A last feast at Lake Como: ‘The water shines in the light, everything is so verdant, and then the Alps are in the distance,’ says Tucci. ‘The disparity of the topography is so exciting’ Cinemagraph: Emma Lee/Mateusz Karpow/Lizzie MaysonThe actor and cookbook author’s final curtain would fall on an Italian feast full of family memoriesI’d want to spend my last meal by Lake Como. The first time I went there was about 10 years ago, maybe more, with my late wife. It’s also where I met my now-wife, Felicity, at her sister’s wedding. The water shines in the light, everything is so verdant, and then the Alps are in the distance... the disparity of the topography is so exciting; I love the mountains. And I love being next to the water, whether a river or the ocean. I’m not a swimmer – I just like to look at it!
We’d sit outside, overlooking the lake with a view of the Alps. The setting would be simple and rustic: a white tablecloth, wild flowers and candles. We’d be listening to classic jazz – Dixieland would be playing, some Gershwin, Cole Porter, Harold Earle. We’d do a little dancing. I’d be with everyone I love who is nice and funny.
It would be early autumn, in the late afternoon. I like that time of year: you still have the warmth during the day, but it’s cool at night. You know change is about to happen. Sometimes things are really beautiful as they start to die.
We’d have martinis to begin with, then white wine from Villa Sparina, Gavi La Scolca and Meursault; red wine – Gaja and Sassicaia.
As for the menu, to start we would have tagliarini with white truffles and risotto with shrimp. It’s a dish I had on my honeymoon. I’d had it before, but that memory makes it so special. I had the risotto in Venice a very long time ago in a little trattoria, and it is without question one of the best dishes I’ve ever had.
Travelling is important in how I create recipes – the recipes in my books come from travels, or from memories. You’re always searching for that perfect alchemy of all the ingredients; every time you make a recipe it’s slightly different. You’re always struggling to recreate something you had once – frustrating but enjoyable …
For the main course, I’d have a whole branzino – seabass that’s so simple to make (see below). With it I’d have salads – cucumber and olive oil with garlic, salt and the smallest bit of dried oregano; a fresh tomato salad with oil and basil; a salad of pea shoots, fresh peas and mâche, and freshly baked bread leaves. Also a Florentine steak and my mother’s recipe for broad bean minestra. My grandma made beautiful minestra with potato and zucchini; it was delicious, so hearty and fresh and fantastic. All these dishes are very simple recipes, but they’re the essence of Italian cooking. I strive for simplicity.
Afterwards, we’d have a board of sheep and goat’s cheese with an Amarone wine. I don’t eat cow’s milk cheese or gluten – but I would have pecorino from Pienza, and also the soft ones – a great French goat’s cheese with a little honey. I’d have to have bread – it would be my last meal so it’d be fine. And I’d round things off with a great Cuban cigar ... and Armagnac!
Stanley Tucci’s branzino – roasted sea bass – recipe
Serves 2 to 4
1 whole medium sea bass, gutted and scaled, head and tail on
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 to 2 garlic cloves, sliced
¼ lemon, cut into semicircular slices
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 sprigs fresh thyme
2 sprigs fresh flat-leaf parsley
6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
6 to 8 whole cherry tomatoes
½ cup dry white wine
1 Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/gas mark 7. Season the cavity of the fish with salt and pepper, then stuff it with the garlic, lemon, herbs, and 3 tbsp of the olive oil.
2 Rub the skin of the fish with the remaining 3 tbsp oil, place it in a roasting pan, add the tomatoes, and pour in the white wine. Season with salt and pepper.
3 Roast for 15 to 20 minutes, gently turning the fish once, until the skin blisters and the flesh comes away from the bone.
