50 Best’s first-ever e-cookbook, Home Comforts: simple lockdown recipes from the world’s best chefs and bartenders, takes you into the homes of the world’s best chefs, giving you unique access to the dishes they prepare for their families. Enjoy a sneak peek with Helena Rizzo’s favourite pasta dish and click here to get the e-cookbook for a $10 (£8) minimum donation
Named The World’s Best Female Chef in 2014, Helena Rizzo runs the outstanding Maní restaurant in the heart of São Paulo, Brazil. A career as a fashion model saw her travel the world, before a dinner at El Celler de Can Roca in Spain made her stop in her tracks. The food inspired her to such an extent that she immediately set about convincing Joan Roca to grant her a position in the kitchen. He acquiesced, and she never looked back.
After returning to São Paulo, Rizzo received an offer from friends to open a restaurant and in 2006, Maní was born. For Home Comforts, the chef shares one of her favourite dishes. “I chose the capellini because it's a dish that's been on our menu since the beginning of Maní and it has recently become part of our delivery service,” she says. “It's very easy to prepare at home and is loved by our guests and friends alike.”
The Home Comforts fundraising e-book includes recipes from world-renowned chefs such as Rizzo’s mentor Joan Roca, one-time World’s Best Female Chef Clare Smyth and 2amDessertBar’s Janice Wong, along with cocktail pairings by some of the world’s best bartenders. Downloading a copy also gives you access to #50BestRateMyPlate, an Instagram challenge for cooks of all abilities to recreate dishes from Home Comforts for a chance to win tickets to The World’s 50 Best Restaurants awards ceremony in Antwerp, Flanders, in 2021. So, what are you waiting for? Download your copy of Home Comforts and think creatively, be inspired, get cooking!
CAPELLINI AND MUSHROOMS WITH LEMON BUTTER AND CHEESE CRUNCH
SERVES: 4-6
PREP TIME: 30 mins
COOKING TIME: 20 mins
Ingredients
500g capellini
250g shiitake mushrooms, sliced
250g portobello mushrooms, sliced
100g butter
2 lemons, juice
1 lemon, zest
Handful parsley, chopped
Handful chives, chopped
35ml soy sauce
30ml olive oil
100g aged Italian hard cheese, grated
Salt for seasoning
Method
For the lemon butter
Leave the butter at room temperature until it’s soft. Strain the juice of two lemons and put in a pan on medium heat. Let it reduce its volume by half. Turn off the heat, add the butter and stir quickly until it fully combines. When ready, let it rest in the fridge.
For the cheese crunch
Put the grated cheese on a non-stick baking sheet (or ideally a silicone mat) and form thin rectangles. Bake at 150C / 302F until they are golden and crunchy.
For the pasta and mushrooms
Cook the capellini al dente in salted water according to packet instructions. Meanwhile, heat a frying pan, put in a drizzle of olive oil and sauté the mushrooms. When they are golden brown, add the soy sauce, extract all from the pan with a spatula and store in a bowl.
Add 100ml of the pasta’s cooking water, the lemon butter and parsley to the pan to deglaze. Add the pasta to the pan, give it a toss and reintroduce the mushrooms.
Sauté everything together. Turn off the heat, add the lemon zest and chives. Serve with the cheese crunch on top.
In Home Comforts, Rizzo’s dish is paired with a rum-based cocktail created by Georgina Barbachano García of Hanky Panky in Mexico, No.65 in The World’s 50 Best Bars 2019. The cocktail features a big hit of mezcal, which brings out the mineral and earthy notes of the mushrooms. Click here to buy a copy of the e-cookbook and learn how to make The Rizzo to accompany this delicious dish.
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