| Andrea Aftab Pauro says he is a little high when we meet. But it is only due to the cough syrup he's taking for a bad cold, he adds. |
| Passion, be it Pauro's passion for his Italian restaurant Baci ("kisses" in Italian), in Delhi, or the passion that he hopes to stir up for lovers on Valentine's Day, is the reason that we are cooking with him. Actually Pauro is doing most of the cooking with a little bit of help from his staff at the restaurant. |
| Pauro says a little naughtily, "Our set menu for Valentine's Day features dishes that all have aphrodisiacs," and adds laughing: "You know, if people get too frisky afterwards, we might have to throw them out." The list of aphrodisiacs that will be laid out for his clientele reads like a grocery list, but then we aren't complaining. There is fresh parsley, parmesan, olives, cocoa, calamari, salmon, asparagus, onions and strawberries, all there to help the libido. For us, though, Pauro chooses beetroot. "What I'm going to prepare is quite simple but will look absolutely great," he promises. |
| Pauro is of Italian and Punjabi blood. He says that his interest in food was inherited from his father. After a hotel management degree, Baci happened. Tracing his origins to Padua in northern Italy, Pauro says that along with his dad, he has been trying to bring recipes from all parts of Italy to Baci. Today's chosen dish is a raviolo of dough infused with beetroot and shaped into the form of a heart. "I think it will look really good," Pauro says emphasising once again the dish's beauty. |
| In the restaurant's kitchen, he makes it clear that home is his realm, while this is the domain of his team of cooks. After a bit of fumbling around, he rolls out a sheet of dough for the raviolo. His chefs help him stuff it with the prepared pumpkin filling. |
| Blanching it, Pauro says: "The essence of Italian cooking is in its simplicity. Making pasta or raviolo is not at all tough. Even the sauce is easy, but to get the sauce perfect is another matter." |
| I ask him how closely he has managed to replicate the taste of home at the restaurant. Very frankly he says he is far from it, and goes on to explain the differences between the quality of various ingredients available here and back in Italy. |
| On the face of it, his description of this raviolo hadn't sounded very appetising. But that changed quickly enough. A slice of bread swirled generously in the warm Gorgonzola sauce changes my prejudiced opinion. The sweetness of the pumpkin blends well with the mild pepper and the cheese pleasantly coats the palate. It would be perfect with a glass of red wine, I ponder. And it is a healthy way to woo your sweetheart, I conclude. |
| Favourite Recipe |
| Raviolo Alla Barbabietola Con Ripieno Di Zucca Al Gorgonzola E Anice |
| For the dough: 300 gm refined flour 30 gm beetroot(cooked puree) 5 ml extra virgin olive oil 3 egg yolks Salt |
| For the stuffing: 50 gm onions, chopped 500 gm pumpkin 5 gm aniseed Salt and pepper |
| For the sauce: 25 gm Gorgonzola cheese 100 ml fresh cream 5 gm aniseed Salt and pepper |
| To make the dough, take refined flour and knead it with extra virgin olive oil. Mix in the beetroot puree until the consistency is smooth. Add the mixture of egg yolk gradually and knead it again to a nice consistency and smooth texture. Keep in the fridge for one hour. |
| To prepare the stuffing, saute onions in oil until they turn soft. Add the aniseed and saute it as well. Now add grated pumpkin, salt and pepper, and cook till done. |
| Roll a sheet of the dough and stuff it with the pumpkin paste. Cut in the shape of a heart and blanch till done. Heat a pan and add butter. Add the Gorgonzola cheese and aniseed and stir, adding fresh cream. Season with salt and pepper and serve hot with the raviolo. |
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