After three seasons leading the kitchen of this elegant farmhouse (with wonderful rooms), Daniele Lunghi has reached a very high level of maturity: the change of 2011 regarding elegance and maturity of his flavours has really been noticeable. Native of “Low” Lombardy (he comes from Pavese’s plain, at the border of Emilia region), Daniele is an intelligent and trained cook who venerates raw materials. He has been defining his culinary style on fantasy –never rhetorical–, innovation, precision, refinement and clairvoyance.
These qualities appear in the first starter: Fassone veal tartare seasoned with freshly ground pepper (a perfect combination) and served over herb stock with 36-month-old Parmesan and cold-crystallized apricot. The fruit is vacuum-packed with apricot vinegar which, because of the lack of oxygen, “crystallized” the fruit through reverse osmosis. A magnificent result whose acid touch makes it taste like turnip or salsify. The oyster over cow ricotta cheese with some drops of passion fruit and black pepper powder is really exquisite. The oyster, “lactic” by definition, has got the same creaminess as the ricotta whey, slightly vacuum-cooked. The pasta is great: egg lasagne with baked aubergines and smoked potatoes served in layers with yoghurt sauce and dehydrated olives. Splendid consistencies, limited and precise flavours, clear ideas. After the meat section, we had the pleasure to discover and feel the chef’s culture and knowledge about pork and poultry meat: pig head (black pig from Parma, over 280 kg, “otherwise, it may not be killed”) marinated in cooked grape juice, vacuum-cooked, roasted and finally aromatized with thyme, garlic and juniper; a unique product with a strong personality. The following proposal was a fatted chicken, served in two ways: vacuum-cooked breast branded on the part of the skin and laid over fresh peas, cooked and slightly mashed with a hint of curry and a delicate chicken stock and foie gras. This cooking technique allows to obtain the same refinement as the famous fatted chicken from Bresse: the meat is cooked on its own, without being mixed with the other ingredients. As we mentioned before, Daniele is very liberal with the products: the animals come from Mr Pagiusco’s small poultry farm in Alessandria, who buys the chicks in Bresse and breeds them in Piedmont. The second version is the chicken leg, vacuum-cooked with wine and boletus aromas and served with Parmentier Ratte potatoes: impeccable!
And finally, the desserts: apricot freshly picked off the tree, cold-crystallized and served with roughly crushed fresh almonds over edible earth made of bitter chocolate and coffee. We finished with “South wind”: muscovado sugar crunch, pineapple in syrup with rosemary, olive oil foam with lemon and lavender, and capers powder.
Elegance, good taste, personality, technical and historical training… Daniele became conscious of his own means and of the territory he works in. Lunghi is not a young hope from the Piedmont any more; he has become a strong and growing reality. A very promising man whose evolution is worth following!
