The Gastronomic Horoscope

Let's discover the tasty Zodiac of Taste 9

Every zodiac sign matched with a recipe of the Chef Roberto Valbuzzi, with a selection of products of the far.
Illustrations by Ottavia Vianson

Aries
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Taurus
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Gemini
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Cancer
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Leo
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Virgo
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Libra
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Scorpio
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Sagittarius
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Capricorn
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Aquarius
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Pisces
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Trofiette pasta with black Badda beans of Natura in Tasca

Ingredients:
360g troffiette,

300g Badda beans,
1 carrot,
1 onion,
1 stick of celery,
1 clove of garlic,
1 spoonful tomato sauce,
salt, pepper,
extra-virgin olive oil.
 
How to prepare:
Soak the beans for at least one night.
Lightly fry the onion in the oil.
Drain the beans, rinse and put in a saucepan with the vegetables and sufficient water. Cook for a long time.
As soon as the soup is ready, remove the vegetables and season to taste. Using a slotted spoon, lift out a few beans and crush them with a fork. Bring back to the boil and add the pasta. Finish cooking - 10 minutes. Drizzle a little extra-virgin olive oil over the top, season with pepper and serve.

Creamy pea and courgette soup with amaretto, crunchy breadcrumbs and lard cream of Antica Macelleria Falorni

Ingredients:
200 g of fresh peas,
4 courgettes,
1 small glass of Amaretto di Saronno,
4 slices of stale bread,
6 sprigs of chives,
1 cup of chicken stock,
80 g of Parmigiano,
80 g of lard cream,
1 knob of butter,
Extra virgin olive oil,
Salt and pepper (as much as you want).

How to prepare:
Cook the peas in a pan with a drizzle of olive oil and a glass of water. Julienne the courgettes and place in a large pan with a drizzle of oil, a pinch of salt and a little ground pepper. 
Cook over a medium heat for a couple of minutes and once cooked remove from the heat and leave to rest.
Finely chop up the bread and chives using a food mixer until you get a light powder, toss in a non-stick pan until it goes nice and crunchy.
Use the mixer to combine together the peas and courgettes with a drizzle of oil, salt and pepper, a knob of butter, the chicken stock, the parmesan and a drop of amaretto.
Blend well until creamy.
If it looks too thick, add a little more stock. 
Season with salt and pepper. Place the cream in a bowl and add a drop of extra virgin olive oil and a dusting of the crunchy breadcrumbs.
Finish off with the lard cream.

Fig and berry tart with hazelnut cream of Papa dei Boschi laced with port, orange and cinnamon

Ingredients:
for 4 people
1 roll of puff pastry,
16 figs,
100 g of blueberries,
100 g of raspberries,
60 g of blackberries,
100 g of hazelnut spread,
5 tablespoons of sugar,
1 vanilla pod,
40 ml of fresh cream,
1 orange,
1 glass of Port,
a stick of cinnamon,
Icing sugar (as much as required),
1 knob of butter.
 
How to prepare:
Spread the puff pastry out on a baking tray and cut into rectangles measuring approximately 14 x 8 cm. Use a fork to pierce the pastry well and then brush with melted butter. Place in a preheated oven at 180°C until golden brown. Remove from the oven and set aside.
Warm through the cream with the Port, the orange zest and a cinnamon stick.
Gently stir in the hazelnut spread.
Add a little orange zest and set aside.
In a small pan melt a knob of butter and then add the quartered figs. 
Add a spoon of icing sugar and caramelize over a high heat.
Once the fruit has caramelized, place a rectangle of pastry on a plate and top with the cream. Add another layer of puff pastry and finish off with the figs and the fresh berries. Decorate with a stick of cinnamon, a stick of vanilla and some fresh orange zest. 

Nougat of Relanghe "semifreddo"

Ingredients:
250 g of hazelnut nougat,
250 ml of fresh whipping cream,
40 g of sugar,
2 egg yolks,
2 egg whites,
1 bar of dark chocolate (75% cocoa).
 
How to prepare:
Beat the egg yolks and sugar until they go pale and frothy. 
Then add the nougat and stir together well – this will take a bit of patience.
Whip the egg whites until they form firm peaks and then whip the cream. 
Take your nougat mix and add the cream and then the egg whites. Fold these in gently so they do not collapse.  
Place in a large enough cake tin, lined with dampened ovenproof paper.
Leave in the freezer for around 12 hours and then it’s done.
Remove the semifreddo from the freezer 1/2 hour before you want to serve it. Melt the dark chocolate in a bowl over a pan of water and then use to decorate. 

Duck breast smoked with natural algae of Sane Bontà and a fruit sauce

Ingredients:
2 duck breasts,
50g raspberries,
50g blackberries,
50g redcurrants,
50g blueberries,
4 strawberries,
1 glass of bracchetto wine,
50g algae,
1 vanilla pod,
5/6 sage leaves,
a few mint leaves,
10 almonds,
1 rose,
1 knob of butter,
Salt,
Ground black pepper,
Extra-virgin olive oil.
 
How to prepare:
Prepare the sauce with the fruit, heating it with the bracchetto wine and a few sage leaves. Cook until it reduces to half quantity and mix to make a smooth mixture.
Sear the duck in a very hot pan with a knob of butter, first on the skin side and then on the other. Continue to cook covered. When cooked, flavour with a few mint leaves and salt.
Remove from heat. Place a steel container holding the algae, vanilla, rose, almonds sage and mint into the same pan as the duck. Light with a blow-torch and let the duck smoke for a few moments. Serve with the fruit sauce.

Hay-cooked trout and oat flakes of Molino Rossetto with baby carrots

Ingredients:

for 4 people
500g trout fillet,
2 knobs of butter,
1 organic orange,
100g oat flakes,
1/2 glass full-bodied white wine,
2 sprigs of rosemary,
300g baby carrots,
2 chives,
1 pinch nutmeg,
1 pinch sugar,
1 bunch hay,
Extra-virgin olive oil,
Salt and pepper as required.
 
How to prepare:
Clean and fillet the fish; place the whole fillets in the centre of a sheet of aluminium foil. Flavour the fish with a few knobs of butter, freshly grated zest of orange, the sprigs of rosemary, oat flakes, a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Put a drop of wine on the fish.
Then cover with the hay and seasonings and wrap up well in the aluminium foil.
Place on a baking tray and put in the oven at 170 degrees for 10 minutes.
Cut the carrots into matchsticks and sauté them in a pan with a drizzle of oil, the chopped chives, sugar and a pinch of nutmeg. Fry quickly and season with salt and pepper.
Once the fish is ready, take it out of the oven and serve.

Risotto with creamy tomato, grape must of Antica Acetaia Toscana, Burrata and breadcrumbs

Ingredients:
for 4 people
360 g of Carnaroli rice,
200 ml of cooked grape must,
10 baby plum tomatoes,
150 g of Burrata,
1 litre of vegetable stock,
1 shallot,
1 glass of dry white wine,
15 g of butter,
1 handful of basil,
1 sprig of fresh thyme,
50 g of Parmigiano,
4 slices of dry rye bread,
Extra virgin olive oil (as required),
PRIMIA salt and pepper (as required).

 

How to prepare:
Place the grape must in a frying pan and leave it to reduce by half. 
Place a knob of butter into a large pan along with the chopped shallot and leave to go golden. Then add the rice.
Pan-toast the rice well and add the wine.
Wet the rice with the hot stock and continue to cook in this way, making sure you stir well every now and again.
Prepare the cream of tomatoes by blending the tomatoes with a drizzle of oil and the basil until you get a smooth cream. Sieve and season with salt and pepper. 
Now for the crunchy bread topping. Use a food mixer to mix the bread with the thyme and a pinch of salt. Then toss in a hot, non-stick pan with a drizzle of oil until you get a crunchy powder. Put to one side.
Once the rice is cooked, remove from the heat and add a knob of butter and the grated parmesan. Stir well and serve with the cream of tomatoes, the burrata and the crunchy bread topping.
Finish off with the grape must sauce.

Scorpio

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Burnt wheat of Molino Rossetto sbrisolona cake with strawberries, moscato and raisins

Ingredients:
200 g of almonds,

200 g of caster sugar,
150 g of burnt wheat flour,
200 g of butter,
2 egg yolks,
1 stick of vanilla,
1 lemon,
1 orange,
1 sprig of rosemary, including the flowers,
10 strawberries,
75g of sugar,
1 glass of moscato d'asti wine,
40 g of raisins,
 
How to prepare:
Take a handful of the almonds and set aside to use for decoration later (whole and with their skins on). Roughly chop all the rest of the almonds.
Place all the ingredients in a mixing bowl, along with the two types of flour , the skinned almonds, the butter, the vanilla, the lemon zest, the two egg yolks, the sugar and the chopped rosemary. Give it a good fast beating until you have combined all the ingredients well, but try not to overbeat them. 
Take a 25cm diameter shallow cake tin and grease it with butter.
Drop small amounts of the cake mix into the tin and spread out, trying to crumble it with your fingers as much as possible. Make sure the mix is not pressed completely flat in the tin.
Finish off by decorating the cake with the whole almonds you set aside earlier.
Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180° for about one hour, leave to cool and then carefully remove from the tin. 
Place the strawberries in a blender with the sugar, the moscato and the orange zest. Blend together until you get a thick sauce. 
Cut the sbrisolona cake into squares and serve with the strawberry sauce.

Sagittarius

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Acquarello rice and ricotta cake

Ingredients:
300g cow's ricotta cheese,

150g acquarello rice,
150g granulated sugar,
30g chocolate drops,
one sachet of vanilla,
3 medium eggs,
icing sugar as required,
dark chocolate as required,
sugar-preserved cherries as required.
 
How to prepare:
Cook the rice in boiling water, drain while still firm and set aside. Mix the ricotta in a large bowl, with the now tepid rice, sugar, beaten eggs and chocolate drops.
When thoroughly mixed, transfer to an 18 cm circular mould lined with baking parchment. Smooth out carefully and bake at 180° for 45-50 minutes.
Take the rice and ricotta cake out of the oven, leave to cool on a cooling rack and decorate with the icing sugar, a few chocolate drops and the cherries.

Capricorn

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Candele pasta of Pastificio di Gragnano in Corsa with Bra sausage, asparagus, castel magno cheese and wild flowers

Ingredients:
360 g of Gragnano candele pasta,
150 g of Bra sausage,
100 g of Castel magno cheese,
10 asparagus tips,
A knob of butter,
A glass of nebbiolo wine,
A sprig of rosemary,
Half a shallot,
Wild flowers to decorate,
Fresh herbs to add flavour,
Salt and pepper,
Extra virgin olive oil.
 
How to prepare:
Break the sausage up into a pan. Add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, the chopped shallot, a few fresh herbs, and a knob of butter.
Fry the sausage and when it’s half cooked add the red wine.
Steam the asparagus tips with a drizzle of oil.
Cook the pasta in boiling salted water. Once it is cooked, drain it and then toss it in the pan with the sausage and asparagus. Add a few slices of Castel magno cheese – use a mandolin slicer to get really thin slices. Stir well and serve.

Aquarius

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Golden salmon fillet, cereal with pistachios, cucumber sauce and bitter cocoa

Ingredients: 
480g fresh salmon fillet,
40g pistachios,
40g cereal (e.g. cornflakes),
1 knob of butter,
1 egg white,
2 cucumbers,
1 pot of plain yoghurt,
1 spoonful bitter cocoa,
1 clove of garlic,
Extra-virgin olive oil,
Salt and pepper as required.
 
How to prepare:
Divide the fillet into four smaller fillets. Drizzle with a little oil and leave to rest for a few moments under a damp cloth.
Meanwhile, put the pistachios and cereal in the mixer with a pinch of salt.
Prepare the cucumber sauce by peeling the cucumbers and grating them finely. Take the pulp and put it in a colander. Leave it to drain for a few minutes.
Now transfer the cucumber pulp into a bowl with the yoghurt, chopped garlic, salt, pepper and a drizzle of olive oil.
Use a pastry brush to apply the egg white to the skin of the salmon fillet ; then coat it with the pistachio and cereal mix.
Put a small quantity of oil into a non-stick saucepan, heat it well and cook the salmon fillet with the skin side down.
To serve, arrange the well-browned, crispy salmon on a little cucumber sauce.
Garnish with a teaspoon of bitter cocoa.

Crunchy pear and banana 'soup' aromatised with vanilla and saffron of Il Cavallino and served with olive oil ice cream

Ingredients:
2 bananas,
3 pears,
150g sugar,
2 glasses of water,
1 vanilla pod,
Pistils or 1 sachet of saffron,
8 Digestive biscuits,
2 knobs of butter,
1 small glass of grappa,
Fresh mint leaves,
800ml milk,
200ml cream,
200g sugar,
200g extra-virgin olive oil,
10g sea salt.
 
How to prepare:
Heat the milk without boiling it, add the salt and sugar and continue heating until completely dissolved. Cool the mixture and then slowly add the cream and olive oil. Either put in the ice cream maker or pour into an aluminium pan and leave to freeze overnight. Shortly before serving, remove the pan from the freezer, cut the ice cream into pieces and put it all in the mixer bowl (previously cooled in the refrigerator). Whisk the ice cream.
Heat the sugar and water, bring to the boil until it reaches 121° C.
This will form a syrup, which can now be set aside.
Blend the biscuits with the butter and saffron in the mixer, remove the mixture and spread it on a baking tray lined with baking parchment.
Bake at 180° for about 6/7 minutes until it is a crumbly, crunchy mixture. Leave to cool.
Blend the banana and pear with the sugar syrup, add the vanilla beans, two spoonfuls of water and the grappa, to make a very liquid mixture.
Serve in a small glass. Add the fruit 'soup', the crunchy saffron mix, the ice cream and a few small mint leaves.