A journey around Modena exploring sfogliato, cannolo, calzagatto, and borlengo. The recipes of Mattia Trabetti from Alto in Fiorano Modenese.
SFOGLIATO WITH LAMBRUSCO
- 500g 00 flour
- 280g water
- 35g lard
- 20g peanut oil
- 5g yeast
- 10g salt
- 1 bottle Lambrusco
- 500g butter
Reduce the Lambrusco until it forms a glaze and mix with the butter.
In a stand mixer, combine yeast, water, flour, and oil, and knead until you obtain a smooth dough. Add the salt and finally incorporate the lard. Let it rest covered with plastic wrap for 30 minutes. Roll out the dough very thin, cut it into triangles, and spread with the Lambrusco butter. Roll them up and let them rest for 30 minutes.
Bake in the oven for 20 minutes at 175 degrees Celsius (347 degrees Fahrenheit).
RICOTTA AND SPINACH CANNOLO
- 1 Sheet phyllo dough
- 100gr Cow ricotta cheese
- 1/2 Onion
- 500g Spinach
- 50gr Parmigiano Reggiano
- Nutmeg
- Ciccioli (pork cracklings)
Roll the phyllo dough around a cannoli mold, brush with oil, and bake in the oven at 180 degrees Celsius (356 degrees Fahrenheit) for 6 minutes. In a saucepan, sauté the onion, add the spinach, and cook quickly. Once cooled, chop the spinach with a knife and mix with the ricotta, Parmigiano, and a pinch of nutmeg. Finally, fill the inside of the cannoli with the mixture using a pastry bag and sprinkle with grated ciccioli.
CALZAGATTO
- 315g Type 1 flour
- 315g Cornmeal
- 280g Water
- 24 g Oil
- 10g Salt
- 10g Tomato paste
- 1 Egg
- 250g Peanut oil
- 200g Borlotti beans
- 1 Carrot
- 1 Onion
- 1 Celery stalk
- 500g Vegetable broth
In a stand mixer, combine the flours, water, oil, and salt, and knead until you obtain a smooth dough. Let it rest in a cool place for at least half a day. Roll the dough out very thin, stack two sheets together, and cover with the cat-shaped mold. Then freeze it and fry in peanut oil at 160 degrees Celsius (320 degrees Fahrenheit). Beat the egg and slowly add the oil until you obtain a mayonnaise, then add the tomato paste, and adjust with red wine vinegar and salt. Soak the borlotti beans the night before. Sauté the celery, carrot, and onion in a saucepan, add the beans, cover with the broth, and cook until done. Drain the excess liquid and blend until you obtain a smooth cream. Season with salt and pepper, and add a mixture of chopped herbs.
ALTO e BASILICA
- 500g Cream
- 100gr Parmigiano Reggiano
- 320gr Mortadella
- Agar agar
- Balsamic Vinegar
- Salted capers
- Tapioca pearls
ALTO: For the Parmigiano Reggiano mousse: combine 300g of cream with 5g of agar agar and bring to a boil. Cool and blend with the Parmigiano Reggiano. For the mortadella mousse: combine 200g of cream with 5g of agar agar and bring to a boil. Cool and blend with the mortadella. Spread the mousses into molds and freeze. Place the resulting letters on the plate and bring them to room temperature.
BASILICA: Desalt the capers in water and then dry them very well. Separately, boil some water and add the tapioca, cooking until the tapioca becomes completely transparent. Drain the tapioca, keeping only the pearls. Place the warm tapioca into a piping bag and create circles on a Silpat mat. Place a desalted caper in the center of each circle. Dry at 70 degrees Celsius (158 degrees Fahrenheit) for 12 hours. Fry the crisp at 160 degrees Celsius (320 degrees Fahrenheit)
BORLENGO
In a pitcher, combine water, flour, oil, and salt, and blend with an immersion blender until you get a smooth and homogeneous batter. Let the batter rest in a cool place for 1 day. Take the batter and cook it in the appropriate mold to obtain crispy sheets. Mince the lard and mix it with previously chopped rosemary. Peel the garlic and remove its core. Put it in a small pot with cold water and bring to a boil. Drain and repeat this process 8 more times. Finally, strain the garlic to obtain a cream. Spread the lard cream and garlic cream on a Borlengo sheet, grate Parmigiano on top, and cover with another Borlengo sheet.
