Coppa (Boston, MA) - Restaurant Review, Restaurant Replica Recipe

Last week, I entered a new decade. Goodbye, 20’s, you were pretty damn fun; helloooo, 30 - I have a feeling you’re gonna be just as fun! Although I definitely had a brief freak-out over my old age, the fear didn’t last long. I refuse to believe that my ability to enjoy life is determined by the amount of time I’ve spent on this planet. As long as I can read good books, watch hockey, surround myself with interesting people, and eat good food, the next 70+ years are going to be just as awesome as the first 30.

Speaking of good food, I used my big ol’ birthday as a good excuse to finally try a restaurant that I’ve wanted to try for, oh, two years. A few friends and I gathered at Coppa, a popular, well-known restaurant in Boston’s South End that specializes in Italian-inspired small plates, unique salumi and variety meats. Knowing Coppa’s popularity, I made a reservation about a week in advance. Thank God, because the place is much smaller than I expected! Reservations are a wise choice - the bar area is pretty small, and it‘s likely to be packed because this place is friggin’ awesome.

I started the night with a cocktail, as one should on her 30th birthday. After a painstaking decision making process, I chose the Fumo sull’Acqua (Mezcal, citrus, and chili syrup). I found a new favorite “away” cocktail (as opposed to the Godfathers and dirty martinis I like to mix up at home). Smoky, slightly sweet, mildly spicy, and totally delicious - I could drink these every day.

While each of us ordered an individual entrée, we split several small plates, including arancini, duck prosciutto, and bruschetta con ricotta (crostini with sheep’s milk ricotta and hen of the woods mushrooms). Although the duck prosciutto was phenomenal (the stuff literally melts in your mouth), the dish that we all raved about for the rest of the evening was the bruschetta. The four of us split one small slice of bruschetta, yet it was so rich that we agreed that a larger portion would have been too much.

My individual dishes were the Panino di Riccio di Mare (sea urchin and salami panino with mustard seeds) and the Orecchiette con Trippa (house made orechiette pasta with tripe, beef tongue, pork belly, chick peas and parmesan). If you’re into sea urchin, this mini-panini is to die for!!! Coppa does NOT skimp on the sea urchin in this dish - pieces were literally seeping out of the sides with every bite I took, so I had to eat carefully. It is small, but like the other dishes we sampled, it was so rich that large portions are unnecessary.

The orechiette was good, but I am a tripe lover and I would have been happier with the dish if it had contained more tripe. However, it was still delicious - the pasta was done just right, and the tomato sauce was very light and subtle, as to not overpower the other flavors.

By the end of the evening when our waitress asked us if we were interested in dessert, I didn’t think I could do it (plus, I was wearing a very tiny Free People sweater that revealed my entire midriff¾ I wouldn’t have been able to pull off the look if I’d been full and bloated!). However, being my birthday, our server brought me a complimentary dish of their honey-walnut gelato, topped with a lit birthday candle. As if the food wasn’t enough to encourage me to return to Coppa, touches like this stick in customers’ minds and can be the nudge that will elevate a restaurant from “great” to “favorite.” And the gelato?!? One bite, and I was mentally kicking my own ass for not ordering it in the first place!!! It wasn’t overly sweet, and you could definitely taste the honey. This is one of the most perfect desserts I’ve ever had, and I’m not even a dessert person.

Overall, Coppa is now one of my favorite dining spots in Boston. It’s one of those places with a menu so unique that you’ll want to make sure you try everything on it at least once. Just like a carefully assembled All-Star team, there is no weak link in Coppa’s lineup.

Because age has done nothing to diminish my curiosity, I stopped by Whole Foods and picked up the ingredients I thought I’d need to try and duplicate Coppa’s Bruschetta con Ricotta. Of course, when I say “duplicate,” I really mean “replicate as closely as I can, then tweak it a bit to personalize it.” One characteristic of Coppa’s ricotta topping sparked my curiosity¾while the flavor of the hen of the woods mushrooms stood out, I don’t recall biting into any mushroom bits. Were the mushrooms pureed? Possibly, but I suspected that the chefs pulverized dried mushrooms and folded the powder into the ricotta. So that’s the technique I used. I wouldn’t know where to buy hen of the woods mushrooms if my life depended on it, so I relied on the dried porcinis and shiitakes in my pantry. Using my spice grinder, I buzzed them into a fine powder. Needing my own touch, I decided to add a bit of Spanish flavor with a splash of dry sherry, some fresh thyme, and smoked paprika. Also, I used regular cow’s milk ricotta rather than sheep’s milk ricotta.

This recipe’s concept is the same as Coppa’s, and the flavor is similar, but the finishing touches differ. If you can’t make it to Coppa, make this recipe!



Brushchetta con Ricotta with Thyme

8 dried shiitake mushrooms
4 dried porcini mushrooms
2 T. melted butter
16 oz. Whole milk ricotta
2 t. dry sherry
2 t. fresh thyme
1 t. olive oil
2 t. white truffle oil
pinch kosher salt

Toasted baguette slices
Several thyme leaves, to garnish
Pinch smoked paprika, to garnish

Using a mortar and pestle, spice grinder or coffee grinder, pulverize the dried shiitake and porcini mushrooms to form a powder.

In a deep mixing bowl, combine the mushroom powder and the melted butter. Mix well. Next, add all the remaining ingredients except for the baguette slices and garnishes. Using an electric mixer, beat well until the ingredients are all fully incorporated into the mixture and the mixture is nice and fluffy.

Spread a heaping spoonful of the ricotta mushroom mixture onto each toasted baguette slice. Top with a few fresh thyme leaves, and then sprinkle with a tiny pinch of paprika.

VARIATION: Instead of using the whipped ricotta as a topping for crostini, use it to sauce pasta. Simply use the recipe above to sauce 16oz. of dry pasta, adding about a teaspoon of salt, an extra dash or two of smoked paprika, and some additional thyme leaves.