WIZZ MAGAZINE
/
25
“Most peopledon’t realise
that you canget truffles
fromAbruzzo,” says AldoZilli,
holdinga truffle the size of a fist
(about €300’s worth) beneathmy
nose. “In fact, many people from
Alba, the home of Italian truffles,
come toAbruzzo toget theirs!”
The scent of the truffles – earthy,
sweet and slightly sulphuric– is
heavenly, and it’smakingmy
salivaglands work overtime.
Luckily Zilli has promised that I’ll
soonbe trying it (albeit just four or
fivepaper-thin slivers) withbutter-
tossed, freshAbruzzanpasta.
AldoZilli, currently head chef of
London’s twoCichetti restaurants
(
sancarlocicchetti.co.uk
), hails
fromAbruzzo. This rugged, green,
bucolic region of Italy, about
90km east of Rome, is famous
for its foodandwonderfully fresh
produce, andas such is often
called the store cupboard of Italy.
I ask Zilli to tell memoreabout
the food of his childhood home.
“Abruzzo is self-contained,” he
says. “Wedon’t needanyone
else.We have everything: our
ownwine, our own truffles.We
have
trabocchi,
thewooden
fishing-shack restaurants built
on top of the sea, serving clams,
razor clams, monkfish, mullet,
bass... But it is alsoa shepherding
region, so if yougo into the
countryside, you can eat mutton,
goat, goat’s cheese, lamb, deer
and sucklingpig.”
Toprove his point about how
special –and specific– the food
fromAbruzzo is, Zilli is creatinga
feast from his childhood, just for
us. The
pescatriceadriaticaaqua
pazza
(monkfish and tomatoes in
awinebroth) reminds him of when
he used towork at a fishmongers
(he used toget paid inmonkfish).
As for the succulent
arrosticini
(mutton skewers), “thesewere
always on the table.We hadan
open fire outsideandwe used
to cook a lot of meals.” And the
melanzanaal cinghiale
(wildboar
wrapped inaubergine) was one
of his favouritedishes. “I was the
youngest of nine, andas a child
I was often left withmymum.We
had nomoney, no luxuries and
foodwas incredibly important. So
I learned to cook,” says Zilli.
After bringing the final dish,
the sweetly scented trufflepasta
to the table, hepours aglass of
full-bodiedMontepulcianode
Abruzzo. “It’s famous all over
theworld,” Zilli says, “andany
Abruzzanmeal is incomplete
without it.”
aldozilli.com
AldoZilli (
right
),
Abruzzanmasterchef
andcreatorof this
traditional feast (
left
)
WORDS BY CLAIREMARTIN / PHOTOGRAPHY BY ALESSANDRA SPAIRANI
Arrosticini
(mutton skewers)
