One of Rossini's most delicious, although complex and time consuming, is his Maccheroni Rossini style. He once wrote that he kept the recipe secret and served it only to very special guests. Chef and restauranteur Alfredo Bovier presented it to us in this interview.
There are four parts to the recipe:
- The stock used to boil the pasta and for the filling.
- the bechamel sauce
- the filling
- and the gratin.
Ingredients for four people:
320 gr of large maccheroni (large with an opening of at least one centimetre).
For the stock:
1 onion, a stick of celery, one carrot, two cloves inserted in the onion and half a chicken and finally a little salt.
For the bechamel:
250 gr of butter, 50 gr parmesan, 50 gr flour, ½ a litre of milk, some nutmeg, salt and pepper and some of the stock as needed.
For the filling:
½ of the bechamel, 100 grams of italian prosciutto in one slice, 50 gr of mortadella, a pinch of four spices, 50 gr of dried porcini mushrooms (soaked in water); 300 gr of parmesan cheese, one black truffle, two glasses of French champagne, a bitter orange peel. Rossini also used 50 gr of foie gras.
Preparation:
In a large pot filled with at least six litres of water add the onion with cloves, celery, carrot and chicken and salt to taste. Let it simmer covered for at least two hours and once ready set aside one litre for the sauce.
Prepare the bechamel in the traditional way by melting the butter, adding the sifted flour and the milk and a grating of nutmeg. Once the sauce starts thickening add a little of the stock as required. Set aside half of the bechamel for the final preparation. To the remaining part add the prosciutto and mortadella cut in small cubes, the spices, the porcini mushrooms also sliced with a bit of their brine, the orange peel (to be removed), and the grated truffle. Add the champagne and let it thicken to the point that it can be used to fill the maccheroni. Rossini used to add 50 gr of foie gras.
In the stock boil the pasta until half cooked. Drain and dry before filling each maccheroni with the cream.
In a large buttered deep baking tray (Rossini used one of Vesuvian terracotta) layer bechamel, maccheroni, parmesan cheese twice. The third layer will be bechamel, maccheroni, bechamel, parmesan cheese and grated truffle. Place in a preheated 200 degree oven for 20 minutes or until the gratin is golden. Serve warm.
Variations to the original recipe.
Source: SBS Italian
One could substitute the porcini mushrooms for truffle, and a good sparkling wine for French champagne and avoid the foie gras completely.
The version belo was created by Alffredo Bovier who stresses that the tomato sause is only used as a garnish.
Source: SBS Italian
