Guido’s island chef
For years, my husband and I have lived a lazy ritual. Malibu cinema on Saturday nights to enjoy the latest “hot” release in small-town comfort, then a leisurely stroll over to Guido’s for a snack. We almost always ran into friends one place or the other and soon our simple habit became a hangout. That all changed when the unthinkable happened-no empty booth!
Lately, the restaurant has been standing room only, buzzing with that happy sound a big space gets when people are well fed and satisfied. Guido’s has always been warm and welcoming. No one in town is more gracious than owner Vassil Pertchinkov, and manager Ted Semi is darling. But in the past, Guido’s ambience out-paced its chef. Now, with a new chef, Eliano Camboni, the food is as good as the charm of its hosts.
Hailing from the rugged shores of Europe’s most culturally diverse island, Camboni combines classic culinary skills with a spirited creativity rooted in Sardinia’s ancestral traditions. Sardinia has been French, Catalan and, for just the last century, Italian. The cuisine reflects that fusion and native thrift. Sardinians have long lived on what they pull from the sea along with plump olives from ancient trees and whatever grows seasonally in rocky soil. A few years ago, jetsetters discovered its unspoiled beaches and young islanders found wealth in feeding them. As a youth fresh from the Culinary Institute, Camboni hopped a yacht and then a liner, perfecting his craft at sea until love landed him in L.A. and the famed Adriano’s in Bel-Air. For the past decade, Camboni owned the delightful Basilico in Thousand Oaks until he decided that cooking was more fun than management and he moved his toque to Malibu.
His signature dishes evoke the ripe, earthy flavors of his homeland. Hands down, he makes L.A.’s most delicate gnocchi: tiny, melt-in-your-mouth puffs laced with sauces so subtle they evoke flavors rather than shout them. He folds seasonal fruits into fresh pasta dough, inventing amazing combinations like blueberry fettuccine with creamy corn sauce. If you’re a meat eater, try his rich, supple seasonings on tender beef. But, if you go on a Saturday night, make reservations: 310.456.1979.
I asked Camboni to share just one secret with us. He chose his popular clam chowder-a recipe very close to one of my mother’s best-kept secrets. Following are both variations, each drenched in the traditions of their local seashores.
I grew up a shell’s throw from a stretch of sand 22 minutes north of Manhattan and a mere two minutes west of New England-small wonder my family chowder is an ambivalent mix of the two. On cloudy days, when my mother didn’t want to drive into town to shop, she sent me down to the beach to dig for dinner. Armed with a rusty, old garden claw and a chubby red bucket with a shaggy dog as the clam hole spotter, I hauled in sweet baby little necks and plucked a mussel or two from the pier. The result was soup worthy of kings with a heritage as homely as my scuffed, pine-y path to the sea. It was always a favorite meal, and I hope you come to love it too.
RYE BEACH CHOWDER
Serves 6
6 slices bacon, chopped
4 tbs. butter
2 brown onions, diced
4 celery stalks, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1 bottle clam juice
2 cups low-salt chicken broth
2 tbs. flour (optional*)
28-ounce can tomatoes, drained
2 potatoes, peeled and diced*
4 sprigs fresh thyme (or 2 tsp. dried)
1 can baby clams
3-dozen Manila clams
1-1/ 2 cups whipping cream
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Chopped fresh parsley
Tabasco sauce
1. Cook the bacon in a soup pot over low heat until bacon is wilted and slightly browned-5 minutes. Pour off most of the fat.
2. Add 2 tbs. butter and turn heat to medium. Add the onion, celery and red pepper to saut until soft. If adding flour, stir it in for two minutes.
3. Add clam juice and slowly bring to a boil. Add broth, tomatoes, thyme and potatoes, and simmer until the potatoes are almost tender, about 20 minutes.
4. Puree two-thirds of the canned clams in a food processor with a bit of liquid. Coarsely chop the rest of the clams, reserving the juice.
5. Bring the soup to a boil and add the fresh clams, lowering the heat to a simmer and cooking just until they start to open. Add puree and chopped clams.
6. Stir in the cream and remaining butter. Heat through and adjust seasonings, adding reserved clam juice to taste. Garnish with parsley and a dash of Tabasco.
Tips from the table: * Potato choice makes a big difference. Baking potatoes are fluffy; they break down in the soup to thicken it, thus eliminating the need for flour. Boiling potatoes hold their shape and add a distinctive down-home flavor, but you’ll need the flour.
Variation: Guido’s “Zuppa di Vongole”
- Omit the bacon, red pepper, potatoes and thyme.
- Replace the butter with olive oil, using just 2 tbs.
- Add 1 minced garlic clove to the saut.
- Add 1/2 cup pine nuts and a large bunch of basil leaves to the clams in the food processor.
- Replace the cream with crme fraiche.