THE REAL ROCCO.

Byline: Natalie Haughton Food Editor

As the hip, 37-year-old New York chef and restaurateur Rocco DiSpirito walks into the room, heads turn to see if the star of the NBC reality series ``The Restaurant'' is as cute and charismatic in person.

The series, filmed in his New York restaurant, Rocco's 22 Street, started last year by following DiSpirito and his mother as they opened their Italian eatery. His personality attracted viewers. Up close, he's gracious, personable and enthusiastic about food.

Now in its second season, the show finds DiSpirito combative as he battles his partner and financier, Jeffrey Chodorow, for control of Rocco's 22 Street. Currently DiSpirito and Chodorow, owner of 22 other restaurants, are in litigation.

``We thought it (second season) was going to be a continuation of Rocco being the charismatic, talented restaurateur that he is - more of Rocco's trials and tribulations,'' says H.T. Owens, senior vice president of creative affairs at Reveille (producers of the show in association with Mark Burnett Productions), an independent division of Universal Television. ``We are not pleased with the way Rocco ended up being portrayed - unfairly for the sake of dramatic television.''

Even DiSpirito admits its been a difficult time.

``The first season was exciting and fun and really hard,'' he says. ``This go around with the show was tough - the toughest time of my professional career. I never wished to get in a public legal battle.''

``All the chefs I know are jealous of Rocco,'' says Mario Batali, chef/owner of Babbo restaurant in New York and host of Food Network's ``Molto Mario'' and ``Ciao America.'' ``He's handsome, successful and on prime time - and 7 million people watch him.''

Batali adds that the first season seemed staged and not that realistic.

``The second season - this one looks like a real restaurant all of a sudden.'' < While Batali likes DiSpirito as a person and notes that he's a great cook, he doesn't understand why DiSpirito would create this media persona.

``He doesn't look nice, smart or crafty on the (show's) second season.''

While viewers really don't get much, if any, sense of DiSpirito's culinary style on the show, he shares it in his first cookbook, ``Flavor'' (Hyperion; $35), with 350 pages and more than 600 color photos. Just last week it won a James Beard Foundation/ KitchenAid Cookbook Award.

``People need to have more fun when they cook,'' says DiSpirito. ``Relax, listen to music, enjoy the process of making good food for the people you love. Chefs have scared the hell out of people - and emphasize the wrong stuff. They focus too much on techniques and equipment.

``It's all about flavor. Your palate is the most important cooking tool you need.''

Trust it, he says. Taste constantly. Focus on making things taste good.

DiSpirito is ``interested in forthright, expressive flavors that flank a balanced juxtaposition of sweet, sour, salty and bitter tastes - without letting one taste dominate the others.''

Geared to both home and professional cooks, the book's 120 recipes vary in number of ingredients and difficulty. Each recipe is coded as to total time, active time and degree of difficulty and includes a general wine suggestion.

DiSpirito grew up in Queens watching and helping his mother, Nicolina DiSpirito, a native of Italy who made everything from scratch. A graduate of New York's Culinary Institute of America (he enrolled when he was 16), DiSpirito developed his personal cuisine, which thrives on creativity and gut instinct, over the last 20 years (working in Paris, Boston and New York). It's still changing, says the chef, who also owns Union Pacific in Manhattan, which opened in 1997.

Purchase the best products you can find and afford. ``Think outside the box. There really are no right or wrong food associations.''

On the horizon for DiSpirito is another cookbook: ``Rocco's Italian- American Flavor'' is due out this fall. He's also planning a daytime television show.

He hopes that he and Chodorow can settle their dispute through mediation. ``I don't plan to give up my share (of Rocco's 22 Street),'' he adds. ``My mom and I put our heart and soul into it.''

On Monday, NBC pulled the final two episodes of ``The Restaurant's'' second season. The shows were set to appear this week and next. The network plans to reschedule them, possibly next month.

Natalie Haughton, [phone]

natalie.haughton(at)dailynews.com

BUCATINI WITH VEGETABLES & A TOMATO-ANISE BROTH

Salt to taste

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 fennel bulb, trimmed and cut into 1-inch squares

Ground pepper to taste

2 zucchini, cut into 1-inch batons

Pinch saffron threads

1 tablespoon ground anise seeds

1/4 cup white wine vinegar

1 cup white wine

1 (28-ounce) can plum tomatoes

12 ounces bucatini (spaghetti-length tubes) OR spaghetti

Fresh basil leaves to yield 2 tablespoons when sliced OR chopped

1/2 cup ricotta cheese, at room temperature

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt heavily. In a saucepan over medium-low heat, warm 2 tablespoons oil. Add fennel and pepper; stir to coat, cover pan and cook 2 minutes. Add zucchini to pan, season with salt and pepper, stir, cover and cook just until no longer crunchy, about 2 minutes. Crumble in saffron and cook 1 minute, stirring. Add anise seeds and cook until anise is fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Pour in vinegar, increase heat to medium high and cook until very little liquid is left. Pour in white wine and cook until reduced by half. Add tomatoes with their juices, reduce heat to low and simmer about 15 minutes. Use a wooden spoon to help break up tomatoes while they are cooking.

Meanwhile cook pasta until al dente or desired doneness. Drain and set aside.

Taste sauce and season with salt and pepper. Remove pan from heat. Quickly slice basil and stir 2 tablespoons into sauce along with remaining 2 tablespoons oil. Dump pasta into sauce and toss. Divide pasta among 4 plates and top each serving with some ricotta cheese. Serve hot. Makes 4 servings.

From ``Flavor,'' by Rocco DiSpirito.

SHRIMP IN SPICED PHYLLO WITH TOMATO CHUTNEY 

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh ginger

2 teaspoons finely chopped shallots

3/4 cup finely chopped tomatoes

1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon fresh lime juice

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1/4 teaspoon salt

10 hazelnuts, shelled

2 to 4 sheets phyllo dough

2 teaspoons garam masala

8 medium (21 to 26 per pound) raw shrimp, shelled and deveined

Melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Add ginger and shallots and saute 2 minutes. Add tomatoes, sugar, lime juice, cilantro and salt and cook until sauce is thickened, stirring frequently. Taste chutney and add more lime juice or salt if desired. (The chutney can be made 2 days in advance and refrigerated.)

Heat a saute pan over medium-high heat. Add hazelnuts and cook, shaking pan continuously, until they look and smell toasted, 5 minutes. Use a kitchen towel to gently rub skins off. Finely grind cooled nuts.

Melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Roll out a sheet of phyllo onto a clean counter and brush with 1/2 of melted butter. Keep phyllo pile covered with a damp tea towel to prevent it from drying out. Sprinkle with 1/2 of garam masala and 1/2 of ground nuts. Place second phyllo sheet squarely over first. (If phyllo dries out or falls apart, use the 2 remaining sheets of phyllo; otherwise discard any leftover). Brush with butter, saving a bit to be used later, and sprinkle with remaining garam masala and hazelnuts. Cut phyllo stack crosswise into 8 equal strips. (The strips should measure 1 to 2 inches in width.) Place a shrimp at the end of a strip and roll it up, changing the direction as necessary to totally envelop the shrimp. Repeat with remaining shrimp, and place rolls seam side down on a lightly greased baking sheet. Dab tops of rolls with remaining butter.

Bake in preheated 375-degree oven 8 to 10 minutes, until golden brown. Dollop some chutney over each roll and serve immediately. Makes 4 servings.

From ``Flavor,'' by Rocco DiSpirito.

ROCCO'S WINE PICKS

On the high end, he recommends Ruffino Riserva Ducale (any year of this chianti classico is good, he says). On the low end, he likes the Alois Lageder 2002 pinot grigio. The special blend Benefizium Porer 2002 (a white wine) is great, too.

CAPTION(S):

5 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- cover -- color) ROCCO shakes things up

(2 -- color) no caption (Rocco DiSpirito)

Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer

(3 -- color) no caption (BUCATINI WITH VEGETABLES & A TOMATO-ANISE BROTH)

(4 -- color) no caption (SHRIMP IN SPICED PHYLLO WITH TOMATO CHUTNEY)

(5 -- color) Balance the four tastes - sour, from items like pictured here, salty, sweet and bitter - in recipe creations, to bring food to life.

From ``Flavor,'' Hyperion

Box:

ROCCO'S WINE PICKS (see text)