Tag: great

Illuminating the table: advice from a great designer – Italian Cuisine

Carlotta de Bevilacqua, by Artemide, tells us how light and food interact with each other. Between multitasking lamps and the collaboration with Davide Oldani, for a lamp "that also contains food and pieces of life"

Regular customer of DO di Cornaredo, the architect, entrepreneur, designer and university professor Carlotta de Bevilacqua, Vice President and CEO of the group Artemis, brand-cult of design, as well as President of Danese Milano, has an indomitable spirit as much as his ideas. Vegetarian and animal rights activist who has been convinced for years, her thinking is characterized by the fusion of humanism and science and oriented towards a social and innovative 4.0 enterprise. Since 2001 he has been a university professor at the Faculty of Design at the Politecnico di Milano and a professor with collaborations with various international universities. Master in the art of lighting, she explains how the combination of light and food has evolved.

A restaurant room or a home kitchen: how do they light up today?

"The idea is that of a dynamic light in a dynamic space. In one room the maître today has the function of an orchestra master. Through LED microtechnologies and small ceiling infrastructures, which can also be programmed with an app on the mobile phone, artificial light can be adjusted as the natural one is lowered. A concept borrowed from contemporary museums .

With Oldani and the designer Attila Veress, you have created Goodness: what is special about this lamp?

«A sum of elements. Meanwhile, it is wireless. Then hand-blown glass in Venice enhances our craftsmanship. Then there is a 100% recyclable aluminum shell: it is a truly sustainable product. It is highly technological. Behind every emotion, in fact, there are great innovations: in Artemide we have collected 33 patents in two years. Ultimately it is multifunctional .

How?
"The lighting element supports a glass container that can host, from time to time, moments of life: flowers, dishes, but also glasses, your mobile phone. Leave free interpretation to the individual. Above all, it is never a useless object .

The name Goodness, Where is he from?

"Davide chose it, and he wanted it very strongly: he believed it was a simple name, essential" pop "like his philosophy. A short name for an international message. What is "good", he argues, is universal .

How has the lighting of the table changed and what are the current trends?

"In the past, suspension lamps were often placed on the table. One of the most innovative projects, with which we have won 3 Compassi d'Oro (a sort of design Oscar, ed) is the Discovery, designed by my husband, Ernesto Gismondi: a transparent square or circular element, which can be continuously repositioned, very suitable for illuminating even the workplace, thanks to the uniform light it transmits, very relaxing. Then there is the Nur, also by my husband Ernesto, who favors the rhythm of the table, of the light. For some years now, a wireless light has been placed in the center of the table, like the one designed with Davide Oldani, and adjustable. It has replaced, if you like, the concept of the candlestick: a warm and non-invasive light, which creates intimacy between diners. But what we are also aiming for today is to create real scenographies through various light points distributed in a room. Whether it's the light in the house or the dining room of a restaurant, it doesn't change: wall sconces, floor lamps and table lamps they have to talk to each other of them. What is interesting in a restaurant is that the maître, for example, he acts as the conductor of light ".

Explain yourself better.

«The dining room master has the task of introducing the dishes, yes, but also of dosing and lighting: in intensity, in color temperature, in colors. When it comes to the D'O, for example, the story that precedes the table is 1 minute, 30 seconds. The light accompanies the story and becomes the theatrical backdrop of the tasting. The emotional and visual factors merge and become very important, but the fundamental thing, which I have been studying for years, is light as a source of well-being. For years indago aspects of light related to the physiological and psychological well-being of man, offering new quality standards in terms of performance and reduction of consumption for the life of living beings and the planet.

Antonio Pappalardo, the pizza chef who has fun with great chefs – Italian Cuisine

The owner of the Cascina dei Sapori, one of the most famous pizzerias in the North, enjoys making pizzas in collaboration with the kitchen 'signatures'. He has already done it with Riccardo Camanini and Gaggan Anand: here are the two limited editions. Fabulous

We could call him the "pizza maker of surprises". Antonio Pappalardo, chef-patron of the Cascina dei Sapori in Rezzato, betrays the origins of Castellamare di Stabia from the surname, but the pronunciation is far from that of Campania. Born in 1988, he arrived very young in Brescia, initially in Salò and then following his parents at just 19 years of age, he opened a restaurant that in a few years – dedicating himself only to pizza – not only won critical criticism (see the two segments of the Gambero Rosso), but has found favor with an audience that is not easy, well accustomed: just think that in half an hour by car there is the Branch in Erbusco where there is the brigade of the master Franco Pepe. Pappalardo, however, has certainly not decided to close in the province: in December, he will open a restaurant in Brescia in via Gramsci 22, with 55 seats and many interesting ideas starting from the French bistro style environment. "To conquer an exceptional city that doesn't know it is," says Pappalardo.

Pizzas of all types

Cascina dei Sapori is a fun, bright place divided into three rooms. With a well-articulated offer, supplemented by the delicacies prepared by the mother Giusi Pappalardo and by the desserts. A small card for Roman-style slices; one for the fifteen pizzas on the plate (thin in the center and well pronounced cornice, cooked over high heat), composed of wholemeal and semi-wholemeal flours or 80% monococcal and semi-wholemeal spelled or with barley 'mixture; a third for tasting pizzas (compared to the previous one, undergo a further leavening of 4 hours and are cooked over low heat) with wholemeal and semi-wholemeal or semi-wholemeal flour. There is no shortage also on topping, where fine ingredients such as the Iberian paleta and red prawn make their appearance, alongside the classic, flawless ones. The idea of making people appreciate thediversity of the doughs in a 30 euro tasting which rises to 50 with the pairing of wine, instead of the beers which also have a very interesting menu, based on artisans.

The first was Camanini

Pappalardo has a peculiarity: he manages to involve the great chefs in the conception of "limited edition". During the lockdown, he first found collaboration with Riccardo Camanini – chef-patron of Lido 84 and talent of the moment – who added mozzarella fiordilatte, asparagus from the Palli woods, Bagòss and Ras el Hanout, a mixture of spices, plants and Moroccan herbs to his monocoque spelled dough. «I chose to use these ingredients – Riccardo Camanini says – since the presence of summer Bagòss holds up the intense flavor of this type of asparagus very well. Instead the Ras el Hanout spice dazzled me for its history and its taste, with strong aromatic notes and a particular citric freshness . The second "limited edition" was international with the intervention of Gaggan Anand, the Indian chef who won fourth place in the latest The World's 50 Best with the restaurant that bears his name in Bangkok, as well as being the best of the Asia's 50 Best Restaurants from 2015 to 2018, four times in a row and obtaining the recognition of the two Michelin stars.

Indirect dough

"I went to his restaurant in Bangkok six years ago and I have always admired his idea of cooking, but unfortunately I have not had the opportunity to meet him in person – explains Pappalardo – so I wrote to him and over the years he always answered me, until during the lockdown he gave me his availability for this initiative. Gaggan loves pizza, has made himself very proactive, giving inputs for raw materials and how to make the most of them. My job was to make his vision feasible and create a perfect balance for a round pizza between the topping and the indirect dough that I prepared with biga, whole wheat flour and type1 ".

Anand style emoticons

The card was presented in perfect Anand style, inserting the emoticons of the ingredients instead of the names of the ingredients, as the Indian chef does in his menu: fiordilatte mozzarella, yellow peach, fresh anchovies, pine nuts, rosemary, chilli pepper, sweet Gorgonzola, potatoes. "In addition to being something I really cared about as a professional, because we are talking about one of the most influential and revolutionary figures in world cuisine, I also wanted to give a gift to my loyal clientele, who supported us in the lockdown and returned to the club as soon as we reopened – he continues – it seemed nice to let my customers travel a little far at least with the imagination, since it will not be possible to do it again in the coming months . Here is the recipe, for those who want to try to imitate Pappalardo within the walls of the house.

Method

Put extra virgin olive oil and two sprigs of rosemary in a bottle for at least one night. Cut the potatoes into squares of about 1 cm, soak them in cold water for at least 4 hours, dry and fry them in peanut oil. Aside prepare a salad with a brunoise of yellow peaches, pine nuts previously toasted at 180 degrees for six minutes and delicate anchovies marinated overnight in white wine vinegar and then drained from the vinegar and seasoned with extra virgin olive oil, garlic, parsley and chilli pepper .

Roll out the pizza dough and fill it with 80 grams of Agerola fiordilatte mozzarella cut into julienne strips and bake at maximum power in the home oven. Remove from the oven and stuff with the crispy potatoes, the peaches, anchovies and pine nuts salad, fresh chilli pepper, the rosemary infused oil and the sweet Gorgonzola which must be heated in a separate saucepan until it is creamy and poured directly to the table in order to maintain its creaminess, which would be lost if it were baked in the oven.

5 squares for 7 addresses in the heart of the Great Beauty – Italian Cuisine

The open ZTL and the expansion of the outdoor areas have brought the tables to the heart of the most beautiful views of the historic center, making places so far reserved only for tourists accessible

We only need the mandolins in the background like in an American film. The "Dolce Vita" in Rome has never been so sweet, among tables that open to the Romans rather than tourists in the most suggestive squares of the city. It is the "compensation" of summer 2020: after the months of lockdown and fear, the orders of the mayor Raggi gave Rome as never seen before. Masks permitting. Ztl open at all hours, + 50% of the outdoor tables, dehors that open in delightful squares and in suggestive locations such as Piazza Navona, where you can drink and eat at human prices, which take into account that today the customers are all local.

Piazza Navona

Here there are even two addresses. There is Camillo on one side, with his cuoppi of octopus, bao and noodles, accompanied by drinketti and now by the partnership with Patrick Pistolesi's Nio Cocktails, while on the other side there is Dolce Vita, with aperitifs at fish & chips base (10 € drink included), hamburgers and even omelettes. In the first case the De Santis family, in the second the Monteforte family: to share them, the great experience and the garrison on the square for decades, but also the desire to return the most beautiful square of the city to the Romans, who until a few months ago from these parts were seen very little and stopped even less. They were – rightly – terrified by the prices set on tourists, willing to spend any amount to enjoy such beauty. Today the wonder is to be able to sit in front of Bernini's wonders by paying a few euros and enjoying the Ponentino and the view.

Stone square

Again the square is fabulous and the recommended addresses are two and maybe on the same evening you could plan to go to both. Because if Salotto42 is the right place more for an aperitif with a view, leaning on the tables outside, for dinner you move a little further, to the Osteria dell'Inegno. Safe address in the historic center that politicians like so much and that satisfies both those who love meat and those who love fish. Few flourishes and a lot of concreteness, with excellent raw materials and apparently simple dishes, but studied. In both cases, affordable prices, compared to a plus like the splendor of this square.

Piazza della Quercia

The delight of this little square with an oak tree in the center and a church next to the restaurant is almost like a movie set. In addition, the new management has given a breath of freshness, among the good breads of the Monteforte family, owner of the new tavern, and the kitchen of Marco Gallotta, finally returned to Rome after a long pilgrimage. Someone will remember him in that of Primo al Pigneto, here he will rediscover the atmosphere, also thanks to the restyling of the same architect, Roberto Liorni. The dishes are more calibrated on the concept of trattoria, so as not to deny the original soul of the place, yet the flicker is perceived.

Largo di Torre Argentina

Mercerie has long been the pop outpost in Rome of the starred chef Igles Corelli, who for this address in Torre Argentina had already thought of a double line, a classic gourmet restaurant, and a more innovative one based on tastings, which they are resolved in pralines, buttons and lasagna, always different also according to the seasons, also ideal for takeaway. But why take it away, however, if Mercerie has finally had the opportunity to put the tables overlooking Largo di Torre Argentina? A novelty that makes parking more pleasant and the place more attractive.

Piazzetta Alfredo

The legendary fettuccine Alfredo leave the restaurant to go to the square. The square does not have a name and is nothing more than a widening at the confluence of Vicolo della Campana and via della Scrofa, which finally freed from the mopeds that parked wildly here, becomes a scenario for Alfredo alla Scrofa's new dehors. It should also be noted that there is the new menu by chef Mirko Moglioni, who has decidedly modernized the proposal, while leaving a hard core of untouchable dishes, starting naturally with the fettuccine Alfredo. To this are added the drinks, enjoyable and perfectly spot on with the environment, perhaps to start with an aperitif and continue with dinner.