QUALITALY

OCT. NOV. 2017

XIV

AT PAGE 50

Diversely cereal

From barley to oats, from

buckwheat to quinoa, an army of

minor cereals and pseudocereals

made their appearance on menus.

What are they, how are they used,

how much do they cost?

By Elena Consonni

A pasta dish or a classic risotto is no

longer enough. Now the clientele,

especially - but not only - vegetarian

and vegan, look for something more.

Then there are celiacs and those

intolerant to gluten, who need, even in

the restaurant, to find viable alternatives

to wheat. Thus the menu is enriched

with new ingredients that have been

fished out between traditional cereals

neglected for years and among the

pseudo-cereals imported from ethnic

cuisines. “The panorama of these”

ALTERNATIVE CEREALS” - explains

Giorgio Perin,

captain of the APCI national team chef,

professional association of Italian cooks

-”is very wide, ranging from oats to

barley, from millet to spelt, then to the

pseudocereals, like quinoa, amaranth

and our buckwheat. Surely these plants

are highly sought after by vegetarian or

vegan because they allow integration

into their diet, but also those who

are not vegetarian, just think of the

traditional pizzoccheri or the soups of

barley, spelt and rice. Thinking about

the products borrowed from foreign

kitchens, quinoa is very digestible and

is rich in calcium and lysine; Amaranth

is very protein and contains calcium

and magnesium as well as to be cooked

directly, these products are also suitable

as ingredients for industrial foods, such

as the cakes of corn and quinoa, the

paste of amaranth».

TRADITIONAL AND ETHNIC

Together with Giorgio Perin, who

knows these ingredients well because

he likes to put vegetarian dishes on

his menus, we try to know them better

and to understand how they can be

used in the kitchen. “We start from

oats - explains the chef - which is

widely used in soups with vegetables,

for example leek or pumpkin. But it

has a problem: it is thermolabile. Even

relatively low temperatures cancel its

benefits. For this the one who chooses

it for the nutritional properties makes

it germinate». In addition, whole or

ground oat flakes are an excellent

ingredient for the preparation of

vegetable croquettes and burgers.

Barley is a cereal of Italian tradition. It is

very versatile, it can be used in place of

rice in preparations like orzotto or in

soups, but it also has more exotic uses.

“Together with fermented soy beans” –

explains Perin – “it allows to obtaining

of misu, a Japanese condiment that

tastes similar to that of stock. Bulgur,

a food derived from the whole wheat

sprouted, steamed, dried and then

fragmented, is typical of Middle Eastern

cuisine and is used in salads or stuffing.

Millet is perfect for making meatballs,

cupcakes. After boiling it can be added

to vegetables. It must fully absorb the

cooking water: the right proportion is

two parts of water for one of millet».

There are then the pseudocereals, first

quinoa. “It is very versatile” – continues

Giorgio Perin – “and can be used as

an ingredient for soups, or in salads,

after boiling. Quinoa exists in both the

refined and the whole version. I prefer

the latter, for its greater nutritional

richness. The “problem” of this

pseudocereal (belonging to the family

of spinach) is that in cooking tends to

become a bit gelatinous, but just drain

it and dilute it with a drizzle of oil to

give it the right consistency. To cook

the pasta based on amaranth, instead,

requires some attention: cooking is fast,

not more than a couple of minutes, and

it overcooks very quickly. You have to

check the timing carefully»

But how much do they cost?

Placing these ingredients in your menus

can cost more than traditional dishes.

“It is not so much about the purchase

of the raw material-emphasizes Giorgio

Perin - apart from the quinoa, which

is quite expensive, the other products

do not cost much. It is not possible to

choose ingredients of low cost: those

who choose these special dishes expect

quality. Then it should be taken into

account the greater impact in terms of

time: these ingredients require more

processing. I know that because I have

the habit of putting vegetarian dishes

on my menus, whose preparation is not

fast. It is therefore hard to put them into

a complex service. They are elaborate

dishes, but they give great satisfaction.

“ All this does not take away that some

of these ingredients can also enter the

kitchens of medium level, in fast food or

collective.

“There are pre-seasoned and frozen

semi-finished products - explains Perin

- but in my opinion if you want to give

a high quality product and that gives

value to your restaurants range you have

to cook with fantasy. But I do not see

any particular contraindications that a

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