Ode to the land and the sea: the flavors of true and tasty Italy in one dish. San Baylon celebrates the tradition and quality of Italian cuisine, that of roots, forthright flavors and preparations made with love. An appetizer that tantalizes curiosity and palate, combining ingredients that are so-called poor but actually rich in history, taste and cultural value. With the Burrata on sun-dried tomato cream, house-smoked Cantabrian anchovies, Taggiasche olives and oregano bread crumble, chef Marco Ciccotelli takes guests on an all-Italian sensory journey, offered with care and elegance in the center of Rome. We follow the trail of this journey by discovering its ingredients.
Burrata: the soft heart of the dairy art
Whole, raw or pasteurized cow’s milk; manual processing; utmost care in production and storage: burrata tells its story with every savory, soft bite. But how did the delicacy the world envies us come about? Legend tells of a master cheesemaker stranded on his farm during a heavy snowfall in the first half of the 20th century. Unable to deliver fresh milk, and not even considering throwing it away, the ingenious cheesemaker stored the cream surfacing from the milk in a bundle-shaped mozzarella dough casing, along with remnants of spun paste. And here is Burrata, which has since found admirers from all over the globe and fine producers in central and southern Italy.
Dried tomatoes and Taggiasca olives: the flavor of the sun
Carefully cultivated tomatoes, picked when ripe, cleaned and delicately cut in half to be sprinkled with salt and left to dry in the warm sun on a wooden frame: the preparation of sun-dried tomatoes is made up of careful gestures, handed down over time, and elements of nature. Similarly, taggiasche olives, a typical cultivar of western Liguria, also carry in their fleshy flesh and intense flavor the history of an ancient tradition rooted in pre-Roman times, from cultivation to the “bacchiatura” harvesting method. Two precious ingredients that accompany and enhance Burrata di San Baylon.
Cantabrian anchovies: Spanish sea, Italian taste
The final touch: anchovies from the Cantabrian Sea, which in the late 19th century first bewitched the Trapanese fisherman Giovanni Vella Scatagliota and then Spain and the whole world. Giovanni was actually bewitched by Dolores, the woman for whom he decided to stop in Santoña with his company, and second came the love of anchovies: numerous, meaty and tasty especially when salted and preserved with the techniques that enhance their qualities, as Vella Scatagliota and his companions taught native fishermen. Today in Santoña, a plaque commemorates "los salazoneros italianos," the Italian salters, and the world enjoys the tasty anchovies still prepared manually and with their techniques. Burrata on sun-dried tomato cream, house-smoked Cantabrian anchovies, Taggiasca olives, and San Baylon bread crumble enhances the characteristics of each precious ingredient in a tasty, refined balance.
