Recipe: SQUID INK SPARKLING WATER CRISPS WITH MASCARPONE CREAM AND SLICED PANCETTA

December is finally here!!  My favorite time of the year to get creative and invent new recipes for the approaching festivities!

This year may not allow for many large group gatherings, but who says you can’t make a beautiful and unique meal for your close family?

Today’s recipe involves a canapé style dish, that’s easy to make, yet beautifully presented.

The squid ink black crisps, topped with mascarpone cream and thinly sliced pancetta make for a great aperitif snack before devouring your opulent Christmas or New Year meal.

Many believe that the squid ink may create a fishy flavor, but in reality, it has a very subtle taste that simply adds a hint of smokiness to the dish.  The mascarpone blends beautifully with the salty pancetta, and the chili honey adds a tiny punch to the finishing flavor. This is purely optional of course – but I do enjoy adding an element of surprise to my dishes.

There are many alternatives one can add atop the crisps and mascarpone cream: grilled shrimp and other types of cured meats. Feel free to get creative!

Let me know if try the dish, and I’d love to see your photos!

Enjoy getting into the holiday spirit!  I’m definitely looking forward to spending my time this December creating more festive dishes! Stay posted for more! 

Serving size: 4 persons

DOUGH INGREDIENTS:

140 gms all-purpose flour

60 gms San Pellegrino sparkling water

1/3 teaspoon squid ink

MASCARPONE CREAM INGREDIENTS:

50 gms mascarpone

50 gms fresh cream

75 gms fresh buffalo mozzarella

TOPPING INGREDIENTS:

60 gms thinly sliced pancetta ham

1 Tbsp chili honey sauce

FRYING:

300 ml cooking oil

METHOD – DOUGH:

  • 1) Put flour in a medium sized bowl.
  • 2) Add squid ink and San Pellegrino water, and mix well.
  • 3) Take it out of the bowl and start to knead the dough on a flat surface for 5 minutes. Add flour little by little if too sticky.
  • 4) Let the dough rest for 30 minutes in a bowl covered by plastic wrap.
  • 5) After the dough has rested, roll out the dough as thin as possible without piercing the dough.  The thinner the dough, the more air pockets will be created, which is what we want.
  • 6) Cut the dough into 3 cm x 3 cm squares.
  • 7) Heat the oil to 190 Celsius / 374 Fahrenheit
  • 8) Deep fry in batches for around 40 seconds on each side, until they puff up. 
  • 9) Drain well on paper towels.
  • 10) Allow to cool completely.

METHOD – MARSCAPONE CREAM:

  1. Mix mascarpone, fresh cream and smashed mozzarella, until well combined.  Little chunks of mozzarella should remain for texture.

ASSEMBLY:

  1. Add ½ a tablespoon of mascarpone cream on each crisp, followed by a slice of pancetta and finally a tiny dab of chili honey.

Published by Salvatore Cuomo

Salvatore Cuomo was born in Naples, Italy, in 1972, son of an Italian father and Japanese mother. Cuomo was first inspired by his father who also was an Italian Chef in Naples. He began at the young age of 11, where he trained himself in the kitchen and traveled frequently between Italy and Japan. He gradually learned how to blend the traditional Italian art of cooking with the Japanese art of perfection. A few years later he traveled to Japan with his father who opened an Italian restaurant in Chiba in 1984. About those early years Salvatore told the press that it wasn't a good starting experience: "I didn’t like Japan at all, so after one year, I went back to Italy and spent 2–3 years studying at a culinary school. When I was 18, I returned to Japan after my father became terminally ill and I have been here ever since."[3] Cuomo said that Italian Cuisine was just starting to get popular in those days. He and his two brothers decided that in order to succeed in the restaurant business in Japan they would have to understand the Japanese food mentality. They spent a couple of years researching the market before opening a new restaurant in Tokyo with what Cuomo calls "Original Neapolitan pizza." Since that time, Cuomo has been credited with catapulting Neapolitan pizza to fame in Japan, and today in all Asia with over 100 restaurant.

Leave a Reply