Risotto, celery, beef heart, and currants | Stefano Sforza

In chef Stefano Sforza's kitchen, featured in Turin's Opera Ingegno e Creatività restaurant, there are some increasingly fundamental pillars. One of these is risotto, which is prepared in an extremely personal way by the chef. While the absence of soffritto is now a classic for many other kitchen teams, the peculiarity here is the absence of butter and Parmesan cheese during the creaming phase. What replaces them? Ingredients that enhance, rather than obscure, the raw ingredients used to season the risotto. “Since our ethical shift, we have chosen to distinguish ourselves in the preparation of risotto, which has become one of our trademarks. Now, we always have one on the menu, which we often serve as part of the Opera menu.” The first dish on the menu, Risotto, celery, beef heart, currants, features a niche cut of beef, cooked sous-vide with currants and then paired with celery, which adds freshness and is reminiscent of Piedmontese salsa verde.

RECIPE

Ingredients for 4 people

For the celery

• 400 g celery

Procedure

Separate the leaves from all but one of the celery stalks, which should be set aside. Dry the leaves in a dehydrator at 65°C for 12 hours. Blend until you obtain a powder.

For the beef heart

• 350 g beef heart
• 400 g currants
• Salt to taste
• Pepper to taste
• ½ star anise

Procedure

Cook the beef heart sous vide at 65°C for one hour with 200 g currants, salt, pepper, and star anise. Cool in ice water. Store for at least 3 days in a vacuum-sealed bag.

For the currant powder and gel

• 2 g xanthan gum

Procedure

Blend the remaining 200 g of currants. Pass through a chinois, keeping both the juice and the residue. Dry the residue for 15 hours at 65°C. Blend until you obtain a powder. Add the xanthan gum to the juice. Blend until you obtain a gel. Store in a squeezer.

For the soy mayonnaise

• 100 g soy milk
• 200 g sunflower oil

Procedure

Using a hand blender, prepare a mayonnaise by slowly adding the soy milk to the oil.

For the brunoise and celery juice

• Extra virgin olive oil to taste
• Salt to taste

Procedure

Cut the celery stalk set aside into a very fine brunoise. Season with oil and salt. Centrifuge the other stalks until you obtain a juice. Pass through a sieve. Keep cool.

For the risotto

• 280 g Carnaroli Riserva San Massimo rice
• 10 g coarse salt
• 50 g white wine vinegar

Procedure

Toast the rice with the coarse salt. Add the white wine vinegar and allow to evaporate. Begin cooking using only boiling water. Halfway through cooking, begin adding the celery juice. Cook for 12 minutes. The rice should be completely dry. Stir in the soy mayonnaise. Add salt if necessary. Let the rice rest for 2 minutes.

Composition of the dish

• Toasted black sesame seeds to taste
• Toasted white sesame seeds to taste
• Extra virgin olive oil to taste

Procedure

Remove the heart from the bag. Dry it and cut it into very thin slices. Season with toasted black and white sesame seeds and oil. Bring the rice back to the boil, adding celery water if necessary. Plate the rice. Add the powders and brunoise celery. Finish with the beef heart and a few drops of redcurrant gel.