Cut the stale bread in big cubes, skin and deseed the seared tomatoes. Clean the vegetables and cut them in small pieces. Put the octopus in a cylinder under vacuum-seal or roll it up in the plastic wrap and blast chilling at 1-2 C°. Warm up the water slightly, add some salt and the vinegar and pour the bread, squeeze it out and put it in a bowl adding the vegetables, the cube cut tuna, the julienne basil and some oil and pepper. Rest in the fridge. Whip the tomatoes with some salt and pepper to obtain a smooth cream. Remove the wrap film and cut the octopus in thin slices with the slicer. Use the slices to cover a single dose demi sphere mold. Add the panzanella salad, press well and rest in the fridge for 1-2 hours. Turn out from the mold and put it in the center of a plate, pour the cold creamed tomatoes around, three olives, salt, pepper, wild fennel and extra virgin olive oil.
Recipe that serve 4:
- 200 g. stale bread
- 200 g. ripe fresh tomatoes
- 50 g. cucumber
- 30 g. yellow peppers
- 10 g. tonnina (salted tuna)
- 10 g. Ivrea small onions
- 250 g. boiled octopus (Recipe from Elba Island)
- 10 ml. white vinegar
- 500 ml. water
- 5 g. fine salt
- 100 g. extra virgin olive oil
- 10 g. black olives
- 5 g. fresh basil
- 3 g. wild fennel
- 1 g. ground black pepper
Massimiliano Menchetti, Chef of the Argentario Golf Resort Damadama restaurant. Expert advice by Chef Emiliano Lombardelli