From his kitchen to yours

B.C. chef looks to cement legacy with cookbook

3Dfood_1101_from_art=20

Rib-Eye of Canadian Prime Beef alla=20 Fiorentinas.

Chef Pino Posteraro is on stage six days a week in = the open=20 kitchen of his restaurant Cioppino=E2=80=99s Mediterranean = Grill, but the=20 chef has tried to remain out of the media spotlight, = preferring to=20 focus on winning fans one diner at a time.

=E2=80=9CI believe in the word of mouth. If your = mouth is still=20 savouring the dish, it will bring 10 more = people,=E2=80=99=E2=80=99 he said in an=20 interview.

=E2=80=9CIf you are doing bad, it will not bring any = people.=E2=80=9D

Posteraro opened the doors of Cioppino=E2=80=99s = Mediterranean Grill=20 in 1999. In her review, Globe and Mail restaurant critic = Joanne=20 Kates wrote: =E2=80=9CMake no mistake =E2=80=94 Pino = Posteraro is congenitally=20 incapable of producing less than first quality, in both food = and=20 service.=E2=80=9D

But at 43, Posteraro has started to think about a = legacy not=20 just for him and the restaurant, but also for those he = trained under=20 and works with.

=E2=80=9CI am young. I feel young, but on the other = hand whatever=20 I=E2=80=99ve been learning and whatever I=E2=80=99ve been = giving in the culinary=20 field needs to be shared, needs to be left behind and what = better=20 way than documenting in a book,=E2=80=9D he said.

His newly released 234-page cookbook under the same = name as=20 his restaurant includes 125 recipes, including 39 basic = recipes that=20 are used as the building blocks for many of the dishes, with = wine=20 suggestions for each plate.

All have appeared on the menu or as specials in the=20 restaurant and Posteraro says the recipes are the same as = those used=20 in the restaurant, though scaled down.

Posteraro started with 300 recipes for the cookbook = based on=20 his restaurant in Vancouver=E2=80=99s trendy Yaletown = neighbourhood before=20 they were reduced to those that appear in the book, = published by=20 Douglas and McIntyre.

But Posteraro insists the book isn=E2=80=99t just = food porn,=20 beautiful pictures of food unattainable for the home = cook.

=E2=80=9CI find the recipes to be elaborate in their = thinking and in=20 the conceiving of the recipes, but they are very easy and = accessible=20 and easy to execute,=E2=80=99=E2=80=99 Posteraro said.

Starting out in his brother=E2=80=99s restaurant = Celestino in Toronto=20 and later training in Italy, Posteraro spent two years as = chef of=20 Ristorante Bologna at the Marina Mandarin Hotel in = Singapore.

The time in Asia is reflected in his cooking with = dishes like=20 seared ahi tuna with a light lemon-soy vinaigrette or the = ginger and=20 soy-marinated sablefish with soy sabayon and Chinese = salad.

During his time in Singapore, Posteraro became deft = at=20 handling new ingredients like lemon grass and ginger.

=E2=80=9CI believe what is great for different = cultures and different=20 gastronomical backgrounds is to try to understand the = meaning behind=20 them and then incorporate the flavours, incorporate some key = elements and ingredients in your cooking,=E2=80=99=E2=80=99 = he said.

But at its heart Cioppino=E2=80=99s is an Italian = restaurant.

Posteraro=E2=80=99s fans shouldn=E2=80=99t start = looking for his face on the=20 side of a bottle of sauce any time soon.

=E2=80=9CI am a restaurant person first. I want to be = in the=20 restaurant,=E2=80=99=E2=80=99 Posteraro said.

=E2=80=9CMy next goal is to spend more time with the = family and=20 eventually spend more time with the family and try to pull = back a=20 little more from the restaurant side.=E2=80=99=E2=80=99

Rib-Eye of Canadian Prime Beef alla=20 Fiorentinas

INGREDIENTS:

4 beef rib-eye steaks (each 150 g/1/3 lb), fat = trimmed=20 and silver skin removed
30 ml (2 tbsp) aged balsamic vinegar
5 ml (1 tsp) sherry vinegar
50 ml (1/4 cup) extra-virgin olive oil
50 ml (1/4 cup) chopped mixed herbs (rosemary, = sage,=20 thyme)
1 ml (1/4 tsp) chopped garlic

Salt

200 g (7 oz) arugula
16 cherry tomatoes
60 ml (4 tsp) Honey Vinaigrette
40 g (1 1/2 oz) shaved Parmesan cheese
50 ml (1/4 cup) Red Wine Sauce

METHOD:

Place steaks in a glass or stainless-steel = container.=20 Drizzle with balsamic and sherry vinegars and olive = oil,=20 then sprinkle both sides with mixed herbs, garlic = and black=20 pepper. Allow steaks to marinate at room temperature = for 45=20 minutes to 1 hour.
Preheat a barbecue to high. Remove steaks from = marinade=20 (discard marinade) and season to taste with salt. = Cook for 8=20 minutes per side for rare (or 10 to 12 minutes per = side for=20 medium rare). Remove steaks from grill and allow to=20 rest.
Place arugula, cherry tomatoes and = vinaigrette in a=20 medium bowl and toss well to combine.
Carve each steak into 6 slices.
Place 6 slices of steak onto each of 4 serving = plates.=20 Drizzle red wine sauce on and around the meat. Place = 4=20 tomatoes around meat, then top each steak with = arugula=20 salad. Finish with a sprinkling of shaved Parmesan.=20 Makes 4=20 = servings.

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