Tiramisu 2.0: the perfect St Valentine’s upgrade

Tiramisu is a worldly known dessert. My Japanese friend Takuto-san used to call it Tiramis (which sounded to me as Sir Hiss in Disney Robin Hood)! Some friends of mine, as David, make it with Madeira cake (or Pan di Spagna), following a peculiar recipe that has a great success in Rome. I allegedly prefer tiramisu with lady-fingers (or sponge fingers, if you please), called in Italian Savoiardi, since their origin is the tiny mountain region of Savoy, where the former Italian monarchy once had their household estates. Then we sold it to France…and now it is possibly in better hands!

Savoy, whereabouts!

Lady (sponge) fingers or Savoiardi

Here you may find the home made recipe of  lady fingers

A curious combination of unfortunate events brings the majority among children in Italy to crave FOR YEARS for Tiramisu: because of the coffee, it’s an openly a denied pleasure! A solution of water and sugar – the 0 version - often takes the coffee place and the feeling of fulfilment is immediately turned in deprivation, mockery, and paternalism. Once we grow up, we put off denialism and pass through the initiation of coffee and finally even the yearned tiramisu falls in the hollow jar of our stomachs: this is the 1.0 version. Since decaffeinated coffee in Italy is not really an option, the society prevents the youth to come across this beverage until your rational system is well-formed, yet why?

When you keep ignoring things since you cannot achieve,
understand, want to face them

The answer is twofold but simple: coffee keeps you awake and a. parents do not wish to tell fairytales until 5 o’clock in the morning; b. the active principle may cause a cardiac arrhythmia. So when finally we are capable to bear the thrilling effect of coffee we discover that eating tiramisu at night may cause insomnia or some disturbances of the sleep.

The heart armour, 

Alessandro Reggioli,

 thanks to Giulia_chiara©

Quite a few friends I am familiar with cannot actually have coffee since they start immediately feeling tachycardia: overall my best friend Martina, who drinks tea only. Some others understandably refuse to have coffee late in the evening! So as soon as we are able to come across the 1.0 version of tiramisu, many have to withdraw from the competition! My father, for instance, would never have coffee after four o’clock in the afternoon and then he will look reluctantly to the idea of tiramisu. This is a big problem and it increases, when the day after people has to work. I happen to realize how work - despite allowing means of sustenance - complicates enormously the way in which you have to deal with your active and resting life. Is it possible to modify the recipe without provoking mayhem and revolution? YES WE CAN, AND ITS NAME IS BEERMISU or Birramisu, in Italian.

NOW WE CAN

Katie™ - an Italo-American friend, fond of literature and culture, a practical being in touch with spirituality, adeventure and sport, and who mixes up solely the qualities of both continents, - once suggested me to replace coffee with an ale beer. At the beginning I was not really sure the experiment would have lead to a nice result, yet I had to change my mind. So I choose Leffe, a Belgian ale I increasingly started to fancy. Despite this strict recommendation, I am not really into beers. The choice of Leffe was possibly more in my mind rather than on Katie’s lips. In conclusion, I think the recipe I am about to suggest could be varied and modified according to taste. Let’s see how the 2.0 version of tiramisu, the BEERMISU, may come to life:

Leffe in one of its nicest formats

A nice size glass (at least for me, that i'm not
an heavy beer drinker)

Michelle loves coffee, loads of coffee, waves of coffee, without coffee her soul does not wake up: all this is renowned among our mutual friends! Yet when she wishes to go to bed early then it becomes less appealing to indulge in something, which stimulates you your nervous system. 

Michelle in the morning

At the same time is a crime to put mascarpone off just because of coffee. Is there a solution? It was the right occasion then to try BEERMISU. We wished to exchange a post-Christmas “hello” with two other stare crossed couples: Isabel&John and Michael&Elektra. So one of the main ingredients - good friends - was there! And quite casually, the event took the appearance of an anticipation of St Valentine’s day, because of the tray!

The most scary and lovely angel

Now the procedure: REMEMBER REMEMBER, the Tiramisu or the Beermisu has to be done at least 8 hours before the meal it's thought for, otherwise the mascarpone cheese won't solidify into the fridge.

Pouring the beer onto the sponge fingers with a wee jug

A fizzy pleasing effect for hears and eyes

Dispose the sponge fingers in the heart tray:
here I was using a Beck's beer.

Dusting the mascarpone cheese with cocoa powder

Decoration: as soon as the cocoa powder will be moist,
you can draw a beer mug on it!

Here are the ingredients:

5 organic eggs 
[whisk the whites apart with half the sugar]
500 gr of Mascarpone cheese
120 gr of fair trade caster sugar
[had the second half to the cheese]
cocoa fair trade powder 
[as much as needed]
Sponge fingers
[according to the tray]

I recently discovered that tiramisu was served in brothels from the ‘700 at least as an aphrodisiac dessert, and the proprieties of caffeine were hopefully transmitted to the imminent performance. This said: I think that if your partner is fond of beer, which gives a sweet delicate taste to the berrmisu, then you may attempt this recipe and see what happens, perhaps the placebo effect shall do the rest! Happy St Valentine day to all!

Depiction of a brothel

Beautiful women's street: where prostitutes used to exercise  in Florence

Perfect recipes with the perfect extra-virgin olive oil

See previous post for the Robur oil history Let’s observe some examples (from row to cooked): ·      Mixed organic salad with nuts, vinegar beetroot, organic cherry tomatoes and dried apricots (Real Food) and Robur oil: ·      Mixed salad with organic avocado and apple (Real Food), organic champignon mushrooms, roman lettuce (Tesco), dates, dried apricots, organic lemon and Robur: ·      Plain basmati rice (Tesco Finest) with Savoy cabbage stripes and Robur oil as a golden necklace: ·      Organic broccoli (Real Food) with spelt orecchiette (NaturaSì) enriched by this greenish Robur oil touch: ·      Organic lentils soup with seasonal organic vegetables (carrots, potatoes, celery, red onion), perfumed by thyme and basil,   empowered by Robur oil: ·      Oven vegetables with bain-Marie scotch minced meat (Tesco Finest), gently brought to cooking with Robur oil and organic balsamic vinegar: Rudimental home made bain-Marie I let the veggies roast alone and only in the end I added the Robur oil ·      Croquettes with cheesy heart dived into Robur oil that leaves them light and crispy! ·      Fried duck free range eggs with red chilli in Robur oil, escorted by organic Waitrose lettuce and seed bread: NB: the chef Michel Roux jr recommends not to use your best balsamic vinegar or your best when the dish has to cook more than a certain amount of time: doing this, you behave irrationally and senselessly. When you roast vegetables in your delicacy dressings, they lose their peculiar organoleptic flavors. My last three experiments aimed to prove that Robur oil can be implied in hot preparations, yet it is certainly better to taste it pure, hence added at the end of the cooking process (with fried eggs and croquettes this is simply impossible!).   In the bain-Marie preparation, the oil does never come into direct contact with the flame and the taste remains brilliant! This said, quality ingredients rarely can go wrong!

Nel post precedente la Storia dell'olio Robur Osserviamo qualche esempio (da crudo a cotto): ·      Insalata mista bio con noci, barbabietole all'aceto, pomodori ciliegia e albicocche disidratate (Real food) e olio Robur: ·      Insalata mista con mela e avocado biologici (Real Food)  funghi champignon bio, lattuga romana (Tesco), datteri e albicocche disidratate, limone bio e olio Robur: ·      Riso basmati (Tesco Finest) con striscioline di verza e olio Robur come collana dorata: ·      Broccoli biologici (Real Food) con orecchiette di farro (NaturaSì) arricchite con un tocco verdeggiante di olio Robur: ·      Zuppa di lenticchie con verdure biologiche di stagione (carote, patate, sedano, cipolla rossa), profumata da timo e basilico, valorizzata da olio Robur: ·      Verdure al forno con carne tritata scozzese a bagnomaria (Tesco Finest), gentilmente portata a cottura con olio Robur e aceto balsamico di Modena biologico: Rudimentale e casalingo bagnomaria Ho lasciato arrostire le verdure da sole e solo alla fine ho aggiunto l'olio Robur ·      Crocchette di verdure con cuore di formaggio tuffate in olio Robur, che le lascia leggere e croccanti! ·      Uova fritte d’oca allevata a terra con peperoncino in olio Robur, accompagnare da lattuga gentile e pane biologici di Waitrose: NB: lo chef Michel Roux jr raccomanda di non usare il proprio aceto balsamico o il proprio olio migliore quando un piatto deve cuocere oltre un certo lasso di tempo: così facendo, ci si comporta in modo irrazionale e avventato. Quando si preparano delle verdure arrostite con dei condimenti di pregio, questi perdono le loro peculiarità organolettica. Gli ultimi tre esprimenti avevano lo scopo di dimostrare come l'olio Robur possa essere usato anche in preparazioni calde, ma è sicuramente più saporito in purezza, pertanto aggiunto alla fine del processo di cottura (con le uova fritte e le crocchette è chiaramente impossibile!) Nella preparazione a bagnomaria, l'olio non giunge mai a contatto diretto con la fiamma e il sapore rimane dunque inalterato. Detto questo, con gli ingredienti di qualità raramente si sbaglia!

The perfect extra-virgin olive oil (Robur)

English

Italian

What I am about to describe is not just a bottle of oil, but a denser entity. In this extra-virgin olive oil, you may found an unexpected taste, but also commitment, (an almost medieval feel for) enterprise, a gamble shiver, and THE organic battle. I wrote unexpected taste, because indeed when we think about Italian oils, our minds fly directly to Tuscany, Sicily, Liguria, and Puglia. Yet this oil comes from Bologna, the land of Tortellini, of the most ancient university in the world (A.D. 1088), and of Mortadella, only to name three Æmilian flagships. Emilia-Romagna (italian region) Aerial Bologna and three of her best knows strong points The superior oil is named Robur, from the Latin strength, after a family motto robur prudentia firmat (through prudence strength is reinforced), if I am translating correctly. Robur is also the oak tree, but in this case I think a figurative reading has to be privileged. I also believe is deeply important that the best families of our aristocracy implement the level of our economy applying to new trends - as the organic - one and ancient savoirs. Moreover, the expertise derived from the past of their tradition has the chance to be actualized and improved, conformed to the new Time (which is indeed us). If aristocracy still means the government of the best men (and clearly women), then it is natural that these best people have to give the example and promote the change. Heraldic coat of arms: the farm is called Ca' Scarani of the Earls Ranuzzi de Bianchi, via dell'Osservanza 41, 40136 Bologna tel. +39 051 333627, www.villascarani.it   During the Christmas holidays, I met a dear friend of mine, Michelangelo (not the famous artist, yet almost!), who had the courage and skills to start an autochthonous production extra-virgin olive oil on the hills, which surround Bologna as a rocky scarf. In his family estate, instead of betting on an easier construction speculation, he opted for an edible one. Following his father’s suggestions, some years ago, he decided to coat his land with an olive forest, both because it is a plant that dresses up the hill side incredibly well, and secondly because it is a relatively low-maintenance tree in an organic agriculture system. The result is magnificent: the oil condenses the soul of the town, not the dynamic and modern one, but the rural city, helas, almost forgotten. Moreover, Michelangelo joined the olive consortium, which provides the mechanical devices (the oil mill) to squeeze olive, keeping the final price at every pocket reach. Each bottle is sold for 16€, which is indeed not a low price, but it is worth the purchase. You can find it in NaturaSì. My preciousss Two years ago (2011) the production began, whereas 800 plants were bedded out in 2004. If I am not mistaken, around only 250 bottles were brought to the attention of the market, since the plants are growing the amount of olives is not that high at the moment. Nonetheless, last year (2012) the production redoubled: 500 bottles have been released on the market. And finally, in the early days of 2013, I managed to have a little taste of last harvest. It was a true epiphany, in the Joyce’s acceptation, as usual! The hills transfer their mildness to the oil: its density, robust side and acidity are very balanced. None of them overwhelms the other: I was drawing for the sake of comparison a confrontation with a Napolina oil (which is not a terrible oil at all!) and the mirroring is uneven. Napolina is too fruity and peppery and overcomes other flavours too much. Perhaps, I should have allowed myself a more refined parallel between two distinct oils, but for logistical reason, I did not have the chance: however, I recently spotted some incredible and promising brands at Waitrose, so sooner or later, this face-to-face shall take place! Frantoio imolese (oil mill) This is a rich extra-virgin olive oil, opaque and sweet, yet sweet with character. Here in the UK, I managed to taste several imported good oils, yet this one is almost unbeatable. The flavour is balanced: hence you never perceive a too strong acidity, a too sturdy fruitiness, and a too powerful robustness. It does indeed resemble the hill breeze where it is born. For these reasons, I started trying it on different meals, so to understand if it was more crudity-suitable oil, or cooked-like oil. I would recommend it especially on row preparations: there it releases an incredible personality. On mixed salads it offers the chance to taste the different ingredients, on buffalo caprese it behaves accordingly to expectation! Nevertheless, on warm dishes is excellent such as on a red lentils soup. Buffalo caprese (Tesco Finest) with a sprinkle of white pepper, Tesco organic cherry tomatoes and Robur. Green lentils are fine, yet try the red ones and the Norcia ones and your day will shine! It’s optimum when spilled on clear soups with white beans and egg pasta! Equally on durum-wheat pastas dressed up with veggie garnishments, such as broccoli, sprouts and spinaches and chars! It also gives an incredible performance when you actually cook it: especially in short frying sessions, as for vegetable balls with a cheesy heart! So, to sum up, indirect cooking is better, yet direct heating does not spoil it at all! On organic bread it offers a unique emotion, in a sort of palate dialogue, which is a tête-à-tête between two simple but effective ingredients. Clearly the bread MUST be good quality bread, otherwise you risk to spoil the soundness of the oil! Organic seed bread (Waitrose) and Robur oil: the Franciscan feast of simplicity Let’s observe some examples (see next post): ·      Mixed organic salad with nuts and apricots (Real Food) and Robur oil ·      Plain basmati rice (Tesco Finest) with Savoy cabbage stripes and Robur oil as a golden necklace ·      Organic broccoli (Real Food) with spelt orecchiette (NaturaSì) enriched by this greenish Robur oil touch: ·      Organic lentils soup empowered by Robur oil ·      Oven vegetables with bain-Marie meat, gently brought to cooking with Robur oil and organic balsamic venigar! ·      Croquettes with cheesy heart dived into Robur oil that leaves them light and crispy! ·      Fried duck free range eggs with red chilli in Robur oil, escorted by organic Waitrose lettuce and seed bread.

Ciò che mi accingo a descrivere non è semplicemente una bottiglia d’olio ma un’entità più ricca di significato. In quest’olio extra vergine d’oliva, si ritrova un gusto inatteso, ma anche una devozione, un senso dell’impresa (quasi medievale), il brivido della scommessa e la battaglia biologica. Ho scritto gusto inatteso poiché davvero quando si pensa all’olio italiano, la mente vola subito alla Toscana, alla Sicilia, alla Liguria, ed alla Puglia. Eppure quest’olio è realizzato a Bologna, la patria dei Tortellini, dell’ateneo più antico del mondo (1088 d.C.) e della Mortadella, giusto per nominare tre vanti Emiliani. Emilia-Romagna (regione italiana) Veduta aerea di Bologna e tre suoi vanti L’olio superiore Robur, prende il nome dalla parola latina forza, e si ispira al motto di robur prudentia firmat (con la prudenza si corrobora la forza), se sto traducendo nel modo più corretto. Robur è anche il nome della quercia, ma in questo caso penso si debba privilegirare una lettura figurata del termine. Credo anche che sia molto importante che le migliori famiglie della nostra aristocrazia implementino l'economia, innestando su nuove tendenze - come il biologico -antichi saperi. Infatti, l’esperienza derivata dalle tradizioni del passato ha l’opportunità di essere attualizzata e migliorata, conformata al nuovo Tempo (che siamo proprio noi stessi!) Se aristocrazia ancora significa il governo dei migliori uomini (e chiaramente delle migliori donne), appare dunque naturale che queste persone migliori diano l’esempio e promuovano il cambiamento. Blasone araldico: l'azienda agricola si chiama Ca' Scarani dei conti Ranuzzi de Bianchi, via dell'Osservanza 41, 40136 Bologna tel. +39 051 333627, www.villascarani.it   Durante le festività natalizie, ho incontrato un caro amico, Michelangelo (non il famoso artista, ma quasi!), il quale ha avuto il coraggio e l’abilità di iniziare una produzione autoctona di olio extra vergine di olive, sui colli che circondano Bologna come una sciarpa rocciosa. In questi possedimenti di famiglia, invece di scommettere su una più facile speculazione edilizia, il mio amico ha scelto la via edibile. Grazie ad alcune intuizioni paterne, ormai qualche anno fa, ha deciso di «vestire» le pendici delle sue terre con una foresta di ulivi, sia perché la pianta si adatta molto bene al clivo, sia perché è una pianta che offre un basso profilo di manutenzione in un regime di coltivazione biologica. Il risultato è stupefacente: l’olio condensa l’anima della città, non quella dinamica, ma quella rurale, ahimè, quasi dimenticata! Per di più, Michelangelo si è consorziato al Frantoio Imolese che adotta la spremitura meccanica e che gli permette di tenere sotto controllo i costi di produzione! Ogni bottiglia è venduta a 16€, che non è un prezzo basso, ma vale la pena dell’acquisto. Lo si può trovare a NaturaSì. Il mio tesssoro Due anni fa (2011) è iniziata la produzione, mentre gli 800 alberi di ulivo erano stati messi a dimora nel 2004. Se non mi sbaglio, soltanto circa 250 bottiglie furono poste all’attenzione del mercato. Poiché gli alberi sono ancora in fase di crescita, il quantitativo di olive non è alto al momento. Ciononostante, lo sorso anno (2012) la produzione è raddoppiata: 500 bottiglie sono state immesse sul mercato. Finalmente nei primi giorni del 2013, ho avuto la possibilità di assaggiare l’ultimo raccolto. È stata una vera epifania, nel senso Joyciano, come sempre! Le colline hanno passato la loro mitezza all’olio: la sua densità, la robustezza e l’acidità sono molto bilanciate. Nessuna di queste proprietà sopravanza l’altra: per fare un raffronto, mi sono prodotto in un confronto con l’olio Napolina (che non è per nulla un cattivo olio!) ma il paragone è impari. Napolina è troppo fruttato e pizzichino e sovrasta troppo gl’altri sapori. Presumibilmente, mi sarei dovuto concedere un raffronto più sofisticato, ma per ragione logistiche, non ne ho avuto la possibilità: tuttavia, recentemente ho notato alcune marche incredibili e promettenti da Waitrose, quindi pesto o tardi, questo faccia a faccia avrà luogo! Frantoio imolese Quest’olio extra-vergine è ricco, opaco e dolce, ma dolce con carattere. Qui nel Regno Unito, ho avuto modo d’assaggiare numerosi oli d’importazione, ma questo è quasi imbattibile. L’aroma è ben strutturato: pertanto non si ha mai la sensazione che l’acidità sia troppo marcata, o la fruttuosità invadente, né che la robustezza sia eccessivamente potente. Ricorda, in effetti, la brezza da cui le piante sono state cullate. Per questa ragione, l’ho provato su piatti diversi, per capre se fosse un olio adatto alle cruditées oppure a pietanze cotte. Lo raccomanderei soprattutto per piatti crudi: in questo caso rilascia una personalità incredibile. Sulle insalate miste offre la possibilità di apprezzare i diversi ingredienti, sulla caprese si comporta in armonia con le aspettative! Caprese di bufala (Tesco Finest) con una spolverata di pepe bianco, pomodorini ciliegia biologici e olio Robur. Eppure è eccellente anche sui piatti tiepidi come le lenticchie, soprattutto quelle rosse di Norcia. È ottimo se asperso sulle zuppe a base si fagioli bianchi (cannellini o del rene) e pasta all’uovo! Anche sulla pasta di semola condita con verdure, come i broccoli, i cavoletti, gli spinaci o la bietola! E rende anche molto bene quando lo si cuoce, soprattutto però nelle preparazioni brevi: principalmente con polpette di verdure dal cuore formaggioso! In definitiva, cuocerlo indirettamente lo esalta di più, ma anche una cottura diretta non lo rovina affatto! Sul pane biologico regala un’emozione unica, in una specie di dialogo palatale, che è un tête-à-tête fra due alimenti semplici, ma efficaci. Chiaramente il pane deve essere un buon pane, altrimenti si rischia di rovinare la consonanza con l’olio! Pane biologico ai semi (Waitrose) + olio Robur: la festa fracescana della semplicità Osserviamo qualche esempio (prossimo post): ·      Insalata mista bio con noci e albicocche disidratate (Real food) e olio Robur ·      Riso basmati (Tesco Finest) con striscioline di verza e olio Robur come collana dorata ·      Broccoli biologici con orecchiette di farro (NaturaSì) arricchite con un tocco verdeggiante di olio Robur. ·      Zuppa di lenticchie biologiche valorizzata da olio Robur. ·      Verdure al forno con carne a bagnomaria, gentilmente portata a cottura con olio Robur e aceto balsamico di Modena biologico.  ·      Crocchette di verdure con cuore di formaggio tuffate in olio Robur, che le lascia leggere e croccanti! ·      Uova fritte d’oca allevata a terra con peperoncino in olio Robur, accompagnare da lattuga e pane biologici di Waitrose.