SIMPLY FIORANO
By Puja Goyal
Fiorano is named after the town in
Among the dishes demonstrated was a selection of some of
Everyone can think of one Italian dish that they love, be it spaghetti, pizza or lasagna. Although many of us will not be lucky enough to savor them in
Shrimp Soup
Ingredients:
500 grams medium size prawns or shrimps
250 grams cooked chick peas in their water
One spoon chopped shallots or onions
One teaspoon chopped garlic
300 ml olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
METHOD
Peel the shrimps and boil them in two litres of water for five minutes. Care should be taken that they are not boiled too much or they will become hard. Drain them and keep aside. In the same water cook the prawn carcass for five minutes. Drain and keep the shrimp flavored water. Take the cooked chick peas and using a blender make a smooth paste, use the chick pea water if need be. The paste can be to your consistency; if you would like it grainy then leave as it is or you could strain it.
Fry the onions and garlic with half the olive oil. And then add the chick pea paste. Mix well and dilute with shrimp water. Bring this to boil and thicken this to suit your palate. Remove from fire.
Chop the shrimps and add it to the soup. Dribble the remaining olive oil into it. Serve hot.
Mediterranean Prawn Salad (for four persons)
Ingredients:
400 grams (about 4) tiger prawns
400 grams (about 12) small prawns
Two large ripe tomatos
100 ml olive oil
10 leaves fresh basil
200 grams crushed pepper corn
500 grams of sear or tuna fillet
One orange
Two lime
One teaspoon chopped garlic
Vegetables for the salad:
Two leaves red cabbage
One tomato
Three leaves green lettuce
One small cucumber
Two carrots
One onion
FOR SHRIMP: Peel the Shrimps and boil them. Cool and then set aside. Mix this with finely chopped large ripe tomatoes and marinate with 100 ml olive oil, salt and pepper to taste, chopped fresh Basil leaf and garlic. Cover and keep it in the refrigerator.
FOR TATAKI FISH: Line crushed pepper corn in a flat dish and roll the tuna or sear fish till it is evenly covered in pepper. Preheat a flat pan. When it is very hot, cook the fish in it for two or three minutes on each side. Do not overcook or the fish will start to break. Cool it and keep it in the fridge.
Preparing the Citrus Vinaigrette: Squeeze the juice of one ripe orange and two or three ripe lime. Add 200 ml olive oil, salt and pepper to taste to it and whisk this until thick. Keep aside.
VEGETABLES: Shred all the vegetables julienne style. Marinate this in half the vinaigrette that was prepared before hand.
TO MAKE THE SALAD: Take four large oval dishes. Divide the vegetables into eight equal portions. Mould this. In each oval dish put two portions of this salad. Take three small prawns and place on the top of one vegetable mould, and then place one tiger prawn on top of this. Repeat this is all four dishes.
Take the tataki, and slice into eight pieces without breaking the fish. Place two slices on each of the remaining moulded salad. Use the remaining vinaigrette and liquid from the prawn marinade to pour on top of the tataki and prawn. Decorate with fresh herbs and serve.
Oyster Ravioli with Bell Pepper Sauce (for four)
Ingredients:
FOR RAVIOLLI FILLING:
Eight Oysters (you can substitute this with mushrooms or mussels, but oysters should be preferred)
250 grams ricotta cheese
50 grams grated parmesan cheese
Half teaspoon chopped garlic
One teaspoon of flat chopped parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
FOR PASTA:
400 grams flour/maida
Four eggs
FOR BELL PEPPER SAUCE:
One green pepper
One yellow pepper
One red pepper
150 ml fresh cream
150 grams grated parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
To make the Pasta: Put the flour in a bowl and make a well in the middle and put the eggs into it. Mix the eggs into the flour using a fork. When it is well mixed, start kneading with hand. If the dough is too hard sprinkle a little water. If it is too soft, add a little flour. Keep aside, well sealed for half an hour.
RAVIOLI FILLING: Oysters are fresh when they have water inside them, because when they start to open up to start breathing, then they are not edible anymore as they are poisonous for the liver. To open the oyster, put them into a pan or baking tray and put this in a preheated oven (200- 250 degrees). The oysters will open up in less than five minutes. Don't overcook them. Once they pop open take them out, remove the oyster from the shell and let it cool. Keep aside.
RICOTTA FILLING: Mix the ricotta, parmesan, garlic, parsley, salt and pepper and set aside.
FOR BELL PEPPER SAUCE: wash the bell pepper and cut the stem and place them in a baking tray upside down so that they stand firm. Put them into a preheated oven (200 - 250 degrees) Cook until tender or till the skin will peel off. Put them into an airtight plastic bag and let them sweat. This way they are easy to clean. Then extract the pulp and blend each colored pepper separately, so that you have a tri-colored sauce.
Roll out the pasta using a machine, using mark 2. Or, roll out with a rolling pin till it is two millimeters thick. Then cut it into10 cm squares. Place one teaspoon of ricotta filling and one oyster in the middle of a square. Fold this into a triangular shape and seal gently by pressing the sides. Bring five litres of water with one teaspoon of salt to boil. Cook the ravioli in the water for a few minutes.
In the meantime, in three different pans, take each of the bell pepper sauces and mix into it, 50 grams of cream, 50 grams of parmesan cheese and salt and pepper to taste. Bring it to boil for one minute till cheese melts. Stir well and set aside.
ASSEMBLE: take four large plates. On each one, spoon out the three different colored bell pepper sauce in a circular design. Place the ravioli on top of the tri colored sauce and sprinkle grated parmesan cheese for finish. Serve.
Surf and Turf
Ingredients:
Two lobsters of half a kg each
Four fillets tornadoes of beef
FOR SAUCE:
Two glasses of dry white wine
Two teaspoon corn flour
One finely chopped onion
150 grams butter
50 grams of fresh green pepper corn
GARNISH:
Four large full boiled potatoes
Four medium size carrots cut into strips and boiled.
Half litre milk.
Extract the tail of the lobster from the head. Peel it and cut into half. Place the four halves in a plate and set aside along with the beef tornadoes.
FOR SAUCE: Place the white wine, chopped onion with half of the butter in a pan and bring it to boil for two or three minutes. Dilute corn flour with a little bit of water and add to the boiling wine. Let it boil till it thickens. Season with salt and pepper and set aside. Keep warm.
Take half the pepper corn, crush and chop finely. Bring to boil with half litre of water and remaining butter for a few minutes. Put the diluted corn flour and thicken it. This should be thicker then the wine sauce. Season with salt and pepper and keep warm.
Heat a frying pan, preferably non-stick. Sear the beef fillet on both sides till golden brown. Cook the lobster in the same pan. Place the cooked lobster on the fillet and pour the two sauces on top.
GARNISH: mash the potato to a smooth consistency and mix well with butter and milk. Cook this until thick. Make a nest of the mashed potato with a well in the middle. Put the julienne carrots into the well.
ASSEMBLE: Put the beef fillet in the serving dish. Place the lobster on top of it. Pour the wine sauce and pepper sauce over it. Place the mashed potato nest beside it. Serve.
Mambo
Ingredients:
1/2 kg of dark cooking chocolate
Four tablespoons whipping cream
400 grams fresh strawberry
Four eggs
Four table spoons granulated sugar
Four tablespoons flour
Vanilla Essence
1/2 litre milk
Melt the chocolate in a double boiler. Pour a thin layer of the melted chocolate on the butter paper. Allow it to cool.
CREAM: Mix the four egg yolks with sugar and then sieve the flour into it. Add warm boiled milk into this mixture. Mix thoroughly. Put it on the fire and thicken to a creamy consistency. Cool it down. When it's cool take 8 spoons of this thickened sauce and mix with whipping cream.
ASSEMBLE: now cut the hardened chocolate sheet into 16 circles using a hit 3" diameter cutter or mould. Place each disc on a plate. Spoon strawberry cream sauce on it. Then put another disc of chocolate on to it, followed by the strawberry cream sauce. Then another disc; follow the same procedure three times.
Dilute the remaining strawberry- cream sauce with extra milk and vanilla essence. Spoon around the chocolate tower and serve.
(photo of chef Orlati taken by puja goyal)
venue: Fiorano, Koromangala, Bangalore/ 2005
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