Summer is coming to an end, the days are getting shorter, with autumn we return to normal work. Why not retain, in a recipe, the last sweet flavors of a fruit that reminds us of the summer that is going away and that we can pick until September, a fruit loved by adults and children alike, whose scent reminds us of the pleasure of walking in the countryside, loaded with millennia of history and very healthy like figs?
Plato was very fond of it, in ancient Greece they were considered "worthy to feed orators and philosophers", for this reason to the parents of the stuttering children were advised to bring their children under a fig tree to try to fluidify the word. But above all figs enjoyed great fame among the Greeks and Romans for their aphrodisiac properties. In fact, the Romans considered the fig tree to be sacred to Priapus, the god of fertility, and they consumed large quantities of it before a love date. A belief that found scientific justification centuries later: the belief that the fig was an erotic stimulant was in fact sanctioned by the historic Salerno Medical School according to which "... veneremque vocat, sed cuilibet obstat" (it causes the venereal stimulus even to those who oppose it). And it is also for these reasons that according to a widespread popular belief in ancient times the barren couples plucked two leaves from a tree and placed them under their pillows thus hoping to be able to have children.
True or false that these beliefs are certainly figs are very rich in fiber. Their nutraceutical properties are endless. Rich in vitamins and minerals, they give a large energy contribution to the body, they help the immune system to carry out its functions and therefore to better protect our body from external agents. They are rich in calcium and other minerals and ensure good bone health, as well as that of the teeth. They also contain polyphenols, natural antioxidants, which help to keep the cells of our body young and are a valid aid in the prevention of different types of breast, colon and prostate cancers. Finally, low in sodium, they can be consumed without creating problems for those with high blood pressure, not to mention the fact that due to their high pound content they are considered natural laxatives in all respects. In short, as long as we can, let's allow ourselves the benefit and pleasure of consuming them and with taste.
And from history we arrive on the shores of the Garda in the Venetian part. Here one historical family of Veronesi hoteliers, the Tedeschi family bought an important Liberty Villa in the early 60s, transforming it into the Regina Adelaide hotel, in homage to Adelaide Burgundy, queen consort of Italy twice around the year one thousand, empress consort of the Holy Roman Empire as wife of Otto I, venerated as a saint by the Catholic Church but who, due to court quarrels, also knew the affront of prison in the fortress overlooking Garda.
The initial idea to which the Tedeschi family has never failed was to preserve the original layout of the building, ahigh-level classic setting with a great atmosphere, however characterizing it for a charming and familiar welcome which paid great attention to the gastronomic offer of quality and strong territorial identity, with two restaurants, one reserved for hotel guests, the other open to the public, "Il regio Patio di Garda" and even an artisan pastry shop with a small autonomous brigade, dedicated to the sweet proposal (I Dolci della Regina – www.dolcidellaregina.it).
For ten years now, the chef has reigned supreme here (it is appropriate to say among many royal titles). Andrea Costantini, Friulian by birth but in a certain sense Veronese by adoption. Before arriving at the Regio Patio, in fact, he had experienced the dazzling experience of the exclusive restaurant of the “Villa del Quar”, hotel of the international smart set on the outskirts of Verona, where it was called as right arm of executive chef Bruno Barbieri experiencing the thrill of seeing two Michelin stars arrive.
Costantini, the Friulian converted from Verona, who became a member of the Ambassadors of Taste, has become in recent years in a passionate interpreter of the Gardesan gastronomic traditionsand, with a free approach to history but open to the new, where everything becomes the discovery of territorial identity in a new light that enhances its flavours, and reinterprets them with joy and irony as is typical of its character. Obviously passing rigorously through the freshness of the ingredients that he loves to personally select, favoring small producers and local realities, such as the Garda fishermen, a breeder of the Grisa hen (Enrico Morando farm), the producers of Lessinia saffron (Zafferano Lessinia di Castagna Chiara), with whom he maintains a continuous dialogue. The result is a cuisine of references that draws inspiration from the stories of the countryside that Costantini ennobles by reinterpreting them with great inspiration in an unusual and often ironic way as in the case of the "Spaghetti cacio e pepe di mandorla", the "Aubergine Steak", the "Cauliflower and hazelnut , sea urchin butter and apricot”.
For Mondo Food readers, the sweet memory of summer proposed by the chef of the Regio Patio is a millefeuille with raw sugar, caramelized figs and stracchino cream.
“Like so many of my dishes – says the Chef – this recipe comes from a childhood memory. Twice a year we went to Romagna to visit family friends; of these trips, I remember in July le stewed sea snails that mother's friend prepared for us, in September, i caramelized figs with mascarpone cream. The excessively sweet taste, you know, is not in my comfort zone: one of the distinctive features of my proposal is precisely the almost sweetresearch dishes often dedicated to vegetables, ranging from sweet to savoury”. As it is in the strings of him, Costantini has therefore revisited this memory plate, replacing the mascarpone with stracchino cream, which is slightly acidic and savory, enriching the recipe with a touch of crunchiness, thanks to a super-thin neutral puff pastry caramelized with raw sugar.
The Millefeuille recipe with raw sugar, caramelized figs and stracchino cream
Ingredients
For the waffle:
flour 00 – 40 gr
egg whites – 90 gr
soft butter – 130 g powdered cane sugar
For the cream:
cream – 200 g
sugar – 30 g
Yogurt – 30 g
egg yolks – 50 gr
water – 45 g
soft cheese – 150 g
isinglass – 2 sheets
caramelized figs – n° 8 pcs
broken root of licorice
strawberry tree honey
Procedure:
For the cream, combine all the ingredients in a blender, except the cream and the isinglass. Blend until you get a smooth mixture. Apart, soak the isinglass in cold water, bring the cream to the boil, add the isinglass and pour it into the previous mixture while still boiling. Leave to rest for at least 12 hours in the refrigerator.
In the meantime, prepare the wafer by blending all the ingredients together. Between rest in the fridge for at least a couple of hours.
Spread the mixture very thin on a silicone mat, pre-cook in the oven at 200'c for 4/5 minutes, sprinkle with powdered cane sugar then finish caramelising.
Presentation:
Cut the caramelized figs in half and arrange them on a plate, place a generous spoonful of stracchino cream on top, place a piece of wafer on top and garnish with a light sprinkling of icing sugar.
It is accompanied by a hot infusion of licorice root and strawberry tree honey.
Royal Patio restaurant
Via San Francesco d'Assisi
Garda (Verona)
Reservations: regina-adelaide.it
