The hare in the woods
The first time I dined at the 'Francescana' in Modena was in 1998 and Massimo Bottura had not yet become Massimo Bottura. You did however eat very well. Massimo had already taken on the traditional trattoria for three years and, after training with Alain Ducasse in Monte Carlo and moving to New York to follow his wife, had returned to his hometown eager to do great things. In 2000, Bottura journeyed to Ferran Adrià in Catalonia to experiment with molecular cuisine. Then, in 2002, the first Michelin star arrived, in 2006, the second, in 2012, the third. In 2016 and 2018, his was ranked first in the world in the list of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants. Between these two coronations, at a grand dinner in Miami, I experienced firsthand what Bottura represents to the international public.
Today one of his great passions is contemporary art which his wife Lara brought him closer to. He is engaged in humanitarian activity and in 2015, on the occasion of the Expo, he invented the ‘Refettorio Ambrosiano’, which has been replicated in Modena, Bologna, Naples, London, Paris, and Rio de Janeiro to assist people in need.
Bruno Vespa
The recipe
Ingredients for 4 persons
Civet sauce
100 g Hare bones
50 ml Hare blood
300 ml Red wine, such as Amarone
1 Star anise pod
1⁄4 vanilla pod
10 black peppercorns
5 Juniper berries
1 Bay leaf
orange peel
5 g cocoa powder
1 vanilla bean
Mix all the ingredients and place them in the fridge to soak for 24 hours. Transfer them to a copper pot and cook over low heat until the liquid is reduced by a quarter. Filter to remove solid parts and reduce by half over low heat.
Vinaigrette
50 g cleaned foie gras
100 ml Whole milk
0,7 g Sea salt
0,5 g Sugar
0,2 g White ground pepper
Soak the foie gras in the milk for 3 hours. Pour off the milk; vacuum seal the foie gras together with the remaining ingredients and leave it to macerate for 36 hours. Cook the foie gras in its bag for 20 minutes in a thermostatic bath at 60 ° C. Blend and pass through a sieve.
Crème royale di lepre
6 g Criollo chocolate, 70% cocoa
Cream of 2 “Tierra di Lavazza” espresso coffees
35 g Civet sauce (already set aside)
35 g Foie gras cream (previously prepared)
Sea salt and black pepper
Melt the chocolate and add the cream. Combine the civet sauce and foie gras. Add the chocolate mixture. Season with salt and pepper.
Coffee and Chocolate Cookie Crumbs:
5 g butter
5 g sugar
1 ml ground coffee
5 g cocoa powder 5 g flour
0.2 g sea salt
Mix all the ingredients by hand until a homogeneous mixture is formed. Let it set in the refrigerator for 12 hours. Spread it in a thin, even layer on a silpat cooking sheet and bake at 160 ° C for 8 minutes. Once cooled, crumble it.
Presentation
Zucchero di canna mascobado
Erbe aromatiche essiccate polverizzate (menta, origano, finocchio, melissa)
Topinambur secchi polverizzati
Sedano rapa secco polverizzato
Tartufi neri, tagliati in una brunoise molto fine tartufi bianchi delle Langhe polverizzati cenere vegetale
Spezie macinate (cannella, anice stellato, pepe nero, ginepro e chiodo di garofano)
Funghi porcini secchi polverizzati
sale di vaniglia
Stendere uno spesso strato di crème royale di lepre su un piatto quadrato e metterla a raffreddare in frigorifero, togliendola appena prima di servire in tavola.
Caramellare lo zucchero mascobado con un fornello a cannello formando cinque macchie direttamente sopra la crème royale.
Realizzare un disegno mimetico con le polveri colorate vegetali e di erbe e con le briciole dei biscotti al caffè e cioccolato.
Servire con un cucchiaino e una tazza di caffè da filtro fruttato.
Suggested wine for this dish
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Terregiunte
€ 105,00
