Cultivated and used in the Mediterranean by the Egyptians and also by other populations of Asia Minor more than 2000 years ago, asparagus, strangely, they were not much appreciated by the Greeks. Conversely, the Romans made extensive use of it to the point that Pliny and Apicius had described its cultivation methods in detail. Indeed, some emperors were so greedy for it that - it is said - they ordered the construction of some "Aspaerafgus" ships for transport to Rome. It took a while for asparagus to be appreciated by European gastronomy over time. The first to praise its versatility in the kitchen were the French in the 15th century and, a century later, the English followed.
- medical aspects they were investigated by Pietro Andrea Mattioli, an Italian humanist, doctor and botanist of great fame to the point of being called to Prague as personal doctor of Archduke Ferdinand I of Habsburg: “The beneficial properties of asparagus for the kidneys – he wrote in a treatise from 1500 – have been known since ancient times. The decoction of the roots, once drunk, is beneficial for retained urine, overflow of gall, kidney diseases, and sciatica. The decoction made in wine benefits aching teeth. The tops crushed and drunk with white wine relieve kidney pain. “
To come to more recent times it is worth reading its properties on the Humanitas website: "Many traditional medicines use asparagus against water retention and irritable bowel syndrome. In fact, they stimulate diuresis and provide fiber that promotes the regular functioning of the intestine and reduces the risk of colon cancer. Furthermore, fibers help keep i cholesterol and sugar levels in the blood. Asparagus is also a source of antioxidants that help reduce the risk of developing tumors and neurodegenerative disorders and fight infections. Folic acid helps prevent malformations of the nervous system during gestation; other B vitamins promote good functioning of the metabolism, vitamin K, phosphorus and calcium protect bones, potassium is an ally of cardiovascular health and iron and copper are important for the synthesis of red blood cells."
Typically spring vegetables, the asparagus season lasts from May to June but the period of greatest production is in May. And with the summer it has been fashionable for years to rediscover this humble vegetable in its wild version that grows in the woods by organizing walks in the open air. In fact, it is said that wild asparagus is tasty and is good for you twice: once when you harvest it, the other when you eat it because it is rich in beneficial and nutraceutical properties for our body.
And the options for eating them are very varied: raw in salads, or cooked for omelettes, a risotto, for soups and soups for second courses of meat or fish. You're spoiled for choice.
Star chef Stephan Zippl
recipe reserved for Mondo Food readers of this beautiful spring week we went to 1.200 meters above sea level on the Renon plateau above Bolzano where in the kitchens of the Park hotel Holzner reigns Stephan Zippl, one of the most interesting chefs of the latest generation who the Michelin guide has rewarded not only with a red star placing it in the elite of the great protagonists of Italian and international cuisine, but also with a Green Star recognition that rewards restaurants at the forefront in the field of sustainability, restaurateurs who take responsibility for the ethical and environmental consequences of their business and who work with "sustainable" producers and suppliers to avoid waste to reduce, or better yet, eliminate plastic and other non-recyclable materials from their supply chain.
The chef from Bolzano, of whom Mondo Food spoke extensively on February 16, 2019 well before he ended up in the spotlight for winning the Michelin Star, he belongs to that small group of great chefs who work directly with cultivators, farmers and fishermen, use natural pastures, or grow plants and raise animals, applying regenerative methods in their work such as no-dig gardens and intercrop rotation. A culture that Stephan Zippl developed from a very young age when he enrolled in courses at the Emma Hellenstainer professional hotel school in Bressanone, a legendary pioneer of Alpine tourism at the end of the 800th century, but also an expert cook who, from her Austrian origins, had brought a new life-giving culinary breath
That incipit of passion for nature, the earth, its archetypal meanings of pristine atmospheres, guides the young man after the professional hotel school to move between Val Gardena, Val di Siusi and Val Badia and Austria where at the Rosengarten of Kirchberg relais chateau, at the foot of Mount Gaisberg, you encounter the visionary cuisine of Michelin-starred Chef Simon Taxacher. From here it then rises to high altitude cuisine with the St. Hubertus of San Cassiano at the court of Norbert Niederkofler, three Michelin stars, who learned and transmitted a fundamental concept to his students from David Bouley's school in New York: that perfection is achieved thanks to respect for nature and the quality of products without which nothing good can be done . And his love for nature pushes him to another fundamental experience in the kitchens of Villa Feltrinelli on Lake Garda next to Stefano baiocco two Michelin stars, a chef who has linked his name to the obsessive search for flavors that can be gleaned from the earth, alongside whom Zippl puts to good use all the teachings received up to that point from the chefs with whom he has worked and refines the discipline and attention to raw materials, cooking that respects the most intimate essences of meat and vegetables, attention to colors and flavours.
The recipe for gnocchi with Bolzanina sauce, asparagus and lamb belly by Stephan Zippl
Below is his recipe for “Gnocchi with Bolzano sauce, asparagus and lamb belly” which in a certain sense contain the fundamentals of his natural cuisine of great stellar effect. The proposed dish is an interpretation between carbonara and asparagus with Bolzanina sauce, traditional local specialty. The flavor and simplicity of the dish reflect the history of the two main components. A reworked but classic carbonara, thanks to the fresh mousse from Bolzano, which goes perfectly with the asparagus and gnocchi. A dish that can be prepared in the south and, of course, also in the north.
Method
For the potato gnocchi
- 500 g of cooked potatoes
- 50 g of yolk
- 10 g of Parmesan
- 150 g of 00 flour
- 30 g of cornstarch
- 8 g salt
- 20 ml of hazelnut butter
Wash the potatoes and place them on a baking tray sprinkled with coarse salt. Bake at 180 degrees for an hour, remove the peel and pass them through a sieve while still hot. As soon as they have cooled, add the other ingredients and mix everything with your hands.
Without letting it rest, roll out the dough with a rolling pin and cut it into discs. Place the previously frozen filling in half-sphere silicone molds (alternatively make quenelles with the help of two spoons). Cook the gnocchi for 2 minutes in boiling water and glaze them in a pan with butter and cooking water.
For the Bolzanina sauce filling
- 150 g of yolk
- 20 ml of white wine vinegar
- 5 g of mustard
- 150 g of cream
- 3 cooked eggs
- 4 sheets of isinglass
- 6 g of salt, pepper
- 20 g of chives
Soak the gelatin in cold water. Boil the eggs for 10 minutes and chop them. Whip the egg yolks in a bain-marie like an eggnog (at a maximum of 60 degrees) together with vinegar, salt, pepper and mustard. Transfer everything to a planetary mixer and whip the sauce until it reaches room temperature.
Then, add the gelatine, the cooked eggs, the chives and finally the cream. If you use silicone molds, you can fill them immediately, otherwise compact the filling in the fridge for 5 hours and make quenelles with the help of two spoons.
For the crunchy earth
- 60 g bread (Schüttelbrot)
- 20 g of butter
- 5 g of malt powder
- 20 ml of dark beer
Toast the bread in a pan with the butter. Once cooled, blend it together with the cocoa powder. Then, add the beer and let it dry for a couple of hours until you get a crunchy earth.
For the asparagus cream
- 200 g of asparagus
- 20 ml of olive oil
- 100 ml of water or vegetable broth
- 30 g of spinach leaves
- 3 g salt
- pepper
Cut the asparagus into pieces and brown them in a pan with olive oil, add water, cover and leave to cook at medium temperature for 10 minutes. At the last minute of cooking, add the spinach and simmer everything. Blend and pass the cream through a very fine mesh strainer. Season with salt and pepper.
For the chive mousse
- 200 ml of vegetable broth or water
- 200 g of chives
- 100 g of seed oil
- 10 g salt
- 2 sheets of isinglass
- 30 ml cream
Soak the gelatin in cold water. Bring the vegetable broth to the boil and add the gelatine. Blend all the ingredients at maximum speed for 3 minutes. Pass the foam through a sieve twice. Fill the siphon and insert two cartridges. Leave to rest in the fridge for 5 hours and serve at 10-15 degrees (maximum at room temperature).
For the lamb belly
- 200g lamb belly
- sale
- pepper
- laurel
- 20 g of mustard
- Thyme;
- 1 clove of garlic
- 50 g of hazelnut butter
Season the lamb belly with salt, pepper, mustard and aromatic herbs. Place everything in a vacuum bag together with the garlic and hazelnut butter, seal and cook in the steam oven at 90 degrees for 10 hours.
Once cooked, open the bag (reserve the liquid and jus) and place the still hot lamb belly between two cutting boards to flatten it: once cooled it will be perfectly flat. Make cross incisions on the skin with the help of a knife every 3 mm. Portion it and brown it in a pan on both sides, starting from the side with the skin until it becomes crispy.
Juice
Reduce the cooking water (sauce) of the lamb belly by half and mix with a little cornstarch.
For the raw asparagus rolls
Wash the asparagus and remove the hardest part of the stem. Using a potato peeler or slicer, cut them lengthwise. Marinate them in olive oil with a pinch of salt.
- Water pepper sprouts
- A little bit of oil
