GOLDEN STEPS RISOTTO

“Passi d’oro was created as a reinterpretation of saffron and liquorice, and over time it has become one of our great classics. It’s a dish dedicated to my wife, but above all, it’s a translation of a concept: the relationship between light and shadow.

Imagine saffron: the pistil, the outermost part of the flower, the part closest to the sun, naturally luminous. And then imagine liquorice, which, on the other hand, sinks into the earth, into the deepest, most radical part of the plant. Two opposing, almost symbolic elements.

When liquorice powder falls on this “golden pour,” something interesting happens: due to hydration, that dark matter transforms, opens up, releases an unexpected light. It is precisely there that we found an observation point: the ability of ingredients to tell something deeper, to suggest that light can always transform and overturn any situation.

During the pandemic, we were contacted by the Uffizi to create a gastronomic transposition inspired by a work of art. I asked for a virtual tour and came across a work I didn't know: a piece by Roberto Barni.

This work was created after an attack that destroyed a building and part of the museum, causing injuries and five deaths. But the story that emerges is different: an almost angelic figure, suspended on a blade that slices through space, reaches out to five figures, as if to free them from ugliness and restore their beauty. It is a profoundly poetic and spiritual representation, a gesture of elevation. Placed twenty meters high, the work looks far ahead, projected into a majestic becoming.

From this suggestion came a new evolution of risotto. The structure remained the same, but elements were introduced that amplified the message. A slightly spicy but citrusy note, provided by an African chilli grown in the Euganean Hills. Then a green limoncino, intensely fragrant, which adds a sensation of openness, of momentum.

Finally, black lemon: a maceration conveyed with water and traces of liquorice, which becomes a symbol of transformation and transmutation. The result is a continuous dialogue between green, citrusy and spicy, between depth and freshness, between tension and liberation.

It’s a dish that vibrates, that moves between contrasts and harmonies, and that ultimately returns a sensation of openness, almost liberation.

This, for us, is Passi d’oro.” 

Massimiliano Alajmo

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