Bruschetta con lombata e crema di gorgonzola.
We meet Todd English, one of America’s most popular celebrity chefs and restaurateurs, who filmed "Slow Food, Fast Cars" his series of cookery programs exploring English’s Italian roots and reflecting his ever increasing passion with all things Italian.
A graduate of the prestigious Culinary Institute of America, Todd spent several years in Italy training under some of the country’s most important chefs, an experience he looks back on with affection and gratitude.
Hardly surprising then that his dishes have such a strong Italian influence or that he comes so often to Italy in search of inspiration.
When English is really Italian!
English accompanies us to an exciting series of food artisans: a miller who produces excellent wholemeal flour, chestnut flour and polenta with his water driven mill; a balsamic vinegar producer whose oldest vintage dates back just over two hundred years; Parmesan cheese makers; truffle hunters and their dogs; and cosy trattorie that serve traditional Bolognese dishes with a touching combination of modesty and pride.
These are the foods and traditions that English embraces: fresh local ingredients treated with simplicity to give dishes the most honest pos-sible flavours. Flavours that remind him of time spent in the kitchen with his Calabrian grandmother when he was a young boy.
Talking to him, you realise he is profoundly attracted by the Italian way of life, everything from how people interact to their passion for living that is translated through food.
The following recipe is elegant enough for a dinner with friends, but is also perfect for a casual lunch.
Ingredients
250 g beef sirloin; 1 white onion in julienne strips;
75 g ounces diced ham; 125 ml double cream;
50 g Gorgonzola cheese; 4 tbsp balsamic vinegar;
50 g brown sugar; 10 crostini (toasted Italian bread).
Preparation
Season beef with salt and pepper and sear in a hot pan. Finish steak in 180 degree oven until it is cooked to your liking. While steak is cooking, sauté half the white onion and ham in a little oil.
Cook for 10 minutes over medium heat. Add cream and bring to a boil. Reduce cream for 5 minutes until cream is thick. Add Gorgonzola cheese and remove from heat.
In another pan put the rest of the onions and sweat for a few minutes. Add balsamic vinegar and sugar and reduce to a syrupy consistency.
To assemble; place a spoonful of the Gorgonzola cream on the crostini, top with a slice of sirloin then a small dab of the onion jam.
