AUTHENTIC is a word much abused. Seasonal, too. And Italian restaurants that pay true attention to regionality are few and far between. Glossy San Carlo Cicchetti has never stayed tied for long to its name, a homage to Venetian gondoliers’ favourite small plates but in exec development chef Filippo Pagani they have a driving force in the kitchen whose roots spread wide.
So a humble nettle risotto, peasant food, is given a showcase in the new summer menu and beetroot ravioli are given equal billing – a quite ravishing dish, sprinkled with poppy seeds, not a million miles away from Polish pierogi.
Seafood steers a course, naturally, towards Venezia, ‘La Serenissima’, notably Calamarata con granchia– short pasta tubes with crab, fennel and chilli (£7.95), the pasta too al dente for me but a real chilli bite in there. Trumped, mind, by a rival pasta dish from old foe Florence – Strozapreti with asparagus, fennel, peas, mint, broad beans, mascarpone and pine nuts (£7.90).
Favourite dishes of the tasting, though, was Prosciutto-like cured lamb sliced thin and served with mint, tomatoes and pistachios (below).
Filippo told us: “For me, the best cooking combines great simplicity with great taste and for an Italian, eating seasonally is a way of life, it means you’re eating fresh ingredients at the height of their flavour. In June and July, asparagus, peas, broad beans, peaches and lemons come into their own. Our new dishes celebrate the best of the new season’s produce using dishes from Florence, Cortina, Venice and Abruzzo.”
From the latter rustic region came divine lamb cutlets roasted in hay with rosemary and thyme (£8.95, above). We look forward to their handling of porchetta – stuffed, boneless slow roasted pork – at the upcoming Festa Italiana in Cathedral Gardens (preview here).
San Carlo Cicchetti, House of Fraser Ground Floor, King Street West, Manchester, M3 2QG. 0161 839 2233.