HOW A LITTLE UNCONVENTIANALISM CAN MAKE FOR A LOT OF FLAVOR
BY MARCO CHIRICO
I’ve never been a particularly “by the book” kind of chef. When I helped overhaul the approach of my dad Joseph’s Italian restaurant Enoteca on Court in Carroll Gardens—including the food menu, wine menu, and portion sizes—I wanted something different. Putting a wine bar in, for example, struck me as responding to newer trends, along with an increased appreciation for healthy eating and smaller portions. To address the last, I started cooking Italian-style tapas, such as meatballs in clay bowls, baked brie, and also began offering cheese and salami tastings. I did all this when I was still at Johnson & Wales University in Rhode Island, and it makes me smile now to think of sure of himself that young me must have been.
The key to my master plan at Enoteca, however, was bringing in an authentic Neapolitan oven. It was built by hand by two gentlemen from Naples, and it took them two weeks to build it— but the results are stunning. Pizzas, Panini, and bruschetta find a temporary home there, but also other surprises, because once you learn the brick oven, you can do amazing things with it. It wasn’t long before I started doing chicken, fish…even baby octopus.
Another thing that often raises traditionalists’ eyebrows is the vegetable purée I use in pizza dough in place of water to give it added nutrition and color. Butternut squash makes the dough pale orange… cooked greens make it pale green. Unconventional? Maybe, but if you can’t have fun with food, what’s the point?