Gualtiero Marchesi used leftover panettone to create a dessert that was a precursor to “no waste” cuisine: his flan still embodies the practice of intelligent reuse, thanks to which a leftover slice of cake becomes an icon.
“Panettone flan is my way of recycling this Christmas dessert by adding custard, whipped cream, and ingredients that are already naturally present in the dough—from raisins to citron and orange. I also add a dash of Grand Marnier and, when the flan is ready, sliced almonds to give it a crunchy contrast, a staple of all my recipes.” Watching the video in which Gualtiero Marchesi prepares this inviting dish, it is clear how much “no waste” was an intrinsic principle in the great chef's cuisine: not the usual trend to ride on the gallop of modernity, but a precious legacy of the past, which also makes use of the leftover dried fruit relegated to the sidelines on festive tables.
We like to remember a phrase that sums up in a few words the value of the essential celebrated by the chef; in one of his many interviews, Marchesi said: “As a young man, I learned to play the piano and to think of taste as architecture. What did I learn in the end? That simplicity is difficult”. And so, the architecture of the single-portion flan represents the act of reassembling the ingredients with respect, building new balances on the foundations of the product. A complex preparation in its linearity: the leftover slice becomes a towering structure, while the individual elements connect each “level” to the other. The poetry of Gualtiero Marchesi: turning leftovers into a pillar of modernity.
Gualtiero Marchesi's panettone flan recipe - Accademia Gualtiero Marchesi
Ingredients for 4 people
- 2 tablespoons orange juice
- Zest of 1/2 orange
- Zest of 1/2 lemon
- 2 tablespoons Grand Marnier
- 2 tablespoons sugar syrup
- 300 g custard
- 2 sheets gelatin
- 20 g chopped raisins
- 20 g citron
- 20 g candied orange peel
- 1 dl whipped cream
- 100 g egg whites
- 30 g sugar
- 80 g Gualtiero Marchesi panettone, crust removed
Preparation
Place the citrus juice and zest, raisins, candied citrus peel, Grand Marnier, and sugar syrup in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and reduce by half.
While still hot, stir the gelatin sheets and the citrus sauce, also hot, into half of the custard.
Leave to cool, then stir in the egg whites whipped with the sugar and cream.
Add the diced panettone, pour the mixture into the molds and leave to rest in the refrigerator until well set.
Divide the remaining custard between individual plates, remove the flans from the molds, and place one in the center of each plate.
