Guest Chef
By Chef Danielle Zarillo
INGREDIENTS
- 2 8-ounce tuna steaks
- 4 large shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- ½ cup baby heirloom or cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
- 3 cloves minced garlic, divided
- ¼ cup white wine, Chablis or Chardonnay preferably
- ¾ cup chicken stock, divided
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1-2 tablespoons Wondra flour, optional
- 10 ounces spinach
- kosher salt and pepper, to taste
METHOD
Heat a pan over medium-high heat. Pat any excess moisture off the tuna steaks, and salt and pepper them to taste on both sides. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan; once it begins to shimmer, add your tuna steaks to the pan. Sear for a minute on each side (for rare). Remove tuna from the pan. Add the shrimp to the same pan. Sear them for 1-2 minutes on each side until they start to turn pink. Depending on the size of your shrimp, the cooking time may vary. If they’re slightly underdone it’s OK because they will finish cooking in the sauce.
For the Arianna sauce, add the sliced tomatoes and minced garlic to the pan, over medium-low heat. Saute them until the garlic becomes fragrant. Deglaze the pan with ¼ cup of white wine. Let the wine reduce for 1-2 minutes, then add in a ½ cup of chicken stock and 2 tablespoons of butter. You can allow this sauce to thicken naturally or thicken it more by slowly whisking in a tablespoon or two of Wondra flour.
For the garlic spinach: While the sauce is reducing, in a separate pan, over medium heat, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Once shimmering, add in one minced clove of garlic. When the garlic is fragrant, add ¼ cup chicken stock and then your spinach. Cover with a lid so the spinach can steam and wilt down. It should only take a few minutes. Stir the spinach occasionally until it’s fully cooked down. Salt and pepper to taste.
CHEF DANIELLE ZARILLO
Chef Danielle Zarillo’s culinary roots trace back to Long Beach Island, where she spent every childhood summer working at her grandparents’ bustling restaurant, The Blue Noodle. Alongside her mother, Francine, her brother, Larry, and her sister, Michelle, Danielle learned early that a great meal is about more than what’s on the plate — it’s about warmth, connection, and a whole lot of love. Those summers in LBI formed her into the chef she is today, one who honors tradition while creating dishes that cannot be found anywhere else. Some noteworthy dishes include Grandma’s Chicken and Shrimp, Scallops Fiore Rosso, Filet Mignon Francine and Veal Munn. She has been the only chef at Fiore Rosso. If the lights are on and the doors are open, it means Danielle is there. Her sister, Michelle, is also a constant presence in the dining room, warmly greeting guests and waiting on tables. Just like they learned from their grandparents, Danielle and Michelle’s daughters, Kate and Arianna, have been learning from them. This isn’t just a restaurant where you’re cooked for by family. You’re greeted by, waited on, and cooked for by the same family, every night. And at the center of it all stands Chef Danielle Zarillo, quietly weaving generations of love, memories and tradition into every dish–reminding us that the best meals don’t just feed us, they bring us home.
