San Gimignano at The Imperial has brought yo the table some timeless and homemade recipes from the kitchens of Italy. Shrabasti Mallik takes a trip back to the comfort of mama's food
Try to remember the scene from the animation movie Ratatoullie where Remy (the chef rat) serves Anton Ego, the relentless restaurant critic, something as simple as ratatoullie. One bite of the dish takes Ego back to his childhood where he remembers bruising himself and to make him feel better his mother prepares ratatoullie.
We travel far and wide, see different and new places, meet new people and savour different cuisines. But at the end of the day (or say a long tour) nothing beats the joy in setting down to a bowl of steaming soup, as simple as it may be, made by your mother. Call it comfort food, home made food or simply food from the heart — one would gladly give up the most delectable of dishes, including world cuisine, for their ‘mama’s food.
It is this simple and tender emotion that San Gimignano, at The Imperial has tapped into. The place is synonymous with traditional Italian cuisines, which extends way beyond pastas and pizzas, but chef de cuisine Rakesh Rana has crafted a small menu which boasts of the simplest of recipes and food right out of an Italian mother’s kitchen. So, when we were presented the mozzarella di bufala, bio lenticchie, pomodorini e crema di aceto balsamico (buffalo mozzarella, organic lentil, cherry tomatoes, rocket lettuce and balsamic cream) we were not surprised to see the simple presentation. It reminded us of how we are served food at home – with a lot of love and a little less attention to a fancy display. The cheese was soft and quite delectable but so were the nicely cooked brown lentils.
Next we tried the zuppa ribollota which is soup made with beans, tomatoes, bread zucchini and savoy cabbage. Chef Rana told us that this simple dish from Tuscany is very popular and very well loved. “When I used to work with Italian chefs they always used to tell me that they miss their homemade food and used to share stories of simple recipes. This soup is favourite and also easy to make because in this soup you can use even left over beans,” he explained. There was also a slight crunchy feel to the soup which he told us were bread crumbs which were added to give a grainy texture.
We agreed to try out the tortellini di zucca con salvia e burro on chef’s request and we secretly thanked ourselves for the decision. There were four small tortellini wrap stuffed with slow roasted pumpkin and crushed almonds and it melted like butter in the mouth. Mixed with the nut and the sage butter, it left a sweet aftertaste in our mouth. We would suggest that you take some time in savouring them because the smoky flavour of the roasted pumpkin is worth cherishing.
People will not associate fish with Italian food and it was indeed a pleasant feeling to discover the wonderful (read delectable and delicious) yet simple dish that can be whipped up from fishes. The Sogliola alla Milanese (Melanese style sole, served with spinach, mashed potatoes, cherry tomato sauce, and rocket lettuce and caper lemon) is a traditional dish from Amelia Romanga, a small place in the Northern part of Italy. Chef Rana shared the recipe, “We have used sole because it is easily available here. The fish pieces are first egg washed (coated with beaten egg), spices and herbs are sprinkled and egg washed again before a final coat of bread crumbs.” He suggested that we try it with the caper lemon juice and it, quite beautifully, enhanced the taste. It was a bit sour which went well with the fried piece of fish. The blanched spinach on a bed of mashed potatoes was a standalone delight (although we wonder why and how it was Italian) but what we loved was the rocket lettuce, it added a very distinct taste to the entire palate.
Now, the general idea of a pizza for us is either thin crust or thick crust but chef showed us, yes showed us, the third, lesser known fluffy and soft pizza. We saw how he knead farina flour (they called it zero zero flour) and rolled out a pizza base. He topped it with pizza sauce, chicken bits, sundried tomatoes and fresh broccoli and placed it in the stone oven, inspired from the Australian open stone ovens, with burning wood placed at the far end so that the pizza gets the smoky flavour of the wood fire. It is not very often that you receive the opportunity to experience the fluffing up of a pizza crust. As chef topped the soft baked pizza with olive oil he told us that the flour is imported from Italy. “Much like most ingredients that are in our a la carte menu,” he smiled and told us about the chicken confit pieced that he used. “Confit is a process of slow cooking chicken at 90 degrees for an hour and a half so as to retain the succulent taste,” he added.
Italians do, however, share a common love for desserts as we dug into what might possibly be termed as chocolate paradise but (for the sake of giving it a name) Italians call it the dolce risotto al cioccolato con amarena ciligia. It looked a very thik and sticky version of our traditional kheer but with thicker rice grains and chocolate instead of milk. “The rice is called carnoli risotto. First it is boiled and then chocolate slabs or drops are added,” the chef explained. It was not very sweet but it was not very bland either. But ones who have a major sweet tooth will not relish it as much, although they might find the chocolate flavour unique paired with rice. The amareno cherry was indeed the cherry on top of the simple meal that we savoured and enjoyed.
So, the next time you feel homesick and want to seek comfort in food which takes you back to the kitchen where you can indulge in healthy, homemade food without having to worry much about things like presentation and perfection, we recommend you drop in till the promotion ends on October 14.