Paolo Cillo, head chef from Il Forno, Duke Street, Liverpool casts his net to share two fish dishes. - Liverpool Echo
FROM cooking in his mother’s kitchen in the picturesque town of Potenza in southern Italy to working at Il Forno in Liverpool, Paolo Cillo has always had the pleasure of working with the best ingredients.
“Italian cooking is based on using fragrant and colourful ingredients that were created and farmed for hundreds of centuries in Italy,” says Paolo. “This type of food appeals to children and adults alike and it is fair to say that Italian cooking is one of the most recognised and celebrated cooking traditions in the world.”
As five seas border the Italian peninsula, Italians make the most of the wonderful varieties of seafood that are available to them.
Paolo adds: “The fresher the fish you can get, the better. All our seafood is sourced from a reputable seafood company called M&J.
“I am lucky enough to get great fish which I can experiment with in the restaurant but I believe that people at home should always try and keep things fairly simple; add ingredients such as garlic, herbs and olive oil to your fish and it will enhance its original flavour. ”
For week two of Paolo’s Chef Special feature, he is cooking two fish dishes, Coda di Rospo, which is Monkfish fillet with mushrooms and a red pepper salsa, and Spaghetti alle Vongole, a delicious dish of spaghetti with clams, cherry tomatoes and parsley.
He says: “These are two very popular dishes as they are all about freshness and simplicity. They do not take too long to prepare and cook and the flavours are delightful. There are only a few ingredients that you need to buy to make both recipes – meaning they are both perfect dishes to serve when you’re constantly on the go!”
And both, he says, are perfect with a glass of chilled white wine.
Coda di Rospo
Ingredients: (for two) 200g Monkfish fillet; 5g thyme; 30g Porcini mushrooms; 100g Salsa ai Peperoni (see below); 10g Extra virgin olive oil; salt.
Salsa ai Peperoni ingredients: 1kg chopped red peppers; 200g onions; 10g thyme; 30g olive oil; 50ml vegetable stock.
Method: In a large frying pan, add the olive oil and cook the monkfish on a medium heat for approximately five minutes, turning just once. Once it is cooked, leave it for a couple of minutes to rest and then cut it into fine slices.
To make the salsa, heat the olive oil in a pan and add the chopped red peppers, onions, thyme and vegetable stock – heat this through on a high heat for 3 or 4 minutes. Once this has reduced, blend into a pulp and pass through a sieve.
Sauté the porcini mushrooms and then place them in the centre of the plate. Place the sliced monkfish on top of the mushrooms and drizzle the red pepper puree around the edge of the plate.
Spaghetti alle Vongole
Ingredients:200g clams; 150g spaghetti; 50g baby cherry tomatoes; parsley; salt and pepper.
Method:Gently fry the garlic and the olive oil in a large frying pan. After you have cleaned your clams, add them to the pan, which should now be at a high heat, and also add the chopped baby cherry tomatoes.
The clams will open up when they are thoroughly cooked.
Cook the spaghetti in a separate pan of boiling water (this should take approximately 6-8 minutes) and then add the parsley, which should be finely chopped.
Mix everything together, making sure that everything is combined well, and serve.
