Ossigeno

p o p - u p c h e f 14 A technique that guarantees golden results, provided that in turn it is possible to ensure a respectful and active interaction with ingredients and the rules that they are subjected to. Rules that Daniela Cicioni splendidly mastered by 2010, when she became a renowned Italian chef in a raw food restaurant that included enormous fermentative potential, aimed at a wider variety to be introduced and enjoyed on the menu conceived by her. Today, herself a polar star and beacon for explanations on fermentative technique - in a national scene that still languishes, from the information standpoint, in the literature dedicated to this area of relevance – the studies Daniela Cicioni has performed on the matter are rooted mostly in Anglo-Saxon and American writings - one volume above all, The Art of Fermentation by Sandor Ellix Katz ¹; these studies allowed her launching a knowledgeable stage of research and experimentation with the right balance between ingredients and portions, times and temperatures, smells and flavours. In the words of the renowned chef, the simplest practice of fermentation is obtained from oilseeds - such as cashews, almonds, macadamia nuts - left to soak for a few hours in water with the aid of basically one natural starter (such as probiotic ferments, or also a fixed percentage of already fermented ingredients such as sauerkraut ). Mixing everything until having a thick and homogeneous cream, letting it sit covered and in the dark for 48 hours, finally adjusting it with salt, aromatic herbs and ingredients to taste – spices, olives, dried tomatoes, curry, smoked paprika – the result is a compound similar to cheese in texture and flavour, but completely free of gluten, lactose, additives, preservatives or thickeners. Precisely by virtue of their similarity to dairy products, Daniela Cicioni has renamed these plant products fermentini , with a more or less robust flavour depending on the dried fruits used. Fresh from the successful launch on the world market of a fermentino with a base of cashews and almonds that bears her same name, the chef is now experimenting with a new fermentino starting with pumpkin seeds, whose flavour is similar to that of a mature goat cheese. And if the fermentini perfectly recall cheese, the insalatini are instead vegetables cut into pieces, placed in a container with water and salt and left to ferment in the brine; a procedure entirely similar to the original one of italian giardiniera , a traditional side dish originally created through fermentation, in which classic recipe no cooking was expected, nor adding vinegar. Constantly on the road for fundamental direct contact with her subject of study, Daniela Cicioni recounts Tempeh , the Southeast Asian traditional product made with soy beans, chickpeas or peas, where the fermentation process is triggered by particular types of mushrooms; Miso and a whole range of products widely used in macrobiotic cooking; Fervida , a preparation of Thai origin that has excellent healing characteristics, used as a dietary supplement with beneficial effects on the whole body; Kechek-el-fouqara , a complex technique of Lebanese descent where the bulgur is immersed in brine for a period of two to three weeks. A trip on which, as on every trip it could be said, the journey still reveals unexpected encounters – such as, says Cicioni, getting coconut oil by adding to the pureed fruit pulp yoghurt ferments and leaving the mixture to set at 40 Celsius degrees. A chef on a journey on a broad path, divided, and in Italy still barely trodden. A chef who doesn’t stop searching, studying, experimenting, travelling to discover, through her own expert, privileged eyes, the infinite facets of a technique as antique as the world. ¹ Sandor Ellix Katz with a Foreword by Michael Pollan, The art of fermentation: an in-depth exploration of essential concepts and processes all around the world , Chelsea Green Pub. Co., 2012 – James Beard Foundation Award, 2013, as the best reference book and instruction in the field of culinary techniques. i n f e r m e n t o i n F e r m e n t