Unless you're already there, invite the Mediterranean directly into your home. Direction Bonifacio, at Da Passano, a typical Corsican restaurant located in the front row of the port. Here, we watch the boats enter and leave the city at all hours, around specialties that we would love to bring back in our suitcase. On the program: the unmissable Bonifacian-style eggplant, storzapretti gnocchi and migliacciolu fritter. Everything, explained, and of course, in a recipe!
The particularity of Corsican cuisine
On the island of beauty, expect to taste beautiful fish from the Mediterranean Sea, such as red mullet, sea bass, red scorpionfish and even bonito. If there is indeed a signature in Corsican cuisine, it is the herbs of the maquis. Such as “herbes de Provence de la Corsica”, made from a mixture of thyme, rosemary, myrtle, wild thyme, bay leaf and marjoram, they are very particular on the palate, strong and iodized. Enough to “spice up” and bring a wild and minty touch to any fish or local fresh cheese. What definitely sets local cuisine apart? “Italian Philosophy”. We also interviewed Michelin-starred chef Italo Bassi, alongside Eduardo Menna, at the head of the kitchens at Da Passano, D'Amore and Finestra, three addresses where you can experience local cuisine in all its forms. He assures us, “you will often find an Italian touch in Corsican dishes, which ultimately creates a single identity: Italian-Corsican cuisine”. Here, risotto is traditionally prepared with prawns and shellfish, and the drizzle of olive oil dear to the dolce vita always finds its place on any local preparation, themselves enhanced with herbs from the maquis. In Corsica, as in Italy, cheese is an institution. Its flagship product? Le Brocciu, in spring; otherwise, the Corsican tomme, delicious all year round and refined from sheep's milk and whose subtle difference with a classic tomme will be… the wind. Yes, here, the wind also makes Corsican cuisine special. In contact with the rind of the cheese, it brings all its little character to the mouth. Not to mention that, depending on the season and the climate, the taste of tomme varies. “From May/April, the further we go towards winter, the spicier the tomme will be. At the start of the year, it will, conversely, be gentler. » Like poetry in itself, Corsican cuisine is subtle, and above all, unique.
Recipes from chef Edouardo Menna
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Bonifacian-style eggplants
“Bonifacienne-style eggplant is the first typical dish of the region that I tried when I arrived in Corsica. What I immediately liked was its gourmet side brought by the cheese and basil. It is traditionally prepared in summer with eggplants, the “queens of the summer vegetable garden”, which are enriched with several types of cheese. It is then often a mixture of the rinds of the most matured cheeses eaten during the winter, grated, to which new cheese productions are added, and in this case, the least matured. »
Preparation of bonifacienne-style eggplants
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Ingredients
For the tomato sauce
1kg of ripe tomatoes (or canned peeled tomatoes)
100g of julienned yellow onions
50g basil
For the eggplant stuffing
150g of grated cheese (three different types: 1/3 Corsican sheep's tomme 3-4 months maturing, 1/3 Corsican sheep's tomme 7-12 months maturing, 1/3 Corsican goat's tomme)
4 long eggplants
270g of country bread
15g julienned basil leaves
90g whole eggs
1g ground black pepper
3g of fine salt
Recipe sequence
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Tomato sauce
Simmer the onions in a saucepan with olive oil then add the tomatoes cut in half. Cook everything for 30 minutes. Once the time has elapsed, mix the preparation, add the basil. Let it infuse for 15 minutes then sieve.
Chef’s advice: “Use extra virgin oil, the sauce will be even better”
Eggplant stuffing
The day before, cook the whole eggplants in a large saucepan with boiling water until they are soft. Once cooked, let them cool and cut them in half lengthwise. Using a tablespoon, scoop out the flesh (being very careful not to break the skin of the eggplant). Leave the flesh in a cloth overnight to drain.
The next day, dip the bread in milk, let it wet and squeeze it well. Mix all the ingredients with a mixer. Add the basil and, if necessary, season with salt and pepper. Generously fill the eggplant skins with the stuffing then fry them, on both sides, in a pan with a few centimeters of olive oil (the quantity of olive oil should reach up to half the quantity). 'eggplant). Serve the preparation warm, with hot tomato sauce poured on top and a nice fresh basil leaf.
Chef's advice: “I recommend letting the preparation rest for a day in the refrigerator, so that the stuffing is firm. Serve the next day with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
The storzapretti
“Storzapretti are a kind of spinach (or chard) gnocchi mixed with brocciu cheese (or bush cheese in summer). As a typical dish from Bastia, in the north of the island, storzapretti is greatly influenced by Italian culture. At the chef in Tuscany, they are called “gnudinus”, this time prepared with ricotta rather than brocciu and without a dough coating. Finally, little balls of fringe and spinach! “Storzapretti are eaten served with butter, or au gratin with tomato sauce and grated cheese.” Here, the chef shares his version with us with a fresh cherry tomato coulis infused with basil and spring onion.
Preparation of storzapretti
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Ingredients
Cherry tomato coulis
300g cherry tomatoes
1 sprig of basil
1 spring onion
A pinch of salt
A drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
Sugar
The storzapretti
500g spinach leaves
300g of bush or brocciu
2 eggs
80g grated Corsican tomme
100g of flour
30g basil
Pinch of nutmeg
Pinch of salt
Pinch of pepper
Recipe sequence
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Cherry tomato coulis
Wash and quarter the tomatoes, season them with oil, salt and sugar, then leave to rest for an hour. Mix everything in a thermomix at 55C° for 10 minutes, then add the roughly chopped basil branches and spring onions. Leave to infuse overnight. The next day, filter.
The storzapretti
Dry the spinach leaves in a cloth and leave to cool in the refrigerator. Then mix them in a mixer with the brocciu (or bush) and the other ingredients. Adjust flavors with nutmeg, salt and pepper as needed. Form small dumplings and let them rest for a good hour in the refrigerator. Dip them in flour and cook them in boiling salted water for 5 minutes (at least, until they rise). Season everything with melted butter and sage.
To serve, place a little warm tomato cream at the bottom of the plate, then place the storzapretti on top. Finish by sprinkling the grated Corsican tomme.
The migliacciolu
“This very delicious donut is typical of the center of the island. Traditionally, migliacciolu was cooked between hot stones and chestnut leaves (which then served as parchment paper). Migliacciolu is already delicious as is, but you can also eat it with cold meats. Try a hot migliacciolu with a slice of bacon or panzetta on top, and you will fall in love with the island of beauty! »
Preparation of migliacciolu
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Ingredients
250g flour 00
250ml of milk
3 eggs
125g grated cheese
A pinch of salt
A pinch of pepper
A sheep's cheese
Recipe sequence
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For this preparation, nothing could be simpler: mix all the ingredients and leave to rest for 24 hours.
Once the resting time has elapsed, mix everything with the tomme cut into 1cm cubes and cook in an iron pan (or non-stick pan “although it won't be the same poetry”). Then pour in a ladle of the mixture, allowing it to brown well on both sides. Serve hot, cut into equal parts and, on a wooden plancha, arrange around the mixed salad leaves with vinegar.
