Dear {NOMEUTENTE}
Being simple is extremely difficult because thousands of things are needed not to fall into banal; clear ideas, knowing what we are talking about, what we expect from a certain situation, what we are driving at, how the present situation is and how it could evolve in the future and finally the ability to get to the point. Those who cannot be good and simple get lost in the twists and turns of a line of often vain reasoning which, if we remain in the field of cooking, results in too heavy dishes, questionable matchings, unclear tastes.
However, when talking about winning simplicity we shall not intend water and salt and pasta and tomato. Of course we are going to dip our spaghetti into boiling and salty H2O (actually I have been ignoring salt for about ten years, counting on pasta and its dressing), drain it in advance and finish it in the saucepan with sauce, taking care not to overcook it even though, before all this, we must remember that too much dressing kills the pleasure of tasting pasta.
For a quarter of a century (and this is true also for pizza) attention has shifted from the main ingredient to the sauce, enriching its shades to hide the lack of taste of penne, macaroni and spaghetti. It would be as if we fell in love with a woman for her clothes instead of her soul.
Paolo Marchi |
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February 7, 2012: everybody in Milan’s Sala Blu Dear pasta-lover, you’d better save the date of Tuesday, February 7 2012 now. It’s the day of the second edition of Identità di Pasta, which this time isn’t the newsletter you are reading but a set of classes on this topic given by masters who will hold the stage on the last day of the Identity Milan congress. After the successful experience of last January, 6 new chefs will come to the Blue Hall of via Gattamelata in Milan, each one busy to interpret the theme «colors, cooking and consistencies of Italian pasta» according to his personal inspiration, with journeys to the heart of durum wheat semolina we have never made. The only one who is back this year and was already present at the previous edition is Davide Scabin a chef who, since two years, has decided to cause on our crystallized beliefs the same effect of a hurricane on Caribbean barracks. His lesson is the first one in the afternoon after the break, at 3 pm. In the morning, a trilogy of Neapolitan interpreters: Andrea Aprea, Nino Di Costanzo and Francesco Sposito, the first two at their début on the Milan’s stage while the third one 3 years ago was already a protagonist of a day devoted to the best European talents under 30.
In the afternoon, after Scabin, a trip from the Alps of Trentino, land of Alessandro Gilmozzi (see also the news here below) up to the glance overlooking Africa of Pino Cuttaia from Licata, to understand how the difference in latitude may change the characteristics and idea of a product increasingly beloved in the world. (In the picture Matteo Baronetto and Carlo Cracco in the Blue Hall on the occasion of Identità di Pasta 2011).
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Andria, Qoco and the calamarata by Alex Pilas The first week-end of December – from December 2 to 4 – will be under the sign of Apulia with the twelfth edition of Qoco – Un filo d’olio nel piatto…, whose theme in 2011 is the Unity of Italy. The town of Andria will host the chefs of Eataly Turin, Genes, Tokyo and New York who are going to prepare a menu expressly conceived to exalt ad hoc combinations with the Coratina monocultivar extra-virgin olive oil. Alex Pilas, responsible for Eataly in New York, has the duty to interpret a first course which not only uses the oil from Andria at its best but can be easily repeated in his restaurant.
The Calamarata with chick peas, giant red shrimps and salted mullet roe will be the visit card to discover Pilas’ talent and his vision of the Mediterranean cuisine often far from the common taste of overseas palates. The chef will use a little known pasta shape even in Italy, that is Calamarata. The round shape of this tasty looking pasta matches well with white and black chick peas, respectively cooked in a purée and sautéed, and with giant red shrimps. The sweetness of these ingredients is balanced by the slightly bitter tastes of fresh almonds and artichoke typical of the Coratina cultivar oil and finds a final bold touch in the salted mullet roe which finishes the dish.
Pilas and his calamarata, like all the other courses, will undergo the close examination of a technical table of journalists, presided over by Paolo Marchi, and will also be one of the five courses of the Cena di Solidarietà (Charity Dinner) to be held at Tenuta Cocevola, always in Andria, on the evening of the 3rd of December.
Claudia Orlandi
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Tertiary rigatoni: the Cookbook by Pier Bussetti In order to understand how much the pasta horizons can expand it is necessary to visit the Feltrinelli virtual bookstore and close the web page after buying a copy (reduced by 15%) of the Cookbook by Pier Bussetti, «a chef who is a normal person in a world where everybody thinks to be special» as he is defined by his friend Albert Adrià in the foreword of the volume published by Horeca. The Bussetti-thought is filtered by the «shy hack-writer» Alessandra Meldolesi and the «photographer, graphic designer and gourmet» Bob Noto, low profile self-definitions hiding a unique combined job.
The book unrolls in sequence the dishes of the Medium, Hard and Extreme approaches of the chef now barricaded in the Castle of Govone and author, as Alessandra Meldolesi says with her evocative vocabulary, of «a tertiary cuisine, neither an avant-garde nor a traditional one, a term in contrast with contradiction itself. A never banal and tenderly transgressive cuisine. Minimal cooking, onomatopoeic flavoring, extremely sensible vibrations of the material».
Pasta, intended in the broadest sense possible, plays a central role among dishes which aren’t simple onlookers at all: from Linguine with asparagus, salted mullet roe and fresh marjoram «taste without prejudices for gluttony» we pass to Sgrunchies, crunchy dried egg dough tagliatelle; from Spaghetti with garlic, oil and chili pepper «fake pasta because it is actually made of celeriac filaments» we come to Rigatoni with ricotta cheese, yuzu and spice nutmeg (in the picture by Bob Noto), «a recent dish» PB explains «I care a lot about because it represents modern pasta from a conceptual point of view, given that pasta is Italian but its taste is different from that we are used to. The cream is underneath and is not cold but at ambient temperature; the rigatoni is sautéed with butter and at the end it is dressed with a drop of extra-virgin olive oil aromatized with the yuzu peel […]. Then a grating of nutmeg to finish and a grinding of black pepper. A bit heretic recipe with reference to orthodoxy, which draws on the philosophy of the first dressings based on spices and cheese. In this case the Seirass ricotta cheese seasoned in hay».
Pier Bussetti is the bass player of the Anatrafobia band, and therefore each dish has its sound-matching (in this last case the hollowed Grand Pappy du Plent by the Red Hot Chili Peppers). The volume ends up with the instructions to repeat all the recipes. Which is very useful now that Christmas is approaching.
Gabriele Zanatta
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Ein Prosit: the lichen invasion by Gilmozzi A blanket of smoke with a strong smell of alpine wood has efficaciously introduced the lesson by Alessandro Gilmozzi from El Molin in Cavalese (Trento) last Saturday at Ein Prosit. His cuisine breaks with that tradition of Trentino (and very Italian in general) which proposes knödel and rösti as a tasting of real mountain cuisine. Because the Emmer spaghetti with underwood smells, lake sardines and caviar tells a lot more of today’s territory of Trentino.
Both the recipe and the tasting bring back to light elements of the culture and history of these places with a contemporary language: pasta first of all. Spaghetti is always reassuring and even the most perplexed client become favorably disposed to eat lichens, still little common in Italy. It is emmer pasta manufactured by his fellow-countryman Felicetti and Alessandro uses it almost as an aromatic base, it is the first element of the underwood because it unmistakably tastes of chestnut, fresh hazelnut and macis. Cooking occurs mainly in infusion (a cue taken from his colleague Scabin, as he isn’t ashamed to underline) so that the most of starch is released and space is given to the dish smells. The lichens are brewed in goat’s milk from which custard without sugar will be obtained.
On the dish, in the heart of the pasta nest, a topinambour and sardine mousse is placed to recall the land and streams of the area. The crunchiness of a turnip wafer and a wafer of dried topinambur, a touch of porcini powder and a bit of salmon and caviar roe complete a dish that in the mouth recalls a summer walk in the mountain.
Cecilia Todeschini |
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Pasta in New York: surprises start on board Riccardo Felicetti of the homonymous pasta factory in Predazzo (Trentino) played an important role in the transatlantic mission of Identità New York. A flight marked by a good surprise from the very beginning, photographed in the picture here beside by the same Felicetti who runs through that moment again with us: «I was on the Vienna-New York flight when I was served with this forkful of rolled spaghetti with tomato sauce. Letting aside the questionable presence of the Wiener Schnietzel placed beside, I was pleasantly struck by the fact that Austrian Airlines serves spaghetti on board. It’s the first time that on a flight I see a pasta dish prepared with so much attention, partly from an aesthetic point of view too».
Was it good? «I would say yes for international passengers while we Italians always expect perfect spaghetti. However, I was hit by the great challenge which was behind the dish, because you cannot cook pasta at high altitude, you can only reconstitute it. I interpret it as an indication of the growing interest towards the product which is a symbol of Italian cuisine, back at the core of attention after years in a state of limbo». This satisfaction went on even after landing to the Big Apple: «All the authors of the Eataly lessons, from Davide Scabin to Gennaro Esposito have shown a great technique in their dishes, combined to an uncommon beauty. And New York is very charmed by pasta: it’s enough to see the room devoted to this product by the Farinetti’s store, which actually could be more pluralist. The consumption data in the States show a remarkable growth together with the will to choose among products of increasingly good quality». In short, «the world has understood that pasta is great food and not simply a cheap product». |
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Manhattan and the ravioli by Mario Batali Ravioli stuffed with ricotta cheese dressed with mussel sauce prepared by Mario Batali at Identità New York 2011: pure energy and niceness. |
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The Cjalsòns by Missy Robbins and Emanuele Scarello  The Cjalsòns in infusion of dried pears and lemon zests by Missy Robbins and Emanuele Scarello, Identità New York 2011. A perfect marriage between Italy and America. |
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The Grana Padano Garganelli by Michael White The Garganelli with Grana Padano cream, Parma ham and chicory prepared by Michael White at Identità New York, on Tuesday November 1st, 2011. |
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The underdone spaghetti by Esposito and White Gennaro Esposito and Michael White, who have in common both their size and their passion for seafood cuisine, at Identità New York 2011 have long conversed about the concept of "underdone pasta" until they thought it was ready to be removed from boiling water.
You can talk about cooking for hours, but sooner or later the time comes to take some action. There is a time for "Honey, throw in the pasta" and then it comes "damn, it’s ready... drain it!". |
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Between pasta and beer, beans are the winners During the 5 months which led to the finals of the first Premio Birra Moretti Grand Cru, a contest for young chefs and sous-chefs under 35 held at Città del Gusto in Rome on November 14, we have not only talked about beer nor simply cooked with it. Pasta, both fresh and dry, has found several candidates-connoisseurs. The first phase, devoted to traditional pasta, saw the success of Pasta and beans and Spaghetti all’Amatriciana. In a medley of 11 dishes, 20% of participants used paccheri, spaghetti, and rigatoni... If in the second phase only a few presented pasta recipes – only 6% out of 50 recipes - in the finals one dish out of 4 was a pasta first course.
The jury of the Prize - Berton, Bottura, Bowerman, Cracco, Esposito, Oldani, Rambaldi and Sadler – have appreciated reinterpretations of pasta and beans like that in the picture by Giovanni Sorrentino, executive chef of the restaurant Terra di Vento in Montecorvino Pugliano (Sa) with his Tortello stuffed with leek fondant, cream of Sarconi beans with Birra Moretti La Rossa and Olbia mussel sauce. The recipe of Alberto Rini, sous-chef of the restaurant Vespasia of Norcia (Umbria), focused more on his territory. Beans from Norcia such as Perlina di Monteleone, Monachelle or Toscanello have accompanied fresh pasta with turbot, turnip-tops and crunchy pigskin flour.
However, if sometimes appearances can be deceptive even for the most attentive and professional eyes, the palate doesn’t fail: the jury of the contest was positively struck by the Pasta and Beans of Mirko Matteoni, chef of the Antico Caffè delle Mura in Lucca, who has received the special mention for the best combination with beer. This confirms that a marriage of cereals, between wheat and malt, can be happy if the hand of the cook avoids the perils of common places.
Claudia Orlandi |
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Three pasta concerts. Directed by Maestro Marchesi Three menus fully focused on pasta (and one on rice). Three journeys through the dish symbol of Italian tradition made by the chef who did his utmost to shed luster on it over the decades. Today, it is possible to try the four menus by Gualtiero Marchesi in his restaurant of Erbusco, in the area of Franciacorta. «Little chamber concerts – as defined by the chef – to direct good and beauty of the table through a play of shapes, a contrast of colors, tastes and consistencies. All four menus end with a note of sweetness, a dessert paying homage to the daily greatness of pasta and rice».
Each one consists of 5 courses and half a liter carafe of wine and costs 120 Euro per person. Let’s go through them. Menu 1, Intorno allo Spaghetto (About Spaghetti): With cuttlefish ink, yoghurt, dill and salmon roe sauce; In a soup with garlic, oil, chili pepper, mussels and zucchini; Whole meal spaghetti with soy-bean, celery and half-cooked shrimp tails; With cheese and pepper and anise zabaione, fried soy spaghetti. Menu 2, Tutta Pasta (All Pasta) (price 180 Euro): Spaghetti salad with caviar and chive; Schiacciatelle with spinach and black clams; Conchiglie and European lobster with European lobster sauce and truffles from Norcia; Penne with acacia honey, cinnamon and Roman ewe’s milk cheese to end up with the renowned Dripping of pasta. The Menu 3 is a summa of the best Pasta Farcita (Stuffed Pasta): Anelli with ricotta cheese; Cappelletti also with concentrated clear soup of hen; Cannelloni with seafood and shellfish, Pumpkin Tortelli and Sicilian filled pastry.
For 140 Euro rice lovers will find in their dish a Little salad of wild rice; tomato flavored Basmati Rice; Pyramid of black Venus rice, squids, mussels, scallops and mullets; Carnaroli Rice with curry, half-cooked shrimp tails and Sweet rice pie with chocolate ice-cream and redcurrant sauce. Enough to remain at the table and try all the 4 menus. (In the picture the renowned Spaghetti salad with anchovy sauce by Marchesi). |
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RECIPE/Linguine with entrails by Marianna Vitale Linguine with squid entrails by Marianna Vitale, chef of the restaurant Sud in Quarto (Na) and among the protagonists of the day Identità di donna, within the congress Identità Milano 2012. «The dish», Vitale explains, «uses an unusual ingredient, its hidden sense which isn’t socially approved» (picture by Stefano Caffarri).
Recipe for 4 persons
Ingredients
300 g linguine
500 g squids
mint
extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves of garlic
salt, chili pepper and pepper to taste
Procedure
Clean the squids and put aside what we generally tend to throw away: the entrails. Prepare a saucepan with garlic, oil and chili pepper and have the squid entrails brown for a few minutes, adding a kitchen spoon of water. Filter the sauce. Cook the linguine and add the filtered sauce at half cooking. At the end of cooking add the chopped mint. Serve. |
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Shrimp Amatriciana by Miah Sohel The Amatriciana by Miah Sohel, sous-chef of the Roman restaurant Giuda Ballerino. The spaghetti isn’t fresh or dry but obtained directly from Anzio shrimps, an illusion of pasta recalling the experiments of Emanuele Scarello. Matched to small roasted tomato with thyme, crunchy lard from the pig’s cheek, ewe’s milk cheese wafer and glazed red onion to reproduce the amatriciana dressing. Dish presented at the contest for the prize Birra Moretti. |
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