Seasonal Pairing Recipes: Hotel Savoy

Every dish at Hotel Savoy has a story behind it and each one of its ingredients play a role in unravelling the tale. Rocco Forte’s Director of Food and Italy’s most renowned Chef Fulvio Pierangelini conjures magical qualities from the most simple and familiar ingredients of the Tuscan region. In celebrating Italy’s finest culinary traditions, he shares with us two recipes that mark the gentle end of summer and usher in the soothing colours of autumn.  

A comforting bean cream and ravioli coupled with a citrus-zing tequila-based cocktail, is the perfect blend of zesty freshness and Italian soul food. Drawing inspiration from the use of beans in traditional Mexican cuisine which pairs incredibly with tequila, he brings together these two creations to give your palate the warmth of ravioli and a burst of flavour with fresh tangerines, evoking emotions to long remember.

Dish:  Bean cream and ravioli By Chef Fulvio Pierangelini

Bean Cream

Ingredients:

• Boiled and drained beans 1.2kg
• Extra virgin olive oil 120g
• Celery 240g
• Spring onion 100g
• 10 Sage leaves
• 20 Basil leaves
• Organic tomato sauce 500g

Method:

• Soak the beans with water and a pinch of baking soda the evening before.
• Rinse and cook the beans, in lightly salted water, with a stalk of celery.  
• Sautée oil, celery and finely sliced spring onion in a saucepan with sage and basil leaves. 
• When the onion is softened, add the organic tomato sauce and season with salt.
• Leave to flavour for about ten minutes, add the beans and simmer for another 10 minutes; remove and discard the aromatic herbs.
• Remove the bean mixture from the heat and blitz until smooth. Add extra beans’ cooking water to obtain the desired consistency if necessary.

Ravioli filling

Ingredients:

• Extra virgin olive oil 50g
• Butter 25g
• 20 sage leaves
• Sheep’s ricotta cheese 250g
• Parmesan cheese 30g

Method:

• Place in a small saucepan 100g of extra virgin olive oil, 25g of butter, some sage leaves and cook at a low temperature. Do not exceed 40 °.
• Stir in ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese and freshly ground black pepper. 
• Blanch the remaining sage leaves three times (starting with cold water each time) and chop finely.
• Add the flavoured oil and butter.
• With this filling, prepare small ravioli (2cm in diameter).
• Season the beans reserved for the garnish with oil, salt, pepper and chopped basil.
• Cook the ravioli in boiling salted water.
• Tip the soup in a bowl, place the ravioli and top with the seasoned beans. Finish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Cocktail: Tangerine Blossom

Ingredients:

• 30 ml Casamigos tequila blanco
• 20 ml cedarwater liqueur
• 10 ml fresh lime juice
• 20 ml tangerine and wild fennel sherbet

Preparation:

• Pour all the ingredients in a shaker filled with ice cubes and shake well. Then strain it into an old-fashioned glass, over a big single ice cube.
• Garnish the glass with half black Hawaiian rim salt.

Set in the city’s centre amidst cobbled alleys and Renaissance architecture, experience the splendour of Florentine local ingredients and their flavours at bistro Irene during your stay at Hotel Savoy. Get in touch with us at reservations.savoy@roccofortehotels.com or +39 055 27 35 1 and allow us to take you on a culinary journey through the best of Tuscany