The lawns of San Gimignano Restaurant at The Imperial, New Delhi recently saw two legendary Italian chefs, Attilio Di Fabrizio and Roberto Gatto, work their magic. Both the chefs combined their passion and expertise to bring forth the secrets of Italian cuisine to the capital city. They presented their first look at an exclusive Italian Masterclass under the open skies at San Gimignano Lawns, featuring a few of their signature recipes from their respective regions. The session was organized in close alliance with Chef Prem K Pogakula, Executive Chef at The Imperial, to blend classic and contemporary Italian cuisine with progressive cooking techniques for the discerning audience.
Chef Attilio Di Fabrizio: Born in 1952 in the region of Abruzzo in Southern Italy, he attended the local Catering Institute of Villa Santa Maria, in a mountain village near Chieti. It was at this particular cooking school from where many of the best chefs of Italy learnt the secrets of Italian cuisine. In 2012 Forbes Magazine awarded the cooking school of Belmond Villa San Michele, managed by Chef Attilio Di Fabrizio, among the 5 best in the world.
Give your taste buds a treat with his Tiramisu recipe that he shared at the masterclass:
Ingredients (serves 4):
3 eggs; 250 gm mascarpone cheese; 150 gm sugar; 3 long expresso coffees; 6 ladyfinger biscuits ; cocoa to taste
1) Prepare the expresso coffee and put it in a bowl to cool. Cut the ladyfinger biscuits in half horizontally.
2) Separate the egg yolks from the whites and place them in separate 2 lt. size bowls.
3) Add 100 gms of sugar to the yolks and whip them up with an electric beater. When the mixture is frothy, add the mascarpone cheese and continue to stir for a couple of minutes.
4) Add the remaining sugar to the bowl with the whites and whip up until stiff with an electric beater.
5) Gently whisk together the contents of both bowls .
6) Take four small bowls about the size of a cappuccino coffee cup, possibly with the upper border more open than the bottom one. Put a layer of cream in the bottom of the bowl (filling about 1/4th of it). Quickly dip the ladyfingers one at a time in the coffee and place three of them over the cream mixture in each bowl. Cover with more cream and sprinkle with cocoa.
7) The tiramisu portions can be prepared in advance and placed in the refrigerator for a few hours until ready to serve. The cocoa should be added only moments before serving.
Suggested wines: Muffato, Castello della Sola, Marchesi Antinori