Tag: Vittorio

The avocado toast with Vittorio Brumotti's ndujia – Italian Cuisine

At breakfast with the envoy of Striscia la Notizia and his fiancée Annachiara Zoppas, fusion cuisine, Ligurian focaccia and detox diet triumph. Stunts? They are not limited to the menu. Here is the backstage of the "Focolare Domestico" service, on page 62 of our May issue

He is used to flying high Vittorio Brumotti, not to get around obstacles, on the contrary, to climb them as he did for Burj Khalifa, the tallest skyscraper in the world, in Dubai, who got back on his bike in just 2 hours and 20 minutes. No stakes for the world bike trial champion, specialty derived from the motorcycle trial (from «try, all, or «try everything) and sent on behalf of the satirical news Strip the News. Before the lockdown, he welcomes us to his parents' home in Liguria. We are in his new Milanese apartment, a large open space with a custom-made kitchen, designed together with Snaidero. «I love design – he says. Next to it is his fiancée Annachiara Zoppas, influencer and marketing officer for the family mineral water company (San Benedetto, ed), with which he has been living for two years. And as Vittorio starts jumping from the counter reinforced with the bike, she gives in to romance and slices eggplants for a vegetarian coconut milk curry.

Photo by Jacopo Salvi exclusively for La Cucina Italiana

«We met at Vinitaly thanks to my cousin Matteo Zoppas, Vittorio's bike companion. Ironically he drinks very little, I do too but I was there to present the project of a glass bottle for a new mineral water ", reveals Annachiara" Vittorio was making fun of me, but something went off immediately. Today he is also our testimonial for a campaign on environmental sustainability . In constant training, Brumotti follows one strict diet and he rarely allowed himself some rudeness. Meanwhile, he slices a generous dose of Valtellina bresaola with a vintage black Berkel, purchased in a restaurant, at the end of a dinner with friends, another of his instant falls in love. «I used to live on proteins, now I am more balanced: I also do detox periods based only on fruit and vegetables. I'm almost vegan (laughs). "

"There Breakfast it's our favorite moment together ", she joins" I like to prepare something special likeavocado toast. Seemingly classic, his recipe actually hides a "little" secret Calabrian Nduja: part of my origins come from there , reveals Brumotti, very close to the family. So much so that the parents' initials are tattooed on one arm. Preserves stand in a row on a shelf in oil of the company Polla with which Vittorio's father Claudio works. «As a child I accompanied him to deliver to the bakers the lactones, or rather large 25-liter extra virgin milk: I still remember the scent of hot focaccia. As a good Ligurian I learned to eat it dipping it in cappuccino: it is another of my favorite breakfasts ". The sea it is the place where the athlete regenerates, so much so that, among the outstanding projects, there is a holiday home overlooking the Ligurian coast «it belonged to Gianfranco Funari: an ancient Moorish-style building: Annachiara and I hope to be able to finish the work early .

On a shelf triumph Taggiasca olives and tuna fillets lined up with meticulous care «they are gifts for friends he says «and a way to promote Italian products, our goodness . It is ready on the table: no tablecloths, but an American service. Bowls instead of the perfect soup plates for another favorite dish, this time by Annachiara, the Japanese poke. The round table and the leather chairs give the whole a rockabilly touch. Time for a few minutes and the famous avocado toast "alla Brumotti" arrives. Gasconi and spicy like the biker who stops just the time to bite one.

Avocado toast with 'nduja: the Brumotti recipe

Here's how to prepare spicy avocados toast "alla Brumotti".

Ingredients for 4 people

4 fresh eggs
4 slices of cereal bread
2 ripe avocados
150 g cherry tomatoes
1 lemon
150 g of spicy Calabrian Nudja
extra virgin olive oil
wine vinegar counter
salt
pepper in grains

Method

Simmer some salted water in a non-stick saucepan, add 3 tablespoons of white wine vinegar.

Gently break an egg into a bowl and drop it into the water with the help of a skimmer. Let it cook for 2 minutes without sliding it off the skimmer: with this trick it will not break and it will be very easy to drain it.

Place the egg on a plate lined with paper towels and repeat the operation with the missing eggs.

Blend the avocado pulp with the juice of half a lemon, a pinch of salt and two tablespoons of oil. Chop the tomatoes and keep aside.

Toast the bread and spread it with the 'nduja. Pour a generous layer of avocado cream, then place a poached egg on each toast.

Complete with diced cherry tomatoes, a mince of fresh pepper and serve.

Photo by Jacopo Salvi exclusively for La Cucina Italiana

here is the first Three Star delivery, signed by Da Vittorio – Italian Cuisine

The Brusaporto restaurant is closed. But the most famous family of Italian catering has created three complete menus in a few hours, to be delivered at home. A high level solution, but also an example of how to react at the toughest moment

«In a delicate historical moment like the one we are experiencing and that involves everyone, even we restaurateurs, we must be united as never before in compliance with the rules. Because only in this way will we be able to get up faster. At the same time, we want to stay close to our customers and with this delivery service we can continue to make Da Vittorio's quality live at home . Words (and works) of one of the most beautiful families of Italian (and world) catering: i Cerea that you see together in the opening photo. From the left are Bobo, Rossella, mother Bruna – who together with her husband Vittorio Cerea has laid the first brick of the legend -, Barbara, Francesco, Chicco: they closed, like many colleagues, the three-star restaurant in Brusaporto in compliance with the rules and thinking of well-being of all. But they do not give up and thinking of a loyal and demanding clientele like their own, they have found a solution that allows you to continue enjoying a top gastronomic offer at home.

Three four-course menus

It will be possible to choose between three different types of menus with four courses each, which meet the needs of all palates, it being understood that it will be possible – upon request – to also create personalized menus or request a chef at home. In addition, every week a special dish will enrich the offer (such as bouillabaisse or the iconic elephant's ear). The proposal based on fish (at 120 euros) includes Galician octopus salad, Pilaf rice with curry prawns, sea bass with Sicilian vegetable caponata and tiramisu. Those who prefer meat (for 100 euros) you can taste Veal meatballs with peas and celeriac cream, Ricotta and potato gnocchi with veal and pork fricassee, smoked Oyster Blade, parsley potato and new spinach, to close with Divina, a chocolate dessert. The vegetarian menu (at 90 euros) includes mimosa asparagus with Mornay sauce, crepe with pea cream fondue, baked Erbazzone, stracciatella, Taggiasca olives and confit tomato and Bolero (pistachio and strawberry gluteen free dessert).

Tailor-made

Each menu will be accompanied by a small initial snack, by a selection of bread made by Da Vittorio and by delicious amenities (such as bon bon and Easter dove tastings) to end the meal in a sweet way. To order the menu just contact the number 035681024 or send an email to info@davittorio.com: the delivery will take place directly at home and inside there will be instructions on how to best serve the dishes. Beyond that probably – and unfortunately, in some ways – this is the first three-starred delivery, studied in a very short time due to a dramatic event, we really like the idea. Because in rethinking the time available, stuck in your own home as it should be, lunch or dinner resume a centrality (perhaps) in the process of disappearing. Whether it's spaghetti with tomato sauce or the masterpieces of a place like Da Vittorio it matters relatively. But once again the Cerea are to be commended. After all, they are a big family in every sense, which can't wait to reopen Brusaporto to create the usual, magical atmosphere. It will be great to come back, more than ever.

What Vittorio Fusari, the philosopher innkeeper, leaves us – Italian Cuisine

An ante litteram visionary. Able to found the first refined tavern in Italy, also winning the Michelin star and committing himself to the ethics of food and health since the 1980s. Its dishes and premises tell an important story

L'Iseo behind him, the chef who seems to embrace the world, a caption that excites even those who have not known personally Vittorio Fusari: «I didn't leave you, you inherit my recipes that tell my ideas. Copy them and make them live by building a better world through food . More than a testament, it is a (huge) passage of responsibility that the cook leaves to colleagues, friends, the food and wine circuit: the Corriere della Sera of Brescia – never happened – dedicated the 'fund' to him, titled "The atypical legacy of a chef". In fact, Fusari was not a cover cook, he did not prophesy at conferences, you had to go and see him because he did not seek the limelight. He was loved in the environment for his frank and lively character, but never in the spotlight. Considering it non-mediatic is however a paradox considering that he knew how to talk about every topic not by hearsay (which is not common for the category) in 2009 he showed his recipes on Gambero Rosso Channel. proposing even lake fish which at the time was cooked by very few and appreciated even less.

Il Volto, the first "cultured" tavern

Fusari's charm (and therefore also the weak point) was this: to go straight on one's way, limiting work compromises to a minimum, and often anticipating the times. Starting from the fact that he must be considered the noble father of the concept of "gourmet tavern", a term he did not like. Son of railway worker and stationmaster in turn, studies in philosophy, Fusari surprised the "circuit" with the Face in Iseo, in 1981, opened with a work colleague and an Italian teacher: three self-taught enthusiasts who dreamed of the perfect place for them. The inhabitants of the lakeside town played trump cards in front of the calycists' counter while gourmets dined in the dining room, combining sensational wines with well-kept dishes. Among the regulars, there were characters like Luigi Veronelli, Maurizio Zanella, Gianni Mura who made a great contribution to Fusari's fame and pushed him to the qualitative leap, consolidated by a three-year internship at the Marquesan temple in via Bonvesin della Riva.

The iconic dishes

So in 1987, they were born The masks which for eight years is his laboratory of continuous experimentation. There are dishes that become his classics: the Potato and caviar puff pastry – one of the great dishes of Italian cuisine at the end of the millennium – Duck in savoy cabbage, with chestnut cream and duck liver pralines wrapped in anchovies and savoy cabbage, the liver "Venetian". Not surprisingly, while the Face continues to be a simple tavern, Le Maschere grows and obtains the Michelin star in 1992. In March 1995, the story of this restaurant that had never found economic stability ended: Fusari returned to the old tavern, but with a heavy baggage of new dishes and the awareness of having taken the right path. In a few months, he changes hands and The face it blends the two experiences in an almost perfect alchemy: a humble country restaurant with the solid and creative cuisine of an expert chef. In 1998, to his general surprise, he regained the Michelin Star.

The Pantry: an innovative format

At the end of 2007, he left Iseo and moved to the plain for another great intuition, opening in 2009 with Vittorio Moretti – patron of Bellavista – the Pantry & Wines of Adro: many souls to make people feel good from breakfast at night, widening the beloved Italian tavern concept to a multifunctional space where you can also buy bread, cold cuts, bottles of wine. "Because it is people who make a place, not vice versa" is one of his mantras. The pantry becomes an important boost for the development of Franciacorta, giving space to all the handicraft productions and the cellars of the territory, who moreover knows how to tell and promote being a great connoisseur and passionate about wines, with a historical passion for Barolo, first of all that of Aldo Conterno. There has always been a good drink at its premises, at fair prices: this also speaks volumes about the man and the patron. And he was absolutely convinced that for the Franciacorta DOCG "The best is yet to come, thanks to aging vineyards, the experience of men and collective work".

Love for the South, Milan and Bergamo

Slow Food follower of the first hour (and nominated Meritorious of gastronomy by Carlin Petrini), has never been affected by "localism", in fact he had a weakness for the South (from which his second wife comes) which translated into masterful dishes such as the cuttlefish ink monococco with prawns and buffalo mozzarella or the Buffalo mozzarella with oysters, the latter already on paper at the Face. The last stages of his career saw him in Milan in 2015, taking over from Matias Perdomo in the leadership of the prestigious Pont de Fer, where he finds a happy balance between his cuisine, the Milanese classics and a pinch of novelty. Without really conquering the city's gourmet, however, stunned by the dozens of new openings in the year of the Expo. Then, in 2018, the attempt to relaunch the Balzer, historical place in Bergamo, also and above all for the desire to spend more time with his wife Patrizia and young son Giacomo.

Attention to food

Increasingly convinced of the close relationship between life and nutrition ("Before the good, there must be the healthy", he repeated to his brigades), Fusari had written a couple of years ago Happiness tastes like health, together with Professor Luigi Fontana: a volume that explains much of a natural philosophy, developed year after year, also for the hospital experiences that unfortunately had become frequent in recent years. We remember when at Balzer – where we last met him in September – he proudly told us that preparations, additives and preservatives were prohibited for the benefit of fresh raw materials, local biodiversity, organic products. Moreover, since the time of Iseo, the chef from Brescia was "sick" of raw materials: his regularity in frequenting the fish, meat and vegetable markets (also in Milan) where he often bought very good products, without the paper of the moment, required him. It was the starting point to create new dishes, but basically there was the pleasure of a true gourmet.

Fantasy and tradition

From the culinary point of view, Fusari has had (in our very personal judgment) three merits. Already with the first Face, but even more with Le Maschere and the second Face, he managed (well ahead of his time, easy to do today) to find balance by combining high and low, noble and humble, expensive and "bar" products (see raw fish or tempura with Campari sorbet in addition to the dishes mentioned above). Then, aware that the tradition should be rewritten, was not afraid to face it with valid results as in the case of Beef in oil 2.0, a reinterpretation at Pont de Fer of the symbolic dish of Franciacorta which he had already tried to rework on previous occasions. Instead of the classic slice of beef, dipped in a sauce of oil and anchovies, it changed the pattern, making polenta a sandwich for meat cooked at low temperature.

Master of fresh water

Finally, no one like him – in the history of Italian cuisine – has praised freshwater fish – of his Iseo but not only – in such a massive and refined way: in the period of the Pantry, his brigade knew how to execute about forty recipes on the theme. Based on the catch of the season and day (another right fixation) six to seven plates entered the menu. Among the masterpieces, we mention the "marchesiani" cold sturgeon tagliolini and caviar, onion salad, dried sardines and cuttlefish ink, stuffed and … not filled tench, the legendary whitefish fillets, bread and salt, the sturgeon Zuccotto, sturgeon ice cream and caviar, the provocative catfish fish Ceviche. That said, Fusari will also be remembered for humanity out of the ordinary – in the kitchen and in life – as for the ethics of food, ante litteram, not trendy. One day he wrote: "My work is also outside the kitchens: handing down the millenary wisdom of Italian gastronomy is my life. Because good food brings people together, helps to find common points of view, helps to be happy . Thanks for everything, Vittorio.