RECIPES
In celebration of Settimana della cucina Italiana, we supplied authentic Italian food products to our restaurant partners. Here are just some of the recipes the chefs created using these fine products for Canada’s 100 Best’s International Italian Cuisine Week dinner series.
VANCOUVER FEATURE RECIPE
Cioppino’s Risotto Acquerello “bianco e nero” with sauteed calamari
Ingredients
- 200 g base risotto Acquerello
- 2 Roma tomatoes,cubed
- 2 basil leaves; gently sliced
- 2 pouches of squid’s black ink
- 1 tsp chopped shallot
- 1 each kind chopped garlic
- 30 ml dry white wine
- 50 ml prawn jus
- 40 g extra virgin olive oil DOP
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/2 each kind chili chopped
- Salt and pepper to liking
- 8 small calamari julienne
Method
To make the ink sauce, dissolve the ink from the pouches in lukewarm water.
Sauté the shallot, garlic and chili, in olive oil, add the white wine, the prawn jus and reduce by half. Season it only if necessary. Place in the blender
with the butter and reserve the sauce in a warm spot. Finish the risotto as per usual (utilizing vegetable stock or lobster stock) 15-18 minutes al dente. Place the ink sauce at the centre of the plate. Scoop the risotto atop (making a little well in the centre). Quickly sauté the calamari with the tomatoes and the basil in the remaining olive oil, lightly season them with salt and pepper, then place them in the centre of the well.
To make the risotto base: sweat 1/2 chopped white onion in olive oil, toast the acquerello rice and then add a splash of dry white wine, let evaporate and then add vegetable broth, one ladle at the time only adding the ladle when the previous one is totally absorbed by the rice (total liquid about 600 ml). Finish the risotto with a little butter, white pepper and Parmigiano-Reggiano DOP.
Zucca Trattoria
Yaletown’s acclaimed Cioppino’s offers luxurious Mediterranean dining in a relaxing atmosphere, prepared by chef Pino Posterano, since opening its doors in 1999. Born in Lago, Italy, Pino brings Italian tradition to his delicate dishes.
cioppinos.wordpress.com
TORONTO FEATURE RECIPE
Zucca’s Baccala e Peperoni Rossi Arrostiti
Something we’re revisiting, a memory from the Abruzzo a few years ago. In the fall, the smell of peppers roasting on the BBQ is so enticing.
Ingredients
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salt cod, preferably Norwegian, bone-in
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red bell or sheppard peppers
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celery heart and leaf
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green castelvetrano olives or other large mild green olives
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l’aspromontano extra-virgin olive oil
Method
Soak salt cod in cold water 2-3 days changing water often.
Roast peppers on outdoor grill or in hot oven until the skin blisters black all over. Peel when cool enough to handle. Remove core and seeds, cut into large squares. Season with a little finely chopped garlic, celery heart and leaf, salt, extra-virgin olive oil.
Remove the salt cod from the water bath and pat dry with a cloth or paper towel. In a small pan that will hold the cod snugly in one layer gently heat some EVO, a bay leaf, some chopped garlic, a few stalks of flat-leaf parsley. When the flavours are nicely infused add the cod and turn it around in the oil several times to coat. When it starts to sizzle add a good splash of white wine and ½ cup of water.
Bring to a simmer, cover, place in a 375’ oven, 8-12 minutes, depending on thickness.
Arrange the peppers in a single layer on individual plates. When the cod is cool enough to handle remove the bones and skin. With your fingers flake the fish over the peppers. Spoon some cooking juice over the top. Garnish with olives, chopped celery heart and yellow leaf. Drizzle with l’aspromontano extra virgin olive oil.
Zucca Trattoria
This Midtown fixture has been in operation since 1997. Zucca Trattoria’s seasonal menus reflect Chef Andrew Milne-Allan’s dedication to the regional flavours of Italy.
zuccatrattoria.com
MONTREAL FEATURE RECIPE
Fiorellino's Risotto al parmigiano e tartufo
Ingredients
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250 g Il Riso Acquerello
-
½ red onion, diced
-
100 ml Pinot Grigio
-
2 l mushroom broth
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20 g white truffle
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30 g Parmigiano-Reggiano
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5 g butter
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3 g salt
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10 g EVOO
Method
Sweat onion at low temperature for about 2 minutes in olive oil.
Add rice and stir for 45 seconds.
Add wine to deglaze and let simmer.
Add 150 ml of mushroom broth at a time and keep stirring until reduced and repeat process until rice is cooked, roughly 15-20mins.
Once rice is cooked (al dente), add butter, olive oil, salt and Parmigiano-Reggiano. Continue stirring until creamy.
Plate risotto on a flat plate and spread out as much as possible to stop the cooking process.
Slice truffle over risotto, drizzle more olive oil and enjoy your meal.
Fiorellino
An industrial-style open space, Fiorellino is a casual dining bistro that boasts a particularly well-chosen wine list. The latest venture from the four friends behind the revered Buonanotte group, Fiorellino’s chef Erik Mandracchia elevates the menu beyond what its pizza oven can produce, with dishes like the porchetta tonnata and his delicate tomato gnocchi.
fiorellino.ca
