Enrico Crippa caught between Langhe and Asia

The fundamental element of his current cuisine is the plant world in all possible facets (think the legendary biodynamic vegetable garden he created), to which the chef applies all his experience and techniques that until yesterday seemed to be the prerogative only of the protein elements

Portrait of a chef in three dishes

Salad 21…31…41…51

Piazza Duomo is the perfect summary of the attention paid to the plant world, gained in recent years. The possibility of having a biodynamic vegetable garden, allows us to always have fresh ingredients and their maximum potential for taste and aroma. The first part of the dish is the one that plays with the more intense aromatic notes and the bitter sensations typical of some leaves, then continues on the more classic salad tones, to close with a sippable tuna dashi that recalls the olfactory notes of the dish and then prepares the palate for the next course

Pink rice and shrimp

One of the most colorful dishes I've ever created and which gives me––as it does to our guests––a wonderful feeling of joy. The dish is a play between the texture of the red shrimp from Sanremo––salty and sweet at the same time––and the softness of the beet risotto made creamy with flower scented butter that acts as a real palette for the dish. We reach the balance with a spicy note of the pink peppercorns, the sweet and sour of the Cosmos flowers "in carpione" and the sour ending of the dried red Shiso

Lamb and chamomile

A dish dedicated to Valvaraita. By making it we thought of combining Sambucano breed lamb with all the natural elements of the valley. Chamomile and wild herbs (used in reduction to glaze the meat), hay that welcomes the rest of the meat before arriving at the table, goat's milk turned into a cream with soft and acid notes, which recalls the nourishment of the lamb. A dish that has become symbolic for us and that brings me back to walks in the valley and visits to breeders

Piazza Duomo – Alba (CN) - Piazza Risorgimento, 4 - 0173366167 – piazzaduomoalba.it

by Stefano Polacchi

portrait by Marco Varoli

photos by Brambilla Serrani/Best of...Enrico Crippa (Giunti Editore)