Recipes from great chefs. Four dishes by Marco Gubbiotti

When strong agricultural tradition meets experimentation and contemporary taste, cucina is enriched by emotion and a different way of seeing. In this region, excellence is an everyday matter and the habits of genuine flavor risk being undervalued. MarcoGubbiottioffers the ancient flavors of his Umbria in a modern key. Here are four of his signature dishes.

Diced baccalà, Colforcella goat cheese, fava beans with mint and red Cannara onions

4 servings

For the diced baccalà

250 g well-rinsed baccalà fillets

Extra-virgin olive oil

Freshly ground pepper

For the sauce

150 g Colforcella goat cheese from Rita Rossi farm in Cascia (PG). www.colforcella.it

250 g whole milk

15 g butter

15 g flour

For the onions

200 g red Cannara onions

300 g white wine vinegar

300 g white wine

Salt

Black peppercorns

One bay leaf

700 g fresh fava beans

Fresh garlic

mint

Prepare the sauce: make a roux with butter and flour, add boiling milk and simmer for a few seconds before adding goat cheese. Dissolve cheese and purée sauce with hand-held blender to smooth.

Remove skin from de-salted baccalà (can use later to decorate plate, either fried or oven-dried in strips), dice fish, dress with olive oil and ground pepper.

Peel the red onions, slice into thin sections and boil in wine and vinegar flavored with bay leaf and peppercorns. Drain onions and cool. When the cooking liquid is cool, combine again with onions.

Peel fava beans. (If they are small, you can leave skin.) A little before serving, sauté with fresh garlic, fresh mint, salt. Combine elements in a deep dish and serve.

Riso di Semola, poached eggs alla carbonara, wild asparagus

4 servings

For the eggs

6 organic eggs

10 thick-cut slices salted lard or guanciale

Freshly-ground pepper

For the riso di semola

240 g riso di semola (rice-shaped pasta)

20 g spring onions

2 l vegetable broth

300 g wild asparagus

5 g fresh garlic

50 g grated Parmigiano Reggiano

Extra-virgin olive oil

Salt

Parsley, chopped

Remove excess pepper and skin from lard. Place lard in freezer or flash-freeze to make cutting easier. Cut heat-proof plastic wrap into a 25-30 cm square. Oil the center. Slice lard or guanciale very thin, into 12 cm square pieces, and place each in center of wrap on oiled section. Arrange the wraps above concave molds. For each, separate white and yolk. Grind pepper on white, beat lightly and spoon onto center of wrap. Place intact yolk on center of white and close wrap balloon-style.

Clean wild asparagus. Keep only tender part, blanch in boiling water, cool in ice, cut off a few pieces from end to stir into riso di semola. Sauté asparagus in olive oil and a little fresh garlic, add parsley and reserve.

In another pan, heat other lard gently until crisp. Cook riso di semola as you would risotto. Begin with spring onion and olive oil, then add riso di semola and toast for a few seconds. Add hot vegetable broth (you can add discarded bits of asparagus to broth during preparation, then remove). Continue cooking. When almost done, add small pieces of tender asparagus and blend with olive oil and Parmigiano Reggiano.

Simmer eggs gently in water, preparing two extra in case of breakage. Cook for 5 minutes, beginning with eggs at room temperature, 5½ minutes if eggs are cold. Serve risotto with poached eggs on top. Be careful with eggs when removing from plastic wrap. Garnish with slices of crisp lard.

Squab (browned breast, raviolo with dark meat, fennel and pear chutney, spices and peas)

4 servings

For the squab

Four middle-sized squab

20 g spring onion

20 g carrots

20 g celery

5 g fresh garlic

1 clove

1 bouquet mixed herbs

White wine

Extra-virgin olive oil

Salt

100 g fresh egg pasta sheet

Mixed powdered spices (cinnamon, star anise, cardamom, ginger)

Cocoa

10 g bread crumbs

10 g macaroon crumbs

Sage

Vinegar

Freshly ground pepper

80 g peas

Fresh garlic

Cooked grape must

For the quick chutney

1 Williams pear

1 fennel bulb

40 g light brown sugar

50 g apple vinegar

1 piece cinnamon stick

1 sprig rosemary

Clean squab, reserve livers. De-bone the birds, removing breasts whole with the backbone attached. Remove part of the breast to cook and serve separately (see photo). Remove skin and make raviolo filling with dark meat. Brown the livers over high heat with olive oil and fresh garlic. Add sage, vinegar, fresh black pepper and salt. Chop the livers with the raw meat and adjust seasoning. Cook the pasta sheets, cool, dry, and cover with a very thin layer of chopped squab. Place in refrigerator covered with plastic wrap.

Make broth with bones. Brown them in a pan, then add celery, carrot, onion, fresh garlic, clove. Cook for a few minutes, then add white wine. Add the herb bouquet and cover with abundant ice. Cover pan and cook for 2 hours adding liquid if necessary. When ready, strain. and If necessary, reduce further.

Prepare the chutney: cut the pear and fennel into cubes. Combine with rest of ingredients and cook over high heat to caramelize without their changing color. Shell peas and blanch in boiling water for a few seconds. Drain and sauté with a little fresh garlic and rosemary.

For the spice powder, ideally start with fresh spices and grind them, but powdered ones can be used. Add them to bread crumbs with a pinch of cocoa powder and macaroon crumbs.

When ready to serve, brown the breasts on all sides and roast in oven for 5 minutes. Cut the dark meat raviolo into squares, dust with spice and crumb powder, arrange on plate and place other ingredients on top. To complete, moisten with the reduced broth and decorate with chutney, herbs, peas and cooked grape must. Sauté the breasts for a few seconds over high heat and arrange on plate.

Strawberry and basil sherbet, custard, hemp biscotto

4 servings

For the sherbet

500 g ripe strawberries

(reserve 100 g for sauce)

100 g sugar syrup

(50% water, 50% sugar)

5 g basil leaves

For the custard

250 g milk

80 g sugar

1 yolk

Lemon

For the hemp biscotto

60 g bread flour

60 g hemp flour

60 g light brown sugar

90 g almond flour

65 g extra-virgin olive oil

Lemon

Combine the sherbet ingredients in a Pacojet container (or else blend, strain and use ice-cream maker). Heat milk with lemon zest. Work together egg yolk and sugar, then add to milk and heat in double boiler to make a custard.

For the biscotto: combine the ingredients without handling too much. Crumble the dough and bake in 175°/350°F oven for 15 minutes. Purée the 100 g of strawberries and strain. Serve.