Positano Luxury Hotels - Amalfi Coast - Best hotel in Positano, Amalfi Coast 

The menu of the starred restaurant La Serra in Positano is a symphony of flavors that you never get tired of. The fish of our bluest sea, vegetables and herbs collected in the hotel garden, the cuts of meat selected with passion for those who will taste them. And it could not be otherwise, because for Luigi Tramontano, the eclectic chef of 'La Serra', cooking is an act of love, or it would be reduced to a simple "do something to eat".

The love for cooking and the highest quality ingredients, treated in purity, converts into new preparations, which conquer at the first glance. But like any love, this too deserves to be cultivated and renewed, which is why our Chef is constantly looking for ways to enhance the notes of his creations. The spring air smells of new good things and Chef Tramontano proposes the reinterpretation of one of the dishes most loved by his guests: Smoked amberjack with cinnamon salted brioche sponge, buffalo yogurt sauce and dill.

Ready to be delighted by a gourmet masterpiece?

Marinade for the amberjack

• 300 grams of amberjack
• 30 grams of coarse salt
• 15 grams of cane sugar
• 1 lemon and orange zest
• 1 cinnamon stick
• star anise
• juniper
• dill
• mint
• crushed wild fennel seeds

Chef Tramontano's recipe begins with a very aromatic marinade, which will give the amberjack hints never imagined before. So, prepare the marinade and let the amberjack marinate, well immersed, in the fridge for 12-18 hours. Now move on to the smoking phase: burn shavings, pine cones, dried herbs or dried olive branches together with tobacco in a large pot.

Pay attention to how you place the preparations: the grill with the amberjack fillets goes to the top shelf, a plate with ice on the shelf below and the shavings to be smoked for about 30 minutes on the last shelf. After half an hour, put the amberjack fillets in a vacuum bag and leave them for at least a whole day: time will work for you.

Raspberry jelly

• 300 grams of frozen raspberries
• 100 grams of sugar
• 300 grams of water at 85 °
• 2.8 grams of agar agar

For the raspberry jelly, prepare the syrup with the sugar and water, warm it with the frozen raspberries and blend them. Filter the mixture obtained, mix the agar agar and bring to a boil. Finally, eliminate the foam and pour the jelly into the appropriate mold.

Cinnamon salted brioche sponge

• 105 grams of almond flour
• 60 grams of sugar
• 3 eggs
• 25 grams of flour
• half-liter siphon with 2 capsules

Once you collected the ingredients and tools for the brioche sponge, get to work. The preparation is complex and requires special attention, but the result will fill you with satisfaction (and taste). Blend the ingredients until you get a soft cream, pour it into the siphon and load with two capsules. Wait for everything to rest in the fridge for about three hours. Then take some plastic cups and make three small cuts at the end of the lower edge, following the drawing above. Fill the cups with the mixture up to halfway and cook them in the microwave, upside down and placed on a sheet of parchment paper, for 40 seconds at 900 watts.

The caviar and the sauce

For the cantaloupe caviar, with a small corer create many melon pearls, which you will dip in a light syrup (100 grams of water and 50 grams of sugar) with the melon liqueur. Now the last preparation of the recipe: the buffalo yogurt and dill sauce, with 100 grams of buffalo yogurt, 50 grams of whipped cream, 10 grams of lemon, salt, pepper and chopped dill.

Serving

To best enjoy the smoked amberjack revisited for a gourmet spring, take care of the serving. Place the raspberry jelly on the plate, then the mixed salad and sprouts seasoned with citronette, add the slices of smoked amberjack. Pour the yogurt sauce, add the cinnamon sponge and garnish with candied orange zest.

At the time of serving, to amaze your guests, smoke with the instant smoker and - for a spectacular effect - cover it with a glass cloche.