the sauce in a pot, remove from the heat and mix in the salmon roe and caviar.
Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Place the tortellini in the boiling water and cook for 1-2 minutes. Heat the butter in a large pan until the butter starts to just colour. Strain the pasta, add to the pan, toss to coat the tortellini. Arrange the tortellini into pasta bowls and spoon over some of the warm sauce with the roe and caviar.
