The name Bulgari may well remind you of jewels and at the Bulgari Hotel in Milan, we found just that: a jewel that is very much into cooking! Andrea Ferrero was born in the Piedmont region of Italy and raised around cooking, and around calves: his grandmother’s kitchen was situated right above the stables of the family farm. Andrea has learned how to cook in London, in Alicante, in Dubai and Bali, before returning to his home country. He is a star chef with an outspoken opinion of veal. “I work exclusively with Fassone Piedmontese calves, which is a breed from Cuneo in Piedmont: I consider it a noble breed. And its veal is the ideal combination of flavour and tenderness.” But is Milan not the place to go to for milk-fed veal? “Yes it is. The bianca alla Milanese is a part of the culture here, but this doesn’t apply to the veal raised here. Almost all of the milk-fed veal in Milan comes from the Netherlands, and I am honestly just too attached to the veal from the region I was born in!”
For the veal tongue, sweat the vegetables in oil. Add cold water and the herbs, and then the tongue. Simmer slowly for 90 minutes before taking it off the heat. Let it stand for 10 minutes and then remove the skin from the tongue, cut it into slices and leave to cool. For the jelly, blanch the spinach and the parsley in salted water, then immerse immediately in iced water and pat dry. Process the bouillon with the spinach and the herbs in the Thermoblender at 90°C/195°F. Add the soaked gelatin, the gellan gum and the agar-agar. Process for another 2 minutes at full speed. Pour into a shallow platter and allow to thicken. As soon as it has set, cut it into 5-mm cubes. For the caramelised garlic, blanch the cloves of garlic (peeled) for 40 seconds in salted water and cool immediately in iced water. Dry on some paper towel and caramelise for 45 minutes in hot oil and the rosemary. Before serving, heat slices of tongue in some butter and arrange them on a plate with the pieces of jelly, the sliced anchovies and the caramelised garlic. Finish off with radish shavings, the spinach leaves (in a dressing), the radicchio leaves, the poppy seeds and the croutons.
Serves 4
1 radish, 2 salted anchovy fillets, baby radicchio leaves, blue poppy seeds, baby spinach, croutons.
For the veal tongue
1 veal tongue (approx. 600g), 100ml olive oil, 40g carrot, 50g celery, 50g onion, 50g leek, 2 bay leaves, 1 dstspn black pepper, 3 cloves.
For the parsley jelly
500g poultry stock, 10g salt, 200g parsley, 50g baby spinach, 2 gelatin leaves, 5g gellan gum, 2g agar-agar.
For the caramelised garlic
2 whole garlic bulbs, 300ml olive oil, 3g rosemary, 20g salt.
Marinate the rib for 24 hours with all of the ingredients mentioned in the list, except the rosemary. Remove the ribs from the marinade, vacuum pack with the rosemary and cook sous vide for 72 hours in warm water at 60°C/140°F. Immerse in iced water and then put to one side. Blanch the onions (peeled) in the water, with the white wine vinegar, whilst you reduce the balsamic vinegar with the sugar. Cut the onion in half and glaze with the reduced vinegar until golden brown. For the puree, cook the potatoes in their skins and heat the milk and the butter. Press the potatoes through a tamis and turn into a puree with the hot butter and milk. Season with salt and pepper. For the crispy Jerusalem artichoke, cut the artichokes into 1-mm slices and leave to soak in iced water for 30 minutes. Then dry well. Deep-fry the slices in hot oil, drain on a paper towel and sprinkle with salt. Heat the rib of veal sous vide for 20 minutes at 60°C/140°F. Remove from the bag and drain. Glaze the rib of veal in the reduced veal jus and dress on a plate with a spoonful of puree and freshly-grated horseradish. Add the onions and place a few Jerusalem artichoke crisps on top.
For the rib of veal
1 double rib of veal (on the bone), 200ml red wine, 20g Worcestershire sauce, 7g sea salt, 3g garlic, 4g black pepper, 100ml reduced veal jus, 1 sprig of rosemary, fresh horseradish.
For the potato puree
300g potatoes, 50ml milk, 130g butter.
For the onion
5 Borretane onions, 300ml water, 10g salt, 50g white wine vinegar, 100ml white balsamic vinegar, 10g sugar, 1 bay leaf.
For the Jerusalem artichoke crisps
500g Jerusalem artichoke, 400ml sunflower oil, salt.
For the puree, cook the potatoes in their skins. Whilst they are cooking, heat the butter and the milk. When done, pass the potatoes through a tamis and turn into puree with the milk and butter. Season with salt and pepper. Marinate the veal cheeks for 24 hours with the rest of the ingredients. Remove the cheeks from the marinade and leave to drain. Brown them in some olive oil, add the vegetables, and deglaze with the marinade. Simmer slowly and then put to one side. Rub chicken combs with coarse sea salt to clean them and rinse well. Dry them on some paper towel and cook them in the veal bouillon. Clean the gizzards the same way as the combs and then cook them in the bouillon as well. Blanch the sweetbreads in the bouillon, trim and fry until they are all golden brown all over. Cut into tidy slices. Cut the bone marrow into 3-mm-thick slices and brown on both sides just before serving. Blanch the spinach briefly and wrap it into a parcel. Just before serving, baste it with some butter. Cut the penny bun mushrooms in half and fry in the butter until they are golden brown. Glaze the chicken combs, the sliced veal cheeks and the gizzards with some reduced veal jus. Spoon the potato puree into the centre of the plate and dress with all of the different elements harmoniously, before serving with the veal jus.
Serves 4
4 pieces of bone marrow (veal), 1/2 kidney (veal), 1 sweetbread (veal), 4 chicken combs, 4 gizzards (chicken), 2 penny bun mushrooms, 4 good-sized spinach leaves, veal bouillon (herby), flour, butter, veal jus.
For the veal cheeks
2 veal cheeks, 1 large carrot, 1 red onion, 2 sticks of celery, 1 whole garlic bulb, 3 cloves, 1 cinnamon stick, 500ml red wine.
For the potato puree
300g Désirée potatoes, 130g butter, 50ml milk.
