Tag: Davide

The breakfast of presidents (by Davide Oldani) – Italian Cuisine

On February 17, the Italian president Mattarella and the German president Steinmeier met in Milan. And chef Davide Oldani cooked his special Milanese risotto for them

Two presidents and two "friends" who meet to think together about how to fight the Coronavirus and relaunch Europe. On September 17, the president Sergio Mattarella met with the president of the Federal Republic of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier, on an official visit to Milan to concretely demonstrate the proximity of Germany to Italy in this difficult time. The interview took place a Royal Palace where the two presidents, who share the political vision of European integration, also listened to the testimonies of some former Italian Covid-19 patients who were hosted in German health facilities during the most tragic moments of the health emergency and the stories of medical staff. Mattarella and Steinmeier respected the distances and wore masks: “I am very happy to be here. We haven't seen each other for many months, it was the right time to hug us but we can't ”, said the German president.

Saffron and Milanese rice: Oldani cooks his risotto for presidents

For such an excellent meeting, the "Breakfast" could only be up to it. The two presidents were able to taste a special saffron risotto, traditional Milanese dish, prepared by the Milanese chef Davide Oldani in its retelling "Saffron and Milanese rice". The chef recounted the emotion of the day in a post and a story on Instagram quoting Steinmeier's words: "Thirty years ago, at the Hotelier, they could have told me that one day, during a pandemic, I would have cooked "FRIENDS" for two Presidents … "a friendship, theirs, absolutely solid". They hadn't seen each other for many months and this would be the right time to hug. But now, it can't be done. Thank you Presidents Mattarella and Steinmeier for giving us a life lesson even today ”. And we would like to say, thanks also to chef Oldani, for his Italian cooking lesson.

Costoletta and Milanese cubed: Davide Oldani still plays with history. Recipe – Italian Cuisine

His master Marchesi divided it into cubes about twenty years ago, the D'O chef decided to go further: this is his vision, of great technique and class. Naturally very good

"I've never been a fidget cook, but when the order came for a rib I would panic. And when I least expected it, he would come up behind to check … For Mr. Marchesi it was a huge dish: he personally selected the veal loin before I brushed kidney fat on the meat, dissolved in water, for perfect maturation. It was a ritual, exciting when I think about it. And he expected it to be served perfect .
Davide Oldani makes it clear how much the preparation of the Milanese represented (and still represents) a very serious commitment and a point of pride for a cook, especially in the area like him. In his case there is one more reason: as a great pupil of the Master, he does not forget that for him it was a magnificent obsession. "It is the only dish I learned from my father: I love ribs very much, but I would have liked to invent it myself", he said to his boys.

Milan on your plate

He didn't invent it, but he certainly re-invented it with the Costoletta 2000, created in 1991. A Marquesan jewel: technically shiny – cooking on each side of the cube, as high as the bone, avoids the detachment of the rind and uses the entire piece of meat – and aesthetically pleasing. And no one before him had thought of this dish enjoyable without a knife. Oldani, in 2018, took up the concept of cubes in the Milan on your plate. The union of three classics of the Ambrosian tradition: yellow risotto, ossobuco and cutlet. Which for the record is also the order of personal preferences of the chef from Cornaredo. The third element of the preparation was represented by the veal fillet that was cut into cubes, cooked at a low temperature for 22-24 minutes at 75 °, then roasted. "But he breaded cubes, I didn't," she remembers. "The breadcrumbs only enter at the end, is sautéed separately, then added on top of each individual piece to give the crunchy note that accompanies the great softness of the fillet, obtained by vacuum cooking"

Brilliant intuition

The lockdown led to the final thought of the current version, which had been in the Oldanian mind for a couple of years. Is called Cutlet and Milanese in cubes, is part of the Essenza tasting and leaves you surprised: the veal cubes are flanked by an identical number of empty dice with the breading while the bone has become a mousse printed cutlet. The sauce poured on the table draws the outline of a whole cutlet and surrounds the various elements. Before giving you the recipe for four people (original and very good), we like to recall the comment of Fiammetta Fadda on the plate, in one of the services of the August issue of La Cucina Italiana, exceptionally directed by Davide Oldani. «A good cook is one who (also) knows how to calculate. The talented cook knows how to transform economic considerations into brilliant intuitions. The point was: the rib obtained from the loin weighs half a kilo, too much for one person. But divided in two, the part without the bone cannot be considered a cutlet. Marchesi had solved the impasse by making it into breaded and fried cubes. Oldani thought about it and went further . From above, surely, Gualtiero first shook his head, smiling, and then commented "Bravo, boy".

Cutlet and Milanese in cubes

For the fillet

Combine 300 grams of veal fillet with 100 grams of clarified butter flavored with lemon, rosemary and salt. Cook for 50 minutes, vacuum packed at 52 degrees. Cut it into cubes as regular as possible and roast.

For the breading

Mix 200 grams of flour with two whole eggs, roll out the dough thinly and roll it on a parallepiped-shaped mold. Dry and cut it into pieces of about 1.5 cm in height. Coat with flour, eggs, breadcrumbs and fry in clarified butter.

For the bone

Combine 200 grams of veal loin with 100 grams of marrow and salt. Cook at 65 degrees. Allow to cool, blend, sift and spread in the bone-shaped mold.

Plating

Place the cubes and breading, in the same number, inside the plate with the cutlet on the edge. Finish by pouring some lemon and rosemary scented veal stock. Garnish with a few sheets of sprouts.

the recipe of Davide Oldani's mother – Italian Cuisine

Smiling and full of energy, Oldani's "mother" prepared one of the family dishes for us. Together with Davide's other two women, his partner Evelina and little Camilla Maria. Here is the recipe preview from the issue on newsstands from August 5

"On Sunday, I still remember her at work, with the numbers of La Cucina Italiana open on the table, preparing the big lunch of the week, the right one", says Davide of his mother Maria Luigia Brivio.

«I was often around her and that's where I got to know this magazine. It always circulated in my house, my grandmother was already buying it. It was a time of war, however, and it was not always possible to buy it. My mom, however, read it every month, and collected it. We even bound it, so as not to spoil the files, so often consulted, too much. Woe to those who touch it. Still today he prepares recipes drawn from historical numbers, such as the apple pie of the sixties. And another one, typical of autumn, with cream and grapes: I remember it, because it was often done for my birthday on October 1st, the day when we used to go back to school after the summer holidays ".

Even the soup with the spoon standing comes from our newspaper, even though it has now become a family recipe, so much so that Davide has also included it, over the years, among his proposals. Luigia could prepare it with her eyes closed, today for her granddaughter Camilla, daughter of Davide, and for her daughter-in-law Evelina, who now know him well. Also for this soup, Luigia took only the idea from the magazine. «As with all recipes, I then modify and adapt them based on what I have at home, or what I like best. For example, in minestrone it is customary to put lard, but I don't like it, like bacon. So I don't put it, mine is an all-vegetable version. As I cook I pull away, I add … always like that. Savoy cabbage and dried beans in winter, savoy cabbage in herbs, fresh borlotti beans in summer. Of course, now it is better because this season there is the best vegetables and you can eat it cold, dense, there is a spoon standing upright, indeed, there are many, so you can enjoy it in company. "

The recipe of cold minestrone with standing spoon

for 6 people

For the minestrone

Sauté a finely sliced onion with a little sunflower oil, then wet it with 150 g of white wine. Add 100 g of carrots, 100 g of diced celery and 100 g of borlotti beans. Cover with a lid and occasionally add boiling salted water (approximately 2 liters in total). After 10 minutes add 100 g of potatoes, 50 g of tomato paste and 240 g of Carnaroli rice and cook for another 10 minutes. Finally, complete with 50 g of spinach or herbs and cook another 5 minutes by drying.

For finishing

Stir the minestrone with 50 g of butter and 50 g of grated Grana Padano Dop; add salt without adding more water. Complete with another 50 g of grated parmesan and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Serve at room temperature, with spoons skewered in the soup.