POTATO CHICCHE WITH POMODORINA SAUCE, BUFFALO RICOTTA AND BASIL PEARLS

Serves 4 

Place the buffalo ricotta in a pastry bag and store it in the refrigerator.For the basil pearls: blanch the basil leaves for a few seconds in boiling water, then cool them in iced water. Drain the basil and blend it with a little water, then filter it with a fine strainer. Add the sodium alginate (1 g per 100 g of liquid) and blend it with a immersion blender. Pour the liquid into a syringe and pour some drops in a bowl filled with 500 g of water and 2.5 g of calcium chloride. Leave the pearls in this liquid for 20-30 seconds, then drain them with a spherification spoon and immerge them in a bowl of cold water to remove any calcium chloride residue.Drizzle some extra-virgin olive oil in a pan and brown a garlic clove for about a minute. Remove the garlic, add the Pomodorina sauce and the Leccino olives, then warm it up, adding a couple of fresh basil leaves. Cook the potato Chicce in plenty of boiling salted water, drain them as soon as they rise to the surface and toss them in the Pomodorina sauce. Palte up and garnish the potato Chicche with the buffalo ricotta, basil pearls and a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil.