Of his Cimbre origins, the ancient German-speaking people descending from the Danish peninsula of Jutland, who arrived in Italy at the end of the XNUMXnd century BC. and who, defeated in Vercelli in 101 BC by the Roman army led by Gaius Marius, withdrew to the Venetian pre-Alps where he dispersed in small groups among the mountains, has maintained a great passion for nature, the environment and the territory.
John Rugolotto chef and patron together with his wife Laura de l'Hostaria San Benedetto, housed in an 700th century building in the medieval heart of Montagnana, one of the "most beautiful villages in the Veneto region “ between the provinces of Padua and Verona, in the preparation of his dishes, he always recreates an atmosphere that brings us back to the woods, the mountains, the lakes and the habitat of the Euganean and Berici hills, using products linked to the territory, sometimes forgotten, such as mushrooms, snails, truffles, cheeses, which he personally searches for.
Precisely the passion for the different expressions of the concept of territory in the kitchen has led him to digressions into other areas, those of the products of the Slow Food Presidia which he usually uses in the various menu proposals, catching his own philosophy from simplicity.
The menu that the Cimbo-Veneto chef offers to readers of Fist&Food crosses the whole boot to stop in the Agrigento area and rest on the crops of the Thorny artichoke of Menfi, a variety with an exceptional flavor, similar to the wild artichoke, also appreciated by Goethe but scarcely productive, so that it risked extinction if a group of farmers had not decided to save it. Then the Slow Food presidium intervened and the Spiny Artichoke of Menfi, excellent to eat raw, cooked on the grill or to be preserved in jars in oil, is experiencing a new renaissance and is in great demand in gourmet preparations. Rugolotto dedicated to him an entire menu combining it in three courses: appetizer, first course and second course. Three recipes that respect the particular flavor of this artichoke and enhance its taste, at the same time a menu that is a concentrate of good health.
It starts from the appetizer with
SPINY ARTICHOKE CRUDITE FROM MENFI (opening photo)
Ingredients for 4 people:
4 spiny artichokes from Menfi
1 fennel
1 orange
100 g. of farmed Asiago cheese
Salt, pepper, oil to taste
Procedure:
Clean the artichokes up to the heart, cut them into thin strips.
Clean the fennel and cut it thin with a mandolin
Remove the orange peel and the white skin, prepare the wedges with a small knife.
Serve, using fennel as a base, a few orange wedges, add the artichokes, season with salt, pepper and oil and lastly add the flaked Asiago di Allevo cheese.
Decorate with a sprig of fennel
We then move on to
TAGLIATELLE WITH ARTICHOKES AND MULLET ROE
Ingredients for 4 people:
6 spiny artichokes from Menfi
400 g of fresh pasta tagliatelle
50 g of mullet roe
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt, pepper, to taste
Method
Peel the artichokes until you get to the heart, cut them into thin strips.
Spade the unpeeled garlic with the oil, remove the garlic and quickly spade the artichokes over high heat for 2-3 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.
Cook the pasta, drain it, put it in the pan with the artichokes and sauté with a little cooking water.
Add a part of bottarga and stir-fry again.
Divide into hot plates, add the bottarga to taste.
It continues with
SEARED MENFI SPINOY ARTICHOKES AND GOLDEN SCALLOPS SHADED IN COGNAC
Ingredients for 4 people:
6 spiny artichokes from Menfi
16 scallops
cognac
garlic
butter 20 g.
salt, pepper, oil to taste
Method
Clean the artichokes until they reach the heart, cut them into not too thin strips.
Brown the unpeeled garlic in the oil in a pan, remove the garlic and over high heat add the artichokes and blanch them for a few minutes, salt and pepper to taste.
After having washed and cleaned the scallops, put them in a pan with a little butter, brown them on both sides, flame them with cognac.
Remove the scallops from the pan and reduce the sauce.
Divide the artichokes into plates and arrange the scallops on top, adding a little of the sauce obtained
