On the Island

I'm quite used to being on an island. I was brought up in a fishing village in the Abruzzo region in Italy and we looked out onto a small island. As kids we would boat across there and try to be clever and stay overnight. We used to fish and make our own raft and build a fire and a spit. My father was a fisherman and my staple diet was always fish, so the diet there would be very natural to me. The little island I went to as a kid had massive rocks, so my ideal island would be rocky. I actually like rocks because you can find lots of stuff in them like mussels and crabs and shellfish.

I would need to grow tomatoes because an Italian without tomatoes would be a disaster. And extra virgin olive oil. I'm pleased that the island has an olive grove and a herb garden as I could live with just basil and rosemary in any cooking. If you give me fish, meat or pasta then those two herbs are just amazing. We had 15 rosemary bushes in our garden and my mum tended to cook everything with this bloody rosemary. We had barbecues with rosemary, steaks with rosemary and everything we had for Sunday lunch always tasted of rosemary.

As kids we used to eat what was available, because I came from a huge family (seven brothers and one sister) and there was no money. My first job was working in a fishmonger and I remember being paid with fish instead of money which wasn't very cool as a teenager because I couldn't buy my fags and drink with fish. I wanted to travel and cooking took me abroad because you didn't need to know the language to be a waiter or a chef - in the kitchen food speaks for itself. I arrived in the UK on a two- week holiday and I'm here 25 years later.

My greatest ambition in life was to open a fish restaurant and I franchised the first restaurant in Dean Street at the age of 26. In those days people were not really used to Italian food, or fish for that matter. You English people don't like bones very much so I experimented with whole fish to start with and it wasn't very popular so I started serving just fillets and it just caught on immediately. I was attracted to the restaurant business because I enjoy people but I do like my own company so I wouldn't mind being on my own for a while on the island. I treasure the time on my own because I'm always around so many people but I would miss my 17-year-old daughter a lot because we are very good friends.

Luxury Item

I love truffles. I could cook anything with truffles. I could just eat them with olive oil and bread or I could make a pasta or risotto with it - as long as you've got olive oil and pasta you don't even need tomatoes if you've got truffles because the flavour is so strong. If there were some pigs on the island I would train the pigs to find truffles and then put the pigs on the spit.

Drink

Prosecco is sparkling Italian wine and I can drink it morning to night. It's our version of Champagne. It's a light, fruity and mellow drink and it doesn't give you a headache (Champagne gives me terrible headaches).

My desert island dish

Salmon with samphire and Mostarda di Cremona
(with Zilli's five ingredients: salmon fillets, lemon juice, Mostarda di Cremona, samphire, pepper)

I chose salmon because I've seen how popular it's become again. Now farming has meant it's a lot cheaper we often just serve it marinaded in lemon and olive oil. This recipe is one of the most popular dishes at Zilli Fish Too.

serves 4
preparation time: 15 minutes

cooking time: 8-10 minutes

4 tbsps extra virgin olive oil

4 x 170g wild salmon fillets, scaled and pin-boned

225g samphire, washed and patted dry with kitchen paper

3 tbsps extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

1 small jar Mostarda di Cremona, drained and roughly chopped

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large non-stick pan. Season the salmon fillets, skin-side up, to taste. Place in the hot oil, skin-side down. Cook for about 5 minutes. The skin should be brown and crisp. Turn the fillets over and cook for a further 2 minutes, then transfer to a plate and keep warm. Add the remaining olive oil to the same pan, then add the samphire. Sauté over a high heat for 1 minute (do not season), then spoon it into the centre of 4 serving plates. Place the salmon fillets, skin-side up, on the samphire. Mix the extra virgin olive oil with the lemon juice and drizzle over the fish, then spoon the Mostarda di Cremona around the fish. Serve.

Aldo Zilli's restaurants are Zilli Fish, Zilli, Zilli Fish Too in London.

He is the author of Aldo Zilli's Foolproof Italian Cookery (rrp £14.99). To order for £12.99 ring Observer Book Service on 0870 066 7989