Enrico Crippa from the town of Alba belongs to the world’s very best chefs and received his third Michelin star in 2012. He was born in Monza (Lombardy), and developed his passion for cooking at an early age on his weekly trips to the market with his grandfather. They would cook together when they got home, and this love of Italian food inspired him to go cookery school. After he finished his education he worked with big names like Christian Willer, Antoine Westermann, Ghislaine Arabian, Michel Bras and Ferran Adriá. Yet his time with Gualtiero Marchesi and his travels to Japan, have since become his trademark. In 2005, Enrico opened his restaurant Piazza Duomo and within one year had been awarded his first star. This was followed immediately by a second one. Enrico is a chef who loves to talk about veal. “I was born in a region where veal is a long-standing tradition, like the bollisto misto, a pot-au-feu with veal tongue, beef and chicken. Veal sausage is also quite popular. Originally, this sausage was made with pork, but with many Jewish people living in the area, the recipe changed.” The regional breed here is the Fassone. According to Enrico it is a strong breed and he prefers to eat its meat raw. “One real benefit to veal is that the fat is on the outside. This makes it more versatile than beef, which is usually marbled.” Enrico uses a lot of veal in his cooking, and likes to adapt his dishes according to the seasons. In the summer, he lightly fries the meat, poaches it or serves it raw. In the winter, he combines it with red wine.
Finely chop the veal and the bacon, and season to taste with a pinch of salt, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and ground cloves. Shape into small balls and set to one side. For the bouillon, peel the Brassica rapa (small turnip bulbs) and cut into slices. Brown on both sides on the plancha. Put into a deep pan, add the water, salt and some freshly-ground pepper and simmer over low heat for 3 hours. Rub through a fine-mesh sieve and reduce to 1 litre. For the jelly, bring the bouillon and the iota to the boil, pour into a shallow bowl and allow to thicken. Place the raw meatballs in a dish, arrange some of the slices of Brassica rapa and duck liver in between, add some of the jelly and garnish with the fresh herbs and flowers. Finish with a few grains of Maldon salt and some hazelnut oil.
Serves 4
100g veal rump, 25g finely-chopped bacon, salt, sugar, cinnamon powder, ground cloves, grated nutmeg, 20 thin slices of Brassica rapa (small turnip bulbs), baby rucola, mustard flowers, mizuna, broccoli tips, 20 cubes of duck liver terrine, hazelnut oil, Maldon salt.
For the Brassica rapa bouillon
2kg Brassica rapa (small turnip bulbs), 250ml water, 1 dstspn salt, 1 dstspn sugar.
For the turnip jelly
200g Brassica rapa bouillon, 1.5g iota carrageenan.
Vacuum pack the ingredients for the sauce and cook sous vide in warm water for 12 hours at 65°C/150°F. Remove the mixture from the bag and pass it through a fine-mesh sieve. Do not press too hard, as the sauce should be clear. Prepare the oil in the same way. For the cheese sauce, heat the cream, melt the cheese in it and pass it through a sieve. Season to taste with nutmeg and a pinch of salt. Put some olive oil in some water in a pan, and reduce. Add the broccoli and simmer gently. Glaze the broccoli with some garlic oil. Then heat some paprika sauce and paprika oil in a deep pan. Add the veal and roll it through the sauce without cooking it. Add the pasta (al dente) and dress in the centre on the plate with the broccoli. Add some paprika sauce and finish with some of the cheese sauce.
Serves 4
200g thinly-sliced top rump (veal), 20 pieces of pasta (Mezze Maniche), 120g Chinese broccoli, olive oil, garlic oil.
For the dried paprika oil
200g dried paprika, 300ml grape seed oil.
For the dried paprika sauce
50g dried paprika, 1l water.
For the cheese sauce
200g cream, 200g grated cheese, grated nutmeg.
Bring the vegetable bouillon to the boil and add the veal tenderloin. Take it off the heat and leave it to stand for 8 minutes. Take the meat out of the liquid and allow it to rest. For the chicory bouillon, bring the water to the boil, add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for 10 minutes. Pass the bouillon through a fine-mesh sieve and set to one side. Heat the bouillon for the reduction, thicken with tapioca flour and reduce to a syrup. For the marinated egg yolks, mix the puree with the sugar and the salt. Spread a thin layer on a platter, place the egg yolks on top and cover each yolk with a thin layer of the mixture. Marinate for 6 hours. Remove from the marinade and rinse well. For the mayonnaise, press the marinated egg yolks through a tamis, thicken with the reduction and season to taste with some sugar. Slice the meat, arrange it on a plate and garnish with the seasoned herbs, green leaves and flowers. Then pipe dots of the white bean puree and the mayonnaise around the plate and finish with some of the reduction, some olive oil and Maldon salt.
Serves 4
4 pieces of veal tenderloin (100g each), 1l vegetable bouillon, 4 dstspn white bean puree, assortment of fresh herbs, green leaves and flowers, olive oil, Maldon salt.
For the chicory bouillon
1l water, 10g dried and burnt chicory root, 8g gentian root.
For the chicory reduction
1 l chicory bouillon, 80g tapioca flour.
For the marinated egg yolks
4 egg yolks, 30g puree of sweet potatoes, 30g sugar, 70g salt.
For the chicory mayonnaise
4 marinated egg yolks, 4 dstspn chicory reduction, water, sugar.
