QUALITALY 140

June/July 2024 XI MAGAZINE the guys in the brigade change knowing that they can be seen. Until last year we had a small kitchen: a room with a sink where you couldn’t see anything. This year we have renovated and have a new, open kitchen, the central island is a Molteni, made with state-of-the-art technology to provide a more comfortable environment for the brigade. We tried to air-condition the kitchen as best we could by working on the air exchangers and new hoods. And we worked on the uniforms in the lounge and reception area, which are now in unbleached linen. THE INTERNSHIP IN LIMA AT SCHIAFFINO’S IMPRESSED ME. WHAT DID YOU TAKE FROM PERU THAT IS GOOD FOR OUR CUISINE? I brought leche di tigre, which I adapt to our ingredients. After each experience abroad, however, I keep turning around and picking at my side dishes: citrus fruits, herbs, our fish. I translate and incorporate the new ingredient by highlighting the territory. THE POMODORINO SICCAGNO DI SALINA, ON THE OTHER HAND, IS TYPICAL OF THE ISLAND. It is a small, juicy, thick-skinned tomato that has a characteristic spike in the fruit. It has adapted to the Salina soil by growing without being watered. All it needs is a little rain or the condensation that forms at high altitudes due to temperature changes. It is hung and stored to be used over time. TINDARO THE FISHERMAN? Tindaro is a fisherman with whom I have a very direct relationship. What the sea between Salina and Filicudi has to offer we try to catch here: from the mustine to the red scorpion fish, from the octopus to the moray eel, from the pot shrimp to lobsters. I have a direct relationship with the boat. WHAT ABOUT THE MORAY EEL? ... the moray eel is usually thrown away. It is only eaten by fishermen. It has to be prepared well in the kitchen for serving because it is full of bones. Since it has fatty meat, I chose an unusual underground barbecuing method. AMOSI QUINTO QUARTO DI MARE? I WAS CURIOUS ABOUT MULLET WITH GIBLETS It is a sustainable concept that includes the total preparation of the ingredient. The offal makes a broth or pâté. The skin is fried. The bones make broth. The dish is enhanced by a caciucco sauce and accompanied by samphire. ONE OF THE LATEST INNOVATIONS IS THE MATURING OF FISH. I mature fish with good results. My husband is a veterinary doctor who is passionate about cooking and fishing and helps me in the study of curing with precision and scientific method. We get butteriness, length, good texture both when cooking and when serving raw in marinade. I have made a very good tuna bresaola that holds its own. I WAS INTRIGUED BY THE SICILIAN ALGIDA CROISSANT. The company contacted me to develop an ice cream croissant. Since I had to represent Sicily with this product, I developed some concepts related to the island’s culture. The concept of the cannolo was chosen by the company, which produced a croissant with cinnamon wafer, orange sauce, cream ice cream with ricotta cheese and pistachio grains. HOW OPEN IS MARTINA WHEN SHE COOKS? If I’m happy or if I’m angry you can see it immediately. My face speaks. So, I am open in the kitchen of my restaurant. YOUR BROTHER LUCA, DIRECTOR OF SIGNUM, HAS JOINED YOU IN THE RESTAURANT. SINCE 2020 HE HAS BECOME A WINE PRODUCER. A CARUSO HOUSE WINE IS THE BIANCO V SALINA BIANCO IGT - MALVASIA DELLE LIPARI 100%. Luca runs Signum with me in all its aspects including the restaurant. The Eolia project, which he founded with his fiancée Natascia Santandrea, is a source of pride for him, from the cellar to the vineyards. (LUCA) It is a wine with an iodine and saline olfactory profile with scents of rock herbs. It is a wine of character, intense and broad on the palate. The grapes are harvested in six small plots in Valdichiesa. They are destemmed and gently crushed. The must is fermented in steel vats for 12 days with maturation on the fine lees for 12 months with bâtonnage a couple of times a week. We bottle-age it for one year. HOW IS YOUR WINE CELLAR STRUCTURED? (LUCA) The daytime wine cellar for the first service is below the restaurant. Then in an old basin is the vault with the supplies for the daytime cellar and the rare and precious wines. We chose an old basinfor this purpose. WHAT WINE DO SIGNUM CUSTOMERS DRINK? (LUCA) Wines from the territory, Salina and Sicily are the most popular. Etna wineries are doing very well as are wines from classic regions (Piedmont, Tuscany, Campania and Friuli). There is a good number of Champagne labels, then Burgundy both red and white, Bordeaux, Austria, Germany, Slovenia. There are few labels from the so-called emerging countries. WHAT ABOUT EOLIA? (LUCA)It’s my latest project. Eolia was born in 2020. It’s a wine company based in Salina. Eolia is challenge, energy and a deep love for Salina. We produce two whites and a territorial red. Soon there will be a rosé. We cover 7 and a half hectares between Malfa and Valdichiesa in land so parcelled out that they recall the idea of cru. It is a small operation that works and grows well. __________________________________ There is always an intensity of taste, strength and power as if Martina wants to show her muscles almost out of defence. And the attack of people who are born timid. Martina, however, achieves a serenity that calms. The taste becomes tamed in a quiet fullness that envelops like when you draw a circle that includes polygons and leave out the edges. __________________________________ Credits: Giò Martorana Credits: Giò Martorana Credits: Giò Martorana