THE MICHELIN “3 STARS” CHRISTMAS MENU - LUISA VALAZZA (AL SORRISO), NADIA SANTINI (DAL PESCATORE), MASSIMILIANO ALAJMO (LE CALANDRE), ANNIE FEOLDE (PINCHIORRI), ENRICO CEREA (DA VITTORIO) E HEINZ BECK (LA PERGOLA) REVEAL THEIR SPECIALTIES TO WINENEWS

At Christmas time, the distance between the star of Christmas and the “Michelin stars” is short. The three Kings followed the star to get to Bethlehem. The red guide’s “3 star” chefs tell us about their favorite dishes and build (so we can dream about) a fabulous menu for the occasion.
For good luck, let’s start with a smile at Angelo and Luisa Valazzas ”Al Sorriso” in the town of Soriso (Novara): the family tradition starts with tuna pâté, followed by turkey stuffed with vegetables and fried pork meats. At Nadia and Antonio Santini’s “Dal Pescatore” in Canneto sull’Oglio (Mantova) they start with a foie gras terrine, followed by the traditional Angoli in chicken broth and boiled hen stuffed with fruit preserves.

A typical boiled dinner warms the hearts at Massimiliano Alajmo’s “Le Calandre” in Rubano (Padova). It’s the “canevera”: various cuts of meat stuffed in pork stomach then placed on a bamboo grate on top of the pot, boiled and accompanied by vegetable composts and green sauce. Annie Feolde, queen of the kitchen at the restaurant “Enoteca Pinchiorri” in Florence, suggests one of the least famous Tuscan specialties: game in “ filet of hare in civet aromatized with juniper berries, a thistle frittata and chestnuts in red wine”. Enrico Cerea at “Da Vittorio” in Brusaporto (Bergamo) links family tradition with a pinch of the exotic: potatoes “al cartoccio” baked in butter together with excellent caviar. And to finish, one cannot have a Christmas banquet without a dessert: traditional plain or filled panettone, torrone and dried fruits and from the chef at the Pergola dei Cavalieri Hilton in Rome, Heinz Beck’s “pomegranate sphere on chocolate cream”, created after a thorough culinary research and from childhood memories, when chocolate was the prize for good children. What else is there to say? Bon appétit and Merry Christmas!