To celebrate the month of March, we have decided to make an updated version of an Italian classic: risotto alla gorgonzola. Spring is just around the corner but until the temperatures begin to rise, we will take comfort in this creamy dish from northern Italy.
Gorgonzola is a blue cow’s milk cheese originally from the small town of Gorgonzola, located less than 15 miles northeast of Milan. For more information on this legendary Italian blue, be sure to check out Chef Matteo Carboni’s video presentation.
In this recipe, the spicy, piquant flavor of the gorgonzola is balanced by the sweetness of the fresh pear sauce. Follow the chef’s directions for making a perfectly rewarding risotto.
What a wonderful way to finish your day.
RISOTTO WITH GORGONZOLA AND FRESH PEAR SAUCE Serves 4 to 6
INGREDIENTS
For the pear sauce:
- 3 pears, medium-sized
- ½ clove garlic Read more…
It’s almost Christmas, and all the Italian Food Lovers’ tables will be hosting Panettone, the classic Italian Christmas cake and a centerpiece of the Italian gastronomy tradition - so how about baking your own panettone instead of buying one at the grocery store?
We are a little late on this post, as this is the ingredient of the month for November, but we are publishing it only now. Sorry for the delay, we hope you understand how busy we have been at Academia Barilla not only with the new Academia Barilla and Italian Food Lovers redesign, but also facing the most hectic season of the year, the Christmas Season!
The good news about it is that this month our Italian Food Lovers will get two Ingredients of the month! In the video below we have again with us Chef Matteo Carboni of the Academia Barilla Culinary School, introducing to us as ingredient of the month one of the most famous cheeses of Italy, Gorgonzola Cheese.
Welcome to the Academia Barilla Culinary School, and to a new installment in the series of Italian Food Lovers’ Ingredient of the Month. Today Chef Matteo Carboni introduces us to the main varieties of Italian Table Grapes with another Academia Barilla video.
As commented by Chef Matteo Carboni, Italy is a great producer of very good wines, but also a great producer of table grapes. In the video above, he tells us about the grape varieties of Sultana, White and Red, Pans, and Moscato.
Table grapes are a very good snack for the morning or the afternoon, but also for the end of a meal, to be enjoyed on their own, or accompanied with some mature cheeses such as Parmigiano-Reggiano and Pecorino.
The grape varieties presented by Chef Carboni are very different from each other. Sultana has a thicker skin and a simpler taste, and it is the grape variety used to make golden raisins. Pans has a thinner skin and it is very rich in pulp and juice - the favorite variety of Chef Carboni to be tasted with Parmigiano-Reggiano. Moscato (Muscat) has smaller berries and it is very sweet; this is the grape used to make the famous Italian sparkling dessert wine Moscato.
Table grapes are good on their own, but also a very good ingredient to make gourmet recipes such as roasted veal or pork, in the preparation of rich salads with baby spinach and walnuts, and of course in the preparation of desserts.
Thank you Matteo for sharing your Chef knowledge with us, we look forward to having you again on Italian Food Lovers, next time with some gourmet recipes!
This month Barilla Executive Chef Lorenzo Boni proposes a scrumptious antipasto recipe, a variation of the classic Italian bruschetta, made with one of the new Academia Barilla ingredients we introduced last week, the new Academia Barilla Spicy Sicilian Cherry Tomato Topping (and other Academia Barilla gourmet products): Bread Croutons with Chick Peas and Spicy Tomato Topping.
Are you ready? Let’s go to the kitchen!
BREAD CROUTONS WITH CHICK PEAS AND SPICY CHERRY TOMATO TOPPING
A recipe by Chef Lorenzo Boni
(serves 4)
Sauté chopped garlic in 2 tablespoon of Academia Barilla Unfiltered Extra Virgin Olive Oil until slightly yellow. Stir in chick peas, cook for three minutes over medium heat.
After three minutes, process the chick peas in a blender with a little water until very smooth. Season with black pepper and Academia Barilla Sicilian Sea Salt with Orange Zest.
Brush the bread with the remaining extra virgin olive oil and grill or toast the bread until slightly golden brown.
Top the bread with 1/2 inch layer of the chick pea mixture and then place a small amount of Academia Barilla Spicy Sicilian Cherry Tomato Bruschetta Topping before serving.
The grape varieties presented by Chef Carboni are very different from each other. 
Get our RSS feed
Tell a friend
