Vegetarian recipes: three ideas from chef Viviana Varese for a super dinner at home

Viviana Varese’s FAAK vegetarian recipesin via Arnaldo da Brescia 5 in Milan, were a real surprise: we crossed the threshold trusting in a cuisine of a certain level – but casual and affordable – which we knew equipped with embers.

But on the menu, in addition to the meat dishes that we expected and which alone are worth the stop, we have found delicious recipes that use vegetables as if they were proteins. For example, in the case of Confit puttanesca pepper with tuna sauceor in that of Radicchio, red turnip, almond milk and sour cherry. «Vegetables are certainly among the protagonists of the restaurant, whether raw, grilled or marinated. It was also a choice linked to health, a tribute to Italian biodiversity and the Mediterranean diet”, says Viviana Varese.

Chef Viviana Varese

Salernitana, born in 1974, Viviana Varese boasts stellar experiences ranging from His Majesty Gualtiero Marchesi’s Albereta to El Celler De Can Roca in Girona; from Christian Puglisi’s Relae to Angel Leon’s Aponiente to Albert Adrià’s Enigma, in Barcelona. In 1999 he debuted with his Girasole in the Lodi area, to win his first star in 2011 with the Milanese Alice. A few years later, the transfer within Eataly Smeraldo. Today there are five venues that bear his signature: Passalacqua, on Lake Como; the W VILLADORATA Country Restaurant and the VIVA IL BISTROT both in Noto, Sicily; the Milanese OCTOPUS Simply Fish to which in recent months has been added, in fact, FAAK.

«It is a place that breaks the mould, an artisanal food factory divided between pastry, bread making and pizza, barbecue and a great attention to wine» continues the chef. «Open all day, it adapts to every occasion and offers an offer of products and a menu centered on the ingredient, which becomes the real protagonist. We give ample space to desserts and pastry art – from breakfast to snacks to dinner, including croissants, cakes, pastries and leavened products – but also to bread-making, with the use of native and artisanal flours.” And again: «cafeteria with selected blends, light lunch with quick dishes, salads, focaccia and baked menus, a refined choice of cheeses, cured meats, meats and vegetables. Appetizing aperitifs and an evening proposal that synthesizes wine, barbecue and pizza.” Between the plusalso the baked and fire-baked desserts and the wine list, enriched by travel, the search for excellence and small winemakers in constant ferment.

Among the highlights: «the diaphragm with BBQ carrots and the carrot and duck cream with burnt red turnip and spicy red turnip cream». Average prices: «20 euros excluding drinks for lunch, 40/50 euros for dinner». In conclusion: to get an idea of ​​what awaits you on the vegetable front, in case you decide to take a leap (and we recommend it), here are three healthy, simple and highly effective recipes for readers of Vanity Fair.

Pistachio, avocado and seed salad

Ingredients for 4 people: 40 g toasted mixed seeds (flax, sunflower, sesame), 2 lollo salads, 1 avocado, salt to taste, extra virgin olive oil, honey vinegar. For the avocado cream: avocado, Bronte pistachio, lemon juice, fine salt.

Procedure:

• For the avocado cream, blend all the ingredients together and place in a closed container in the refrigerator.
• Wash the salad and dry it, place it in a bowl and season it to taste with oil, salt and vinegar
• Plate the salad, add 3 tablespoons of avocado and pistachio cream, fresh avocado slices and toasted seeds.

Beetroot, radicchio and almond

Courtesy Faak

Ingredients for 4 people: 2 late radicchio, 10 g beetroot powder, 50 g sour cherries in syrup. For the almond cream: 100 g of blanched almonds, 200 g of water, 1 pinch of salt. For the salmoriglio: extra virgin olive oil, lime juice, mint, basil, fine salt, parsley. For the spicy beetroot cream: raw beetroot, extra virgin olive oil, garlic, water, fine salt.

Procedure:

• For the beetroot cream: cook the beets for 30 minutes in the oven at 180 g, then cook them for a long time on the BBQ or on the grill, clean them of the skin, cut them into large slices and cook them again on the BBQ. Once cooked very well, blend part of it until you obtain a thick and homogeneous cream, adding the above ingredients.
• For the almond cream: blend the peeled almonds, water, salt and heat it on the heat.
• Wash and cut the radicchio into 4 parts and cook on the BBQ for a few minutes.
• Place the radicchio, the sliced ​​beetroot on the plate and finish with the almond cream, the sour cherries and the beetroot powder, finally dirtying the plate with the spicy beetroot sauce.

Tarte tatin with datterino tomatoes

spring blue

Ingredients for 4 people: 1 roll of puff pastry, 300 g datterini tomatoes, 20 g sugar, oregano to taste, basil, lemon zest, salt, extra virgin olive oil

Procedure:

• Wash, dry and cut the cherry tomatoes in half. Place a sheet of baking paper on a 24cm diameter baking tray, place all the cherry tomatoes, seasoning them with a drizzle of oil, salt, sugar, spices and lemon peel. Bake at 180 degrees for 10 minutes.
• On the same baking tray, place the pre-cooked cherry tomatoes very close to each other and with the inside facing upwards, cover with the puff pastry, try to tuck it in well along the edges and prick with the tines of a fork. Bake at 180 degrees in a fan oven and cook for 25 minutes. Once cooled, place a plate of suitable size on the mold and turn everything over with a quick and precise movement. Finally decorate with aromatic herbs.