Text size:

In the kitchen at Fiamma

By Daisy Carrington | dcarrington@am-ny.com

4:44 PM EST, February 26, 2008

Meatballs from Fiamma

That the menu at Fiamma lists straightforward-sounding Italian dishes, such as 'Il Risotto' and 'Il Carpaccio' might cause some diners to assume they¹re eating in an Italian restaurant. Others will point to the creaminess of the dishes and the complexity of the ingredients as evidence that the establishment borrows from more international sources. As far as the chef, Fabio Trabocchi, is concerned, though his food doesn¹t fall into the traditional category of what we in America consider Italian food, that doesn¹t mean that¹s not what he¹s serving.

"Italy has been so dominated by other countries -- France, Austria, you name it -- that some of our dishes are really more French than Italian; others more Spanish. There is so much that doesn¹t look or taste Italian, but really is as Italian as any other dish. It¹s just less obvious out of our country when we do dishes like that, but it is so normal when you are in Italy," said Trabocchi.

The chef, who took over the kitchen five months ago, after running Washington, D.C.¹s prized Maestro, sticks to Italian tradition in his method and in the integrity of his ingredients. He even does his own butchering. "You don¹t always want to offer the most obvious cut of meat," he said. "We use the entire animal. Doing so brings some principles into play that otherwise tend to disappear [from the kitchen]."

Running a kitchen comes naturally to Trabocchi. While growing up in Italy's Marche region, he learned how to shop for food; his father, who planned the family meals, would send him out to the butcher, the grocer in his hometown. "Sunday meals were usually planned weeks in advance," he recalled.

But for Trabocchi, the most enjoyable part of working in a kitchen is the creative process. "I love that a recipe is never set in stone," he said. "There¹s always something more to learn, and everything that you¹ve done, even if you¹ve done it in the best possible way, can always be done better. So you never have any reason to get bored whatsoever."

Q&A with Fabio Trabocchi

You¹ve run Italian restaurants all over the world. How does perception of Italian food differ? In general, I will say that most countries recognize Italian food as very comfortable, or not necessarily fine dining. It also has a lot to do with what each individual has been exposed to.

You do all your butchering in house. Is it a lost art among chefs? It is, and it¹s very educational. You can look at an animal and say, I¹m going to use this part to make this thing, and that part to make the sauce, and this piece because it has the best flavor to do this.

Are there any other cooking techniques you mourn the loss of? Not really. There¹s a custom to say our cooking techniques are evolving, and so forth. Many techniques get upgraded with new technology, but the principles are the same.

Meatballs
Serves 4

7 oz ground chicken
7 oz ground veal
7 oz ground pork
2/3 cup Parmigiano Reggiano
Zest of 4 lemons
6 egg yolks
1/2 head of roasted garlic
1 cup white bread, shredded and soaked in 1/2 cup milk for five to ten minutes, until bread is softened. Squeez to remove excess liquid
1 quart cream