WHAT DOES YOU FIRST COME TO MIND IN THE WORD OF “ITALIAN CUISINE”? GOING TO AL SHALAL CLUB (PALM JUMEIRAH) TO MEET AN ENZO NERI'S CHIEF FROM ITALY, I OFFERED TO DISCOVER THE TYRAMISSU MEMBRANTY TASTE IMMEDIENTLY ATTENDED ONE ONCE. LAUREN DOESN'T TIRES TO REPEAT THAT "EVERYTHING THAT HAS IN LIFE IS SHAPED TO SPAGHETTI." MEAN IT IS WANT TO EXPERIMENT.
Having settled down at a table on a cozy sofa, I was prepared to gain kilograms - eating high-calorie carbohydrates in the late evening, nevertheless, is not the best option for a diet. Apparently, having sensed my fears, for dinner "from the chef" I was offered quite light dishes: arugula salad thinly seasoned with olive oil and wine vinegar and juicy beef steak - absolutely without sauce, only slightly sprinkled with coarse salt. For dessert, no matter how I refused - the most delicate lemongrass, with thin strips of candied orange on top (perhaps they would be enough). Everything looked so artistically beautiful and appetizing that I could not resist and "cleaned up" the plates. Oddly enough, after a fairly high-calorie full-fledged dinner - no heaviness in the stomach. Hurray, which means that in Italian cuisine there is not only tasty, but also healthy food! Although, from bedtime spaghetti, despite the recommendations of Sophia Loren, I would still refuse.
By the way, a cook from the town of Città di Castello, in the province of Perugia, does not consider pasta to be harmful at all. In his opinion, they can be easily consumed without worrying about being overweight. The main thing is to use vegetable-based sauces, not cream, less cheese and, of course, control the size of the servings. But the main secret of his ideal dishes is in the freshness of the products! Enzo dishes are as simple as possible and have delicious natural flavors. According to the cook himself, "they are created on the basis of memories of the smells of the kitchen of one’s home." By the way, the whole concept of Sophie's Kitchen restaurant is built on this - purity of aromas and natural products. Everything should be as fresh as possible and, as it is now fashionable to call it, "environmentally friendly", so the bulk of the products are purchased by restaurateurs at local farms, including meat, fish, fruits and vegetables of the highest quality.
Sophie's Kitchen is a new village-style restaurant at Azura Beach Club (formerly Al Shalal). Its opening is scheduled for mid-September, along with the presentation of the completely remodeled club, where many of the already beloved elegant Gusto restaurants will remain, the bar will increase in capacity, and the outdoor pool terrace will turn into a stylish lounge with the latest mixes from trendy DJs, cocktails and light snacks . The entire club kitchen is under the control of chef Enzo Neri. His passion for cooking is expressed in the original interpretation of his favorite Italian dishes. He is one of the few masters in the UAE who are known for their art of improvisation and able to create small artistic masterpieces from food called "Play Food" ("Food Games"). But for now, we will not tackle the secrets of haute cuisine and begin with the simplest. I asked Enzo to share recipes for several signature salads from Sophie's Kitchen’s large mouth-watering buffet.
So, we cook effortlessly ...
Fusilli with vegetables
Fusilli (Italian: fusilli - small spirals) is a variety of noodles, a classic Italian pasta in the form of a spiral from durum wheat. The name comes from the word "fuso", from the Italian "spindle", with which wool was spun. (Wikipedia)
Ingredients:
For 1 serving:
- 65 g fusilli pasta
- 25 g broccoli
- 25 g cherry tomatoes
- 15 g calamata olives
- 10 g chicory
- 6 g basil leaves
Sauce:
- 2.5 ml wine vinegar
- 4 ml lemon juice
- 2 g Dijon mustard
- 1.5 g garlic (one clove)
- 3 g salt
- 2 g black pepper
Cooking method:
- Fusilli or another short paste of durum wheat (on the package should read: Pasta di semola di grano duro), boil to the state of “al dente” (“per tooth”) and cool.
- Lightly boil broccoli in salted water (4-5 minutes).
- Cut the cherry tomatoes into quarters, tear the Italian chicory with your hands into slices (you can replace the iceberg salad), basil, cut the olives in slices (calamata), pour over the sauce and mix.
Rice salad
For those who prefer to eat cereals only in the form of cereals and side dishes for meat or fish, we recommend this simple salad, not typical for Italian cuisine, but very useful
Ingredients:
For 1 serving:
- 40 g of rice "Jasmine"
- 20 g of wild rice
- 30 g sweet corn
- 10 g of red bell pepper
- 15 g red cabbage
- 5 g shoots of chives
Sauce:
- 10 ml olive oil
- 10 ml liquid honey
- 6 ml of lemon juice
- 2 g of salt
- 2 g black pepper
Cooking method:
- Here everything is generally simple - those ingredients that cannot be eaten raw, namely rice, boil until tender and cool.
- Everything else - cut, mix in a salad bowl and season with sauce.
Lentil salad
Dishes from lentils are present on the table with Italians all year round, since lentil grains, similar to coins, attract wealth to the house. Orange accent gives the dish a special touch
Ingredients:
For 1 serving:
- 50 g lentils
- 20 g canned artichokes
- 10 g red onion
- 15 g orange slices
- 20 g canned young mushrooms
- 10 g onion
- 2 g parsley
Sauce:
- 10 ml olive oil
- 5 ml of orange juice
- 2 g of salt
- 2 g pepper
Cooking method:
- To prepare this salad, only lentils are boiled.
- Next - the technology is the same as in the previous recipe.
Cut, mix in a salad bowl and season with sauce.
