Italian Food Lovers

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…

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.

Read more…

Welcome back to Chef Matteo Carboni of the Academia Barilla Culinary School who, after telling us about the different variety of table grapes in an Academia Barilla video last week, will share with us his Chef advice on how to make Grape Must Jelly, and how to prepare Sugoli, a traditional Parma gourmet dessert. Enjoy the video chef tips!

As recommended by Chef Matteo Carboni in the video above, results are better when different varieties of grapes are mixed, which will result in a richer flavor. In the video recipe, Chef Carboni uses Sultuna, Pans and Moscate, which he introduced in his last video here on Italian Food Lovers.

Before proceeding with the grape hand-pressing. Matteo advises to use 4 pounds of table grapes in order to obtain 4 cups of table juice for 6 servings.

Not an easy job! You will surely need some strength to do this. Chef Carboni suggests to begin pressing the grapes with your hand, then to proceed crushing the remaining grape berries one at the time with your fingers before filtering the grape juice and giving it a final hand-squeeze to get as much juice as you can.

For 4 cups of grape juice we will need 4 oz of all-purposes flour that must be mixed with the grape juice in a bowl. Start with a little bit of juice. Mix with a whisk ensuring there are no lumps. Add the rest of the juice and keep mixing for a few more minutes until all the lumps disappear.

Put the mixture in a pot and bring to a boil, constantly stirring it. Keep boiling for 2 minutes before placing the mixture into molds while it’s still hot. Chef Carboni uses two different molds based on the servings he desire to prepare. Place the molds in the fridge, allowing them to rest for at least a couple of hours.

The first recipe prepared by Chef Matteo Carboni, Sugoli Grape Jelly paired with Pecorino Cheese and hazelnuts, is a dish that you can serve at the end of the meal as a dessert, or before the dessert. 

Chef Matteo Carboni concludes the video with a final dessert preparation, using the bigger Sugoli Grape Jelly molds that have been in the fridge for a bit longer. For the dessert presentation Matteo simply adds fresh cranberries, fresh mint and ground dark chocolate to the Sugoli Grape Jelly.

Chef Carboni also suggests trying a glass of Moscato wine (Muscat wine), to enjoy with this delicious Italian gourmet dessert.

Thank you Matteo, we can’t wait for your next video recipe!

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!

After discovering how to choose a ripe melon at the market, today Chef Matteo Carboni of the Academia Barilla Culinary School will teach us an easy and fresh dessert recipe for a hot summer: Melon Sorbet.

Chef Matteo introduces the ingredients at the beginning of today’s video: 1 melon (1.5 oz), 1/2 oz white sugar, 3 oz glucose, the juice of 1/2 lemon, and Academia Barilla Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena 12 years old. Let’s watch the entire preparation on video!

After introducing the ingredients, Chef Carboni proceeds with the sorbet preparation: first he cuts the edges of the melon off, then he cuts the melon in half, cleaning the inside with a spoon, and finally he chops the melon in slices. When you peel the melon, reminds Matteo, be careful not to cut your finger!

Chef Carboni roughly chops the melon in pieces, then puts them inside a food processor (mixer) and moves on to the preparation of the sugar syrup, for which you will need the 1/2 oz white sugar, 3 oz of water and 3 oz of glucose.

To prepare the syrup, put the sugar and the water in a pot and bring it to 250 degrees F, then add the glucose, mix and let it rest.

In the meanwhile, start blending the melon in the food processor, then add the syrup and the lemon juice, and mix for a few seconds more.

Chef Matteo Carboni uses a professional ice-cream machine in this video, but gives all the tips on how to prepare ice-cream at home.

If you don’t have a professional ice-cream machine you can put the mixture in a bowl and place it in the freezer for 10 minutes, take it out, whip it, put it back in the freezer for 10 minutes, take it out and whip it again, then back in the freezer and so on.

You will have to keep repeating this step until the mixture is ice-cream dense, and this will vary according to the power of your home freezer.

To finalize the recipe, Chef Carboni uses an ice-cream scoop to serve 2 ice balls in a glass, and adds a finishing touch using a dash of Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena and a fresh mint leaf - ready to serve!

Thank you very much Matteo, see you soon on Italian Food Lovers!