WHEN fans of Italy flock to the La Dolce Vita festival in London this month, they’ll be in for a surprise.
Foodies in search of mouthwatering hunks of 30-month-old Parmesan cheese washed down with Prosecco will be offered up beer-based food treats by chefs Giancarlo and Katie Caldesi instead.
As the new faces of Italian beer Birra Moretti in the UK, the two chefs have been looking at ways to cook with beer. But it’s no easy task.
“The main problem when cooking with beer is acidity,” says Katie Caldesi, who recently published her recipe book, The Italian Cookery Course.
“To counteract that and achieve balance, you need to find sweetness.
“I’ve experimented with a casserole made with beer, chicken and lots of onions and carrots that caramelise, and the sweetness comes out. It has gone down wonderfully with guests.”
Katie says that beer encourages yeast to be more active, as well as giving bread a great crispy crust and colour.
In Britain, cooking with beer is a staple in many pub kitchens.
From beer-battered fish to steak and ale pie, we love the effects of beer’s ingredients – water, malted barley, hops and yeast – on our food.
Katie says she was also surprised to find that beer always works really well with desserts.
“In my recipe for date, custard and beer jelly trifle, the beer’s nice hoppy taste works well with the sweetness of the dates.”
To try out cooking with beer, here are two recipes devised by Katie Caldesi made with Birra Moretti, which is available from most supermarkets.
Makes 4
10g fresh yeast or 5g dried yeast
325ml tepid water
500g strong bread flour or “0” flour
2 tspn salt
400g Italian tinned plum tomatoes
1 heaped tspn dried oregano
1 tspn salt
2 tblspn olive oil
A little semolina
2 x 125g balls mozzarella, drained and sliced
Handful of fresh basil leaves
Add the yeast to the tepid water, then mix with the flour and salt. Knead for 8-10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic.
Shape into a ball, put in an oiled bowl and cover with clingwrap or a tea towel. Leave in a warm, draught-free spot to rise until doubled in size.
After the dough has risen, split it into four even-sized balls and leave to rise until doubled in size again.
Meanwhile, make the tomato sauce: put the tomatoes in a bowl and squash them into pieces with your hands. Add the oregano, the salt and the oil, and stir well.
Bake the pizzas two at a time. Put two baking trays, spaced apart, upside down in the oven. This gives a flat surface to cook each pizza on. Have a thin wooden chopping board or pala (a thin piece of wood or metal used for transferring the pizza to the oven) and the semolina nearby.
Preheat the oven to its hottest setting – 250-280C is perfect.
Roll out the dough on a floured surface. Scatter some semolina on to the board or pala, pull the first pizza on to it and spread over a tablespoon of tomato sauce.
Top with a quarter of the mozzarella and/or other toppings. Slide the pizza into the oven and quickly pull the board or pala away so that it glides on to the hot, upturned oven tray. Repeat with the second pizza.
Bake for 7-10 minutes. The bases should be golden underneath and the cheese bubbling. Garnish with the basil leaves and serve. Bake the second batch of pizzas in the same way.
Serves 6
For the beer jelly:
1 bottle Birra Moretti
4 heaped tspn caster sugar
2 leaves gelatine
600ml milk
1 vanilla pod split into two, or a few drops vanilla extract
80g caster sugar
40g cornflour
6 egg yolks
150ml double cream
25g caster sugar
250g medjool dates
100ml water
First make the jelly by soaking the gelatine sheets in cold water for a few minutes. Pour roughly half a bottle of Birra Moretti into a saucepan and add the sugar. Heat the beer through, stirring frequently to dissolve the sugar. Remove from the heat.
Squeeze the sheets of gelatine gently to get rid of excess water. Add the sheets to the pan of warm beer and stir through until dissolved. Pour into a cold bowl and add the rest of the beer. Stir through and leave to set.
Next, make the custard. Put the milk in a saucepan with the vanilla pod and bring to a gentle boil. Mix together the egg yolks, sugar and cornflour in a bowl using a whisk. When the milk is just boiling, remove from the heat and add a ladleful at a time to the egg mixture, whisking constantly, until half of it is incorporated. Pour the mixture back into the rest of the milk in the saucepan.
Return to the heat for a few minutes to thicken – keep whisking. Remove from the heat and transfer the custard to a cold bowl, then cover the surface with clingwrap or damp baking parchment to prevent a skin forming.
Allow to cool with the vanilla pod still inside. While the custard is cooling, whip up the double cream to soft peaks and fold in the sugar. When the custard is cool, discard the vanilla pod and mix in the whipped cream. Cool in the fridge until the jelly is set.
Stone the dates and put them together with the water into a saucepan. Warm them through and stir until they become a paste. It doesn’t have to be smooth, though – squashy lumps of date are really rather pleasing. Remove from the heat and transfer to a cool bowl and allow to cool.
Then assemble the trifle by dividing the date mixture between six glasses, spooning it into the bottom of each one. Top each glass with the custard as the second layer and then spoon over the jelly. Serve straight away or chill until needed.
(Note: 450g = 1lb; 600ml = 1pt)
The Italian Cookery Course, by Katie Caldesi, is published by Kyle Cathie, priced £30. Available now.
La Dolce Vita runs during March 11-14 at the Business Design Centre, London – see www.ladolcevita event.co.uk