Wynn Las Vegas Magazine by MODERN LUXURY

Wynn - 2013 - Issue 2 - Fall

Wynn Magazine - Las Vegas

Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/149416

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 57 of 107

FOOD SPOTLIGHT in. When you actually get a piece of that in the pasta dough, that's what really gives you that vibrant punch. We do 375 turns of black pepper for the whole pasta batch. So it's a lot of black pepper—and a lot of turning." What other factors go into this seemingly simple recipe? "You want to make sure everything is co-opted properly. You want to sift your flour, sift your semolina. You don't want to rush it," he says. "Let the paddle do its work." And while many chefs employ the "dollop of this, dollop of that" attitude, Leibowitz isn't one of them, at least not with this dish: "You have to follow your measurements, that's really important. You can't really eye- in Southern California, form the first, and most vital, ingredient in Febbraro's burrata. Turning those simple curds into burrata perfection is where the chef's craft really comes into play. "It takes a lot of love, a lot of drive," he says. "Practice makes perfect, that's what it is, really. The more you do it, the better it is." Born and raised in Naples, Italy, Febbraro knows more than a little bit about this concept. "My mom, when I was a kid, I remember she was in the morning with her cooking book, it was like a little bible," he remembers. "It was always open on the kitchen counter, and she was picking ball these things. The recipe needs to be to a T." Leibowitz serves the finished pasta with sautéed organic spinach and house-made Muscovy duck confit, itself a masterpiece of culinary design: cured for 12 hours, air-dried for 12 hours, and then slow-cooked in duck fat for about four hours at a low temperature. "The duck meat gets glazed with a bit of chicken stock and butter and with a bit of chopped fat in the meat, so it's super creamy and soft," he says. "We finish the dish with a poached organic egg, the same egg that goes into the dough. And then just a little bit of extra-virgin olive oil, fleur de sel, and shaved Parmigiano Reggiano, and we call it a day." A very good day, indeed. Every day around 4 pm, Allegro's Enzo Febbraro prepares his fresh burrata cheese, beloved by any and all who have had the pleasure of tasting it. Cow's milk cheese curds, delivered four times a week from a purveyor one recipe and mastering it, and probably we would eat the same thing for about a month. But it was the best thing because eventually, when she felt very comfortable, she moved on to another one and became the chef that she is." Allegro's burrata has two components: the fresh mozzarella wrapping and the creamy filling. The process for the mozzarella involves tempering the curds with two batches of hot water (one at about 110 degrees and the other at about 140), each for a few minutes. "Within three or four minutes you start to see the curd really form and melt all together into a mozzarella ball," says Febbraro. The cheese is then stretched out and cut into squares, and filled with a luscious combination of imported Italian sweet mascarpone cheese, shreds of the just-made fresh mozzarella, and heavy cream. After 30 minutes in the refrigerator, it's ready to plate, served with marinated tomato and a little bit of basil, olive oil, above: At Allegro, executive chef Enzo Febbraro makes fresh burrata cheese, filled with a combination of cream, fresh-made mozzarella, and imported Italian mascarpone. opposite page: The making of the burrata's creamy filling. 56 PHOTOGRAPHY BY BEVERLY POPPEL (FEBBRARO) "IT TAKES A LOT OF LOVE. PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT, THAT'S WHAT IT IS, REALLY. THE MORE YOU DO IT, THE BETTER IT IS."—enzo febbraro WYNN 054-059_W_F_FoodSpotlight_Fall13.indd 56 8/9/13 11:27 AM

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of Wynn Las Vegas Magazine by MODERN LUXURY - Wynn - 2013 - Issue 2 - Fall