I AM an unapologetic food geek on a constant mission to learn enough to convince myself and others that I really do know my artichoke from my Alba truffle. Without the unlimited budget of a lottery winner and with small children in tow, it’s impossible to travel the world or even the country satisfying my greed (for, er, knowledge). So when I get the opportunity to visit independents and talk to people who specialise in particular food and drink items, to break down categories into smaller sub categories, my fancy gets tickled.
This deeply flavoured, softly fatted ham shows that the Italians are not prepared to take the recent influx of quality Spanish Jamon, lying down
Salvi’s is an authentic, family run, Italian food business, but back to what I was saying about geeky sub-categories, they specialise in the produce of southern Italy, particularly Naples, where owner Maurizio comes from. Taught from an early age by his mother, Teresa, about the region’s fine food and how to carefully source ingredients, Maurizio and his wife Claire have created a warm and welcoming place where more of us can come to learn about this comforting and generous cuisine.
Confidential was recently invited along to ‘a mozzarella masterclass’ to rediscover this fabulous slice of Naples at their relaunched Corn Exchange restaurant. Their outside terrace was always a first class place to sit in summer with an Aperol Spritz and a platter of Italian goodies, but now, as a reward for pioneering the transformation of The Corn Exchange into a more food-led hub, they were moved to a larger unit a few doors down last December.
Owner Maurizio hamming it up in Salvi's, Corn ExchangeYou are still greeted at the door by a refrigerated deli counter filled with various glistening white balls of mozzarella, anti-pasti and specialist filled pastries, but it now leads on, through an assortment of Neapolitan tins, packets and boxes, to a smartly cosy restaurant area. Towards the back of the deli you’ll find a staircase leading downstairs to more dining tables from which you can see the kitchen and enjoy the fabulous cooking aromas emitting from it in waves.
We were led into a private tasting room, the walls of which were lined with bottles of excellent wine. In the centre stood a table arranged at standing height. This helpfully prevented anyone who might have overdone it on the pizza and Negronis from having a recline and going into a carbohydrate coma (that’s more Roman than Neapolitan).
We began with a platter of milky rich buffalo mozzarella and the more powerfully rustic smoked provola, as well as salami, bresaola stuffed with creamy tallegio and rocket leaves, olives and Parma ham wrapped around crunchy grissini, which have the same addictive qualities as Pringles but are obviously a thousand times better.
We had a ringside seat to watch Maurizio and his staff expertly carve paper thin slivers of black footed ‘L'Antico Nero’ 36 months cured Parma ham. This deeply flavoured, softly fatted ham shows that the Italians are not prepared to take the recent influx of quality Spanish Jamon lying down. The Italians can certainly hold their own in the ham department.
36 month aged Parma Ham
Salvi's nifty NegroniThey are also incredibly proud of their wine and you can’t blame them, living in a country where most car journeys involve a view of ancient vineyards. Leon, Maurizio’s friend and wine supplier, served a fresh citrusy white Passerina using an indigenous grape from Marche (near Rome) and two red wines; Caccia Al Piano by Bolgheri from Tuscany and then a Susumaniello from Brindisi. Artisan beer is becoming quite the thing in Italy with brewery Moretti introducing variations inspired by the dominant flavour influence of each region. Siciliana beer has been infused by the indigenous lemon and orange blossom, while Toscana bears the slightly stronger taste of chestnut.
The point of this gathering was to showcase the produce available in the restaurant and deli and to illustrate the ways they can be eaten, cooked and served. We were treated to a rolling programme of “Pizzatella”; circular pillows of lightly fried saffron infused dough, topped with a variety of Salvi’s favourite combinations:
Crema di zucca provola aff pancetta croccante (pumpkin cream with smoked mozzarella and fried pancetta)
Finocchiona cacio del Monaco e mostarda di pere (Salami, ‘Provolone del Monaco’ with mustard and pear)
Funghi porcini provola aff e tartufo (Porcini mushroom, smoked mozzarella truffle oil)
Mortadella pesto bufala e pomodorino (Mortadella with tomato)
Fagioli cipolla al balsamico tonno scottato e stracciatella (Beans, onion, balsamic tuna and stracciatella- mozzarella and cream)To follow, we all dug into a plate of Paccheri (large pasta tubes) stuffed with melting soft Taleggio
and smoked mozzarella cheeses, lovingly coated with a rich tomato sauce before being baked in the oven. I asked Maurizio whether his tomato sauce came from a family recipe perfected over decades, but he said not. His answer revealed his whole ethos, “we cook garlic in good olive oil until it is done exactly right, then we add the best and ripest cherry tomatoes and cook them down until it’s ready.”
Simple stuff really, but by using the best ingredients, humble dishes like these travel from taste buds to memory bank where they happily live out their days.
Salvi’s Mozzarella Bar, Unit 22b The Corn Exchange, M4 3TR. TeL: 0161 222 8021
