04-02-2014

Simply La Rossa

The sweet recipe by Luigi Salomone, the winner of the third edition of Premio Birra Moretti Grand Cru

Simply “La Rossa”, that is to say Apricot with

Simply “La Rossa”, that is to say Apricot with mace, milk chocolate, caramel biscuit, beer meringue, powdered barley and lavender ice-cream... is one of the two dishes in the menu thanks to which Luigi Salomone, sous-chef at restaurant Marennà in Sorbo Serpico (Avellino), won the third edition of Premio Birra Moretti Grand Cru (photo by Francesca Moscheni)

Today we close the series of recipes that have enriched the finals of the third edition of Premio Birra Moretti Grand Cru. The recipe is that of the sweet dish that has allowed Luigi Salomone to win the competition. A surprising dish, as indicated in the jury’s official motivation, "thanks to the capacity of its author to use two spices while preserving a great balance, a great freshness and a great taste. This is a modern, clean and simple dish, despite its complexity".

I love chocolate and summer fruit, which I usually enjoy candying. After numerous experiments, I obtained this chocolate mousse, with apricots in syrup and lavender ice-cream. The beer can be found in the foam, in order to give aroma to the dessert, and in the meringue, as a crispy element in the crumble. Mace and lavender respectively highlight the apricot and the freshness.

Simply "La Rossa". That is to say: apricots with mace, milk chocolate, caramel biscuit, beer meringue, powdered barley and lavender ice-cream

Recipe for 10 people

INGREDIENTS
for the mousse
100 g 35% cream
100 g milk
40 g egg yolks
20 g sugar
2 g gelatine sheets
100 g 38% milk chocolate

for the chocolate tiles with caramel and mace
100 g milk chocolate with caramel
mace

for the apricots in syrup with mace and beer
500 g apricots
200 g sugar (1/1)
20 g lemon juice
50 g Birra Moretti La Rossa
20 g mace

As a match and as an ingredient, Birra Moretti La Rossa

As a match and as an ingredient, Birra Moretti La Rossa

for the apricot purée
100 g apricot cooking juice
100 g apricots in syrup
100 g Birra Moretti La Rossa
50 g sugar
agar agar

for the barley
50 g soluble barley
12 g cocoa
8 g powdered milk
12 g icing sugar

for the beer foam
150 g Birra Moretti La Rossa
10 g dehydrated egg yolk
50 g sugar
1,2 g xantana

for the caramel biscuit
90 g brown sugar
160 g butter
200 g soft flour
70 g toasted and coarsely chopped mixture of almonds and hazelnuts
25 g muscovado sugar
2 g salt

for the beer meringue
150 g Birra Moretti La Rossa
50 g millefiori honey
1,2 g milk proteins
1,8 g xantana

for the lavender ice-cream
500 g milk
35 g powdered milk
150 g sugar
35 g glucose
175 g cream
30 g egg yolk
10 g dehydrated lavender flowers
2 g ice-cream thickener

Luigi Salomone (photo by Francesca Moscheni)

Luigi Salomone (photo by Francesca Moscheni)

METHOD
For the mousse
Heat up the milk and cream. Add the eggs, previously whisked with the sugar and pasteurise at 85°C. Soften the gelatine sheets in water, squeeze them and combine them with the mixture. Weigh out 200 g of this mass and add 100 g of white chocolate melted in a Bain-Marie. Mix with a palette knife and leave in the fridge.
Temperate the chocolate and spread a thin layer over acetate paper. Sprinkle the mace and store in a fresh place.
Put the apricots in a vacuum pack together with the lemon juice and the syrup. Cook in the steam oven at 78°C for 12 minutes. Take 100g of cooking juices, reduce and add the apricots, the mace and dilute with the beer. Remove the apricots and reduce so as to obtain a syrup. Store in a fresh place.

For the apricot purée
Let the beer’s alcohol evaporate, add the cooking juice and the apricots. Blend this mixture. Weigh out 200g and add 2 g of agar agar. Simmer for 2 minutes and then leave to thicken in the fridge. Again, process with a hand-blender so as to obtain a purée.
For the barley with cocoa, mix the powders and keep them in a dry place.

For the beer foam
In a planetary processor, whip all the ingredients so as to obtain a foamy mixture. Put it into a pastry bag and store in a fresh place.

For the caramel biscuit
Caramelise the brown sugar so it turns into crystals and then blend these in a cutter with the flour, so as to obtain a thin powder. Using this mixture, create a well shape on a kneading board and add the other ingredients. Knead quickly then leave to rest in the fridge for 2 hours. Cut into 1 cm dices and bake in the oven at 165°C for about 10 minutes.

For the beer meringue
Put the ingredients in the planetary processor, whip so as to obtain a solid meringue. Using a pastry bag, prepare some small dollops and dry them in the oven at 50°C for about 5 hours.

For the lavender ice-cream
Leave the lavender in infusion in the cream for about 12 hours in a vacuum pack. Filter and check the weight and if necessary add some cream depending on how much has been absorbed by the dehydrated lavender. Add all the ingredients except for the eggs and bring to 40°C; only then you can add the egg yolks and pasteurise at 85°C. Chill for 12 hours and prepare the ice-cream.

Using a pastry bag, draw the mousse on the base of the dish, add some biscuit cubes, the apricots in syrup, the meringues, the beer foam, the chocolate tiles, the powdered barley and finally a quenelle of ice-cream over the crumbled biscuit. Decorate with rose petals and edible flowers.

Simone Nebbia, Luigi Salomone e Luca Caviola, the

Simone Nebbia, Luigi Salomone e Luca Caviola, the ideal podium of Premio Birra Moretti Grand Cru third edition


A tutta birra

The recipes and the best moments of the second edition of Premio Birra Moretti Grand Cru

by

Luigi Salomone

Luigi Salomone, sous chef of restaurant Marennà in Sorbo Serpico (Avellino)

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