QUALITALY

OCT. NOV. 2017

canteen proposes an orzotto or a spelt

soup. I think one of the tasks of us chefs

is to keep up-to-date and always offer

something different to our customers.

It is clear that then you have to lend

yourself to the customers’ tastes, but

now these dishes are appreciated more

or less by all. “

INTERVIEW

My favourites? Buckwheat, rice and

quinoa for years Chef Pietro Leeman

practices

vegetarian cuisine and in his restaurant

Joia, in Milan, lesser cereals and

pseudocereals occupy a prominent role.

That’s what he told us.

What importance do traditional

cereals and pseudo cereals have in

your kitchen? Which do you use more

and for which dishes?

In my kitchen they both matter. With

regard to wheat, I always try to use the

one of Italian origin that has traditional

characteristics, but I also use spelt and

spelt pasta. In general, however, I prefer

cereals and pseudo cereals that do not

contain gluten. At Joia we make bread

and we have on the menu a plate that

contains wheat, but most of our dishes

are gluten free. This is because I believe

that our diet should be lightened, the

wheat, in fact, contains a lot and we

must learn to use less. For me the

king of pseudo gluten-free cereal is

buckwheat, although I really like the

whole rice and the dark quinoa. Now

in the menu at the restaurant Joia we

have “Interior Landscape”, a plate of

buckwheat noodles served in broth with

different contrasts inside. At the Bistrot

del Joia, instead, the menu changes

every day and you can always find

different cereals and pseudo cereals.

Finally, I would like to point out that we

use only organic products at both the

Joia restaurant and the Bistrot .

The vegetarian cuisine implies in those

who have chosen a reflection that also

involves physical well-being. Once you

remove some foods, those who choose

to be vegetarian must add cereals in

their diet, and it is important to vary.

This happens less, however, in someone

who is omnivorous.

In your opinion, what trends can be

linked to the discovery or rediscovery

of these ingredients?

For a few decades now we have been

spectators of an expansion of the

food culture. People are increasingly

open to new products and all over the

world now exchange happens quickly,

amaranth and quinoa are an example,

they haven’t been on the market for a

long time but now you can find them

even at the supermarket without any

hassle. These products are required

and “follow trends” because people are

curious, they want to experience new

foods and ingredients, other than those

that they eat every day. Not forgetting

that quinoa is really good.

The other phenomenon that concerns

me personally is an approach to the

vegetarian kitchen where you make

extensive use of cereals and pseudo

cereals. We are, in fact, faced with an

exponential growth in the number of

people who choose not to eat meat.

Can these ingredients also be used in

pastries?

In confectionery, the most difficult

aspects to deal with cereals and pseudo-

gluten-free cereals are those linked

to leavening, to the bond between

ingredients and to the brittleness. For

example if you try to make a biscuit

with only buckwheat it is likely to

break, if, instead, you add water to

make it more compact it will become

difficult to chew.

It is difficult to make gluten-free

pastries, at the restaurant Joia we

develop - to some recipes like the Linzer

cake without gluten or the biscuits

that we insert in sweets but it is more

complex because there is a more subtle

balance. The flour binds the ingredients

and if you add a raising agent properly,

while if you use it with buckwheat will

not work because you do not feed the

bacteria properly.

What are your absolute favourites,

both as a chef and as a customer?

As I mentioned in the first response, I

really like buckwheat. Valtellina is in

my blood and therefore is part of my

culture and my memory.

It may seem trivial but another cereal I

love is rice. From my point of view, in

fact, it bridges the culture of the Orient

and our own. It is found everywhere,

from Japan to China, from Persia to

Turkey. Rice is everywhere and I really

like this cultural aspect.

Finally, I really like quinoa because I

find it has while chewing an interesting

texture compared to others. It is a

“third” texture and therefore lends itself

to original and stimulating creations for

the palate.

______________________________

AT PAGE 54

There’s more to flour

than just white

Famous in the kitchen but not

everyone really knows it in

nutritional terms.

By Barbara Panterna *

Flour, in general, is a product that is

obtained from the grinding of cereals.

We commonly use this term to indicate

white flour, from soft wheat, which

is used mainly for the production of

bread and pasta.

On the market, however, there are

many flours derived from cereals such

as maize, rice, barley and spelt, but

also from other more unusual foods

such as chestnuts, tubers, nuts and

legumes. We start with white flour, the

most known to the public, and take a

look at the nutritional characteristics.

Obtained from the grinding of soft