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
- 2 sprigs of marjoram
- 4 cups vegetable stock
- 2 tbsp of Academia Barilla 100% Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the risotto:
- 8 oz Carnaroli or Vialone Nano rice
- ½ onion
- 6 cups vegetable stock
- 3 oz gorgonzola
- 1 oz butter
- 1 oz Academia Barilla Parmigiano Reggiano aged 18
- 2 tbsp of Academia Barilla 100% Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- salt and freshly ground black pepper

PREPARATION
The Pear Sauce
Cut the pears into quarters. Peel and core them. Peel garlic clove and cut in half. Heat a tbsp or two of Academia Barilla 100% Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil in a pot and add garlic, roughly chopped pears and marjoram. Stir and let cook for a few minutes. Then, season with salt and pepper. Add vegetable stock and cook until soft. When pears are done cooking, remove from heat and set aside.

The Risotto
Begin to prepare the risotto by chopping 1/2 onion. Add a couple tbsp Academia Barilla 100% Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil to a pot. When the oil is hot, add finely chopped onion and a pinch of salt and stir. When onion is soft, add rice and another pinch of salt. Stir constantly so rice doesn’t stick and toasts uniformly. Once rice is toasted, start adding boiling stock, a ladleful at a time. When stock evaporates and rice becomes slightly dry, add more stock. Continue cooking in this way for 16 to 18 minutes, depending on the variety of rice.

Return your attention to the pears. Once cooked, add freshly ground black pepper to the pot and then blend into a smooth pear puree. Finish cooking the risotto. Remove from heat when risotto still has a little liquid. Add ½ of the gorgonzola and butter. Cover and let rest for a minute. Add remaining gorgonzola and Academia Barilla Parmigiano Reggiano aged 18 months. To serve, pour a ladleful of pear sauce into each bowl. Place 2 large spoonfuls of risotto on top of sauce. Finish with a sprig of marjoram and freshly ground black pepper.

This simple, seasonal dish is certain to keep you warm while you wait for spring. Thanks Chef Matteo for another great recipe to add to our collection.

Today, to conclude this year’s “ingredient and recipe of the month” series of blog articles, we propose you a recipe for preparing an authentic Panettone alla Milanese (Milan-style panettone). We found the recipe browsing the Academia Barilla Gastronomic Library, from the Italian cookbook “Il panettone milanese” (publisher: La Spiga). Since one panettone is never enough, we give you a recipe to bake three panettone cakes!

One note before going to the kitchen: it is important to understand that the preparation of Panettone requires a great deal of time and effort, as is the case for recipes made with sourdough bread. Don’t be discouraged if your home-made Panettone does not look as beautiful as the ones you can buy in the supermarket, because yours will surely be genuine and comparable to the original recipe.

PANETTONE ALLA MILANESE
A classic Italian Christmas recipe
(for 3 panettone cakes)

INGREDIENTS

- all-purpose flour, 2.8 pound
- butter, 14.1 oz.
- sugar, 10.5 oz.
- sourdough bread, 8.8 oz.
- sultana raisins, 7.05 oz.
- candied orange, 1.7 oz.
- candied cedar, 1.07 oz.
- eggs, 15
- salt, to taste

PREPARATION

To begin, wrap the sourdough bread in a towel lightly dusted with flour and set it aside in a warm place for at least 2 hours, allowing the dough to rise to twice its original volume.

Crumble the sourdough and dissolve it in a small amount of tepid water.

Pour 5.2 oz of flour onto a pastry board. Make a well with the flour and add the dissolved sourdough in the middle. Slowing begin mixing the ingredients together, kneading the dough by hand.

Work the dough into a ball, and place in a lightly sprinkled mixing bowl. Let it stand for approximately 3 hours.

In order to obtain perfectly leavened dough, heat the oven to 302 F, switch it off, and place the mixing bowl with the dough on the opened door. Once the dough has fully risen, place the dough on a pastry board and gradually mix in 4.5 oz of flour and some warm water, kneading the dough by hand until smooth. Allow the ball of dough to stand for approximately 2 hours, until it doubles in volume.

In the meantime, cut the candied cedar and orange pieces into small cubes and soak the sultana raisins in warm water.

In a saucepan, add the sugar in an inch of water. Heat and stir until completely dissolved. Once the syrup is lukewarm, remove from direct heat and place the saucepan on warm water bath (Bain-Marie).

Add 3 eggs and 12 yolks, and lightly cook the mixture. In a separate saucepan, melt 10.5 oz of butter on low heat, making sure that the butter does not burn.

Mix 2.2 pounds of flour with 2 tablespoons of salt and place on a pastry board, making a well in the middle. Gradually incorporate the leavened dough, the melted butter, and the sugar and egg mixture.

Knead the dough by hand for 20 minutes, until the dough is tough enough that it can be beat onto the board. This procedure ensures smooth, elastic and homogeneous dough. 

Drain the raising and dry in a clean kitchen towel. Add the candied cedar and orange bits, as well as the raisins, into the dough, kneading the dough for 2-3 minutes until well combined.

Divide the dough into 3 equal parts, rolling each third into a ball. Place the ball of Panettone onto a piece of parchment paper, buttered and dusted with flour.

Using a strip of thin cardboard, surround each Panettone with the parchment paper, creating a mould. Let the Panettone leaven in a warm place for at least 6 hours, until it has doubled in volume. After 6 hours, let the Panettone rest in a cool place for 10 minutes.

Place the Panettone on a baking sheet covered in parchment paper, and score the top of the dough with a cross.

Cook at 390 F for 5 minutes, then place the remaining butter slices on the score lines. Leave in the oven for 1 hour - 1 1/4 hour, slowly diminishing the temperature as the Panettoni begin to darken.

Enjoy your panettone! Merry Christmas from Academia Barilla and Italian Food Lovers!!!

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.

The cheese takes its name from the small city of Gorgonzola, in the outskirts of Milan, where Gorgonzola Cheese has traditionally been made with raw cow milk brought to the temperature of 22-28 Celsius degrees (72-82 F degrees) before selected molds, specially Roquefort Penicillin, are added to create the curd.

Once the curd is obtained, as Chef Carboni explains in the video, it gets stored for three weeks in special storage rooms, where it undergo a special processing technique.

Gorgonzola gets pierced with steel needles that create a series of tiny tunnels for internal air ventilation.

This process allows the air to flow inside the curd and prime the cultures of Roquefort penicillin, that already became part of the curd. 

Chef Carboni shows in the video the piercing line in a chunk of gorgonzola, around which the mold has developed (see picture below).

Matteo also reminds us that there could be different tastes in gorgonzola, spiced or mild, depending on the aging process, which can take up to 36 months.

At the end of the video Chef Matteo Carboni shares a few Chef tips on how to use gorgonzola in the kitchen.

Gorgonzola cheese can be very versatile, and offer its best as an ingredient for bruschetta, as a base for pasta sauces and risotti, or enjoyed on as part of a cheese platter, accompanied by fruit, compotes, or honey.

Thank you Matteo for this new Academia Barilla Culinary School video, we look forward to hosting you again soon on Italian Food Lovers!

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!

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)

INGREDIENTS

- 4 slices Italian bread, sliced 1/2 inch thick
- 4 tablespoon Academia Barilla Unfiltered Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 jar (15 oz) Chick peas
- 1 clove Garlic
- Black pepper, to taste
- Academia Barilla Sicilian Sea Salt with Orange Zest, to taste
- 1/2 jar Academia Barilla Spicy Sicilian Cherry Tomato Bruschetta Topping

PREPARATION

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.

Thank you Lorenzo for this wonderful recipe using the new Academia Barilla gourmet products!