Mission (Im)possible: a Michelin-starred recipe for the holiday

The prestigious Michelin Guide has once again recognised the talent at the kitchen of the Ristorante La Veranda at the ColorHotel! Our star has been confirmed once again for 2022, once again giving us the honour of being ambassadors for Made in Italy in the kitchen.

I am delighted with this achievement and want to share my joy with the kitchen team and all the staff at the ColorHotel. The secret to our dishes is the creativity and ingenuity that we put into our kitchen alongside the quality of our locally sourced products. Some dishes are complex and require great care and attention. Others, like the one you’ll see below, are well within anyone’s grasp and bring great satisfaction!

So, today, I want to share a quick and simple recipe for the holiday season. This is a variation on a traditional recipe from Puglia, the region that I come from. Have a go at this recipe for spaghetti with turnip tops, crunchy bread, Stracciatella and lemon zest.

Ingredients for 2 people:

• Turnip tops, 400 g
• Extra virgin olive oil, 20 g
• 1 lemon
• Spaghetti, 200 g
• Crunchy bread, 80 g (either Puglian stylle or simply old bread)
• Stracciatella 100 g
• Salt to taste

Instructions

Wash the turnip tops and set the leaves to one side.

Remove the Stracciatella from the fridge. This is a traditional Puglian speciality that you will find in most big supermarkets. It needs to rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before being added to the spaghetti.

Boil the turnips - but once cooked, don’t throw away the water. Once they have been boiled, use the water to cook the turnip leaves. Even then, don’t throw away the water! We’ll use it to cook the spaghetti!

Take the leaves and blend them with a little olive oil until you achieve a smooth consistency.

In the meantime, cook the spaghetti using the water you used for the turnips. Cut the bread into chunks, then in a separate saucepan pour a little olive oil and add the bread. Fry it gently to brown the bread and give it a tasty, crunchy texture.

Remove the spaghetti three minutes before the time stated on the packaging and add the turnip-leaf cream so that it finishes cooking in the heat of the spaghetti. In the meantime, zest the lemon but be careful not to overdo it. The white part of the lemon peel has a bitter taste and is no good for this recipe.

Serve the spaghetti and complete the presentation by adding the turnip tops, crunchy bread, Stracciatella and lemon zest.

And voila! You have your spaghetti with turnip tops, crunchy bread, Stracciatella and lemon: tuck in and try it!

Which wine goes best with this recipe?

I asked for some advice from Marta, our sommelier, who suggested a Costa d'Amalfi Furore Bianco DOC “Fiorduva” 2017 - Marisa Cuomo.

According to Marta: “It’s a white wine for special occasions which is made from 30% phenyl, 30% ginestra and 40% ripoli. It has a deep and shiny golden-yellow colour. The nose has an intense bouquet of yellow-pulp fruit (apricot and peach), ginestra flowers and salvia, with a hint of exotic and candied fruits. On the palate, it has a rich, full and soft taste with some lingering minerality. This is long-lasting, extremely elegant and harmonious wine with an aristocratic texture, and this is why it is one of the greatest Italian white wines.”

Buon appetito!