Tomorrow will be better – New recipes can be created from each dish, word of Bruno Barbieri, the star chef known and appreciated throughout the world. These are the title and subtitle of his new book published by Mondadori Electa, which at first sight seem totally exhaustive. Buying it, let's imagine we have in our hands a new recipe book conceived by the charming Emilian, ready to be read and interpreted for new lunches with friends or culinary challenges. Well, not exactly … there is much, much more.

The animated cookbook

It's been four years that Bruno Barbieri he does not publish books and finally his new work comes out in bookstores today. Tomorrow will be better is a project that the chef takes a lot of. While he is telling it, his hands shake in descriptive choreographies and the words come out of the heart, just like in his kitchen. It took a year and a half of work, which emphasizes being a team like the brigade of a restaurant with trusted people, the chef Eric Lavacchielli of his bistro Fourghetti of Bologna, who has found the raw material around the world, up to the excellent food photographer Stefano Scatà. And the comparison between publishing and cooking does not end here: "Even the placement is important," he says slyly, "I also wanted to participate in the graphic aspect to fully represent me, even in the choice of cover and paper, just like when I serve a plate on the table ".

It is a special cookbook (don't call it a book "because Bruno Vespa writes the books", says the chef seraphic) whom he calls animated because it tells the story of Bruno Barbieri in the kitchen through his own experiences in the family or on the sea when he worked on cruise ships, the places where he lived (from Turkey to France passing naturally through Bologna and Reggio Emilia) together with friends and characters with whom he shares the passion for food, even the butcher or fruit vegetables; between interesting anecdotes and suggestive photos. The recipes are about a hundred and were taken from the archive of a lifetime, but revised and updated to date, and under each ("except for the desserts because we know they never advance, even in weddings") there is a message to revive them with new little ideas.

The double life of the dishes

The theme of reuse in the kitchen it is the true epicenter of this project, which goes hand in hand with the renewed contemporary awareness towards important values ​​in which Bruno Barbieri it finds itself perfectly, that is sustainability, the fight against waste, food awareness in restaurant kitchens as well as at home. A modern theme that in reality has always been part of his life. It was enough to think back to his beloved grandmother Mimì, to when he prepared tagliatelle with ragù and the one that was left over the next day was rewritten, becoming a new dry and crispy dish very appreciated. Not only that, today you could whisk everything, whisk two egg whites, butter a mold, add breadcrumbs to get a tasty pasta soufflé, he suggests. The double life of the dishes is a different way of approaching the kitchen, part of our culinary tradition, "a fantastic stimulus for the imagination, the creativity of your gastronomic thought", emphasizes the chef with enthusiasm. The experience of working on cruise ships is also fundamental, where everything is measured and cooked, optimizing any waste. Not for nothing this book is born in collaboration with Costa Crociere and the project 4GOODFOOD.

The suggestions of Tomorrow will be better they are just starting points: Bruno Barbieri he wants to push each of the readers towards new trials, new tastes, new combinations because the kitchen is made of passion, of feelings, «because inside the dish there must be your self, because through the dish I tell myself. Ideas that can also come from journeys, which have greatly influenced its history. Traveling to meet people, discover new countries and new food markets to accumulate experiences and knowledge by visiting the world from South America to Turkey, from which to draw inspiration to be able to give life to dishes that have already been thought of giving them a different soul.

The symbol recipe

For Bruno Barbieri tortellini are also important on an emotional level and his dish of the heart can revive in a different form that we share as a prime example of the spirit of the cookbook Tomorrow will be better.

Tortellini in capon broth sautéed with Parmesan cheese icing

Ingredients

For the stuffing
100 g of pork loin
100 g of raw ham
100 g of real Bologna mortadella
100 g of Parmesan cheese
1 egg
nutmeg
salt and pepper

For the parmesan glaze
200 ml of milk
800 ml of cream
700 g of Parmesan cheese 24 months

For the placement
1 liter of capon broth
nutmeg

Method

The stuffing
The success of this filling lies in the proportions of the ingredients. Cut the pork loin into small pieces and quickly fry it in the pan. When cooked, add the prosciutto and the mortadella cut into small pieces. Mix and mix everything with the small meat grinder. Collect the mixture in a bowl and add the grated Parmesan, the egg, season with salt and pepper and season with a sprinkling of nutmeg. Stir to mix. With this filling and about 300 grams of pasta, prepare the tortellini.

Parmesan icing
Bring the milk and cream to a boil in a saucepan, and reduce. It will take about 5 minutes. Then remove from heat and leave to simmer for another 5 minutes. Only then add the grated Parmesan. Mix well: the cheese will melt and you will get a semi-thick cream.

The impiattamento
After cooking about 400 grams of tortellini in the capon broth, drain and toss over a high heat in a pan with the Parmesan glaze. Place the creamy tortellini in a bowl and sprinkle with grated nutmeg.

Tomorrow will be better
If you have tortellini left, there is a chest of Venus waiting for you! Prepare a classic puff pastry. Grease a timballo cocotte and coat it with a thin layer of dough. Fill it with advanced tortellini, a little béchamel and a meat sauce. Close the cocotte with other pasta and place in the oven. As soon as the surface is golden your Venus casket is ready.