The flavours of an Italy you’ve never imagined are coming to you soon at Siena.
Opening soon, Siena Italian Steakhouse at the Flatiron Building in Phnom Penh is dedicated to bringing you the best of real Italian cooking, representing centuries of tradition from the north and south of the country. Our Executive Chef, Giuseppe Napoletano, Pino to his friends, has spent almost 40 years refining his skills in kitchens all over the world, and his dedication to original recipes using the best ingredients in order to bring you the sublime, authentic flavours of Italy is just one mark of his passion for his work.
But that’s not to say that he doesn’t allow himself to get creative from time to time, which is the secret behind one of the trade mark dishes that you’ll find at Siena: Slow Cooked Crispy Eggs with Asparagus and Leek. This is an intricate dish, that is painstaking and time-consuming to prepare, but we think the rewards are worth it. And it also combines a variety of cooking styles, from slow-cooking the eggs at a low temperature for 50 minutes so that they cook through while keeping a silky texture. Then they’re left to settle in flat rice for a day before being wrapped in rice and deep-fried, so that silly egginess is matched by the crisp and crunchy exterior.
It would be perfect just there, but there is more. The egg is set on a puff-pastry crust with a cream of asparagus and leek to add a softer crisp, and smooth, creamy earthiness of the vegetables. A marriage of tastes, textures and colours that we think is perfection on a plate.
On a more traditional tack, one of Chef Pino’s favourite dishes is Risotto, one of those things that looks simple but in reality is far from it. Risotto is made from a medium to long-grain fino or superfino rice grown in the north of Italy, and the key to success lies in the attention and experience of the chef. The rice cooks in a stock that is introduced gradually over the cooking process, each ladleful being added as the last one is absorbed by the grains. It should also be stirred in order to help break up the starches that give the finished dish its luscious creaminess, but not too much, or all that creaminess will be lost.
Chef Pino has gone to great lengths to source the very best risotto rice that Italy produces, and you’ll find it on Siena’s menu prepared with Shellfish, Courgette Pesto, a sweet Black Garlic Cream and Lime. Sublime…
And for the sweeter things in life, we fall back again on Chef Pino’s creative side. It is an Italian Chocolate Ganache with Italian Black Rum, Almond Cookies and Raspberry and Mandarine Jelly (gelatine). Chef Pino came up with this delight as a way of bringing together all of his favourite things in one dessert, and he named it 1969, in honour of his birthday. We’re looking forward to celebrating your birthdays and more at Siena. Watch this space!
Facebook Comments