When we interviewed chef Tomi Morgade in Tuscany, we also wanted to get some of his cooking secrets, since every meal he served at Borgolecchi was a masterpiece.
So, we grilled him on everything from the secret to perfect risotto to a simple bruschetta recipe to how Italians really feel about garlic—plus a few other tips that riders who loved his food can bring to their everyday cooking at home!
Grow your own produce
Have garden space? Grow some of your own produce. If you go for a walk after your ride, you may spot Tomi in the back garden, picking fresh herbs and lettuce for the next meal. There’s something about harvesting your own lettuce, tomatoes and basil that just tastes better. Obviously, you don’t need to become a serious gardener, but even a window box with a mix of Italian herbs will add flavor to your dishes.
Demand quality in your ingredients
It’s impossible to make a good dish with bad ingredients, Tomi says. So don’t be afraid to pass on bad produce at the grocery store or farmer’s market, or to ask the butcher for the best cuts that he has available. Shopping for produce that is in season typically means getting the freshest, most local options, so shift your menu to reflect what’s in season now.
Take it slow
Many of Tomi’s dinners begin with prep work that starts in the morning. Marinating meat or vegetables takes time for the best results. A ragu sauce tastes better if it’s been allowed to simmer on low for hours. Even baked apples and pears can be even better if they’ve soaked. Don’t rush the process of cooking—take your time as you dice and chop, and enjoy the sensation of creating a fabulous dish.
Cut back on the garlic
One thing that I noticed in my week with Tomi was that garlic wasn’t heavily featured in the dishes, and I had always assumed that Italian food was garlic-heavy. “I had the same idea when I arrived here,” he says. “But in an Italian kitchen, there is not garlic hanging everywhere, you don’t use a lot of it in everything. It’s not about the garlic.” Instead, it’s about the essence of garlic: He’ll add a clove to olive oil that he’s heating in the pan to lightly imbue the flavor, then remove it when the meat, vegetables or pasta are added.
Perfect your risotto
On a practical level, I had to know: What’s the key to like a perfect risotto for someone trying to make one at home? Tomi has a few tricks. “I like to toast the rice first,” he says. “Do this in a dry pan, no oil. Just heat the rice on the pan until it starts to smell slightly toasted—just a couple minutes. Then, use a really intense, dense stock. Don’t use a thin one.
Once you start adding the stock to the pan, be very careful and pay attention so you don’t overcook the rice. And of course, the last part, and most important, is the mantecatura, which is the part where you add the butter and the parmesan cheese to the rice. You are able to add a lot of butter, but you are not able to put in a lot of cheese. So be careful with the cheese, because you can kill all the flavor with the parmesan at the last moment. All the work that you did could be ruined because you put a lot of parmesan cheese, because it’s a strong flavor.”
Impress your friends with your bruschetta
Finally, if you’re hosting a dinner party for friends or just trying to spice up a Thursday evening at home, serving a bruschetta is a great way to add some (easy) flair to the dinner table. Start with a good bread, says Tomi, ideally from a local bakery. Then, try one of his two simple-but-delicious recipes:
Kale and beans: “This is one of the most traditional bruschettas during the winter, because black kale is from this season,” he says. “I put cold olive oil in a pan with a clove of garlic and very slowly heat it up to infuse the olive oil with that delicate garlic flavor. Then, I take out the garlic and add clean chopped kale and cook it for two minutes at a low heat, just to soften it. Then, at the last moment, I add pre-cooked white beans, a little bit of olive oil—which it’s never a little bit, I will say it’s actually generous. We are in Tuscany, so it’s always a lot of olive oil—and then let that heat for one more minute. Then, I put it on top of the bread, and it goes to the oven with a little bit more olive oil on top. It’s very simple.”
Sausage and strachino: “Straquino is a kind of soft cheese, and it’s delicious. I mix it with pre-cooked crumbled sausage, with a bit of black truffle oil. That goes on the bread and directly into the oven. It should only be in for two or three minutes until the bread is crispy and the cheese is melted.”
