Marra Cooks – Sizzling Latin Flavor With Italian Wood Fired Brick Oven

With a lifetime of industry experience, The perfect person to explain all of the mouthwatering possibilities in Italian Wood Fired Brick Oven. Our Corporate Chef and Regional Sales Manager Chef Tito Rodriguez recently joined us in the Marraforni test kitchen to share the savory influences of his Spanish and Cuban roots.

Even though we’ve been using our Commercial Brick Ovens for much more than pizza for years now, it’s always inspiring to see our Marra Family chefs create their own culinary masterpieces with them. In this video, Chef Tito chats with Chef Amy Riolo, the award-winning, best-selling author and Pizza University Ambassador about his favorite Latin recipes.

We might be known for pizza Napoletana, but recipes like Chef Tito’s Paella, Gambas al ajillo, and Chimichurri Steak make it easy to expand our culinary horizons! In addition, there were four main takeaways from the chefs’ conversation regarding Marraforni Commercial Brick ovens & Cooking Possibilities:

1. Both wood and gas fired brick oven create great results with a wide range of dishes.
2. Marra Forni Italian Wood Fired Brick ovens can be used for much more than pizza.
3. Building a flavor base by using a Spanish sofrito or Italian soffritto will give much deeper flavor to flash-cooked recipes
4. Cast-iron pans and our ovens are a match made in heaven.

Want to try your hand at one of Chef Tito’s signature recipes? Here’s his version of a traditional Spanish-style tapas usually served with crusty style artisan bread for dipping. One bite and you’ll be hooked!

Ingredients For Spanish-style tapas:

1. 1 pound large shrimp (16/20’s or bigger)
2. 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
3. 10-12 garlic cloves chopped
4. 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
5. 1/2 cup white wine
6. 1 tablespoon soft butter
7. 1/2 cup chopped parsley
8. Juice from 1/2 lemon
9. Kosher salt and pepper to taste

Preparation in Italian Wood Fired Brick Oven:

1. Preheat Cast Iron skillet until hot inside a Marra Forni Neapolitan oven.
2. Carefully remove hot pan from the oven and add olive oil, shrimp, and garlic.
3. Sauté quickly (add pepper flakes if desired) and add white wine.
4. Place inside Marra Forni oven for 1 minute and 30 seconds.
5. Remove from oven and add chopped parsley, stir quickly and mount 1 tablespoon of butter to make finished sauce.  Add lemon juice, stir, and plate.

One of the things that we love the most about Tito’s recipe is that it can easily be adapted for other concepts. Even though his inspiration was Spanish, the same dish could be prominently served on any Mediterranean menu– be it French, Italian, Greek, or Turkish.  Shrimp is a fast and fun appetizer that helps restaurant operators build revenue and serve their guests quickly. Presenting them in a sizzling skillet adds an irresistible appeal both to the palate and social media posts.

Thank you all for helping us to kick off our new #MarraCooks series! Join us in our Marra Forni Nation group on LinkedIn to learn more and converse with our fantastic community of Chefs, Pizzaioli, Industry experts, and more.