The Gambero Rosso Biography Italian Restaurant Guide elected her Emerging Chef 2024, an important recognition given to new talents in Italian cuisine.
Born in 1991, Arianna Gatti originally from Forme, a hamlet of just five hundred inhabitants in the municipality of Massa d'Albe (AQ), in the heart of Abruzzo, chef of the Forme restaurant, located inside an ancient renovated courtyard, in Brescia which owes its name both to the designer furnishings and plays of geometric shapes in the rooms of the venue and to its country of origin, it arrived in Brescia by a fortuitous combination.
A completely random landing. In 2013 she had in fact joined her sister, a doctor at the Civil Hospital, in the Lombardy city for a medical examination. In the evening they chose to have dinner at the Carlo Magno restaurant and here the chef Beppe Maffioli reported that the Miramonti l'Altro restaurant, two Michelin stars in Concesio, reign of Philippe Leveillé, were looking for a figure to include in the staff.
From the presentations to the hiring it was a short step and Arianna Gatti found herself part of the prestigious Miramonti brigade.
Of course it didn't start from scratch. Even though she had undertaken studies at a scientific high school at the behest of her mother, once she had obtained her diploma, Arianna had convinced her mother that she could enroll in the hotel school to indulge a passion that she had carried within her since she was little and from there she set out for the 'ALMA of Colorno (PR) where she graduated from the 18th Higher Course in Italian Pastry Cuisine. And what she had learned she had immediately put to the test at the restaurant of Paolo Teverini, historic starred chef, precursor of natural cuisine in the Hotel Tosco Romagnolo in Bagno di Romagna (FC) and then in Bologna where she had worked for the Leoni brothers. Then in April 2018 she flew to Spain for four intense weeks of refresher courses and training in the kitchens of the two Michelin star Casa Marcial of chef Nacho Manzano and of the Ricard Camarena Restaurant of the two-starred chef of the same name.
Given her specialization at Miramonti, she began working in the pastry shop and then as head of the first courses, until her talent led her to obtain the role of sous-chef within a team almost entirely made up of young women. Defined by chef Philippe Léveillé as organised, motivated, competent and balanced, Arianna Gatti immediately shows off and the Identità Golose guide, for the 2020 edition, awards her the Best sous-chef of the year award.
Since 2023 Arianna Gatti has been the chef of Forme, a fine dining restaurant in Brescia. She has chosen to be supported by a young and ambitious team. Her cuisine, which she herself defines as traditional and with recognizable flavours, includes dishes with a refined design. A cuisine whose dishes do not require particular preliminary explanations and which know how to bring the typical preparations of Abruzzo, her region of origin, into dialogue with those of the Brescia area that welcomed her.
Forme offers cuisine based on seasonality and based on Italian raw materials purchased from national and, above all, local producers and suppliers. The menu, as well as the menu, focuses on two tasting itineraries with courses inspired by both the Abruzzo and Brescia areas.
His can be defined as a concrete and substantial cuisine, far from the fashions of the moment. She herself describes it like this: «traditional and rich in recognizable flavours, composed of dishes made with functional techniques and which do not require preliminary explanations, where design plays a fundamental role».
The recipe for sheep, pecorino and savory ravioli that chef Arianna Gatti offers to Mondo Food readers this week is inspired by a traditional dish from her land of origin, particularly from the mountainous area. Obviously for Arianna "it has a completely different flavor if made with raw materials, such as sheep meat or pecorino, produced in Abruzzo". And, if possible, she suggests, in particular, using Gregoriano pecorino, soft and aromatic, which is born at 1.600 meters above sea level, on the pastures of the Abruzzo National Park.
The recipe for sheep, pecorino and savory ravioli
For the yellow pasta
200 g weak flour
140 g yolk
3 g salt
For the red pasta
200 g weak flour
80 g tomato paste
60 g yolk
3 g salt
For the stuffing
olive oil
¼ onion
¼ stick of celery
¼ carrot
¼ clove of garlic
500 g mutton (preferably legs)
Salt to taste
pepper to taste
250 ml water
200 ml white wine
Chili pepper
parsley to taste
1 thyme sprig
½ sage leaf
1 sprig of marjoram
35 g peeled tomatoes
50 g of grated pecorino cheese
For plating
Pecorino cream
50 g grated pecorino cheese
25 g cream
some leaves of mountain savory
Method
Place a drizzle of olive oil and all the roughly chopped vegetables in a saucepan and leave them to sweat. Add the mutton, brown it lightly without letting it colour, season it with salt and pepper and cover it with water and white wine. Add chilli pepper, parsley, thyme and sage, suitably chopped, and the peeled tomatoes. Leave to cook for at least 2 hours.
In a planetary mixer, assemble the ingredients of the two doughs separately. Let them rest for at least half an hour wrapped in cling film. Once cooked, chop the mutton to prepare the filling for the ravioli. Season with fresh, chopped thyme and marjoram, pecorino and possibly season with salt and pepper. Filter the cooking broth and let it reduce over medium heat to obtain a more concentrated flavour. Let it cool, remove the fat that rises to the surface and keep it.
In the meantime, prepare the pecorino cream by melting the grated pecorino in the boiling cream. Emulsify the cream and leave to cool.
Roll out the two doughs, the yellow and the red, very thin, place a few mounds of filling on each, close the ravioli and cut them with a hexagonal pastry cutter of about 2,5/3 cm in diameter, letting all the air out.
Cook the ravioli for 2 minutes in boiling salted water, drain them and rub them in the pan with a teaspoon of sheep fat obtained from the broth.
Introduction
Plate the ravioli, each with a pinch of pecorino cream and a leaf of mountain savory. Finish the dish with the hot broth.
Forme restaurant
Via Codignole, 52 Brescia |
+39 0302400353
www.formerestaurant.it
