Cotechino with lentils and ground coffee (1998)

There are two sides to Marco Garfagnini. He divides his time between the restaurant at the Hotel Les Bergues in Geneva where he cooks for its international jet-set crowd, and the small restaurant he owns in Carrara, the city where he was born and raised – a far more intimate affair to say the least. This excellent cotechino produced by La Bottega di Adò, a local artisan, is served with Casteluccio lentils and beef juices reduced with cubeb pepper. To crown the ensemble, ground coffee is sprinkled over the top to give the dish appropriate bitter and toasted aromas.