Journalism of Courage
Hosting a wine and food pairing festival in the city,Italian chefs Natascia and Cristian Santandrea reveal their secret ingredient – ‘love’
“A simple soup. The salt may miss the perfect mark. But when love has been stirred into it,you are sure to think it’s good,” say Natascia and Cristian Santandrea at Alto Vino,the Italian restaurant at Pune Marriott Hotel & Convention Centre. For the brother-sister duo,cooking goes beyond just ingredients and methods. It includes patience,a certain sensibility and of course love. It is with this mantra that the Michelin Star chefs are hosting the Wine and Food Pairing festival at the hotel till February 11.
With this same collaborative spirit,Natascia and Cristian work in the kitchen at Alto Vino. they start early. There’s a lot of trial and error. “Only because the ingredients here are so different and we want the meal to be perfect. From the mozarella cheese to the milk and cream,it all tastes different. It’s like a battle with the ingredients for us,” Natascia says. They’ve put together a menu with a total of 11 non-vegetarian and vegetarian choices in antipasti,pasta,main course and dessert for this festival. A selection of Banfi wines are recommended with the dishes.
“Wine and food are like a couple wandering through different streets. What and how much wine you drink depends on several factors,the main one being how you feel inside,” she explains. “After my first Indian dish,I had a couple of beers – and I never drink beer in Italy! Now,I’m on a mission to try different Indian dishes so that I can find that perfect wine to go with them,” she says.
Some of the dishes on the menu are Ginger flavoured pumpkin crème brule,smoked ricotta praline,truffle; Chicken sorprassata,red,yellow bell pepper mousse,garlic zucchini,truffle; Pinzimonio of prawns,rosemary flavoured olive oil,fleur de sel,moringa salad; Homemade fusilli,white duck ragout,brunello reduction drops; Colonnata lard wrapped grilled red snapper,creamy uccelletto beans,fried sage; and Chocolate cube,strawberry jelly chocolate glaze and Crème caramel,homemade peanut ice cream. It’s all authentically Italian,the chefs assure. “When we come down to the kitchen in the morning to begin work,we see the smiling faces of the people here and go ‘wow’, they say.
