Dear {NOMEUTENTE}
I write here below about the Green Tagliatelle by Christian Milone, but it wasn’t the only pasta first course which struck me when I went for dinner at him and his wife Manuela. There was also the Pasta ai quattro formaggi (Pasta with four cheeses) (toma blu, seirass, Grana padano and latticello cheese) for its unexpected and fleshy lightness. Christian spreads the macaroni out over the rectangular dish, without creating a wild cheesy heap and of course this helps, even though he goes beyond. Not only he has the pasta boil very little but he also vacuum melts the cheeses at 60° and then filters everything to obtain the oil, if we can call it so, that he will then mix with tapioca. The dish is finished with a slight grating of blue-veined toma cheese and a little sprinkling of Sichuan pepper.
It is true that we Italians haven’t codified our cuisine yet, and I don’t know if we ever do it, but Milone is the thousandth confirmation of how good we can be when combining imagination, competence and skill. Problems arise when we run into people thinking that free imagination is enough to create new dishes. Actually they are new, but almost never good when people are unlearned in the kitchen.
Paolo Marchi
texts by Gabriele Zanatta |
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EMOTIONS/ Green Tagliatelle by Christian Milone Extraordinary dinner on Wednesday at the Gastronavicella, the restaurant that at the end of winter Christian Milone, 32 years old, has prepared in the courtyard of the Trattoria Zappatori, Corso Torino 34 in Pinerolo, telephone number +39.0121.374158, christian.miloneehcn@alice.it, no website.
The place dates back to 1890 but his parents came here about forty years ago. Christian took it over in the middle of the year two thousand, after cherishing the dream of becoming a professional cyclist for about one decade. And he doubled: classical lively cuisine in the traditional dining room, innovation in a lunar module completely made of glass.
In the shuttle containing two tables for maximum eight places, we trust to Milone. There is no menu to choose, no dictate, but you talk to the chef before dining. In the picture, delicious Green tagliatelle home made with white flour mixed with portulaca leaves, a weed used to prepare excellent salads in the Grecian islands. It gives colour to the mixture but no taste which comes, apart from a knob of butter, from the juice of four hectograms of centrifuged geranium leaves and flowers, the dose to obtain 10 grams of essence perfect for one serving. Pure poetry at the feet of the Western Alps.
Paolo Marchi
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RUBITT/ Pasta salad by Cesare Battisti «Pasta may also be a first course» says the now well-known axiom by Davide Scabin. Let’s start with the corollaries then. The picture shows pasta as hors d’oeuvre. Or better as rubitt, Italian tapa legitimized by Cesare Battisti of the Ratanà in Milan. Who explains: «It is a kind of pasta made of biological Italian grains shaped like a small tube that is a little bigger than the ditali used for pasta and beans. We have seasoned it with a sauce of sweet peppers, braised in the pan and homogenised adding Eugenio Pol bread cumbers, perfumed with several different herbs».
However, the dressing of this micro salad may vary: «with vegetables and cold poached veal in tuna mayonnaise. Or with all possible seeds». Most important is that the rubitt pieces aren’t too many and can be eaten with a spoon, without being too formal. |
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RECIPE/Pasta salad by Francesco Apreda Preparing rice salads in summer is quite diffused and, after all, easy. However, we don’t know why the same cannot be said for pasta salads. The Emmer penne with codfish tripe, fior di latte cheese and zucchini flowers by Francesco Apreda of the restaurant Imago at the Hotel Hassler in Rome is the evidence that there is still hope.
Before giving the recipe, we remind that the chef from Naples, born in 1974, will be among the speakers at Identità New York: on Saturday October 13 he will cook a risotto for the dinner at the Birreria of Eataly prepared together with Cesare Casella, Antonio Guida, Pino Lavarra and Fortunato Nicotra. On Sunday, October 14 “class” at the Scuola of Eataly together with Anita Lo from the restaurant Annisa.
INGREDIENTS
500 g Felicetti emmer penne
6 Roman zucchini with flowers
50 g black olives
30 g capers
100 g fior di latte ovoline cheese
5 drops of filtered anchovy sauce
25 g grated Roman pecorino cheese
1 clove of garlic
1 fresh chili pepper
30 g chopped parsley
250 g pomini small tomatoes
1 clove of garlic
Basil, thyme, salt and sugar
400 g codfish tripe
50 g sliced Roman pecorino cheese
150 g ripened tomatoes
Basil, pepper and extra-virgin olive oil
PREPARATION
for the codfish tripe
wash the tripe under running water for a few minutes then vacuum pack it in the special cooking bags with ripened tomatoes, basil, sliced pecorino cheese, pepper and a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil. Cook in the Roner at a steady temperature of 75°C for 5 hours and cool in water and ice. Once cooled up, take it out of the bags, eliminating the pecorino cheese and the basil. Cut it thinly and slightly brown it in a pan with garlic, chilli pepper and chopped parsley, adding a ladleful of pasta cooking water in the end.
For the half-dried small tomatoes
wash the datterini small tomatoes and cut them in half; dress them with salt, sugar, thyme, basil and small slices of garlic. Place the tomatoes in a baking pan covered with baking paper and dry them in the oven at 80°C with the air valve opened. They are ready when completely dry and almost without any water.
for the Roman zucchini with flowers
Separate the zucchini from the flowers and open the flowers eliminating the central pistil, then lay them on the baking paper and put them in the microwave oven for 120 seconds at 800 w. Cut the zucchini into small sticks and grill them with salt and a drizzle of oil.
FINISHING
Cook the emmer penne in plenty of salty water, drain it very underdone and far from the fire. Add the codfish tripe, the grilled zucchini and the dried small tomatoes. Then, far from the heat, whip with the pecorino cheese, the fior di latte ovolini cheese cut in half, the anchovy sauce, the capers, the stoned olives and, if need be, with a little pasta cooking water. Plate the emmer penne and garnish with the dried zucchini flowers.
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RECIPE/The Tallutzas by Roberto Petza  The pasta in the picture is called tallutzas and we don’t need a linguist to discover that it originates from Sardinia. It looks like a guitar plectrum (magnified) and it is one of the symbols of the seventh edition of Appetitosamente, the food festival which animated Siddi, a village in the Medio Campidano, 50 km in the Cagliari up-country, from August 3 to 5.
Among the highlights of the rich program a dinner in the wood, among century-old live oaks, organized by the owner of great S'Apposentu Roberto Petza with Jane Narak (Thailand) and Angelina Anyango Opondo (Kenya) the night of Friday, August 3. Then, laboratories about fresh pasta and the presence of Graziano Mesina, former gun man known as "Scarlet Pimpernel" who will talk about the food he ate while being in hiding on the mountains around Orgosolo. Something very far from the recipe here-below (for 4 persons) signed by Roberto Petza: Tallutzas de coxia with eels, pecorino cheese, San Gavino saffron and mint (thanks to Domenico Sanna).
INGREDIENTS
2 eels of about 400 g each
320 g tallutzas
60 g just grated Osilo pecorino cheese
10 saffron pistils
1 bunch of mint
2 cloves of garlic, salt, extra-virgin olive oil
PREPARATION
for the tallutzas
Knead 400 g of durum wheat semolina with 192 g of water and 2 g of brewer’s yeast for at least 20 minutes. Let the dough rest in the fridge for about one hour covered with a cloth. Roll it out to reach a thickness of about 1/2 mm and cut it in discs having a diameter of 4 cm using a pasta cutter; lay them on a baking pan.
for the sauce
Keep the skin off the eels, fillet them and cut them into small sticks 3 cm long and 1 cm wide; have 2 litres of water boil with 60 g of salts, the laurel and garlic and when it starts boiling add the eels. Turn off the burner and let it cool. Cook the pasta in a different pot filled with salty water. In the meantime, drain the eels and put them in a frying pan with little cooking water, warm up and when the pasta is ready drain it and put it in the pan with the eels; raise the heat and go on mixing having almost all the liquid dry. Keep out of heat; add the Osilo pecorino cheese, the saffron slightly wetted with a few drops of water, the mint and a few spoons of extra-virgin olive oil. Whip well and serve. |
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RECIPE/The beer paccheri by Lorenzo Iozzia The Paccheri with mullet, capers from Pantelleria, pine seeds, parsley chlorophyll and Baffo d’Oro caramel, a dish signed by Lorenzo Iozzia, chef at Villa San Michele in Vitorchiano (Viterbo) and participating at the contest Premio Birra Moretti Grand Cru 2011. The 2012 contest is getting to the heart with the first selection of the 50 finalists. And pasta is always playing the main role.
INGREDIENTS
for the mullet sauce and fumet
3 mullets
30 ml Baffo d’Oro Moretti Beer
1 celery stick
1 carrot
1 l of water
½ red onion from Tropea
¼ spring onion from Tropea
15 pine seeds
10 capers from Pantelleria
2 leaves of laurel
oil
salt and pepper to taste
for the Baffo d’Oro caramel
30 ml Baffo d’Oro
200 g sugar
for the parsley chlorophyll
250 g parsley
600 g water
PREPARATION
for the fish fumet
Clean the mullets separating the fillets from heads and bones, place a saucepan with 1 l of water, one onion cut in half, one stick of celery, one peeled carrot, 2 leaves of laurel, the bones and heads of the mullet on the cooker, bring to boil and cook on moderately hot heat for about 30 minutes, filter to eliminate the vegetables and the remaining parts of the fish and keep aside for the sauce.
for the parsley chlorophyll
Put 250 g of parsley and 600 ml of water in a cutter, whisk until obtaining a purée, filter and put the sauce in a small saucepan, bring to the temperature of 65°C and you will immediately notice the separation of chlorophyll from vegetation water. Now filter it through a kitchen cloth laid on a sieve previously filled with ice cubes; the chlorophyll will remain on the cloth while the vegetation water will run away. Scratch the chlorophyll out of the cloth and put it in the fridge in a container.
For the beer caramel
Put 200 g of sugar and 30 ml of beer (about 2 spoonfuls) in a thick bottom small saucepan, cook on the low heat controlling with a thermometer and mixing with a whisk until reaching 160°C. Lay the silpat mat or simply the baking paper and with the help of a spoon form small drops of caramel on it. Cool also at room temperature.
for the mullet and pasta sauce
Cut 3 of the 6 previously cleaned mullet fillets into small pieces, chop very thinly the spring onion from Tropea and slightly brown it, add the pine seeds and cook on the low heat for 2 minutes; when they are a little coloured, add the mullet pieces, including the three whole fillets, after no more than one minute raise the burner, add 30 ml of Baffo d’Oro beer and simmer for one minute until reduced, turn off the heat and add salt and pepper.
Now cook the paccheri in plenty of salty water, drain it very underdone and finish cooking it in a pan with the mullet sauce, adjusting it with the previously prepared fish fumet.
FINISHING
Brush the plate with the parsley chlorophyll. With the help of a spoon handle, lay the paccheri standing, arrange randomly the mullet pieces and with a spoon gather the capers and pine seeds and put them on top of the paccheri and the dish. Take the drops of caramel, now hard and cool, and slightly melt them at their base with the help of a flame; place them near the paccheri. Now finish by placing the whole mullet fillets over the paccheri and garnish with fresh herbs (I used bean sprouts and the tips of the spring onion I had browned). |
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RECIPE/The fettuccine with caciocavallo by Aprea The Fettuccine from Gragnano with egg yolk, caciocavallo podolico cheese and summer truffles by Andrea Aprea, chef at the restaurant Vun of the Park Hyatt Hotel in Milan. Recipe for 4 persons.
INGREDIENTS AND PREPARATION
for the pasta and egg yolk
400 g fettuccine from Gragnano
4 egg yolks
100 g Sbrinz cheese
40 g summer truffles
Cook the pasta in water for the indicated time. Cook the yolk in oil at 64°C for 16 minutes.
for the caciocavallo podolico sauce
400 g milk
400 g cream
100 g 18 month seasoned caciocavallo podolico cheese
Reduce by half both milk and cream, add the Sbrinz cheese, mix well and pass through the chinoise.
FINISHING
Lay on the bottom of the dish the fettuccine and the caciocavallo cheese sauce forming a nest using ladle and tongs. Add the egg yolk and finally the thin slices of summer truffles. |
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RECIPE/ Pasta without pasta by Simone Salvini The spaghetti which wasn’t spaghetti. It was conceived by Simone Salvini, vegan chef skilled in preparing spaghetti made with potato starch. Once cooked, it is transparent with a texture similar to durum wheat pasta. It doesn’t contain gluten and is therefore perfect also for celiac people. Final note: pesto shall be consistent with the code of the Joia, the restaurant of Pietro Leemann, Salvini’s teacher. That is without garlic and with fresh herbs.
INGREDIENTS
2 American potatoes
200 g potato spaghetti
100 g basil pesto
100 g French beans
1 ramato tomato
20 g pine seeds
desalinated capers
taggiasche olives
PROCEDURE
Cut the potatoes horizontally in order to obtain 4 cm high cylinders. Slightly hollow out the inner part to obtain the pulp. Steam the potatoes for about 25 minutes. Take them out of the pot and let them stand in the warm. Cut the remained pulp into regular dices and sauté them in a small pan for a few minutes with little oil. Add salt and pepper and keep aside.
Boil the French beans for 2 minutes (after cutting away their tips) in salted water and cool them in water and ice. In the same water boil the tomato for a few seconds. Cool in cold water and eliminate the peel. Cut the pulp into regular dices and dress them with a little oil. Keep aside.
Toast the pine seeds in the oven at 180° for 4 minutes.
Cook the potato spaghetti in salted water following the instructions on the packaging. Drain and cool with very cold water.
Distribute the French beans on the bottom of the dish and lay on top of them the steamed potato. Put a little pesto on it and continue with the spaghetti, drained and dressed with olive oil. Decorate the pasta not pasta with another spoonful of pesto.
Finish with the remaining ingredients: tomato dices, toasted pine seeds, capers, olives and sautéed potato dices.
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VIDEO-RECIPE/Rock spaghetti with spring onion by Aimo and Nadia The picture by Francesca Brambilla and Serena Serrani shows the result of one of the most renowned recipes of Italian cuisine: the Spaghetti with spring onion and chilli pepper by Aimo and Nadia Moroni. Or better the Benedetto Cavalieri durum wheat spaghettoni with spring onion and fresh chilli pepper with a drizzle of oil and basil from Liguria, to say it completely as it is still today written in the menu (30 euro) of the restaurant Luogo. It’s useless to write here the steps of a recipe which has been very successful on the internet for a long time now. It’s better for you to watch this video on youtube, created by Mychef.tv to the rhythm of rock. Which, by the way, gives the pace to the style of Alessandro Negrini and Fabio Pisani, the two chefs in the temple of via Montecuccoli. |
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RECIPE/The Ravioli with red potatoes by Girasoli Ravioli with red potatoes, basil and pine seeds from San Rossore and infusion of pendolino tomato and red raw crawfish by Fabrizio Girasoli, chef of the restaurant Butterfly in Lucca. Recipe for 4 persons. (picture by Claudio Mollo)
INGREDIENTS
for the dough
100 g flour
4 egg yolks
one pinch of salt
for the stuffing
2 red peel potatoes
30 g pine seeds from San Rossore
½ clove of garlic
50 g leaves of basil
500 g red tomatoes
150 ml Tuscan extra-virgin olive oil
12 red crawfish from Sanremo
PREPARATION
Mix the ingredients for the dough and knead them until obtaining a smooth dough. Let it stand wrapped in a cloth.
Cook the dough in the microwave oven for 7 minutes and pass it through the sieve when it is still warm. Obtain a pesto by whipping the basil with oil, garlic, pine seeds and a pinch of salt. Add the potatoes and put into a sac-à-poche. Have it cool, roll out the dough thinly and shape the cappelletti leaving a small cavity on them.
Pass the well washed tomatoes through the centrifuge and filter the liquid until obtaining a transparent tomato juice. Emulsify the juice with extra-virgin olive oil and salt using a hand blender.
Shell the crawfish; remove head, tail and bowels and season with oil, salt and pepper. Cook the ravioli for 2 minutes and sauté it with a bit of tomato juice. Arrange in the dish inserting a raw crawfish into each ravioli. Decorate with a small tomato in the middle and finish pouring the tomato juice on the dish bottom. |
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PREVIEW/ Spaghetti with pepper by Cracco and Baronetto Spaghetti with red pepper and salted anchovies, a dish preview tasted recently (but it will be on the menu from September) at Cracco and Baronetto's Cracco, via Hugo in Milan, telephone number +39.02.876774. |
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