If you are one of those people who sulk about how quickly the weekends pass, it’s time to take on a project this weekend that will keep you busy and make your gourmet dreams come true. Moreover, if you are a foodie and secretly fantasise about being a MasterChef as you sneak in at midnight to make ramen, then it’s time to take out your apron and embrace the challenge of staying productive with some meticulously crafted recipes.
Risotto is a creamy dish to dig into this weekend. (Picture credit: Freepik)
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Prateek Parwani, a Chef de Partie at Santi, New York City, shared with HT Lifestyle 3 elaborate Italian recipes that reward your taste buds with exotic flavours. It also makes your weekend feel productive and fulfilling as you create something new.
Often, one lets the weekend slip away binge-watching or bed rotting, and later the inevitable guilt seeps in late Sunday evening. Weekend also usually rolls out in high-end fine dining places, splurging on expensive dishes. But this weekend, skip out on your usual Italian brunch places and make something extraordinary right at home. Nothing feels more productive than creating something new.
Maybe, who knows, you will impress everyone around the table with your family and friends gushing over your culinary handiwork.
Chef Prateek Parwani shared with us three recipes, including classics like risotto. From kneading, folding, whisking, sauteing, to deglazing and plating, these recipes will keep your hands busy (no lazy doomscrolling) and your weekend deliciously productive.
Here are the steps Chef Prateek shared:
1. Charred leek and guanciale risotto with fontina fondue and leek oil
For charred leeks:
Ingredients-
Leeks (sliced in half lengthwise) – 5 pcsMarsala – 4 tbspGarlic (sliced) – 1 tbspChili flakes – as neededThyme and oregano (picked and chopped) – 1 tsp eachOlive oil – to coat
Method-
Mix all the ingredients and let them sit for 20 minutes.Drain excess liquid, and place the inside of the leeks on the grill to give them a nice char.Transfer onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake at 350°F for 5 minutes.Cut into 1-inch cubes and set aside for garnish.
For fontina cheese sabayon:
Ingredients-
Fontina Vladostana – 100 gmsEgg yolks- 2Half & Half – 250 gmsWhite pepperNutmeg
Method-
Gently heat half and half mixed with egg yolks until warm (not hot, you don’t want to overcook the egg yolk).Add cubed Fontina and whisk it until melted and emulsified. Season with white pepper and a touch of nutmeg.Add this mixture into a Siphon and give it nitrogen charges till it holds the foam, generally takes 1 to 3 charges.Hold in a warm water bath.
Leek oil:
Ingredients –
Leek Greens (blanched and shocked) – 250 gmsNeutral oil (sunflower or canola) – 250 gms
Method-
Blanch leek tops until vibrant green, shock in ice water and blend with neutral oil until vivid green and smooth.Strain through fine chinois/cheesecloth. Reserve.
For risotto rice:
Ingredients –
Carnaroli Rice- 2 cupsGuanciale- 4 ozWhite wine – 1 ozMarsala – 2 ozChicken stock- 6 cupsParmesan- 2 ozButter (cold) – As needed
Method –
Render guanciale, set aside crisps, cook rice in the fat. Build risotto with wine, marsala and stock.At 90% Doneness, fold in butter and parmesan, emulsify with olive oil. Spoon the rice onto a shallow bowl, place the charred leeks, fill the negatives with the fontina foam and garnish with Crispy guanciale bits and drizzle leek oil on top.2. Curried duck tortellini
For confit duck legs:
Ingredients –
Duck legs – 6-8 pcsThyme – 4-6 SprigsOregano- 4 SprigsSage – 5 leavesWhole black peppercorn – 1 tbspGarlic – 6-8 clovesDuck fat- As neededOlive Oil- As needed
Method-
Place all the ingredients except the fats in a baking pan. Pour duck fat and olive oil in a 1:1 ratio till the legs are 90% submerged.Cover with aluminium foil and cook in the oven at 350 °C for 1 to 2 hours till the meat is tender.Peel off the skin and shred the meat with a fork, or if you’re feeling dirty, go for the hands.
For curried duck filling:
Ingredients –
Shredded confit duck – 1 lbsOnion (Chopped) – 1 mediumGarlic (Minced) – 3 clovesCinnamon – ¼“ stickBlack Cardamom- 1 pcCloves- 2pcsCoriander powder – 1 tspTurmeric Powder – ¼ tspCumin powder- ½ tspTomato (chopped, one piece)Red Wine vinegarParmesan – 100 gmsEggs – 2
Method-
Toast Cinnamon, Black Cardamom and cloves. Cool it down and grind it into a fine powder.Take olive oil in a sauce pot and start to sweat onions and garlic without giving them any colour.Cook for at least 4-6 mins till the onion is soft and tender.Add in all the ground spices and powders, followed by tomatoes, and cook till the oil splits from the sides.Deglaze and reduce with red wine vinegar. Cool this mixture down and mix in eggs and parmesan really well.
For pasta dough:
Ingredients –
Flour – 1lbsEgg yolks – 4Water – As needed
Method-
In a mixing bowl, add the egg yolks and flour, mix them, keep kneading, adding water as needed. The dough shouldn’t be too wet, yet not too dry, for the pasta to be perfect.Knead until you achieve a smooth, surfaced dough, and check the gluten formation by indenting your finger. If it bounces back 50%, you are good to go. Let the dough rest for 20 mins.Roll out the dough to a 2 mm thickness and cut into 1-inch squares. Take a tsp of the filling and place it onto the square.Fold it into a triangle and pinch the sides; make sure there are no air pockets between the dough and the filling.Connect the bottom two corners around the filling to shape. Freeze the pasta for better shape holding.
Final assembly:
Ingredients-
Shallots (chopped) – 10 gmsGarlic (thinly sliced)- 1 tspChilli flakes – a pinchRed Wine – 1 tbspParsley – 1 tspExtra Virgin Olive oil- to drizzle
Method-
Prepare a hot boiling water station for cooking the pasta. Season the pasta water as salty as the ocean.Heat olive oil in a pan, add sliced shallots, garlic, and chili flakes.Add red wine to deglaze and reduce by half. Add chicken stock and tempered butter.Reduce till it’s saucy, while it’s reducing, drop your pasta in the boiling water pot and cook till it floats up and add to the sauce. Finish with parsley, parmesan and extra virgin olive oil. 3. Tomato panzanella salad
Fermented green tomato:
Ingredients –
Green Tomato – 4 lbsSalt- 54.84 gms (3 % of the weight of green tomato)
Method –
Mix the salt and green tomato and store it in an airtight container. Keep the container in a room temperature, preferably a dark and dry space, helping the bacteria/yeast to work its magic.Over the first 3 days, you’ll see the juices of the tomato releasing and the yeast in the form of bubbles.This process takes about 6 to 7 days, depending on how strong a ferment flavour you need.Once you have your desired fermentation level, strain out the liquid and save both the Green tomato and the liquid.
Fermented green tomato jam:
Ingredients –
Fermented Green Tomato – All of the aboveSliced Shallots- 9 ozSliced Garlic – 1 ozWine – 16 fl ozLemon Juice – 8 fl ozFerment Juice – 8 fl ozSugar – 12 ozBasil – 1 ozOlive oil – As neededSalt – To taste
Method –
In a pot, add olive oil, shallots, and garlic. Sweat them out and let them sizzle until they are lightly stuck to the bottom. Deglaze with white wine, and let it reduce by half.Add the remaining ingredients, except for the basil, and let it simmer gently. Once all the liquid is reduced, you’ll see a sticky glaze forming around your tomatoes; take it off the flame.Add in the basil and let it steep in the mixture for 20 mins. Pick out the basil and transfer into a food processor, work it till it’s smooth and has a jam-like consistency.
Marinated heirloom tomatoes:
Ingredients –
For the marination:
Mince Shallots – 2 tbspGarlic – ½ tspParsley – 1 tbspBasil- 1 tbspBalsamic Vinegar – ½ cupFerment Juice – ½ cupExtra Virgin Olive oil- 1 cupSalt – To tasteHeirloom Tomatoes – 2 medium-sized
Method –
Cut the heirloom tomatoes into small cubes (0.5 x 0.5 x 0.5inch).Mix all the Ingredients in a mixing bowl, except salt. Transfer this mixture into a vacuum bag and compress it in a cryovac.If you don’t have a cryovac machine, let it sit in the marination for at least an hour. Add salt to taste right before you plate the dish.
Dehydrated sun gold tomatoes:
Ingredients –
Sun Gold Tomatoes – ½ poundThyme – ½ ozGarlic sliced – 1 ozOlive Oil – as neededSalt – To TastePepper – To Taste
Method –
Cut all the tomatoes in half. Mix all the ingredients in a mixing bowl and transfer them to a sheet tray lined with parchment paper.Make sure all the open half sides are facing up.Put in a dehydrator overnight. (No dehydrator? Bake at 200F for 30 mins to an hour)
Sourdough crunch:
Take a sourdough bread and slice it into 0.5 cm-thick pieces. Add olive oil to a pan, enough to cover the bottom of the pan.Heat the oil up on medium heat, shallow fry these pieces until both sides are golden brown in colour.
Final Assembly:
Ingredients –
Burrata ( 4 oz ball ) – cut into 4 pieces
Fermented Green tomato jam – 2 oz
Marinated Heirloom Tomatoes- 4 oz
Sun gold tomatoes- 4- 5 Ea
Sourdough crunch – 2 Ea
Micro basil – Garnish
Method –
In a bowl, place the green tomato jam in the form of 3 quenelles.Place the Marinated Heirloom tomatoes around the Jam, followed by resting the burrata alternatively between the two.Fill the negative spaces with sourdough crunch to give height to the dish and finally garnish with micro basil.
Dining and Cooking