“I want to convey an emotion, says TV Chef Celebrity Alessandro Borghese, I want to please who comes to my place, I want to make my guests happy. A space with a highly refined, personal aesthetic character. The menu changes often according to the availability of the raw material depending on the season.”
March 8th, Women’s Day.
Superstar TV Chef Alessandro Borghese, very popular host of the Italian TV show “Alessandro Borghese 4 restaurants” dedicates his cake “Lemon Lady” to all women,. The cake will be available March 5th- 8th (and … given its goodness, probably even later) at the Borghese’s restaurant Il lusso della Sempicità ‘AB – The luxury of simplicity’, in the CityLife area of Milan.
THE INTERVIEW
Alessandro, let’s talk about travel: any favorite destinations?
Seychelles, Madagascar, Cape Town, Israel: stages in a period that I consider my ‘gastronomic childhood’ aboard cruise ships. I have great memories of special dinners in Cape Verde, Japan and San Francisco, where I was born. I also ended up in unpredictable places, like that little shack by the beach in Maui, Hawaii, where I enjoyed one of the best sushi of my life.
Where do you like to spend a free weekend?
I like to bring wife Wilma and my daughters Arizona and Alexandra to Venice.
Besides cooking, what are your passions?
Listening and playing good music, both at home and in my restaurant, where I love to combine music and food, like in my new dish Che Capasanta prepared on the grill, glazed with pear sauce on cannellini cream, rocket and rye bread: a gourmet work of art served on a plate reminiscent of 33 rpm vinyl. I love the music! I go from jazz to blues to a lot of rock: Scott Mc Kenzie, The Guess Who, Johnny Cash, Wild Cherry …
What about driving?
I am into racing cars. Cars are a family passion. My Grandfather ran the garage, “Autoricambi Borghese” right in the heart of Naples, Dad was a motorcycle rider, he raced in all categories.
I grew up between races and drivers and I am a fan of speed. When I can, I go racing on the track, often at the wheel of a Porche 23
Let’s go back to the kitchen: an incomparable dish?
A dish from the past: uncle Tonino’s pasta and potatoes and Nerano’s style spaghetti .
I ‘d like to mention Wilma’s rabbit with beer, very good. rustic, simple and unique!
Your earliest cooking memory? I
It is linked to Sundays, My father’s famous ragù made with tomatoes and basil in glass jars.
I was a kid and I remember that I woke up with that aroma in the house.
Alessandro, some hidden passion?
(laughs) I would say… semi-hidden: the tattoos. I have many .. The one on my arm recalls a period in my life when, like a stray cook, I used to travel the world with a bag of knives and a great desire to know life, on the other arm I have a pomegranate, Jewish symbol of honesty and fairness. I have many others, but I’ll tell you next time …
And here we are at your brand new creation: ‘Lemon Lady’
I wanted to celebrate Women’s Day with a warm-colored dessert: a yellow reminiscent of the sun and mimosas. Lemon Lady is made of biscuits, lemon mousse, marzipan biscuit and white chocolate mousse,covered with yellow cocoa butter spray and garnished with raspberry and calamansi coulis, raspberry sorbet and mango and sesame wafer.
Limoncello mascarpone mousse Yolk 250 g • Sugar 200 g • Water 40 g • Lemon juice 70 g • Limoncello 30 g • Mascarpone 1050 g • Cream 750 g • Gelatin 30 g • Lemon peel 30 pcs Lemon and almond biscuit Marzipan 250 g • Sugar 450 g • Eggs 250 g • Soft butter 450 g • Eggs 500 g • Lemon peel 30 g • White flour 250 g • Starch 200 gr White chocolate mousse Cream 500 g • Vanilla 1 berry • Yolk 150 g • Yolk 200 g • Sugar 180 g • Water 60 g • Gelatin 25 g • White chocolate 650 g • Semi-whipped cream 1200 g Crispy mango waffle Mango puree 150 g • Lemon puree 50 g • Glucose 50 g • Sugar 20 g • Pectin 5 g Raspberry sorbet Puree raspberry 400 gr • Water 330 gr • Neutral sorbet 3 gr • Dextrose 37 gr • Glucose 35 gr • Sugar 165 gr Raspberry gel Raspberry puree 690 g Sugar 184 g Agar Agar 10 g Water 115 g Calamansi gel Pure by Calamansi Crystal Mais
Prepare the mascarpone and limoncello mousse: bring the yolk, sugar, water and lemon juice to 82 °. Cold by whipping in a planetary mixer and add the limoncello. Whip mascarpone and cream separately. When the cream reaches 35 °, add the melted gelatin and mix everything gently. Pour into the mold to form the first layer of the cake. Prepare the lemon and almond biscuit: soften the marzipan with eggs and sugar in a planetary mixer with leaves until you get a homogeneous mixture and add the butter with the lemon peels. Add the eggs flush, alternating them with the sifted flours. Roll out a 7 mm layer and bake in a convection oven at 180 ° C with the valve open for 10/12 minutes. Make the white chocolate mousse: make a pâte à bombe with water, sugar and egg yolk and make an English custard with the remaining egg yolks and cream. Melt the gelatine and pour it all over the white chocolate. Bring to 35 ° C and incorporate the cream with the pâte à bombe and the custard. Place the almond biscuit soaked in limoncello in the mold and add the white chocolate mousse. Finish the layers with an almond reconstructed cookie and place in the freezer for 2 hours. Prepare the crispy mango wafer: heat the purees with glucose up to 60 ° C, add sugar and pectin and let it boil for 2 minutes. Bake in the oven at 60-70 ° C for at least 10 hours. Prepare the raspberry sorbet: bring the puree and water to 40 ° C, add the powders and mix, then pasteurize and cream. For the raspberry gel: mix all the ingredients. Bring to a boil and remove from heat. Leave in the fridge for 2 hours and blend. Make the calamnsi gel: Blend the ingredients in a blender to the right consistency. Remove the cake from the mold and color with a yellow food spray with cocoa butter. Garnish with the raspberry sorbet, mango wafer and calamnsi and raspberry gel
