Le Calandre Restaurant, Gruyere-fondue Ravioli and Beet Sauce.

Prato della Valle, Padua 

This month, the challenge is cooking with wine.  My first thoughts were all about low and slow with blood red bottles of wine.  Then I changed course.

I had just made that remarkable fois gras ravioli that I’d read a description of online.  That made me think of one of my favorite dishes –– inspired by a Food & Wine description –– Gruyere-fondue Ravioli with Beet Sauce and a shower of lovely flowers and greens. It is soooo good that I’ve been making for years.  What can be bad about pasta pillows filled with molten cheese, wine and Kirsch??

It had been on my mind since I recently noticed that the Italian restaurant that inspired it was in the Pelligrino Top50 Restaurants of the World list (the one that put Noma at #1).

# 32, Le Calandre, Padua, Italy. (#20 last year)

Prato delle Valle, Piranesi 1785

Padua  (or more properly Padova) is one of the oldest cities in Northern Italy and positively oozing ancient charm.

Thing is, you won’t find Le Calandre there.

Gattamelato, Donatello, 1453 

Instead, Le Calandre ended up in Sarmeola di Rubano, 4 miles or so away from the magnificent Prato della Valle of Padua in an area better known for strip malls than cathedrals, palazzos or Donatello  statues in the piazza.

Don’t let this keep you away.  If you go to Venice… try to make it here.  It’s only an hour’s drive away from Venice and only a few miles outside of Padua.  The restaurant was begun 20 years ago by the current chef’s parents  (that may have something to do with the location).  I know I’m dying to go one of these days, even if the dinner would set me back $300 or so before the wine (for a lighter tariff, they are open for lunch).

That chef, Massimilliano Alajmo, got his 2^nd Michelin star at 22, the youngest chef ever to win that honor.  Then, another record was broken when he got his 3^rd star at 28 –– the first 3 star accolade awarded to a chef under 30.

Massimilliano  Alajmo (Photo Calandre)

Although he studied with Veyrat and Guerard as a teen, his food is his own.  He has been called ‘il Mozart dei fornelli’ (Mozart of the stoves) and a Food & Wine article on Massimiliano revealed Mario Batali is a huge fan who believes that his original approach to flavors …”evoke grandma’s palate but also a sorcerers tool kit, to create harmony on the plate between taste tradition and presentation innovation.”  Many feel his is the best restaurant in Italy (menu HERE).

Le Calandre dining room (Photo Le Calandre)

180 year old ash tables  (Photo Le Calandre)

Last year, La Calandre became a 3 star restaurant without white tablecloths… very bold indeed. They let the beautiful wood of the tables act as a frame for the food.  I love the idea.

The dining room is beautifully austere, isn’t it?  The attention to detail is everywhere.  Some of the glasses and tableware are handmade by local artisans, their food is locally sourced and Alajmo tries to meet with suppliers on their own turf to know everything about their products… going to farms to see how animals are fed and vegetables are grown.  He says it helps him understand the food and develop dishes to use the ingredients to their best advantage.

This drawing 

 becomes cappuccino de seppie al nero on the menu.

Cappucino de seppie al nero

His vibrant imagination is everywhere. He makes a custardy tofu out of fava beans –– combining it with grilled shrimp, apples and Damascus rose-scented radicchio.  One of my favorite inventions is a carrot zabaione with fried vegetables and balsamic –– turns ketchup and fries on its ear –– is that a great idea or what?

Risotto allo Zafferano

He also makes a renowned saffron risotto with licorice dust.  He gave some of the secrets to his risottos at a demonstration he gave in NYC, Food & Wine reported.  To begin with, he cooks his risotto for a shorter cooking time after toasting the rice gently for 2-3 minutes in oil, only then adding the already sautéed onions that have been cooked separately. He also pours the boiling broth down the side of the pan to collect any starch there and saves one ladle of broth to toss in when the risotto is removed from the stove.  He adds a little lemon at the end to balance the creaminess and starch. Some of his other risottos are made with rose petal and peach or a caper coffee risotto inspired by a sense memory.

The Food & Wine article talked about a magical sounding dish with porcini, mango and chanterelles topped with candied juniper and raspberry dust as well as a pasta made with smoked dough, smoked broth and smoked butter.  This man knows how to play in the kitchen!

He also loves to play with essences, as do I.  He has a line of sprays called Le Essenze created by master perfumer Lorenzo Dante Ferro  ––scents like lemon bergamot and ginger that you can buy for 19.50 € at their online store.  Massimiliano thinks; “We eat with our nose… Smelling goes straight to the brain’s center of long-term memory, it connects us to past emotions.”  I so agree and can attest to the wonderful things that happen to my food when I use Aftelier chef's essences here in the US.

I think you will agree when you taste the flavors in this dish that they are spectacular and a really creative combination of ingredients from a superb chef.  I just love the way the tangy beet sauce and the wine in the fondue work together… it shows what wine can do when it steps out from its supporting role into a bit of the limelight.  This is really one of those “close-your-eyes-and-absorb-the-wonder” dishes.

Gruyere Ravioli with Beet Cream inspired by Calandre serves 4

½ pound gruyere, grated

2 T Kirshwasser

1T cornstarch

1 clove garlic, smashed

2/3 c white wine
1 t. lemon juice

pinch nutmeg

3 m beets

¼ c ww

1 large shallot, minced

3 T elderflower vinegar (or verjus or cider vinegar)

¼ - 1/3 c cream

recipe for pasta to make ravioli or fresh pasta or gyoza wrappers ***

poppy seeds

1 T elderflower vinegar

2 T hazelnut oil

pinch of salt

 a few handfuls of arugula

mixed fresh herbs ( marjoram is excellent, thyme, savory, chervil, edible flowers)

Bake the beets in foil at 400º for about an hour or until soft.  Heat the vinegar, wine and shallots till they are softened and the liquid is reduced to a syrup.  Peel the beets and put in the blender with the shallot mix.  Add the some of the cream and blend… add more if you need it to blend.  Reserve.

Add the kirshwasser and cornstarch together.  Warm the white wine, then add the garlic.  Stir in the kirshwasser blend and add the cheese in handfuls keeping the temperature low.  Stir till blended, remove garlic and then use an immersion blender to blend to a smooth, creamy consistency. Freeze it for a while –– this makes it easier to make the ravioli while still keeping the luxurious loose texture

Roll out the pasta into sheets and cut into circles.  Wet each one and put a spoon of the cheese mixture into it.  Close and seal with a fork.  Put back in the fridge for a few hours to dry.  You will have some cheese mixture left over and around 16 ravioli.

When you are ready, heat a wide deep pan with water a splash of oil and salt.  Keep it on medium heat as a fast boil can open the ravioli. Place them gently in the pan.  Boil gently for a few minutes after they rise.  Drain.

Put the beet mixture on a plate (this can be warm or room temperature).  Heat the remaining cheese mixture.

Plate the ravioli (4 per person) and drizzle with warm cheese.

Toss on some arugula and herbs, sprinkle with poppy seed dressing and serve.

*You can make this very easy by skipping the ravioli idea and using fresh pasta like linguini... then just toss with the cheese sauce.

Pasta Dough 

1 cup all-purpose flour  plus 2 T semolina 

2 large egg yolks

1 large egg

1 teaspoons olive oil

1/2 tablespoon milk

Mix together and knead for 5 minutes till elastic… you may need more flour to do this.   Let rest for 1 hour then put through the pasta machine in 3 parts.  You will only need one for this recipe.  

** If you have any problems with alcohol, this is not the dish for you… it has a good hefty alcohol content!!