Monday, September 19, 2016

CottoCrudo: Cucina Italiano at Four Season Prague





Working with the best quality seasonal ingredients, CottoCrudo at The Four Season's Prague offers an extensive menu of Italian and Mediterranean dishes, including fresh seafood, homemade pasta, choice meat cuts, and artisan products from the Piedmont and Tuscany regions of Italy. "Coming from a true Italian farming family, using healthy and fresh ingredients and mixing 'mamma style cuisine' with current culinary trends have always been my prime goals in the kitchen," says Leonardo Di Clemente, Executive Chef at CottoCrudo. An informal yet stylish setting that’s both modern and elegant, CottoCrudo offers a new interpretation of Italian classics with impressive Mozzabar including Mozzarella di Bufala from Campagna, Burrata from Puglia, and Raw Bar featuring Raw Scallops with artichoke salad, umeboshi and vanilla mayo, Red Prawns with cabbage salad, parmesan cheese and hazelnut and King Crab Salad with cucumber, tomato and peach gazpacho. All of the pasta is handmade including 'Napoli style' Scialatielli with aglio olio e peperoncino with crab and bottarga, and hearty Spaghettoni 'Benedetto Cavalieri' with oven baked tomato sauce, basil pesto ricotta and lemon zest, in addition to a selection of fresh grilled fish, veal tenderloin, lamb and beef dishes such as the chef's signature Grilled Rib Eye Steak on the bone for two with eggplant parmigiana, black truffle mash potatoes, crispy vegatable and tomato basil salad with Parmigiana Reggiano. Boasting a wine list of over 300 labels and 26 wines available by the carafe, there is also an eclectic cocktail list that features Italian and Czech twists on classic recipes, for a creative culinary journey of one of Prague's most celebrated restaurants — pojďme jíst!



The elegant and modern interior of CottoCrudo

The dinner menu

Selection of warm housemade bread 

Handsome glass olive oil dispenser

Amuse-Bouche of Olive Tapenade, Raw Sea Bass and Corn Gelée

Leonardo Di Clemente, Executive Chef at CottoCrudo in Prague

Preparing crudo appetizers

Prague ham with warm olives

Buffalo Mozzarella on bed of Arugula with Cherry Tomatoes

Roasted octopus, buffalo mozzarella with pancetta crumble and tomato tartar

2013 Czech Veltlinské Zelené white wine

Salt Crusted Sea Bass presented to the table

Boned and filleted Seabass baked in herbs sea salt crust and served with roasted baby calamari, green peas and mint sauce

Chicken Ravioli with "Cacciatora Style" Sauce

Risotto Mantecato with seasonal mushrooms, Cinta Senese and Castelmagno cheese

John Dory fillet with San Daniele crust, artichokes, smoked eggplant and pickled date purée

Complimentary Chocolate Truffles, Cookies and Pineapple Jellies












Violet Artichokes with Mint and Pecorino di Fossa
Serves 2
Recipe courtesy of Cotto Crudo

6 purple artichokes
2 lemons, juiced
2 carrots, chopped
1 celery stock, chopped
1/2 shallot, diced
Black pepper
Salt
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp butter
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup Taggiasca or Kalamata olives 
1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes
1/2 cup baby arugula or mache salad
1 1/2 oz Pecorino di Fossa cheese shavings
1 tbsp parsley


Using a sharp knife, cut of 2/3 of the top part of the artichokes. Cut off the leaves and bottom part, leaving the heart of the artichokes. Place the artichokes in cold water with lemon juice, to avoid oxidation. In a pot of boiling water, add the artichokes together with the carrots, celery, shallots, salt and pepper. Let them boil until almost soft. Once soft, chill artichokes in the lemon water. Carefully, with a small spoon, scoop out the blossom part in the middle of the artichoke. Cut the blossom in half and sauté in a pan together with olive oil, butter, garlic, mint, olives and sundried tomatoes. Season with salt and black pepper. Place the artichokes on two plates. Garnish with salad leaves and top with the warm tomatoes, olives, Pecorino shavings and parsley.






Spaghetti alla Chitarra con le Carde and Pine Nut Kernel Cream
Serve 4
Recipe courtesy of Cotto Crudo

1 1/2 lb spaghetti
1 3/4 lb fresh sardines
6 oz anchovies in olive oil
1 oz dry raisins
1 oz pine nuts
14 oz fennel with fronds
1 large white onion
1/3 oz saffron
1 oz roasted bread crumb
3 oz fennel cream


Bake the onion with the skin completely covered by sea salt at 325°F for 45 minutes. When ready, peel the onion and remove the first and second skin. Cut the rest into a julienne.

Julienne the fennel, saving the fronds for garnish, and boil in salt water to keep it crunchy. When cooked, let it chill in ice water. Mix the fennel and the onion together and conserve in olive oil until ready to serve.

Crumble the bread, drizzle with olive oil and bake in a pan until golden brown and crunchy, then remove the crumbs onto kitchen paper in order to absorb the excess oil.

Put some olive oil in a pan. Add the anchovies and the sardines and cook for one minute, keeping a couple of sardine fillets aside for later use as decoration. Add the fennel cream, the fennel and onion julienne, saffron, and complete the sauce by adding the pine nuts and the raisins. Cook the spaghetti until al dente then mix with the sauce, pour with some olive oil according to your taste and complete the preparation by adding freshly chopped fennel leaves. Take the sardine fillets that you put aside, season them with salt, pepper and olive oil and put them in the oven at 350°F for 2 or 3 minutes until golden brown.

Create a nice rosette of spaghetti in the middle of the plate, sprinkle with the bread crumbs, add the sardines fillet on top and decorate with some fresh fennel leaves.







































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