Cafe Via Dante's Truffled Gnocchi Recipe

Italian cooking has for many apparent reasons always been very mainstream because of its simplicity, meaning that the ingredient are very common ones and known by most of us.

It has been argued and still is by many, that when traditionally prepared in a restaurant kitchen it can not reach the highest ranking of four stars. And then when it is made non-traditional it is by some not considered as Italian cooking. I would have to disagree!

Personally I would leave it up to the creator of the dish to choose what to introduce its creations. I believe that doing so, it will continue the story, that was begun by the actual “author” or “artist”, to the happy ending that we all are looking forward to, which is how we perceive the dish in the end.

That’s why it is so important to listen to the waitor/waitress that is introducing the dish, most of the time they are passing the message of what the Chef’s intentions are with its creation.

Now as we all know, not every book is for every one, nor every painting and that also goes for food.

There for I guess it all boils down to asking the right questions prior to ordering and to have staff that are not only there to make some extra pocket money, but are aware that when going out to dine, is not just to still ones hunger but more about a good and pleasant dining experience.

Since we here at Macchi Inc. put a lot of emphasis on the quality and authenticity of the products we supply, we realize that we are also obligated to do so since our clients put just as much weight in that.

We know how hard they all work to make sure that every plate that gets presented is at its best. Just like any other artists creation, it is made with emotions and precision and lets not forget that they are humans and not machines so when the final product is made it can differ from how it was made the time before, having that said, that doesn’t mean that it should not be criticized constructively, by all means, we all know that to reach perfection we only do so by always being kept on our toes.

The above mentioned thought does not entirely relate to todays dish it was more of a thought that I felt I would like to share with all of you =).

And now that i have, let me present todays dish, that was prepared by the kitchen staff at Cafe via Dante, located in the heart of little Italy.

GNOCCHI RIPENI CON SALSA TARTUFATA

Cafe Via Dante's Truffled Gnocchi Recipe

Ingredients:

• Stuffed gnocchi with porcini mushrooms
• Leeks
• French shallots
• Truffle paste,
• White wine
• Chicken stock
• Butter
• Parmesan
• and of course, the Truffle Oil

If you like gnocchi, you will love this, if you don’t like gnocchi you might reconsider after trying this and if you never had gnocchi I would definitely suggest that you have it this way for your first time.

Summer is by far my favorite time of the year!

I love the heat and when I say that I really mean it, it can never get to hot and if it does you will never hear me complaining.

Even though I am born and raised in Sweden, Stockholm to be more precise, and have lived in Montreal for the past 13 years, I am not a person that has enjoyed the cold weather. The winter activities are fun though but as we all know with work and our daily working and household schedules we don’t get to enjoy them as often as we all would wish we could.

Having that said; I do enjoy the cooking more in summer, we are able to use more of our local products and produce and I also love shopping at the Jean Talon market.

All the beautiful colors and fragrances from the different fruits and vegetables and now as we are in the beginning of the harvest and thanks giving being just around the corner it has become a must to visit the market every saturday and sometime sunday morning.

Since we are in the topic of of seasonal fruits and vegetables I have a very easy and nice recipe for you this week that can be prepared with this weeks product; the Truffle oil.

ARTICHOKE WITH TRUFFLED VINAIGRETTE

Another quick and easy summer recipe.

1. Trim the tips of the leaves of your artichokes and put in boiling salted water. I like to add a half lemon so the artichokes stay as green as possible.
2. While artichokes are boiling, whisk together evoo, lemon juice, salt ,pepper and some truffle oil . Add a half teaspoon of Dijon mustard to the mix so that the oil and lemon juice are able to bind together.
3. Drain your artichokes, peel the leaves and dip into the vinaigrette.

Total cook time is about 15 min depending on the size of the artichoke. You can tell when there ready because the leaves can be pulled off with only a little bit of resistance.

Hope you will enjoy this as much as I do!

Black Truffle Oil, imported to Montreal by Macchi Inc. - Photos by Montreal Photographer Vadim Daniel

The product I picked to present to you this week has caused a lot of controversy over the years. Mainly because it has been portrayed as something different than it is, but it has always been very appreciated when consumed in all of its different ways of preparation.

I will, this week, make sure that there is no more confusion with regards to this very useful product and also let you know why I love to use it in my cooking and savor it in cooking prepared by professionals.

Introducing the Black Truffle Oil: ‘A bath of gold’!

I stumbled over many articles, as I did a search on the web for Truffle Oil, just to see how others had used it and also to see what their opinion was, as I do with every week’s product.

To my surprise, there was a lot of upset because people had been wrongfully informed.

The Truffle Oil that we sell here at Macchi Inc., is Olive oil infused with truffle essence, meaning that it is artificially flavored and in our case also flavored with real truffles and It is made on the highest quality of EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive oil).

Just as there is different kind of truffles, there is also different kind of truffle oils, we supply you with white winter truffle oil and the black summer truffle oil.

Can truffle oil be used to replace truffles? Never!

But it can most definately be considered as a truffle- or truffled product.

Considering it is based on olive oil, we all know what an aromatic and strong flavored oil olive oil is. Also I shouldn’t forget to mention when not fried in, how healthy it is for you! So no matter what flavors or essences that are infused in the oil, it will mix and make it’s own flavor and in my opinion a really good one!

Our truffle oil comes in 250 ml bottles and retails for around 30$ per bottle. The bottle is labeled as “il tartufo d’oro”.

This truffle oil adds a slightly sweet and earthy flavor to your dish and a heavenly aroma.

As always I am very interested to know what your thoughts are and if you’ve had the opportunity to taste or use truffle oil, don’t hesitate to share it with me.

Truffle oil, imported by Macchi Inc. - Photos by Montreal Photographer Vadim Daniel

I have to say that the reason why I like using truffle oil so much is because it complements my type of cooking very well.
I use it very often in my bechamel when I make lasagna. I also use it in my Alfredo & Bolognese sauce. I like using it when making risotto and I love using it as “topping” on vegetables or a nice piece of BBQed steak.

Depending on my mood I switch between the black truffle oil, that has more of an earthy taste, and the white truffle oil that has a stronger aroma and is sweeter in its flavor.

After opening the twist cap on the bottle it is recommended to keep it in the fridge make sure that cap is tight to keep the fragrance longer. I would suggest not to expect it to last longer than 6 months which for me has never been a problem =).

The truffle oil we sell at Macchi Inc. is labeled with ‘Il tartufo d’oro”, the bottle contains 250 ml and you need aprox. 5-10 ml/serving depending on what it is that you are preparing.

This is again a product that is not offered yet by retail stores, therefore, if you are interested to purchase Truffle Oil from us you can, just contact our office for further questions.

Truffles and truffled product have a distinct flavor and essence that is very different from anything else. It is very “potent” and if used in exaggerated amounts it can end up being difficult to digest, but it is something that does grow on you and when you’ve become custom to the flavor and essence the satisfaction is an unexperienced one and very fulfilling.

And now it’s your turn to treat yourself with giving your meals or vegetables a spa treatment in “a bath of gold”.

Ayer’s Cliff Fair

I am re-posting this post because the Annual Ayer’s Cliff Fair is on this coming weekend!

I am back from my 5 day vacation and wanted to share some pictures with you from the Annual Ayer’s Cliff Fair.

Never mind the 20” low profile tires, you should have seen the tires on these tractors!

Kids loved it and had a great day and when they are happy we are happy =).

I would definitely suggest for all of you to go there next year.