There are two vastly different approaches to launching an Italian restaurant in this country. One is to create a Disney-like setting and present a menu filled with culinary cliches. The other is for the owner and/or chef to be a passionate purist and be more devoted to authenticity than the Italians themselves.
No need to guess into which category falls Coco Pazzo (300 W. Hubbard St.) and its tall (6 foot 5) and slender young chef, Gregorio Stephenson. In articles, books and debates, owner Pino Luongo has defended a pure and simple approach to the cooking in his native Tuscany. Stephenson, born in America, purchased a one-way ticket to Italy at age 19, and stayed for six years.
“I wanted to learn Italian cooking,” he says, “and I asked myself, why learn it secondhand (in the U.S.)? So, with the help of a cousin who is in the restaurant business there, I made a plan. I would work as an apprentice (for food and lodging only) in half a dozen important restaurants to work with fine fresh products and learn the techniques for preparing them. Then I would seek out women who had been alive during World War II, who knew how to make do in the kitchen with limited resources. My aim was to combine the two experiences to learn flavor and honesty and pride in a simple plate.”
He did just that. In the process his first name, Craig, proved unpronounceable to his Italian colleagues, so they renamed him Greg, which soon became Gregorio. He might be in Liguria (the region of the Italian Riviera) yet, but a romantic attachment led him back to California and into marriage.
Luongo brought him to Chicago nearly two years ago. Since then, the chef has introduced a variety of fresh fish and shellfish to the Coco Pazzo menu and to customers he describes as “receptive” and “loyal.”
“I like to show them new products,” he says, “but nothing ostentatious.”
Here are examples of the Stephenson style.
SEA BASS WITH BLACK OLIVES AND ROASTED PINE NUTS
Four servings
2 whole sea bass or red snapper (about 1 1/2 pounds each), cleaned and scaled
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
1 1/2 cups dry white wine
20 black olives, pitted and halved
1. Heat an oven to 400 degrees. Place pine nuts in a pie plate and roast in the oven, shaking the pan occasionally, until golden. Remove and set aside to cool.
2. Wash the fish, inside and out, and place them in a baking pan. Rub the outside surface of both fish with the olive oil, then season them, inside and out, with salt and pepper, and place half the garlic and rosemary in the cavity of each fish.
3. Place the pan on a rack in the middle of the oven and roast until the tops of the fish begin to brown, about 6 minutes. Pour the white wine over the fish and cook an additional 15 minutes.
4. Scatter the olives and roasted pine nuts over the fish and cook an additional 6 minutes, or until fish is firm to the point of a knife.
5. Remove the fillets from each fish and serve one per person with olives, pine nuts and pan juices spooned over them. Serve with a green vegetable or salad and an aromatic white wine such as Vermentino.
RISOTTO WITH ZUCCHINI BLOSSOMS
Four to six servings
12 large zucchini blossoms plus 1 whole blossom per person for garnish*
2 tablespoons butter
1 large leek, white and 1 inch of green, cleaned of any sand and chopped
1 cup risotto rice, Arborio preferred
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup dry white wine
Salt and white pepper to taste
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
* Substitute 2 or 3 baby zucchini, sliced thin on the bias, cooked in boiling, salted water for 2 minutes and drained.
1. Remove the pistil and base from the zucchini flowers and discard them. Coarsely chop the flowers, place them in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap.
2. In a 2-quart pot or pan with a heavy bottom, melt 1 tablespoon butter over medium-high heat. Add the leek and cook until softened, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the rice and stir constantly to toast the grains, about 5 minutes. Heat the chicken broth in another pan. It should be warm but not simmering.
3. Add the wine to the rice and boil, stirring often, until it has reduced completely. Turn down the heat to a simmer and add just enough broth to cover the rice without drowning it. Stir, adding broth in small amounts as needed to keep the rice moist. Continue until the rice has reached the al dente stage (cooked but still firm in the center), 16 to 18 minutes.
4. Stir in the remaining tablespoon of butter, the cheese, the chopped zucchini blossoms and salt and white pepper. Portion the risotto into soup bowls or plates and garnish each serving with a zucchini flower. Serve at once with a tocai from Fruili.
FAVA BEAN AND SHELLFISH APPETIZER
Four servings
1/2 pound fresh fava beans, removed from their pods *
2 cups chicken broth
3 tablespoons olive oil
6 baby artichokes, cleaned if fresh and defrosted if frozen, sliced thin
4 large shrimp, preferably fresh and in the shell, patted dry
12 sea scallops, patted dry
Salt and freshly ground pepper
* Substitute 1 cup white bean puree or chopped fresh raw tomatoes.
1. In a saucepan, simmer the fava beans in the chicken broth until they are tender, about 5 minutes. Remove beans with a slotted spoon and, when cool enough to handle, peel off the outer shell.
2. Transfer the beans to the bowl of a blender. Add 1/2 tablespoon olive oil (or butter) and blend, adding broth as needed to make a smooth, light mixture. Transfer to a small bowl and reheat in the microwave just before serving.
3. In a saute pan, heat the remaining 2 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the artichoke slices and pan-fry until tender and lightly browned. Portion artichokes onto 4 warm plates.
4. Pour off all but a film of oil from the pan. Place over high heat and add the shrimp and scallops and cook only until scallops are lightly browned on both sides, about 4 minutes. Season lightly with salt and pepper.
5. Spoon warm fava bean puree onto each plate. Add a shrimp and 3 scallops to each and serve at once with a crisp sauvignon blanc.
