Talent For Food 2019: Lentil flour dumplings

News, Primi piatti

If the adventures of the Mystery Box received for the Talent for Food contest were surprising, even more surprising was the news that I was one of the three finalists, so I would like to tell you about my adventure from a slightly different perspective than a mere report: how to try to make the impossible possible.

My Talent For Food 2019 adventure and my Lentil flour dumplings

Let’s start with the fact that in my day-to-day life I am a conference interpreter and CEO of a language service company, Interconsul srl – Benefit Company, based in Parma, so on Friday 11 October, duty called as it does every other day, and at 7.45 a.m., after the kids’ hectic school drop-off, I was expected to review the translations to be sent to customers before the weekend. Oh yes, because convinced that I would never be among the finalists of the Talent from the Veneto region, my schedule continued, ineluctable, so I had to switch to weekend mode at 3.30 p.m. that Friday by picking up my friend and food blogger Cristiana Curri at the station (https://blog.giallozafferano.it/chicchecris/) with whom I had organised a cooking class dedicated to the great pasta classics in Roman cuisine on Saturday 12 October in the afternoon. Also, because I like challenges (this is the conclusion I came to), at 9 a.m. on the same day I had a nice course dedicated to savoury recipes using alternative flours to wheat.

A message on WhatsApp: panic!

So what happens when you get a congratulatory message on WhatsApp on a Sunday afternoon as you are driving to Rimini (about 220 km from home) to work as an interpreter at a conference? You wonder what you are being congratulated for, you run through your head what has happened in the last few days, you give up and ask your interpreter colleague sitting in the car with you to answer: “For what?” Return message: “You are in the finals at Talent for Food. Panic. Yes, literally panic, but not because of the competition as cooking competitions always put me in a good mood, but because of the Rubik’s puzzle I managed to create. In my head it is a succession of thoughts to put the coloured boxes of the magic cube into place, and in the end it comes out like a risk-taking game plan: I calculate the Parma-Valdobbiadene journey time on Google Maps (3 hours), I beg Cristiana to change the train ticket so that I can get there before noon to accompany me to Valdobbiadene, and I ask AIFB if it is possible to give up (the most painful part) the discovery programme planned for Saturday morning. You know what? In the end it all seemed… almost simple!

A Friday afternoon in Valdobbiadene for Talent For Food

So I find myself on a Friday afternoon at the DIEFFE Academy of Professions in Valdobbiadene (Treviso) with 50 minutes to prepare, cook and serve a recipe using the ingredients provided by 29 companies from Treviso and Padua that have supplied ‘mystery boxes’ with products from the Veneto region. While cooking with Daniela Boscariolo (blog.giallozafferano.it/timoelenticchie the winner) and Daniela Pennisi (www.laboulangeriepatisserie.it), Angela Frenda – Editor-in-Chief of the monthly magazine ‘Cook’ (Corriere della Sera), writer and cooking teacher – gives the floor to Giovanni Taliana and Armando Serena, Presidents of the Food Group and the Wine and Spirits Group of Assindustria Venetocentro, to Anna Maria Pellegrino, President of AIFB, to Innocente Nardi, President of Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore Docg and to Alessandro Marzotto, Hospitality Wine Shop Manager of Santa Margherita Wine Group. The three finalists whilst cookingFaithful to one of the guiding principles of the contest, in my recipe I combine the culinary tradition of Emilia with products from the Veneto region, which is why I prepare the ever-present stuffed pasta, but this time with Vicenza-style salt cod and artichokes inside, saffron in the dough and sautéed mushrooms as a dressing. What was missing on my plate? A crispy part, but I don’t like fritters, so I couldn’t think of any alternative… I’ll be ready for next time!

The three dishes presented

My ravioli

After judgement, ritual photos, hugs and kisses between new friends and new acquaintances, we headed back to Parma, a stop at a gas station for a hot drink and a super, but brief sleep before a second day of challenges with two cooking classes and… this recipe prepared on the fly on Saturday evening for my super-helpful guest and dear friend Cristiana, naturally cooked with Talent for Food 2019 products!

Lentil flour dumplings with artichoke cream and stracchino cheese

13.32g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients for the dumplings

270g milk
90g potato starch*
60g lentil flour*
40g Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, grated
35g organic sunflower oil
4 eggs
nutmeg, extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper to taste

Ingredients for the Gnocchi sauce

250g cream of artichoke*
100g Stracchino cheese or another cream cheese
pepper

**Ingredients specific for celiacs *Ingredients whose labels must read “gluten-free” (or, in Italy, present on Prontuario AIC)

Preparation

Put 270g of milk in a saucepan together with oil, a grinding of nutmeg and a pinch of salt. Bring to the boil, remove from the heat and add starch and lentil flour in one go, stirring well so that no lumps form. Let cool, then add the grated cheese and one egg at a time, mixing well. Transfer the mixture into a pastry bag with a round tip, approximately 1.5-2 cm in diameter.
Put a pot of water on the stove, bring it to the boil and salt it. With a pastry bag, drop small cylinders 2-3 cm long with the help of a knife (although the dough is very soft, so the knife is only needed to interrupt the flow of mixture) into boiling water and when they rise to the surface, let them cook 1-2 minutes, then remove with a slotted spoon and place them in a bowl with the stracchino cheese and artichoke cream. Stir well to melt the cheese.
Serve the Gnocchi hot with a grinding of black pepper.

I miei gnocchetti alla farina di lenticchie con crema di carciofi e stracchino

My lentil flour gnocchi with artichoke cream and stracchino cheese

November 13, 2019/0 Comments/by Ilaria Bertinelli

Simply Red Risotto at the Merano Wine Festival

News, Primi piatti

We have returned from the Merano Wine Festival full of enthusiasm and happy with the wonderful experience. Needless to say, being at one of the nation’s most important food and wine events had an invigorating effect. I was accompanied by Luca Puzzuoli, the promoter of Risate e Risotti .

Simply Red: a risotto for the Merano Wine Festival

I delighted the audience with a risotto that pays homage to taste, Italy and the pleasure of savouring a simple yet tasty and refined dish.

What did I prepare at the Merano Wine Festival?

The Simply Red Ristotto with Parmesan cheese, Parma ham, Infinito extra virgin olive oil, raspberry compote with Monti Cimini chilli and Ciro Flagella tomatoes.

Since I do not only want to make you curious, but I would also love you to try this treat, here is the recipe to prepare it!

Simply Red Risotto at the Merano Wine Festival

carbohydrates 31.5g per 100g without raspberry compote

Ingredients for 4 servings

approx. 2 litres of previously prepared vegetable stock
360g Carnaroli rice
120g fresh cherry tomatoes or Ciro Flagella cherry tomatoes
80g Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, grated
60g Parma ham, more than 15 months’ maturation
30g butter
30g onions
10g brown sugar
raspberry compote from Monti Cimini with chilli, Infinito extra virgin olive oil, thyme, salt and pepper

Preparation

Slice the ham into rather thick slices, about 1-2 mm, then put them in the freezer for at least 3 hours: you will see that they will not freeze, but, thanks to the salt content, they will simply become very cold and rather stiff.
Cut the cherry tomatoes in half, place them on a baking tin covered with parchment paper with the cut side down and sprinkle with brown sugar, oil, salt, pepper and thyme leaves.
Put them in a convection oven preheated to 180°C for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.
Take a rather large non-stick pan and sprinkle it with 20 g of grated Parmesan cheese so that it covers the entire surface. Place the pan on the heat and allow the cheese to melt without burning, then remove the pan from the heat and allow the cheese to cool: you have your cheese crisp.
For the risotto, put about 20 g of extra virgin olive oil in a saucepan with the chopped onion. Allow the mince to soften and brown, then add the rice and toast it on a high heat (it took me 3 minutes to get the grains nice and transparent with a white kernel in the centre). Start adding the boiling stock and continue stirring, adding more stock only when the rice has absorbed almost all the liquid.
In the meantime, place the ‘frozen’ ham in a very sharp food processor and blend it into a kind of coarse flour.
When the rice is cooked, but still al dente, turn off the heat, add the blended ham and mix well. At this point, stir in the very cold butter and the remaining grated Parmesan cheese. Let the risotto rest for at least 1 minute covered with a dish towel. Serve and complete each plate with some confit tomatoes, a piece of Parmesan crisp and a few pinches of chilli raspberry compote.

November 15, 2017/0 Comments/by Ilaria Bertinelli

May and cheese Risotto opens the door to the final

News, Primi piatti

The adventure of the Rice Food Blogger Contest of Risate&Risotti continues we are very happy to announce that we will participate in the final on 2 July in Lucignano, in the province of Arezzo!

But before we think about the next appointment, let’s go back a few days to discover how this incredible weekend went during the semifinal that took place at the Campus Etoile Academy in Tuscania!

The semifinal at Campus Etoile Academy

“When you drive along the road to Tuscania, you have the feeling of being lost in a silent countryside where only fields and olive trees speak. Then, suddenly, St Peter’s cathedral looms at the horizon with, a few metres away, a corner of paradise for those who, like me, love food and what it means: the Campus Etoile Academy.

Here, young people come to learn the art of what the school’s founder, Chef Rossano Boscolo, calls ‘the most beautiful job in the world’, that of a chef or pastry chef. And here, driven by the affection for an event that has won me over (Risate&Risotti), and curiosity for something I had never done before in my life, I landed to participate in the semi-final of the Rice Food Blogger Contest, launched by the organisation that makes rice and fun its flag.

Gaia and I arrive tired and unaware of what awaits us, but happy for the simple fact of spending two days just us, away from the world and daily commitments. In addition to the overwhelming scent of jasmine, we are greeted by beautiful smiles and pieces of pastry history that bring the tuff walls of the former 16th-century convent to life. And this is only the beginning.

At 6.30 p.m. the appointment is with the host, chef Rossano Boscolo, who overwhelms us with his passion, his strength and his infinite knowledge: leafing through the pages of Bartolomeo Scappi’s 16th-century work that is the Bible of Italian cuisine, he is moved and, while he tells us its value and meaning, his hands delicately caress those words and drawings.

The chefs’ school gives us great emotions

The classrooms of the school are not just any classrooms, they are jewels of technology and antiquity that smell sweet. Yes, because the smell of pastry is too strong to contain it within the walls. The vegetable garden, the room in which to enjoy a glass of wine in company, a basketball court between the tuff walls of what should become (bureaucracy and all-Italian paradoxes permitting) the school’s main entrance, lead us to the final destination of the evening: the demonstration room where the brigade led by Chefs Francesco Triscornia and Antonio Paolino is waiting to amaze the eyes and palate.

For Gaia, sitting at the table with all the other semi-finalists and enjoying the same food is such an immense gift that she confesses to me: “You know, I could live here!”

The technique and creativity taking shape before our eyes is such that I wonder if I will still have the courage to cook the next morning! But the greatness of art is that, through its beauty, it makes you grow and learn, and so this dinner has earned a permanent place in my heart.

On Saturday morning, we are all ready, as excited as before an exam, but I have a special nourishment: Gaia, who is the real and only reason why I am here. Armed with a camera and excited as only kids can be, she is always in the front row.

When everyone is at their cooking station, the chef sets out the rules: you can choose the ingredients you personally want but, in addition to the taste of the dish, he will judge also food waste, cleanliness, orderly execution and presentation.

And then the decision: with all these ingredients I could make at least 30 different risottos, so which one should I make to meet the judges’ taste?

Gaia looks at me nervously because she reads my uncertainty, but it is her worried little face that removes any doubt: which risotto would I have cooked at home today for lunch? Yes, because Saturday lunches are our rendezvous with risotto, a kind of reward, since for Gaia’s diabetes, rice, which we all love but which has a high glycaemic index, is best eaten at lunchtime. When I left home yesterday, beautiful courgette flowers were shining in my garden – that’s what I would have used if I had been home!

I decide to prepare two heart-shaped Parmesan crisps because Parmesan cheese is where I come from and the little heart is my children’s favourite decorative element (because you have to remind yourself often that you love each other: it’s good for your health!). I am also thinking of adding another seasonal vegetable, peas, but I want to make a cream with these, because Gaia does not like them when they are whole. However, I would like my sauce to be a little sour because the courgette flowers are rather sweet, so a hint of contrast will help to liven up the dish; among the ingredients, I have my eye on yoghurt, which is just right for me.

Due to the strange combinations of workstation sequences, I will be the last one to submit the dish to the judges and I find myself alone with Gaia cooking my risotto. I adjust salt, stir to the best of my ability and serve our ‘May and cheese’, because the name of the risotto already sums up its ingredients.

As I climb the stairs to reach the three chefs who will taste what I have prepared, my legs shake and all the doubts assail me, leaving me with bated breath until Chef Boscolo states in a firm tone: “Good, really good!” That’s enough for me, if it is good for him, it would also be good for my family.

The rest of the race was a bit like when you are asleep: you hear your name and Gaia cheering, you make arrangements about the final, you say goodbye, then you find yourself awake driving the car home, back to the real world. This time, however, even our pesky guests, called diabetes and celiac disease, decided to play the part of the good guys in our beautiful dream, giving us wonderful food and perfect blood sugar levels.

At this point, we will be in the final in Lucignanoin the province of Arezzo, on 2 July 2016, hoping to live another beautiful dream.”

And now here is our recipe to try!

May and cheese risotto

21.23g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients

approx. 1.3 litres of previously prepared vegetable stock
320g Carnaroli rice
140g courgette flowers
100g fresh peas
60g grated Parmesan cheese (plus the one for the heart crisps)
40g plain yoghurt
30g leek
30g butter
20g shallot
1 clove garlic
extra virgin olive oil, mint leaves, salt and pepper

Preparation

First of all prepare the pea cream. Put a little oil in a saucepan with the thinly sliced shallot and garlic clove. Let the shallots and garlic soften and brown, then add the peas and a ladle of stock; let it cook and add chopped mint to taste. If necessary, add more stock to cook the peas.
Once ready, remove the garlic and blend everything with an immersion blender. If there are any chunks left, pass the cream through a fine sieve. Then, adjust the flavour by adding yoghurt, salt and a pinch of pepper. The cream is now ready and you can set it aside.

If you want to prepare cheese crisps, it is worth proceeding before making risotto.
Put a non-stick pan on the stove and form a light layer of grated cheese: I tried to give it a heart shape!
When the cheese starts to melt and become crispy on one side, turn it over and let it melt slightly on the second side as well. Remove the crisp from the pan and allow it to cool.

Start preparing risotto. Put a little oil in a pan and sweat the thinly sliced leek in it. After about 15 minutes, add the rice and toast it on a high heat (it took me 3 minutes to have transparent rice grains with a white core in the centre).
Add the chopped courgette flowers after removing the pistils, stir and start adding the hot stock. Continue stirring and add stock only when the rice has absorbed almost all of it. When the rice is al dente, remove from the heat, cover the pan with a tea towel, let it rest for 1 minute and then cream it.

Add 30 grams of butter, stirring well to release the starch so that a nice cream forms, add the grated cheese and continue stirring until it is completely incorporated.
Let the pea cream cool down and put it in a piping bag with a very thin tip.
Serve the risotto on hot plates and spread a small amount of pea cream on the surface, forming a spiral pattern from the centre outwards.
Finally, put the Parmesan hearts and a few mint leaves in the centre.

This recipe participates in the “Rice Food Blogger 2016 – Chef Giuseppina Carboni” contest

May 31, 2016/0 Comments/by Ilaria Bertinelli