Prà, a Ligurian kitchen in Spitalfields
Cucina ligure · Spitalfields
Twelve things done properly. The basil comes from Prà, or we don't call it pesto.
Il menuProvenienza
From Liguria, mostly
A Ligurian kitchen is short. It grows on a thin strip of coast between the mountains and the sea, so it learned to make a lot from a little, and to leave things alone.
The basil is from Prà, small-leaf, grown under glass on the hill above the port so the sun never toughens it. The oil is Taggiasca from the Riviera di Ponente, gentle, never grassy. The parmigiano comes from Emilia, and we won't pretend otherwise.
The rest is technique. We roll the trofie, we stamp the corzetti, we build the pesto in a mortar. Then we carry it two thousand kilometres and finish it in E1.
Il rito
Pesto al mortaio
Pesto is a cold sauce built by hand. Heat is the enemy. So is the blade. Seven ingredients, one bowl of marble, and patience.
- 01
Crush garlic and a few grains of coarse salt to a paste. The salt is the abrasive.
- 02
Basil a handful at a time. Grind in circles against the wall, never pound. Bruise it, don't beat it.
- 03
Pine nuts to a cream. Keep the pestle turning, keep the wall working.
- 04
Rain in the cheeses, parmigiano and fiore sardo. Loosen with the oil, slow, until it falls off the spoon in a ribbon.
- 05
Never the blender.
Stasera
Three things, tonight only, until they run out.
- Mandilli di seta, pesto, from the last of the day's basil
- Acciughe fritte, lemon, a fistful of parsley
- Sciacchetrà affogato, one scoop, poured over
La stampa
A serious argument for doing one thing until it is finished. The trofie are the best in London and it is not close.
London finally has a Ligurian kitchen that knows the difference between a mortar and a machine.
Prenota
Book a table
We keep the counter for walk-ins. Book a table for everything else.
Two hours at the table. The kitchen closes at 22:30.