On Thursday, September 20, I was privileged to join a number of foodies at the Bella Italia dinner at JJ’s at Crown entertainment complex.
Chef Marcello Leoni, who owns the Michelin-starred restaurant Il Sole in Bologna, Emilia Romagna, with his brother Gianluca, prepared an exquisite dinner, perfectly matched with wines from Leeuwin Estate at Margaret River, Western Australia.
We feasted on asparagus and basil ravioli with a scampi ragu and watercress sauce, complemented by Leeuwin Estate’s Art Series sauvignon blanc, followed by seared tuna with sprout salad, basil and tomato confit, accompanied by Leeuwin’s Riesling.
The wines were simply stunning as were the labels which had been specially created by artists such as Tim Storrier, John Olsen, Robert Jacks, Virginia Cuppaidge, Boxer Milner, Peter Cole and Arthur Boyd.
My favourite are the Frogs in Riesling by John Olsen and Tim Storrier’s The Evening Blaze, found on the cabernet sauvignon label.
Main courses were snapper with orange sauce, sautéed green beans and crushed potato and a superb confit of duck legs with vegetable salad, sautéed duck breast and Parmesan sabayon.
Leeuwin Estate’s chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon accompanied.
The Mauri taleggio on toasted sourdough, with corella pear and muscatels were complemented by a shiraz and the Tuscan zuccotto with vin santo and biscotti glaze provided a sweet finale, served with a Vigna del Papa Vin Santo del Chianti from Italy.
Chef Marcello Leoni has generously shared his recipe for fine potato and parmesan risotto.
Fine potato and Parmesan risotto
Recipe by Marcello Leoni
Serves 4
280g Carnaroli rice
2 small shallots
150g Parmesan
200g potatoes
1 stem of rosemary
½ bay leaf
2 cups beef consommé
1 thin slice of lard (or 1tsp butter)
nutmeg
extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
Brown the finely chopped shallots in a saucepan with 4 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil. Then add the lard, rosemary and bay leaf.
Chop the potatoes into small cubes and brown until crisp and golden.
Once golden, add the uncooked rice. When rice is slightly browned add half a cup of beef consommé. Let it simmer while continually adding the beef consommé little by little until liquid is absorbed.
Add salt to taste.
When the rice is cooked, remove saucepan from heat, remove the rosemary stem and whisk rice with grated Parmesan, a sprinkle of nutmeg, a pinch of pepper, 2 tsp of olive oil and then stir.
Garnish the dish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and serve immediately.
Chef’s tip: Carnaroli is considered by many food experts to be the finest rice for risotto making. It is high in amylopectin and produces a beautiful, creamy risotto. If you can’t find Carnaroli, use Arborio rice.
Serves 4