Quantcast
Channel: Deccan Herald - Tuesday
Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 344

A gourmand's delight

$
0
0
An Italian meal is generally incomplete without a nice bowl of pasta. And that's also one of the items that features on the list of comfort foods for most of us. The varieties abound when it comes to the different types of pasta and there is no dearth of culinary enthusiasts in the city who like giving their personal touch to the dish, combining shapes and sauces.

Stuffed pastas like ravioli and tortellini are catching up in popularity and are being eagerly experimented with in recent times. On World Pasta Day, chefs and bloggers give an insight into their preparations and some great flavour combinations.

Chef Vittorio Greco, Italian chef at 'Ottimo', ITC Gardenia, highlights that the preparation of stuffed pastas requires a high level of skill and high quality ingredients, especially Italian flour, that's not very easily available locally. "The flour has to have a certain amount of protein so that it's elastic enough else the pasta will crack while cooking. For those using Indian flour at home, a bit of gluten can be added and the dough needs to rest for at least an hour. In the eggless variation, semolina can be added to make the dough stronger," he advises.

The chef has experimented with stuffings like ricotta and spinach, lamb, chicken and white rabbit in ravioli and classic pork, lamb and orange, chicken and onion in tortellini. "There is also a double stuffed ravioli that I prepare with two different stuffings. People have appreciated the experimentations and it's quite encouraging!," he says.

Meanwhile, chef Diwakar at 'Toscano' says that one can play around with stuffings and sauces in the stuffed pastas. "There are several combinations that work really well in raviolis. For instance, a spinach and ricotta stuffing in a basil pomodoro (tomato) sauce; eggplant, caramelised onion and feta cheese in a cream and tomato sauce with oregano and lamb bolognese in mint pesto or mint double butter walnut sauce."

He also has some advice for a great dish. "The pasta should be sealed properly with no air circulation in the pockets. Once the dish is done, a hint of extra virgin olive oil and a generous garnishing of parmesan cheese spells magic!"

Home baker Jeyadra Vijayselvan took inspiration from her favourite restaurant, where she tried stuffed ravioli with prawns, to make her own pasta at home.

"I watched videos on YouTube and also attended sessions to learn the art of pasta making. I have a pasta sheet maker which I use for this. The dough and the stuffing both need to be of the right consistency — with less water content." She enjoys preparing a stuffing of steamed or roasted crab meat and prawns in mushroom cream sauce or white sauce. For Archana Doshi, founder of 'Archana's Kitchen', ravioli and tortellini are a great way to incorporate some vegetables in her family's diet. "You don't get these pastas readymade and I prepare them from scratch using wholewheat flour. I use spinach and homemade paneer for the stuffing in a tomato basil sauce. Sometimes, I use roasted pumpkin instead of tomato to add colour, taste and nutrition. There's a mushroom stuffing as well which tastes heavenly in a roasted cauliflower sauce."

She states, "People think that it's an elaborate setup but once you have the right technique, it's as simple as making a stuffed 'paratha'. Some practice also helps!" Time to tuck into a piping hot bowl!
An Italian meal is generally incomplete without a nice bowl of pasta. And that’s also one of the items that features on the list of comfort foods for most of us. The varieties abound when it comes to the different types of pasta and there is no dearth of culinary enthusiasts in the city who like giving their personal touch to the dish, combining shapes and sauces.

Stuffed pastas like ravioli and tortellini are catching up in popularity and are being eagerly experimented with in recent times. On World Pasta Day, chefs and bloggers give an insight into their preparations and some great flavour combinations.

Chef Vittorio Greco, Italian chef at 'Ottimo’, ITC Gardenia, highlights that the preparation of stuffed pastas requires a high level of skill and high quality ingredients, especially Italian flour, that’s not very easily available locally. "The flour has to have a certain amount of protein so that it’s elastic enough else the pasta will crack while cooking. For those using Indian flour at home, a bit of gluten can be added and the dough needs to rest for at least an hour. In the eggless variation, semolina can be added to make the dough stronger,” he advises.

The chef has experimented with stuffings like ricotta and spinach, lamb, chicken and white rabbit in ravioli and classic pork, lamb and orange, chicken and onion in tortellini. "There is also a double stuffed ravioli that I prepare with two different stuffings. People have appreciated the experimentations and it’s quite encouraging!,” he says.

Meanwhile, chef Diwakar at 'Toscano’ says that one can play around with stuffings and sauces in the stuffed pastas. "There are several combinations that work really well in raviolis. For instance, a spinach and ricotta stuffing in a basil pomodoro (tomato) sauce; eggplant, caramelised onion and feta cheese in a cream and tomato sauce with oregano and lamb bolognese in mint pesto or mint double butter walnut sauce.”

He also has some advice for a great dish. "The pasta should be sealed properly with no air circulation in the pockets. Once the dish is done, a hint of extra virgin olive oil and a generous garnishing of parmesan cheese spells magic!”

Home baker Jeyadra Vijayselvan took inspiration from her favourite restaurant, where she tried stuffed ravioli with prawns, to make her own pasta at home.

"I watched videos on YouTube and also attended sessions to learn the art of pasta making. I have a pasta sheet maker which I use for this. The dough and the stuffing both need to be of the right consistency — with less water content.” She enjoys preparing a stuffing of steamed or roasted crab meat and prawns in mushroom cream sauce or white sauce. For Archana Doshi, founder of 'Archana’s Kitchen’, ravioli and tortellini are a great way to incorporate some vegetables in her family’s diet. "You don’t get these pastas readymade and I prepare them from scratch using wholewheat flour. I use spinach and homemade paneer for the stuffing in a tomato basil sauce. Sometimes, I use roasted pumpkin instead of tomato to add colour, taste and nutrition. There’s a mushroom stuffing as well which tastes heavenly in a roasted cauliflower sauce.”

She states, "People think that it’s an elaborate setup but once you have the right technique, it’s as simple as making a stuffed 'paratha’. Some practice also helps!” Time to tuck into a piping hot bowl!

Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 344

Trending Articles



<script src="https://jsc.adskeeper.com/r/s/rssing.com.1596347.js" async> </script>