Anthony Genovese, chef of the Il Pagliaccio in Rome, Italy cooked his version of a pasta all norma giving it a very modern twist with the addition of smoked aubergine, cardamon powder and chocolate at Flemish Food Bash last month.
The end result was delicious and a combination worth trying.
The Italian chef who spent his childhood in France has been influenced by some of the great French chefs but still has a sound Italian base and believes in the quality of Italian produce which gives Italian cuisine an edge.
He enjoyed his time at Flemish Food Bash on the Belgian coast and said it was a good break for the daily routine. “It is a way to relax, joke, meet new people. You need to come with a different kind of philosophy and not take it too seriously like in the restaurant.”
The following is the recipe.
Method
Burn the aubergine (300 grammes) on the fire. Remove the flesh from the sin and blend together with olive oil, lemon juice and parsley. Pass through a chinoise and then leave the pulp refrigerated.
Prepare the infusion
Put 75 grammes milk, 75 grammes cream with 100 grammes ricotta salata for 3 hours at 65C. Blend and then pass through a chinoise.
Tomato sauce with miso
Bake 500 grammes of cherry tomatoes in an oven at 170C with 1 garlic clove and thyme. When coloured put the tomatoes in a pan together with olive oil, sugar and salt to season. Add 40 grammes dark miso and cook until ready, Once done, drain and put the pulp in a piping bag and keep in the fridge.
Cardamon and cocoa powder
Toast 10 cardamon seeds in the oven and then blend with 30 grammes of cocoa.
To finish
Cook the rigatoni al dente. Add the ricotta cream and pepper. Put the aubergine cream on the plate, add the pasta mixed with the cream and complete with a few drops of tomato sauce. Finish with the mixed cardamon and cocoa powder, baby basil and red basil leaves and grated ricotta.
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