Sergio Maria Teutonico's recipe: chestnut and cod polenta

Chef Sergio Maria Teutonico of La Palestra del cibo offers a tasty chestnut and cod polenta that recalls the flavors of the woods and sea breezes, perfect for a dinner with friends. The combination of the two things is a warm embrace of flavors whereby the sweetness of the polenta is compensated by the flavor of the cod with olives

He defines himself more as a mountain dweller than a citizen despite having been born in Milan fifty years ago, but the mountains are part of the DNA passed on to him by his parents from Abruzzo.

Certainly Sergio Maria Teutonico is a different chef from the recurring cliché of prestigious chefs. Recurring presence in the most popular food and wine TV shows from Test of the cook of Raiuno a “Chef for a day” by La7 a “Caught and Eaten” on Alice TV he is also the author of successful books such as “I ate my Christmas tree. Small recipe book for stale bread”, “As necessary… menu. Eating like a king in times of crisis”, “The chicken, the cook and the motorcycle. Unthinkable (and not) recipes for cooking with taste while saving energy! ”,“ Ashes and silence ”,“ Harvested and eaten ”, is also a well-known voice on Radio Capital where she keeps a very popular column with his recipes. But he is also professor of food and wine and hotel technology at the AFP Colline Astigiane school, chef professor of the Barilla Academy, as well as consultant of Steel Crafts Europe,

Speaking about himself shrewdly, he says: “I am aware of the fact that the limelight leaves its mark as long as it shines and therefore I have never experienced my television programmes, the covers of monthly cooking magazines, international awards and the glittering world of spectacular cuisine as a point of arrival but as a lucky step in my long career”.

A career that has often taken him abroad as a consultant for food and wine companies. But as a good "mountain man" Sergio Maria Teutonico preserves the cult of the generational relationship, of the passing on of the teachings received and acquired in 30 years of activity traveling around the world, to new generations of cooks, certainly mindful of how hard his apprenticeship has been.

Now that he is a chef who has arrived, however, he warns that "The geographical boundaries of the many countries that I have been able to visit and in which I have often worked are just lines drawn on geographical maps that remind me how vast the universe of food is and that I can explore it infinite, whenever I want”. Driven by great determination, he has always pursued his ideas and his points of view "both in the personal and working spheres and year after year, pan after pan - he adds - I have created my style and my way of being a chef de cuisine . I stay here in the concrete: anchored to my culture – the mountain dna returns – and supported by my infinite desire to do!”

All this today in Turin where he moved some time ago has taken the form of a project to which he dedicates all his energies, in fact he has been leading here with love and passion since 2012 together with Chef Daniela Goffredo "The Food Gym", a Cooking and Pastry School for both amateurs and professionals of the kitchen, conceived as a gastronomic square, a meeting place where people can learn the most diverse cooking techniques in a clear and simple way under the banner of the concept that "A recipe prepared with love smells of happiness ..”.

For Foodfirstonline readers, Chef Sergio Maria Teutonico offers a tasty chestnut and cod polenta that recalls the scents of the woods and sea breezes, perfect for a dinner with friends. The combination of the two is a warm embrace of flavours. The chestnut polenta is very sweet, however it perfectly compensates for the flavor of the cod with olives. Alternatively Teutonico suggests you can also use normal polenta, the result will not be the same but you will always have a great dish.