Biodynamic pork brawn, siphon bread and organic Naccari caviar

A new recipe from the Slow Food Chefs’ Alliance in Germany: biodynamic pork brawn, siphon bread and organic Naccari caviar.

Today Marcello Gallotti, a member of Carlo Catani’s “Tempi di Recupero,” a network of cooks promoting the use of scraps and leftovers, shares with us his recipe for a tasty sustainable main course: biodynamic pork brawn, siphon bread and organic Naccari caviar.  

Marcello and Andrea Gallotti, who first met as students at the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo could never have guessed what that meeting would hold in store. After graduating, in fact, they moved to Germany where they opened Restaurant Erasmus in 2014. 

Inspired by the lessons they learned and the philosophy they breathed in Pollenzo, in recent years they have achieved numerous goals. In 2016 the restaurant was certified organic by Bioland Gold Partner–from the ingredients used to create the menu to the wine list. In 2017 they joined the Slow Food Chefs’ Alliance project and in March 2020, just before the pandemic, they received the Michelin green star.  

“To be good, for us a dish has to give added value to society”

Their aim is to educate and raise the awareness of their guests, teaching them about authentic Italian flavors with the finest select ingredients from all over Italy.  

For Marcello and Andrea, “Good and beautiful are mutually dependent. If an ingredient is only satisfactory for its taste, it’s anything but good as far as we’re concerned. To be good, for us a dish has to give added value to society. This is why we cook with regional and artisanal organic ingredients.”

Hence the restaurant collaborates with many small Italian and local producers, and uses the products of the Ark of Taste and the Slow Food Presidia.  

As if that were not enough, in this dramatic year, Marcello and Andrea have done their utmost to support their farmers’ and growers’ network with every means, including selling their produce at the restaurant. To do this they have set up a corner inside where the same local ingredients that they use for the menu are on sale to the public.  

Today cook Marcello Gallotti shares with us his recipe for a tasty sustainable main course: biodynamic pork brawn, siphon bread and organic Naccari caviar.  

Recipe

Serves four 

Brawn 

• ½ pig’s head 
• zest of 1 orange and 1 lemon  
• salt, to taste 
• pepper, to taste  
• nutmeg  
• 1 clove garlic  
• cinnamon, to taste 
• 50 g Bronte pitachios  

Siphon bread 

• oil for frying 
• 200 g type-00 flour  
• 200 g water  
• 3 g dry brewer’s yeast  
• salt to taste
• 160 g ewe’s ricotta (alternatively, a cream cheese such as stracchino or robiola)
• 40 g Naccari caviar (alternatively, Taggiasca or Gaeta black olives) 

Procedure  

Brawn  

Cook the head in salted water until the flesh comes easily away from the bone. Drain the flesh and place on a board. While it is still warm, dress with the salt, pepper, cinnamon, minced garlic and grated lemon and orange zest. Mix all the ingredients well, add the pistachios and taste. Transfer the mixture to a jute or linen bag and leave to set with a weight on top for at least one night.  

Siphon bread 

Mix the water, flour, yeast and salt. Filter in a strainer and use to fill a 500 g siphon. Leave in the fridge for 12 hours. Heat the oil, and siphon the dough into steel pastry rings with a diameter of about 8 cm to create round bread scones. Fry and turn until well risen. Drain on a wire rack, then dry on kitchen paper. If you don’t have a siphon, replace the bread with classic focaccia.  

Serving 

Cut the tops off the siphon bread scones and cover each with five slices of brawn. Shape the ricotta into quenelles and garnish with the caviar. Serve.