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Alessi cuisine

 

 
 

Pheasant soup of the Archibishop Tarlati, so called "All'Avignonese"

(Zuppa di fagiano dell'arcivescovo Tarlati, detta all'Avignonese)

  • A)
  • the carcass of a pheasant (the breast will be used for point C) cut into pieces
  • 1 carrot
  • 1 white onion
  • 1 leak
  • 1 celery rib
  • 200 grams of cultivated mushrooms (aal of them chopped)
  • a bunch composed by:
    7-8 small branches of thyme
    2 leaves of sweet bay
    7-8 small branches of parsley
    5-6 spoons of olive oil
    4-5 cloves
    a piece (4-5 cm) of chopped cinnamon
    1/4 of white wine
    1 boletus stock cube
    1litre and 1/2 of broth, also prepared with meat extract
  • B)
  • a mixture composed by:
    1 white onion
    25 grams of butter
    1 spoon of granular extract for boletus broth
    1/2 spoon of extract for boletus broth
    1/2 spoon of granular extract for roasts
    25 grams of butter
    1spoon full of white flour
    1 big spoon of hot water
  • C)
  • the pheasant's breast
  • 1 glass of white wine
  • 1 spoon of powder mustard
  • 1 knob of butter
  • 3 spoons of sugar
  • 7-8 spoons of white vinegar
  • salt and white pepper
  • 4 slices of bread
  • 250 grams of cream
  • 10 almonds, shelled and chopped
  • salt
Take a pan and put all the vegetables, the composed bunch, cloves, cinnamon and oil as from point A), position this pot over a medium-brisky heat, covered with a lid, in order to brown the ingredients for 10 minutes, turning very often.
Then, in the same pan, add the pieces of pheasant, turn them and mix them very well with the cooking vegetables, increase the heat and brown for 5-6 minutes, always turning.
In the meanwhile, in a small saucepan, warm the wine and melt the boletus stock cube, then pour it in the pan, where pheasant and vegetables are browning.
Remove the lid from the pan and, over a brisky heat, let the wine evaporate always turning the ingredients and gradually scrape the bottom of the pan in order to have a well browned and completely dry stuff.
At this time add the broth, decrease the heat as to have a light boiling, and let the stuff boil for one hour, with a lid.
At the appropriate time take a saucepan and put the mixture at point B), let it stew over a low heat until the onion will lose its smell (7-8 minutes) and will become sweet, without being coloured.
Now mix also the butter and the flour with the hot water, then add the mixture to the onion, which is cooking in the saucepan. Turn and mix very well, boil for 4-5 minutes over a low heat, turning and taking care that anything will attach on the bottom or will get coloured, especially when the stuff will start to become thick.
In the meanwhile switch off the fire at the pan and, with a skimmer, remove from the broth, all the pheasant's pieces (you have to drain them) and let them cool down in a dish.
Take the blender once again, put two big spoons of broth with some pieces of the boiled vegetables, mix these ingredients to disintegrate them, then, very slowly, turning continuously with a ladle, add this mixture to the ingredients which are in the saucepan and boil all of them very slowly for about 10-12 minutes, using a lid and turning sometimes.
Take the pheasant's breast (point C), cut it in stripes and, using a small baking-pan with butter, let them brown for 3-4 minutes over a brisky heat, turning sometimes. In the meanwhile take the blender once again, put all the ingredients mentioned at point C) - obviously less the pheasant's breast - and mix very well in order to have a homogeneous mixture. As soon as the stripes of pheasant's breast will be well browned, pour the above mixture in the small baking-pan (together with the breast) and boil this stuff very slowly and let it simmer for 5-6 minutes, turning very often.
Then take the pieces of pheasant, which have been previously drained and cooled down, and take the flesh off the bones gathering the meat in the blender together with the remaining broth and cooked vegetables, which were in the pan.
Mix very well, eliminate any bones you find and when these ingredients will be well disintegrated and mixed, add the mixture to the other broth in the saucepan, which is still cooking.
The same and meticulous turning and mixing, boil very slowly, cover with a lid, and cook for 15 minutes removing all the impurities and densities on the surface.
After this time add the cream, mix very well, let it boil for 3-4 minutes more, then taste and add, if necessary, some more salt, cover hermetically, switch off the fire and leave this stuff stand.
In the meanwhile, at the right time, you have to take out from the heat the stripes of pheasant's breast, cut them in small pieces to use warmed afterwards. When it is time to eat, re-boil the broth and put a small slice of bread in each soup dish with the pieces of pheasant (1/4 for each), the almonds and cover them with hot broth.
This is not a recipe easy to prepare (in this case we have betrayed our program), but we should say it is not so difficult once you get used with it and you have previously well prepared all the needed ingredients. But the final result will be simply marvellous, thanks to the taste, fully express, very involving and original. The word "original" has the meaning of "unusual", because the over described soup is our version of a soup from Arezzo (that is why our reference to the archbishop Tarlati) dating back to the Middle Age, so we can say it has an ancient taste. We are very convinced of our action of reclamation of old traditions and the connection to current tastes, that is why we propose it in the current version, the same version we propose to our table when we can find appropriate pheasants. If you do not like the bitter sweet taste, you can use the pheasant's breast in a different way, boiling it in an aromatic broth together with its carcass and then, once you have drained it and cut it in small pieces, you can cook it in a small baking-pan with butter, white pepper, spices and a pinch of salt. Once you have browned it, beat it and then put it over some slices of bread together with, if it is possible, some white truffle and Parmisan cheese (and the result would be exciting).

A Giuseppe Alessi recipe
Translated by Gianna Toni
Picture by Kee-Ho Casati

 
 
 
   
 
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