Australian Gourmet Traveller - (05)May 2019 (1)

88 GOURMET TRAVELLER

700 gmsaltcod(seenote),

soakedincoldwaterand

refrigeratedfor3 days,

changingwaterdaily

500 ml(2cups)lightoliveoil

1 smallgarlicclove,crushed

Bottarga(seenote),toserve

Extra-virginoliveoil,

toserve

Slicedwarmpotato(or

plain)focaccia,toserve

1 Drainsoakedsaltcodand

cutinto8cm-10cmpieces.

Placeina saucepan,cover

withfreshcoldwaterandbring

totheboil,thenreduceheatto

low-mediumandsimmeruntil

tender(30-35minutes).Drain

well,coolslightly,thenremove

anybones,skinandsinew.

2 Placefishin a foodprocessor

withgarlicandprocessuntil

justsmooth.Transfertoan

electricmixerfittedwiththe

paddle attachment. With the

Baccalamantecato

SERVES 6 // PREPTIME 20 MINS(PLUSSOAKING)// COOK 35 MINS

“Simple,classic,Venetian,”saysMusarra.“Saltcodis a Venetian

stapleandtheperfectwaytostarta mealasa snackwitha drink.

Andthewarmpotatofocacciaanda little grated bottarga take

this to the next level.” Pictured p87.

motoronmedium,slowlyadd

oliveoiluntilemulsified(youmay

notneedalltheoil).If mixture

splits,adda littlehotwaterto

emulsify,thencontinueadding

oiluntilbaccalais lightandfluffy.

Seasontotaste.Baccalacan

bemadeaheadandwillkeep,

refrigerated,foruptoa week.

3 Toserve,spoonbaccalaonto

servingplatesorintodishes.

Gratebottargaoverthe

topanddrizzlewitha little

extra-virginoliveoil.Serve

withwarmfocaccia.

NoteSaltcoldis available

fromselectfishmongersand

mayneedtobeorderedahead.

AgostinousesPilubottarga

di Muggine,availableonline

fromessentialingredient.com.au.

Winesuggestion 2017

MontesissaEmilio“Bonissima”

FrizzanteMalvasia, Emilia-

Romagna.

“A

gostinois aboutsimplefoodusing

goodproducewithnottoomuch

embellishing.It’saboutmedelivering

thefamily’svisionfora restaurantthat

highlightsthefoodfromnorthern

Italy,foodthat’selegantwithoutbeingoverlyrefined.”

General managerandculinarydirectorAnthony

Musarrais referringtotheValmorbidafamily,owners

ofCarlton’srecentlyrefurbishedcornerstoreKingand

Godfree.Thehistoricstorenowincludesa rooftopbar,

espressobar,a deliandgrocerystoreand,mostrecently,

Agostino,a smart-casualwinebarandcellar,withheadchef

DanielleRensonnetat thehelm.It’snamedinhonourof

thesmallgrocerystorewheretheirnonnoCarlostartedthe

familybusinessmidlastcentury.Thefamily’srootsarein

thenorthofItaly,reflectedontheAgostinomenuand

intherecipesMusarrahascreatedhere.

“SomeofthesedishesarestraightoffthenewAgostino

menu,”saysMusarra.“Butit’salwaysgoingtochange

seasonally,sotheserecipesareindicativeofwhatwe’llbe

serving,particularlyaswemovefromautumnintowinter.”

Baccalamantecato,theclassicVenetiandish,will

bea mainstay.“It’sa dishthat’shardtogetright,”hesays.

“Particularlywhenit’sclassicandsimplelikethis,withno

potatooranythingelseadded.Butwhenyoudoit properly,

there’snothingelselikeit.I’veaddeda littlebitofbottarga

forsomeluxury,butotherwise,thisis a dishyouwouldfind

peopleeatingintheirhomesintheregion.”

It’snosurprisetofindtortellonifilledwithmushroom

onthecards.“There’llbea filledpastaoneverymenu,”

saysMusarra.“Everyregioninthenorthhasa specialty

andsowe’llreflectthose,too.”

There’llalsobezaletti,thetraditionalcornmealandraisin

biscuitfromVenice.TheAgostinotakeis fancierandricher

thanitsItaliancousin.It addsdarkchocolate,clementines

andaniseedtothemix:“It’sperfectwithcoffee.”

Therecipesherearedesignedtobecookedtogether,

servedinthecentreofthetableandshared.“It’stheway

wedesignedtheAgostinomenu,too,”saysMusarra,“not

justbecauseit’sthewayMelburniansliketoeat,butbecause

it’straditionallyItalian,andthatsortofflexibleeatingreally

lendsitselftoa smartspacelikeAgostinothat’sstylishbut

accessible,andcanbeusedinanynumberofways.”

Agostino,293-297Lygon St, Carlton, Vic, (03) 9347 1619,

kingandgodfree.com

300 gmsqacquerone(seenote)

2 redcapsicumand2 long

greenchillies,char-grilled

6 thinslicesofculatello

6 thinslicesofprosciutto

Extra-virgin olive oil, to serve

Squacquerone, peppers and culatello

SERVES 6

“Anantipastoplateneedsnorecipe;nonetheless,it’simportant

tochoosea goodselectionofingredients,”saysAnthonyMusarra.

“Here, wepairsquacqueronefromMelbourne’sThat’sAmore

Cheese with grilled peppers, prosciutto and culatello.”Pictured p87.

1 Arrangesquacquerone,

capsicum,culatelloand

prosciuttoona servingplate.

Drizzlewitholiveoiland

seasonwithcrackedblack

peppertoserve.

NoteSquacqueroneis a creamy

freshcow’s-milkcheese.If it’s

unavailable,substitutericotta

or buffalo mozzarella.