We Love Green!

Spoilt for choice!

By Liz Katsoulis

This week at Ganzo the theme in the kitchen was the color green! Chef Filippo told me the reason behind the theme. Chef Filippo is very passionate about being a chef. He is 30 years old and he is in his last year in the Master’s program at FUA-AUF. Additionally, he is from Pisa. He explained the theme sustainability in the kitchen in order to preserve culture and ingredients. He also explained that this theme goes hand and hand with the Mediterranean diet and represents the idea that you can use vegetables in things other than salad. He also stated that all different vegetables can be used all year round. The first thing I ate was a small sandwich – toast bread base with milk and honey stuffed with pea purée flavored with meat – and pecorino chips seasoned with herbs (including sage, thyme, and rosemary). The next thing I tasted was a summer cabbage and creamy cod roll blended together with water, milk, gelatin and olive oil. It was served atop a crispy jowl-fat sauce, made of concentrated tomato sauce flavored with ginger. Last but not least, I tried the chicken liver mousse with onion, capers and anchovy butter blended with gelatin, whipped cream and set in a mold to create the circular shape. The mousse was served with very lightly candied black-cabbage and celery. My favorite dish was definitely the first one I discussed; it was very refreshing but also buttery and savory. Overall, I thought the green theme was very interesting and very well executed by the Ganzo chefs.