In a wonderful tribute to growing up in regional Italy, Bacchus Head Chef Massimo Speroni has unveiled a new dish for Winter, and it’s one that has been lovingly created in his family for generations.
The Anolini is a classic ravioli, made with Chef Speroni’s house-made pasta, filled with David Blackmore’s braised beef shin and Parmigiano and served in a very simple and authentic Italian beef broth. The dish was created for the Beef Discovery Degustation, but such has been the response that Bacchus now has the Anolini as a standalone dish on the a la cart menu. “Anolini is a northern Italian signature, however the flavours, spices and fillings used differ from town to town, making Anolini the local food language,” said Speroni.
The twist? After growing up with his mother and grandmother’s Anolini as his favourite dish, Chef Speroni never actually made it until he was in the Bacchus kitchen! “Growing up there was always pastas being made in the kitchen, always! We never bought pasta, my mother always made it from scratch, and filled the Anolini with local herbs and meats,” he said. “It was only when we were creating the Beef Discovery Degustation here at Bacchus that I realised the Anolini recipe of our family would be a perfect inclusion, especially as it is such a different way of presenting beef cuts, compared to here in Australia.”
“In Italy, everyone has their own way of cooking this dish, for example my mother would use capon and beef with vegetables and white wine.” In some places, the meat filling is replaced with bread tossed with stock and parmesan, and in other areas, the filling will be Parmigiano only. “The Speroni family recipe has been passed down through my mother’s family over generations, and I have taken this traditional approach and recreated it for Bacchus using Australian beef. This is a very special dish for me,” said Chef Speroni.
For an extra touch of flavour, Bacchus has worked with local olive oil producer midas24k to have customised Gold Leaf Olive Oil as an option with the dish!
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