Open kitchen magazine no 5 june 20112

n.5 June 2012

Luca Montersino:
Gluttonous sins

Green
Smoothies

Light! Tasty
recipes to get
in shape for
beach days!


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OpenKitchen - n. 5 June 2012


Summary
04 | Contacts
0 8 | S p r i n g p i n k v e lv e t r o u l a d e
12 | Luca Montersino: Gluttonous sins
2 0 | Milkshakes, Smoothies and Juices: the differences!
22 | Green Smoothies
30 | Fruit: what a passion!
32 | Bright Atmospheres: Lanterns
34 | The Enhancement of Simplicity: “Frisella”
3 8 | Ta s t e a n d T r a d i t i o n : A s p a r a g u s
42 | Cheers!
44 | Whole-wheat focaccia: A Healthy Delicacy

4 6 | Va l e n c i a n P a e l l a
51 | Cheers!
52 | In the garden.....barbecue!
60 | Fruity Snack!
62 | Add a caterpillar to the table!
6 4 | “A tasty suntan!”
6 6 | Light! Tasty recipes to get in shape for beach days!
76 | Cinema and Cooking: Ratatouille
8 0 | Food allergies: Pistachio and Hazelnuts Semifreddo
82 | Editorial team
84 | Contributors

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www.openkitchenmagazine.com | n.5 June 2012

Coordination & creativity
CLAUDIA ANNIE CARONE
Coordination & revision
MONICA ZACCHIA
Coordination & translation
NICOLETTA PALMAS
Graphic and layout
ELENA MARIANI
Photography
DONATELLA SIMEONE
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OpenKitchen - n. 5 June 2012


Dear friends,
Although summer made us wait, it now seems to have finally arrived.
For this glorious season in which we crave the delights of nature and some
long-anticipated sunshine, we have prepared several light and delicious recipes

for you—a tutorial to create a magical atmosphere for a romantic dinner in
the garden. You will also find recipes for colourful shakes and smoothies made
with luscious summer fruits and vegetables, an incredible paella, and wine
suggestions from our sommelier. The pride of this issue is a conversation with
Luca Montersino, who is very generous with his tips and funny stories; this
interview is a true milestone and a great example of mastery and sharing for all
enthusiasts and professionals interested in the art of patisserie. Our thoughts,
however, naturally turn to all those who have suffered heavy losses in the recent
traumatic events that have affected Italy. The terrorist attack in Brindisi
and the earthquake in Emilia, which are still greatly affecting the areas’
inhabitants, have shocked the entire world with the enormity of their scale.
Although living peacefully and without worry is the ideal, life often presents us
with an alternative reality, obliterating the dreams and sacrifices of a lifetime.
In these moments, we also discover the true value of life and the solidarity that
unites us as Italians. We offer our sympathy to the victims and to those who
have lost their homes and their daily means of existence. In these situations, we
yearn for the much-maligned routine and that which matters most to us: our
loved ones, homes and work.
The Editorial Team

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Dolcemente

Spring pink

velvet roulade

Edited by Antonella Cennamo

Even if it is almost summer, and we can start to feel the heat, we can’t say no to a
nice cake. That’s why I want to give you the recipe of something delicious and light,
very much in theme with this season. What’s more, with a few simple decorations,
you will make a fantastic cake for your next picnic with friends or a dinner with your
family. Here what you need:

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Difficulty: easy
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Baking time: 15 minutes
Serves 4
Ingredients:
Cake:
4 eggs
150g caster sugar
1 tablespoon oil
2 tablespoons buttermilk

1 teaspoon cider vinegar
1 or 2 tablespoons Alchermes liqueur
or 1 drop pink food colouring
120g f lour
1 teaspoon baking powder

Filling:
Whipped cream
Strawberries
Sugar
Lemon

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Method:
Cake:
Preheat the oven at 180ºC. Beat eggs with a hand mixer until pale and thick. With
the mixer still running add the sugar and oil to the eggs. Slowly continue beating and
add the remaining liquid ingredients, the sieved flour and baking powder. Mix until
well combined. Pour batter into a parchment lined tray and bake for approximately
15 minutes.
Filling:
Wash the strawberries, chop them and season with sugar and lemon. Let rest in the
fridge. You can prepare the strawberries in advance so to use the sauce to moisten
the cake. Whip cream, remember it should be very cold! When the cake is ready let
cool down for a few minutes. Moist the cake with the strawberries juice, spread all
over the surface the cream and sprinkle with the strawberries. Roll cake tightly and
once completely cold dust with icing sugar.

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DECORATION
Equipment:
Rolling pin, flower cutter, ball tool,
petal frill tool Pink, brown, white
sugar paste
Photo no. 1 :
Roll out the pink sugar paste and
cut small flowers of different sizes.
Photo no. 2:
With the ball tool gently ruffle each
petal.
Photo no. 3:
Use the petal frill tool, or simply a
toothpick, to vein each petal.
Photo no. 4:
Still with the ball tool gently ruffle
the edge of each petal, giving a sort
of movement to the petals. It will be
useful to do this in a flower sponge
to avoid to break the sugar paste.
Photo no.5:
Create a support to let the flowers
dry. I used espresso cups and
aluminium paper.
Photo no.6:
Brush the centre of the flower with
the magenta colour and add a tiny
ball made with the white sugar
paste.

Photo no.7:
Create the branches of the flowers
with the brown sugar paste and
place them into the roulade. When
flowers are dried place them along
the branches and decorate with
sugar pearls.


interview

Luca Montersino:

Gluttonous sins
Edited by Monica Zacchia

If I had to summarise the interview with
Luca Montersino in one short phrase, I
would without a doubt choose that of
Steve Jobs, which Luca himself quotes
here: “Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish”. This
certainly expresses much of Luca’s
spirit, as precise as his knowledge, and
as crazy as the daring experiments
that led him to be what he is today.
For those few individuals who still may
not know of him, Luca Montersino is an
internationallyrenownedchefandpastry
chef who has shown since childhood
the unmistakable signs of great passion

and determination. Beginning at the
age of thirteen, his urge to approach
the world of cooking led him to peek at
it through the portholes. At the age of
only fifteen, he made his cooking début
in a hotel on the island of Elba, where he
was responsible for the full guest menu
whilst substituting for the chef and
his teacher, Pierfranco Dallacà. Luca
was so good that the hotel’s manager
made special mention of him. With
the money he earnt, he built his first
professional kitchen in the basement
of his parents’ home. From that point
onwards, his career was to be full of
change. He travelled to America and
later returned to Italy, where he studied
laboratory techniques, ingredients and
chemical substitutes to create a new
type of pastry that is healthy and at
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the same time as good and enjoyable
as the traditional variety. Whilst he
honed his natural talents, he became
a more experienced professional and
opened his company Golosi di Salute
(“Connoisseurs of Health”) at Alba,

which now has branches in Tokyo and
New York. He has become a consultant
for companies and for Eataly, a food
manager and the deputy director of
Boscolo Etoile. He is a diligent teacher
for professionals, who regard him as an
incomparable point of reference. The
general public may know him through
his publications and broadcasts, such
the extraordinary Prova del Cuoco (the
Italian version of Ready Steady Cook) on
Rai1 and Peccati di Gola (“Food Sins”) on
Alice TV. He is the perfect link between
professional confectionary production
and whoever wishes to make sweets at
home, be that person an enthusiast, a
homemaker, a blogger or an aspiring
pastry chef—anyone who enjoys saying
“I made it!”. In his programmes, which
are really lessons, Luca explains every
little step, leaving no stone unturned.
So, we will let him speak, as he has
kindly made himself available to satisfy
our endless curiosity.

Luca, how does it feel to be able to
enter the hearts of so many people
who, until recently, would not have
even considered baking a sponge

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cake or a custard?
I must admit I’m glad, because it
means I was able to convey something
beyond the recipe: the passion for this
job. Often I receive e-mails, even from
doctors and lawyers who write to me
“I want to do something else, I want to
do this job, I have realised that I love
it”. This happens more often and at
times it leaves me puzzled, because it
is not easy to take on a job like this. It is
happening not only by e-mail, but also
through the classes taken by amateurs,
who express a mad desire to learn. And
I’m glad, because I like teaching and
I am flattered to have an audience so
receptive.
You have certainly opened a way by
responding to a new market related to
allergies
which
have
become
increasingly common, but in doing

so you also involved aspects of a
healthier diet. And in view of this,
the physics and chemistry in bakery
are clearer and reworked through
experimenting to obtain good results
from all points of view. How long did
it take to “convince” sceptics that your
desserts are not only for “intolerant”
eaters and that your workplace was
not a pharmacy?
I applied chemistry and physics to
pastry making primarily because I have
a passion and a desire to discover the
why of things. I do not believe anything
until I see it, and I always like to give
explanations to everything I see. For
example, I do not like mixing chocolate
with water to see the reaction and not
know what is happening: I want to
understand what happens, why the
chocolate thickens mixing it with water
and why it becomes fluid when you add
more water. It makes me curious to
do a job and see what happens when
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mixing the ingredients. Regarding,
however, intolerance, this is a passion

where I came to see how you can give
pleasure to people eating a cake made
in a healthy way and to dispel the myth
that desserts are necessarily bad for
your health. Even if it all started as a
joke, to discover that people liked that
dessert, and then to see their
amazement and disbelief when they
hear it was made without milk, gluten
and sugar free. Then, one thing
followed another and I decided to make
a business from it: GOURMETS OF
HEALTH. People at first thought it was
a type of a pharmacy that sold sweets
only for the sick, and it took time for
them to understand that eating healthy
is not only necessary for the unwell, but
that the choice of a healthy diet is one
that is also made when one is healthy.
Tell us of someone who has managed
to impress you as much as you have us
as professionals and enthusiasts.
With Boscolo Etoile, I led a major project
for healthy pastry: Giving courses in
schools, I pursued my passion, and
this is certainly an important part of
my journey. But if I have to name a
person, then it is without doubt Oscar
Farinetti, the founder, owner of Eataly
(ed: a site dedicated to excellent Italian

food with offices in Italy and NY), who
has an entrepreneurial vision which
I have incorporated into my own
company, which it lacked to make it
successful. Making beautiful and good
pastries is not enough; you also have
the entrepreneurial component and
proper management of the company,
an element only a serious entrepreneur
and one as generous as Oscar could give
me. We met in 2007, and it was a turning
point for me, my fortune; without him, I
would never have gone to New York or
Tokyo, where I have opened branches


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of Connoisseurs of Health.

stabiliser, it has all the characteristics
that an ingredient can have, so it is
What is the essential ingredient for irreplaceable.
you, which do you consider the most
flexible and why?
Tell us a funny story that happened to
you in your career in the kitchen or on

To me, all the ingredients are the TV set.
indispensable—some more, some
less. Therefore, I would say that what When I record the episodes, it feels to
is really essential is passion. Perhaps it me like a direct transmission, and the
is a trivial answer and a little romantic. funny thing is that I behave as if it were
But to do this job you need passion, and direct. Once after I had already
it is an ingredient which I would never recorded some sixty episodes and I had
give up, because when I no longer have luckily avoided doing anything
a passion for what I do, that would blatantly wrong, something did happen
mean I would no longer be capable and I did not know how to react: I put
of making good pastries. So, passion the hand-mixer into the chocolate and
is more essential than sugar, flour, cream, I turned on the blender and
chocolate, which one can do without. blew up everything. I was completely
But if I really had to name one, I would covered in chocolate from head to foot
say an essential ingredient is eggs: and was standing in front of the
They are magic in the bakery. When I cameras, I did not know whether to stop
have to remove flour or sugar or dairy or to keep filming. But then I looked at
products, I have no problems, but to myself and I said “No! I have to stop”,
replace eggs would be very difficult. because I was completely drenched in
The egg has numerous properties: It chocolate.
is a preservative, binder, emulsifier,

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Every recipe that you propose in your
books or on TV is always a guaranteed
success. You read about it in blogs,

among friends and on social networks.
You are defined as a master, a pastry
guru. Your winning card lies in the
sharing of your knowledge; there are
no tricks, it is all very do-able. Do you
consider it important to cultivate this
aspect, or is it instinctive, a part of
your own nature?
I have a simple theory, and I am very
clear on this point: If you decide to
become a teacher and to write books
as I have, then there can be no secrets,
because teaching in order
to just look good (and then
passing on a recipe which
is wrong or not revealing
a secret) is wrong, false,
and is not destined to last
long. The teaching that
lasts is the type which has
credibility when you teach,
where you do not take
anything for granted and
you do not keep secrets,
where people are motivated
to call you to ask for advice
because they understand
that you have really given
them something. And then
I have another theory: that

the secrets of business
success are not made
through the recipes but are
created by many factors.
We do not make Nutella,
we do not make Coca-Cola,
and therefore we do not
produce a mono-product.
I do not do business based
on Sacher, I do it based on
all my products. And the
third thing is that I have
said that for me the book is
only a starting point. When

I publish a book about a subject, I start
looking for that something, and from
that moment on I open up new horizons
for myself. Now, for example, Mondadori
have commissioned me to write a book
about cake pops in America: I do not
produce them in my business, but now
I’m studying them and making them
for the book, so I am opening up other
possibilities for myself. When it comes
out, the book will already be old for me,
because I will continue the research
and improvement of that product. So,
whenever someone is greedy or jealous
of their recipes, it is because they are

professionally poor.

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A donut where you had no success with
the hole?
The donuts, and not just those, where
I have no luck with the hole are those
made when you are on the sofa after
dinner, you think of a pastry, make a
sketch on paper, you build it with a pen
by scribbling squiggles, you imagine the
decoration, you are satisfied and go into
the kitchen, you make it and it turns out
the opposite of what you imagined. This
happens when you do not do research
and teaches you that math and science
are very important in baking, although
it is not always true that 2 + 2 make 4.
Is your daughter just as curious and
passionate about cooking? Does she
like to make pastries with you?
Yes, it is a time of sharing and an
important game. At the moment, I’m
doing a book for children about marzipan
cake pops that has the working title of
Marzagiochi (Marzitoys). It will be done

with my daughter, and it is the result of
an idea I had that Mondadori was very
happy to accept, an idea that is at least
eight years old and that I had when I
was director of the Etoile, but I couldn’t
find an editor who believed in it. Now
Mondadori, and the popularity of cake
design today, have supported me in
my argument to allow children to play
with marzipan instead of with dough,
or das, or worse, as they do today,
video games. So, the idea is to have fun
with the kids, to learn by playing. I do
it occasionally with my daughter. She
likes to play with pastries, and she will
appear in Marzagiochi. There will be
photos in which you will see that a girl of
six years can do what I do, albeit a little
inaccurately, but with great creativity.
The release is scheduled for the fall.
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OpenKitchen - n. 5 June 2012

What do you think about this new
fashion of Sugar Art? Doesn’t it seem
very distant from our cultural taste in
sweets? In a context in which the food
is, above all, a cultural thing, where it
is a habit that is transmitted between

generations, is there really a place for
these architectures of sugar on our
tables?
Certainly it is far removed from
our tastes, but two aspects can be
reconciled: of aesthetic and that of
taste. I make sugar art or cake designs
in my company, but I make them edible,


because I follow the example of America
with regard to aesthetics. It can’t be
denied that a wedding cake with five
layers and elegant flowers or roses is
beautiful; the problem is that often it is
inedible. So, I took the American
approach and I adjusted it to Italian
tastes, working with sugar decoration
which is not eaten and placed next
to the cake. There is a way to make
them so that the cake does not have to
support any weight and therefore you
are not forced to make a heavy sponge
and cream cake. You can also make a
meringue cake because the cake does

not have to support the decoration. I
don’t like wedding cakes when they
concentrate on the decoration and
don’t think of the taste.

Will you reveal yet another unpublished
trick?
A trick ... a trick .... mmm. To make
pastries, you should be a real sweet
tooth. I am; I cannot finish a meal
without something sweet. People think
that being a pastry chef means that you
do not eat sweets because you have
had enough of them after working with
them all day. Instead, the secret lies in
being always greedy and curious about
everything around you and remaining
a child. “Stay hungry. Stay foolish”. I
stole this from Steve Jobs and I believe
it completely.
What are your next projects, if you
don’t mind talking about them?
The opening of a bakery in Rome inside
Eataly, June 21; the book in collaboration
with my daughter: I Marzagiochi for
Mondadori. In print I have a book on
celiac disease in collaboration with
Boscolo Etoile, where there will even be
leavened bread, the gluten-free pizza;
Mignon Sins, published by Sitcom, and
due out in December.
Right now, I would like to imitate
the policemen in San Diego in the
restaurant where Luca worked years
ago—who affectionately handcuffed

him in order to prevent him from
going—and continue to satisfy my
curiosity and yours for an art, that
of pastry chef, that he has made so
accessible to all. But we will let him
go and wish him luck! Till the next
episode ...

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Milkshakes,

Smoothies
and Juices:

The Differences!
Edited by Agnese Gambini

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With the summer season, the bar

offer smoothies, milkshakes, and
juices, but often there is confusion

between them and we do not know
the differences. A shake is the base
of each preparation and is made by
blending fruit (preferably with the
skin, if edible, for its dietary fibre) to
which you can add water, milk, liquid
yogurt or fruit juice. The ingredients
must always be mixed thoroughly
prior to drinking to avoid the solid
parts settling at the bottom of the
glass. The consistency of the shake
must be liquid and creamy. It is good
to choose ripe fruit with a sweet
taste to avoid having to add sugar,
which unnecessarily increases
your calorie intake. Sugar also
undermines the refreshing function
of the shake because it attracts
water once it reaches your stomach
and makes you feel thirsty. The
addition of milk and yogurt to a shake
enriches the protein and fat content,

and in this case it is better to think
of it as a substantial snack or light
meal rather than a normal drink. A
milkshake is simply a fruit smoothie
with ice cream and crushed ice
added. You can also add liqueurs,
coffee and other flavours such as

mint. A smoothie is a drink of mixed
fruit or vegetables, often made from
frozen fruit and with the addition of
crushed ice, frozen yogurt or Greek
yogurt. You can add honey, maple
syrup, chocolate and spices to the
fruit. The texture is similar to that of
a milkshake, but it does not contain
ice cream and rarely contains milk.
To make a juice, you need a juice
extractor, which is a machine that
separates the juice from the pulp and
peel of fruits and vegetables. What
remains is a liquid concentrated
in vitamins and minerals, lower
in fibre than most smoothies, but
much more versatile. There are no
lumps, and it has the appearance of
a smooth juice.

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Light
Recipes...
Smoothies

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Yogurt parfait
with strawberries

By Annamaria Villani

Difficulty: easy
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Rest time: 2 hours
Serves 4
Ingredients
400ml semi-skimmed milk
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
Seeds of a vanilla pod
60g brown sugar
2 tablespoons corn starch
180g Greek yogurt
400g strawberries
12 digestive biscuits

Method
Wash, drain and chop strawberries. Sprinkle with 20g of brown sugar, half of
the vanilla seeds, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and cook for 3-4 minutes over a
medium heat. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Dissolve the corn starch
in a bit of cold milk, then add it to the remaining milk. Add the sugar, lemon
juice, lemon zest, vanilla seeds and cook over a low heat for 5 minutes stirring

until the cream thickens. Allow to cool then add the greek yogurt. Crumble 3
digestive biscuits for each parfait glass. Pour the yogurt cream into glasses
and finish with the strawberries. Allow the parfait to set in the fridge for a few
hours. Serve cold.
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Fresh Smoothie

by Verdiana Calamia

Difficulty: easy
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Rest time: 1 hour and 30 minutes
Ingredients for 2 smoothies:
2 melon slices
2 peaches
About 3 tablespoons of crushed ice
2 containers of yogurt
1 tablespoon sugar
A pinch of cinnamon
Mint
20g grounded walnuts
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Method:

Cut the melon and peaches into small
cubes, transfer into a bowl and freeze
for 1 hour/1 hour 30 mins. In a blender
put the yogurt, sugar, ice, cinnamon,
mint and finally the frozen fruit. Blend
quickly until smooth. Pour smoothie
into glasses and sprinkle with the
walnuts. Decorate with some mint or
fresh fruit. That’s it! The smoothie is
ready and...fresh!


Ginger Drink

By Laura Cuccato
Photo by Michele Maino

Difficulty: easy
Ingredients for 3-4 glasses
1 celery stick
3-4 cm fresh ginger root
2 green apples
1 lemon or orange
Sparkling water

Method:
Blend all the ingredients together.
Add as much sparkling water as you
like. Serve immediately.

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