Lido 84’s inspirational dishes

Lido 84, the contemporary Italian restaurant on the shores of Lake Garda in northern Italy run by brothers Riccardo and Giancarlo Camanini has long been lauded as a rising star of modern Italian cuisine. With a One to Watch award and seventh place on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list already in chef Camanini’s back pocket, it’s safe to say the restaurant has claimed its place at the very top table of fine dining.  

With a reverent yet playful approach to Italian tradition, Camanini develops dishes that take us on a culinary journey through the multifaceted and layered history of culture of the bel paese. Here are some of Lido 84’s inspirational dishes for you to enjoy, with commentary by the team. 

Dischi volanti, scallop tripe, tomato paste

_{Giulia Bussei}

“Starting with the pasta, produced by the Benedetto Cavalieri pasta factory in the province of Lecce, the 'dischi volanti' (flying disks) have typical characteristics – a helical shape and a rather firm texture. The sauce is made by stewing scallop tripe. To complement it, we add tomato paste oil (Sicilian, handmade, sun-dried and candied in a sautéed oil) and sumac powder.” 

Warm fusilloni, almond, capers, lemon

“The fusilloni are served lukewarm so that the sauce stands out in its freshness and minerality. The white-coloured sauce, made with almonds, thus retains this white and fascinating creaminess, and the dish is completed with capers and Garda lemons to ensure a contrast in freshness and savouriness.”

Smoked moscardini, coconut milk, ginger, kumquat 

“Fragolino, a variety of moscardini [octopus], are barbecued to ensure the pleasant chewiness of their fibres. They are served with roasted kumquat juice, coconut milk and ginger juice.” 

Pasta fagioli, trout eggs 

_{Lido Vannucchi}

“The beans are soaked overnight in cold water. The lard is sautéed in extra virgin olive oil, adding the chopped shallots, soaked beans, tripe, bay leaf and black pepper. The pasta and beans are blended and then freeze-thawed to apply an ice filtration. The pasta is half-cooked in boiling salted water and then we continue cooking with the bean broth, like a type of risotto pasta.” 

Pechinese veal tongue, dry crusco pepper, lemon leaves

“Boiled veal tongue salmistrata [cured] is fried and served with a Peking sauce composed of hoisin sauce, fresh ginger, a five-spice mix and honey. The dish is finished with some crusco bell pepper and lemon leaves.” 

Rigatoni cacio e pepe 

_{Giovanni Panarotto}

“The cacio e pepe is prepared by placing all the raw ingredients inside a pig’s bladder: dry pasta, water, salt, oil, pepper and, of course, the black peel Roman pecorino cheese (24 months, hand salted). Cooking takes place above a pot filled with almost boiling water and takes about 30 minutes. Throughout the process the bladder is sprinkled with boiling water and shaken regularly.” 

Risotto, black fermented garlic, berries 

“’Fermented black garlic rice’ is a dish created for a modern art exhibition held at Lido 84 in 2014, featuring the works of Stefano Bombardieri. In fact, this dish is dedicated to the artist from Brescia, now a friend, who often dressed in black. Some of his works are also on display at the restaurant.” 

Kidney Apicius

“The preparation of this dish stems from the rereading of an ancient text entitled De Re Coquinaria by Marcus Gavius Apicius, Roman consul and gastronome, who often mentioned the "Traveling honey broth sauce." A kind of ‘concoction’ made of various ingredients such as: honey, mustard, laser (a now disappeared herb probably traceable to rue), vinegar etc., and the most important one, very unusual for our culture, ‘kidney blood’. This ingredient was the one indicated by Apicius as necessary to keep up the strength and morale of the soldiers at war in the Roman colonies. Lido 84’s preparation involves roasting the kidney in a pan and cooking it over a broth; the central and more noble parts are cut into tartare. The lateral part, rich in blood, is instead placed in the press and pressed in front of the guest to obtain the most intense essences.” 

Crosta tostata al cioccolato fondente 

 Giovanni Panarotto 

“This features tuiles of muscovado sugar, cane sugar in its most raw form, thus rich in molasses. The layers are filled with a creme brulèe of 85% dark chocolate. The dessert is burned when served to release more complex aromas through the caramelization of the sugars. It pays homage to the pot of milk that we have all burned at least once at breakfast.”