GORDON RAMSAY RECIPES

From non-alcoholic vermouth to gin that changes color, the new products presented at the first edition of the Capitoline event dedicated to spirits and mixing

Two days of tastings, tastings, cocktails, master classes and presentations. In summary, these were the contents of Rome Bar Show, but only by visiting it could its importance really be appreciated. Thousands of bartenders and beverage experts (almost ten thousand admissions according to the organizers) flocked from all over the world, hundreds of labels offered for tasting, dozens of new items ready to conquer the counters. Among these, we selected five proposals that struck us for their singularity.

Belsazar, the non-alcoholic vermouth made in Berlin

Among the Piedmontese vermouth, which claims its birthright, and French vermouth, few know that there is also German wermut. Belsazar declares itself "based in Berlin, rooted in Baden", meaning that it has the company in the German capital, but concretely distills its products with the collaboration of the Schladerer House Distillery, a historic plant located in the center of the Black Forest in the Baden-Württemberg region . Four main references (rosé, dry, white and red), to which the latest gem has just been added: the non-alcoholic vermouth, which we tasted as a preview, waiting for it to be presented in Germany. The fact that he is German circumvents the stringent Italian rule of the disciplinary which fixes the bar of alcohol at a minimum of 14.5 ° and gives the possibility to this company of spirits whose products are distributed by Diageo to propose the alcohol free version. Use? Both in mixing and in purity, perhaps for an aperitif without the alcohol test anxiety.

Amaro Venti, the Italian bitter

Before even reading the payoff "the Italian bitter", this definition came to us spontaneously when listening to the description: the first bitter not linked to a single region, but composed of twenty botanicals, one for each region of Italy. Twenty, then the name, like botanicals and like the regions of Italy. As the creators explain, the intention was to find the right balance between the sweetest products typical of Southern Italy and the most bittering characteristic of the North. In a historical moment in which bitters are experiencing a great wave of rediscovery. Olive tree from Liguria, juniper from Tuscany, gentian from Abruzzo, orange from Sicily, just to name a few. The result is a liquor of good complexity that we bet to see soon on the bottles.

Jack Daniel's rye

Apparently the Jack Daniel's is certainly not a novelty, but those who understand a little about whiskey will find it strange to see the word Rye (rye) next to this famous label. Yes, after 150 years the most famous Tennessee Whiskey has decided to indulge in the luxury of offering the public a new recipe, with its rye version, which distorts the percentages of the three ingredients already contained in the classic. 70% rye, 18% wheat and 12% barley malt is the balance from which this new recipe starts, created by the current master distiller Jeff Arnet. The first new blend for 150 years!

Sake Black, dark and Italian

Already hearing about an Italian sake makes your ears stand up, then you can see that it's black disrupts practically all the previous information acquired on the subject, according to which the transparency of the product is an indication of purity and quality. The Japanese will forgive us, but in fact even if we do not have a millenary history of rice distillation, rice paddies in Italy are not lacking and are quite peculiar. In particular those of the Vercelli area, the kingdom of the mondine, where among others a particular variety of black integral rice is produced, Penelope produced by Gli Aironi, which is the basis of this sake. The production process also changes, with the use of beer yeasts (a tribute to the historic Piedmontese brewers of the early 20th century) to start fermentation, and an addition of botanical herbs to flavor the infusion, including the classic artemisia and achillea, as a tribute in this case to the Piedmontese liqueur tradition of vermouth. In short, if we look at the disciplinary, perhaps sake has only the name (and indeed the taste), but there are several poetic licenses that do not make the product less interesting, but perhaps enrich it, making it more "homegrown".

Noon, the gin that changes color

Already seeing a blue gin makes you think of a concoction, then seeing that when in contact with tonic water it turns from blue to amethyst purple to a kind of rose (depending on how much tonic you put on), it will certainly upset even more purists. Yet it is nothing more than a small-medium chemical reaction, produced by reacting the anthocyanins of the Butterfly flower of Thailand with the bubbles of the tonic. This gin at the end is a very pleasant London Dry with ten botanicals, with a typically Italian flavor. In the first distillation in alembic the first nine botanicals are infused, including Florentine giaggiolo, bitter almonds, orange and lemons from Sicily, juniper harvested on the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines, in the second cold passage is added the Thai Butterfly flower which gives the characteristic gin color. And the magic is done.

Abundance, good luck, health, money and joy. But behind the traditional foods of the New Year's Eve dinner there is often a complex symbology, born with the Indo-European peoples and that goes as far as Christianity, passing through the cabal.

Not just lentils. To end 2015 well and start 2016 well, there is a myriad of good foods. Symbols, as well as real superstitious rituals, because every dish has a meaning and a message, and those of New Year's Eve more than in any other occasion. No banality, therefore, but manifestations of a "sacred science" now lost, yet that our ancestors knew well, and that even today we find impressed in our monuments and – without knowing it – even in our behaviors and ways of doing. So let's see the ten lucky dishes or good wishes for a fantastic 2016.

1 – Lentils

The story is now well-known. Since the time of the Romans, they were considered one good wish for their resemblance to coins. Similarity, to be honest, very little can be found in some very prized Italian lentils, starting with those of Castelluccio, not to mention the microscopic ones of Ustica. But try them green giants of Altamura, and then you will see the resemblance! In addition to the dish, the good wishes can also be expressed as gift bags, to hang under the tree or to be used for friendly placeholders.

2 – The pig

Have you ever wondered why the piggy bank generally has the shape of a piglet? Because the pig, symbol of the peasant civilization in which "nothing is thrown away", has always been a symbol of abundance and of material progress. Easy to breed and cheap meat, for farmers it was a real delicacy. Although its meaning became ambivalent: in the Christian Middle Ages (probably due to Jewish influences) it was in fact considered a diabolical animal for its lust and shamelessness. Diabolic in the spirit, but blessed in the matter. Viva the zampone and the cotechino, therefore.

3 – Rice

It will be for the name that evokes joy and laughter, but rice has always been considered a good luck charm. Used, not by chance, as a good omen also during i weddings. The risotto good luck with excellence? The one with the pomegranate.

4 – Chard and cabbage

Lucky and seasonal. In the countries linked to dollar the green of chard, like that of cabbage, recalls that of the bills. But green is also the color of the hope and respect forenvironment: greener for everyone, then. And sprinkle everything with parsley!

5 – Legumes

In Abruzzo it is tradition that the last of the year is celebrated with 13 courses and 7 different soups: not just based on lentils (money), rice is cabbage, but also chickpeas, beans (health), Fava beans is rice cooked in water of almonds. Plus, one "fake" soup of macaroni with sardines lengthened with tomato sauce.

6 – The chili

Since their arrival in Europe from the Americas, it is the lucky charm par excellence. And the origins of this belief are more "hot" than ever: for the Romans, as for most peoples both Indo-European and not, the phallic symbolism it was used as a fertility wish, both family and economic linked to agriculture. Hence the red cornet used as a lucky charm, often built in precious red coral. When, in the 16th century, insouthern Italy the chili pepper, luck became cheap. Hanging in homes and shops, it was used to defend against the evil eye; under the pillow of the beloved, to avert the conjugal infidelity. Chili pepper necklaces were then given to the married from parents. You will have understood, now, from what the fashion of red underwear derives …

7- The dried fruit

It is a good luck charm especially in France, where you must eat as many as 13 types of dried fruit. We are satisfied with 7 (still these two numbers!): walnuts, hazelnuts, peanuts, raisins, almonds, figs and dates. The reason? For the Romans dried fruit was a well-wishing symbol, especially during i weddings (the famous wedding with dried figs …). Dried fruit with a hard shell and soft inside like almonds, walnuts and hazelnuts later became Christian symbols of inwardness and of mysticism, the opposite of the pig.

8 – The grapes

The tradition of eating a grape for every toll of the clock at the stroke of midnight is of origin Spanish. The clock is in fact that of the Real casa de zorreos a Puerta del Sol, one of the most famous squares of Madrid. Apart from Spain, grapes are traditionally considered to be one symbol of abundance and joy.

9 – The pomegranate

For the Greek and Roman mythology, the pomegranate was the plant sacred to Juno and to Venus, and therefore a symbol of fertility and wealth for their tasty red grains. Perfect in the risotto.

10 – Mandarin

For the Chinese Feng Shui, mandarin is one of the lucky charm par excellence, thanks to its almost perfectly spherical shape call infinity. For the Chinese New Year, it is not by chance that they are given mandarins. A positive symbolism, that of mandarin and citrus, also present in tradition western.

Gordon Ramsay Recipes

Tag: Goodies

5 goodies from the Roma Bar Show – Italian Cuisine