'Top Chef' Fabio Viviani Cooks Up Seafood Pasta

Top Chef season five contestant Fabio Viviani showed us a few tricks of his trade by cooking us his renowned Seafood Pasta dish, from his new cookbook, Café Firenze, which is available on June 30.

Born and raised in Florence, Italy, Viviani is the Owner and Executive Chef of Café Firenze Italian Restaurant and Martini Lounge. He incorporates Italian, French and Spanish influences in his dishes and believes that cooking is a craft.

• WEB EXTRA: Fabio Viviani's Recipe For Pancetta and Pea Risotto

According to Bravo, "He is currently working on opening the Firenze4Kids Foundation, which will emphasize the promotion of health and wellness for kids through good nutrition and will also launch kidshealthcafe.com, the largest informative resource library available online, designed to enhance a healthy and safe lifestyle for children. Additionally, Fabio also works as William Shatner's private chef."

For more on Viviano and Santa Margherita Wine, log onto www.cafefirenze.net. Viviani has teamed up with Bravo and the Red Cross to bring relief to survivors of last April's earthquake in Italy. For more info on how you can help, log onto american.redcross.org.

Seafood Pasta
(To be paired with Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio)
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 cup minced shallots
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
Salt
6 additional cloves of garlic
Freshly ground black pepper
2 cups chopped tomatoes, peeled and seeded
1 pound fresh mussels, scrubbed
1 pound manila clams
1 pound fresh calamari
1 pound rock shrimp, peeled
2 cups white cooking wine
1 pound fresh crab
½ cup chopped green onions, green part only
1 pound linguini
¼ cup fresh basil leaves
1 bunch parsley

Directions
1. Add oil to a large saute pan over medium heat, add the oil.
2. When the oil is hot, add the shallots and chopped garlic. Season with salt and pepper and saute for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, and saute for 1 minute.
3. Add the mussels, clams and shrimp and the calamari. Season with salt and pepper and saute for 2 minutes.
4. Add the cooking wine and bring to a simmer before covering for 4 to 6 minutes until shells open.
5. Add the crab and green onions. Season with salt and pepper and saute for 1 minute.
6. Add the pasta, toss and continue cooking until the pasta is heated through, about 1 minute.
7. Toss the pasta with the cheese and basil

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From "Café Firenze Cookbook" by Fabio Viviani and Jacopo Falleni

Pancetta and Pea Risotto
(To be paired with Santa Margherita Prosecco, $19.99.)<
Ingredients
1/2 pound pancetta or bacon, diced
2 onions, chopped
4 1/2 cups chicken broth
2 cupa Arborio, or other short-grain rice
1/2 cup cooking wine
8 ounces fresh or frozen peas
4 ounces parmesan cheese
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Fresh sage leaves

Directions
1. In large shallow skillet, sauté pancetta until it's sizzling. Stir in onion and sauté, about 5 minutes, until tender.
2. Heat chicken broth in medium saucepan and keep at a simmer.
3. Add rice to the pancetta and onion in skillet, cook and stir 1 minute; add cooking wine and stir until absorbed, about 2 minutes. Using a soup ladle, add about 1/2 cup of broth to the skillet; stir until absorbed. Continue cooking, adding broth gradually and stirring almost constantly, until rice starts to soften, about 10 minutes. Add peas and continue cooking, adding broth 1/2 cup at a time, until rice is just tender but slightly firm in the center and mixture is creamy, about 10 minutes longer. Stir in the cheese and season with salt and pepper.
4. Ladle into shallow bowls and garnish with fresh sage.