Food for soul uses cookies strictly necessary for the proper functioning of the website, for its legitimate interest to enhance your online experience and to enable or facilitate communication by electronic means. To learn more about cookies please see our Cookie Policy
The holidays tend to be a time where delicious meals and treats are shared...and, unfortunately, a time of excess food waste. For this Giving Tuesday, Chef Bernardo Paladini would like to remind us of the beauty and potential of simple ingredients - like bread - helping us to reflect on our role in creating a more generous and sustainable world.
Credits: Torno Subito, W Dubai - The Palm
Born in Rome, Bernardo has spent many years working in Modena – first at Osteria Francescana and then at Franceschetta58 – before moving to Dubai last year, where he is now Chef at Massimo Bottura’s Torno Subito restaurant. Despite being miles away from Italy, Bernardo’s Pappa al Pomodoro smells and tastes like home and family.
At Torno Subito in Dubai, his Pappa al Pomodoro is served as an amuse-bouche made with recovered bread, one of the most wasted ingredients and yet one of the most valuable ones.
“The most important dish is the one that welcomes people,” says Bernardo. “The Pappa al Pomodoro has bread at the bottom, covered with tomato, basil and oil and on top a bread crust and Parmesan foam. It is the smallest dish we have in our menu, but, at the same time, the most important: is not just about aesthetic, it’s about the ethic too.”
The recipe is thought to be zero-waste. Restaurants have to ensure they have the right amount of bread available, but they often don’t know the number of guests in advance, so they often have surplus produce. But in no time the Parmesan rind and leftover bread can be turned into a dish for the following day.
Download Bernardo’s Pappa al Pomodoro recipe below and find out how you can transform this holiday season into a feast that is good for people and the planet. Bread is, in fact, gold.
Cooking is an act of love because through food you can transfer emotions, tell a story or connect people. Food is a way of sharing, of discovering cultures and of exploring history. Food is a universal language and cooking is such a beautiful way to communicate with and take care of others. Cooking doesn’t mean throwing together nice ingredients - it is a chemistry of the perfect ingredients, working with local and artisanal products, and looking at the sustainability aspect of reducing waste.
Bernardo Paladini
Credits: Torno Subito, W Dubai - The Palm
Pappa al Pomodoro
Ingredients for 2 people
250 gr Leftover bread
120 gr Tomatoes
15 gr Basil
1 Clove of Garlic
1 Onion
2 Star anise
35 gr Extra virgin olive oil
65 gr Parmigiano-Reggiano crust
1 litre Milk
2 gr Nutmeg
Create a tomato sauce prepared with onion, garlic and star anise. Add fresh tomatoes and cook it for 35 minutes.
Blend the bread crumb and add it to the tomato sauce.
Make an infusion of Parmigiano-Reggiano crust and milk overnight. Next day, blend it, strain it and put it into a syphon.
Roast the bread crust with olive oil, lemon zest, black pepper and salt.
Serve the tomato and bread at the bottom, cover with the crunchy breadcrumbs and finish it with the foam at 64 degrees Celsius.
