Feautring Chef Federico Montecchiani, Italian Restaurant Chef, Cafe Milano, Four Seasons, Abu Dhabi and his beautiful and delicious recipe of Risotto.
Chef Federico join the food industry at the very early stage when he was just 15 years old. Born and Raised in Todi, a beautiful place in Italy. Chef Federico went to culinary school in Spoleta , Umbria in the heart of rich Italy. Though he is not interested in becoming a chef rather he wants to become a manager but as he like travelling and learn different languages , this discovers his passion of food , talking about different food cultures . So right after his college he moved to Germany , for two years working in Italian Restaurant and from there his culinary journey begins and has honed his talent over the years through his experiences in Italy,Malta, Australia, Ireland and the middle east. Chef Federico due to his vast culinary journey he didn't bound himself only to the Italian Cuisine but as he travel he learn more deeply about the food and about various cuisines. He adds , well that only come through the passion of learning food and its culture. After working in so many good restaurants brushing his skills, he got the chance to join Four Seasons , Milan as chef de Partie and it changes his life and from there he never looked back and moved to Dublin, and currently he is based in Four Seasons, Abu dhabi.
Message for the Budding Chefs -
In our profession, Knowing people or guest is equally important as knowing about the food. As a chef you need to know the food but as a Chef Manager you should know how to deal with the guests and their requests. Young Chefs , should always take advice form their seniors , and take it as a positive way. Just take the good things and throw the bad things. The world of culinary is with so many opportunities just we know how to grab the right opportunity. Just be yourself and ask if you don't know but never pretend that you know everything because if you try , you will do mistake and you will learn.
Chef Federico's Philosophy on food is that food needs all the respects, Food is something that god is giving us as a gift and we cannot waste the gift and throw it in a garbage, he believes that chef is like artisan as they manipulate things with their hands and creating things out of the box.
He talked about the mission which should take by every chef to make an memorable experience for the guests by his artisan skills , memorable food as they are the one spending a lot for food.
So lets check out the recipe of chef Federico's risotto but before that knowing his dish a bit more -
what is Carnaroli -Carnaroli rice is a short-grain rice used primarily to make risotto. Compared to the more widely available Arborio, it has a smaller grain with a super-high starch content. What that means is that it can absorb huge amounts of liquid without overcooking, creating the ultra-creamy yet toothsome texture that is the hallmark of a superior risotto.
What are the types of Risotto in the market- Well Italian rice is classified as ordinario, semi fino, fino and super fino according to the grain size. Risotto rice generally comes in a category of fino and super fino varieties.
Arborio, Vialone nano, Carnaroli are the types .
Ingredients Quantity
FOR RISOTTO
Carnaroli rice 1 cup
Shallots 1no. ( Chopped )
Vegetable Stock 6 cups
Dry Martini 1/2 glass
Goat Cheese 100g
Butter 40g
Parmesan Cheese 30g
Extra Virgin Olive Oil 1 tbspn
Lemon Zest 1no.
FOR LEMON CANDID GEL
Caster Sugar 100g
Lemon Juice 100ml
Lemon 6 no.
Water 200ml
METHOD -
Boil the lemon at least seven times starting from cold water, Changing the water every time.
Take a pan add water, lemon juice and sugar , reduce as a syrup and set aside.
Once the lemon skins are fully cooked strain form the water and blitz on the thermomix adding the lemon sugar syrup little by little.
Pass the gel through a sieve and cool down
FOR PICKLED HEIRLOOM BEETROOT
1. Take a beetroot ,peel it off and thinly slice the beetroot.
2. Take a pan, put apple cider, cardamon, coriander seeds, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon stick . Bring to boil the liquid , Take off the flame and add beetroot.
3. Cool down the blast chiller
METHOD FOR GOAT CHEESE RISOTTO
In a medium saucepan, warm up the EVOO at medium heat and add the chopped onion. Saute for about 2-3 minutes until slightly translucent. Add rice to the pot and stir it briskly for about 2-3 minutes with wooden spoon so that the grains are coated with the oil and so they get a slightly nutty aroma (that’s the toasting process), but don’t let the rice turn brown.
2. Add a little bit of hot vegetable broth to the rice and stir until the liquid is fully absorbed. When the rice appears almost dry, add another bit of broth and repeat the process.
3. Stir constantly especially while the hot broth gets absorbed to prevent sticking. Continue adding the broth for about 15 minutes
4. Taste the rice if it is tender and if not add more broth or if it is done then add , Goat cheese, lemon Zest, Butter and Parmesan cheese , martini dry and extra virgin olive oil , stir it one time so that the ingredients will mix nicely, add seasoning and check it .
ASSEMBLE -
Take a nice plate , put the risotto rice on it, make a small ball of goat cheese and put it on top with pickled beetroot and lemon candid gel.