HOTELSAN ITALIAN EXPERIENCEThe Porto Bello restaurant is elegant and very inviting, with excellentservice. I requested a meal that would benefit me if I were diabetic,as I was interested to see what kind of meal would follow, because aswe all know, sugar undeniably makes food taste good. Diabetic foodoptions are not necessarily on the Porto Bello menu, but are speciallymade upon request. Therefore, the meals that I tried were literallymade on the spot by the Chef de Cuisine as if I were a diabetic sufferer.The first dish that I tried was what Georgiy called “Salad 21”, a saladmade with 21 ingredients: Fresh Lettuce (Red Oak Leaf, Frisee,Radicchio, Baby Gem, Endive), Green Zucchini, Yellow Zucchini,Broccoli, Cauliflower, Asparagus, Brussels Sprout, Carrot, YellowstoneCarrot, Cherry Tomato, Baby Cucumber, Red Relish, Orangesegments, Peach, and Shiso Cress for garnish. It was an explosion offlavor, and delightfully sweet because of the lemon juice flavoring.The salad was served with black olive soil which is very healthy andadds to the flavor, and also extra virgin olive oil. The result was atangy, fresh lemon flavored salad which I can imagine would be veryappealing to children because of the zesty pinch – the perfect way toget kids to eat their greens!The main dish was “Poached Salmon with Barley”. Barley is a wonderfullyversatile cereal grain with a rich nutlike flavor and an appealingchewy, pasta-like consistency. Barley has been linked to loweringcholesterol and reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes. The dish I triedwas served with fresh poached salmon (not fried) cooked skin downfor 7-10 minutes to add natural flavor and aroma. Georgiy also usedsmoked butter to lower cholesterol, Red Radish for garnish, Baby Carrot,and Brussels sprouts. The vegetables were prepared by blanchingand sauteing lightly in a pan with olive oil, with added salt and pepper.It was delicious - my favorite dish!The final dish was an absolute treat, but entirely guilt free! I wasserved an impeccably presented sugar free dessert which consistedof compressed seedless watermelon with lemon ice tea flavoring, andcassis jelly. Compressing fruit is a complex process which involvesadding puree to fruit and then cold boiling it together in a vacuumsealed bag. The result is a rich flavorsome fruit dessert with no addedunnatural sugars.www.ziwira.com
COMPRESSED WATERMELON WITH CASSIS JELLY300 gr. Water Melon200 ml. Green Tea5 gr. Mint LeavesPlace all the ingredients in avacuum bag and seal in thevacuum machine and let it setovernight.For the Cassis Jelly:230 ml. Cranberry Juice80 gr. Cassis10 ml. Lemon Juice130 gr. Sugar2 gr. Agar agarPlace Cranberry juice, cassis, lemon juice, and sugarin heavy saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil,stirring constantly. Add Agar agar and, stirring constantly,cook till mix comes to a full, rolling boil. Boilfor 1 minute. Remove from heat and skim off foamwith metal spoon. Immediately pour into desired trayand place inside the chiller to cool down.For Raspberry Jam:300 gr. Raspberry Puree100 ml. Water100 gr. Sugar50 ml. White Balsamic2 gr. Agar agarBoil all the ingredientsand cool it down. Once themixture is cold enough,blend using a hand blenderthen place in a squeezebottle. Start plating. Addsome thin slices of peachand red cherry for garnish.By: ZANE SMALL<strong>August</strong> Issue 1 2015
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