Ananaya Banerjee samples authentic Italian fare at the newly opened Artusi Ristorante e Bar and comes out as a more aware person with a deeper understanding of regional diversity that exists in Italy
There isn’t much variety in Italian cuisine that we find easily. But Artusi Ristorante e Bar has opened up an opportunity for lovers of Italian cuisine to explore a side of it that remained hidden so far. Specialising in the food from Emilia Romagna, which is the North Eastern region of Italy, the owners of Artusi have made it their mission to not compromise on the authenticity of their regional food. The region is more of a farmland which focuses on homemade pasta that can’t be preserved. It promotes the use of fresh ingredients and is home to Pellegrino Artusi, the author of The Art of Eating Well, among many other famous people who have influenced Italian food and culture.
As you will enter the restaurant, you will notice that the bar is stocked with wine produced in Emilia Romagna ranging from Sangiovese, lambresco, Trebbiano to Albana and other cocktails and mocktails. The menu is a lavish spread and to be able to taste it in one meal is an impossible challenge. Thus, executive chef Romina lugaresi has put together a five course tasting menu that includes the best of everything that one could want. With an experience of over two decades and being a local of the region, the chef is glad to present food from her own home to the food connoisseurs in India.
The meal begins with light flat breads called piadina and crescione that are filled with soft cheese, meat and spinach. The cheese and breads melt in the mouth in unison. It’s an impressive start when accompanied by mimosa made with white wine. “You won’t find this anywhere in the south of Italia, it’s very common to my region only,” explains Oliver Balcon who is the husband of Gurprinder and co-owns Artusi with her. He, too, like chef Romina, used to be the resident of the same region in Italy.
That is where he and his wife developed a love for cooking and they always wanted to turn their passion into something more concrete.
The next thing brought to the table is a traditional clear soup with homemade noodles that are made of cheese, nutmeg and bread crumbs. It is light and prepares one for the cheese fest that’s coming next.
Tortellino al ragu is the chef’s pasta recommendation. Basically, it’s home made pasta pockets filled with a mixture of meat and Italian spices, garnished with parmegiano-reggiano or as we know it, parmesan cheese. The taste is perfect and will make you question whether you’ve ever actually had proper pasta before this. It is a revelation to the cheese lovers.
Heading towards a full belly, the fourth course is like another surprise lined up for the diner. Imported boneless pork enclosed in pancetta bacon and grilled to a perfect caramalised brown colour, served with rosemary potatoes, herbed tomatoes and grilled vegetables is a wholesome meal. “We use pork in most of our recipes because originally, the region is more of a farmland than a grassland. It’s like the Punjab of Italy. So we aren’t used to cooking with beef,” Oliver explains as most Italian restaurants shudder to experiment and here one can see a whole range of new delicacies reproduced in their exact regional self.
To end on a sweet note, the chef’s special is pistachio ice cream with chocolate mousse encased with nuts. The mousse is slightly warm and explodes the moment it touches the tongue.
The entire meal, in five courses, will change the pre conceived notion of Italian cuisine. You come out a more aware person with a deeper understanding of regional diversity when it comes to world cuisine.
