Bulli dishes: recipe hacks using canned ingredients
The chefs at B9’s bistrot share their favorite recipes with the Manifattura community — during the quarantine, you can prepare the best Bulli dishes from home!
This week’s recipes are inspired by haute cuisine but use the easiest ingredients to obtain during the quarantine: canned goods.
Dishes that are quick to prepare and won’t bust your budget, without sacrificing the pleasure of eating a well-cooked meal.
TUNA AND BEANS WITH ARTICHOKES AND BOTTARGA
by chef Giacomo Faberi
Ingredients (serves 4)
600 g canned tuna filet in water
400 g canned cannellini beans (240 g drained)
3 preserved artichokes (in olive oil)
Bottarga (powdered or filet) qb
1 shallot
2 cloves of garlic
1 sprig of rosemary
1 sprig of sage
Fresh oregano
EVOO
Peanut oil
Salt
Pepper
Directions:
Heat some olive oil with the rosemary and one clove of garlic (remember to remove the core). Use a kitchen thermometer to check the temperature of the oil. As soon as it reaches 53º C, turn off the flame and allow to cool. When the oil has cooled, add some fresh-ground pepper and use it to marinate the tuna filet. Let rest until ready to serve.
Brown the chopped shallot in a pan with some olive oil. Add a few sage leaves and one clove of garlic (halved, core removed). Add a splash of white wine and allow the alcohol to evaporate. Pour 200 g of cannellini beans into a colander, and rinse under running water. Add the beans to the pan and let them cook for a few minutes. Lower the flame and continue cooking for another 10-15 minutes. Once cooked, puree with some butter and pepper until creamy.
Drain and dry the leftover 40 g of beans, and fry them in a pan in hot peanut oil. When they are crispy and golden, drain them of excess oil and put them on a plate lined with a sheet of paper towel. Salt to taste.
Slice the artichokes in four equal parts and serve separately.
Serving suggestions:
Put one spoon of the hot bean puree on a plate. Place some of the crunchy beans on top of the puree, and on top of that, put a slice of marinated tuna. To finish, garnish with 3 slices of artichoke, some bottarga powder, and a drizzle of olive oil. Finish with some black pepper and a few leaves of origano.
FOR HOMEMADE PRESERVED TUNA (IN OLIVE OIL)
by chef Giacomo Faberi
Ingredients (for two 500 g containers)
800 g tuna
Extra virgin olive oil
1 L water
75 g salt
6 juniper berries
6 bay leaves
Directions:
Put the raw tuna filet in a bowl filled with cold water and rinse repeatedly to wash away all traces of blood (to avoid the blood coagulating during cooking). Repeat with fresh water as necessary, until the tuna is completely blood free and the water remains clear. While cleaning the tuna, heat a large pot of salted water. When boiling, add a few bay leaves. The salt and bay leaves will add flavour to the tuna, which otherwise would be rather insipid. At this point, add the tuna and cook over a medium flame for about one hour.
When done, drain the tuna. Place a strainer inside a bowl, and allow the tuna to drip dry for 24 hours so that it loses all excess water.
When the tuna is completely dry, sterilize the glass jars in which the fish will be stored. Boil the jars in a pot full of water for about 30 minutes, then let dry upside-down on a clean dishcloth.
Break the tuna into large chunks and place inside the jars, pressing the meat down firmly with your fingers. Cover with extra virgin olive oil. The tuna should be completely immersed in oil, but there should be 1 centimeter of space separating the contents of the jar from the lid. With a knife, cut the tuna so that the oil fills in all the crevices of the meat.
Before hermetically sealing each jar, place three juniper berries and one bay leaf on top of the oil. Optional: insert the plastic press before closing to keep the jars’ contents compact.
Close the jars and boil them, following the Ministero della Salute’s guidelines for preserving food. If after boiling you notice that small air bubbles have formed, tap the base of the jar lightly while it is still hot. This way, any air bubbles will rise to the top and will naturally disappear.
VEGETARIAN CHILI
by chef Mauro Urso
Ingredienti
For the soffritto (sautéed onion base):
1/2 white onion, 1 carrot, half a stalk of celery. (If using a frozen soffritto, use two spoons.)
400 g (1 can) Mexican beans
250 g (1 small can) corn
1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce (or more, to taste)
4 preserved jalapeño peppers
250 g nachos
Tomato concentrate
Directions:
Cook the soffritto in a pan with olive oil, add the tomato concentrate and the beans and cook for another 10 minutes. Add the corn and Tabasco sauce, and continue cooking for another 5 minutes, while stirring the ingredients. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot with the jalapeños cut in rounds to garnish. Accompany the chili with nachos.
BEAN AND GRAIN SOUP
by chef claudio Buglioni
Ingredients (serves 5)
500 g mixed legumes and grains (any dry soup mix is fine, or, if you’re making your own, use 75% legumes and 25% grains)
2 celery stalks
2 potatoes
Grana Padano or Parmigiano Reggiano (rinds)
1 L vegetable broth
Rosmary
Bay leaves
2 carrots
1 onion
200 g tomatoes, diced
1 clove garlic
Olive oil
Thyme
Sage
Directions:
Prep the dry bean and grain mix by letting it sit in a bowl of cool water overnight. When ready to cook, drain thoroughly, and prepare a chopped mixture of onion, garlic, carrots, and celery.
Soften the chopped ingredients in oil, and add the bean and grains, mixing well. Cover with vegetable broth.
Add the tomatoes and the Grana Padano rinds. Make a small bundle of herbs by tying them together with kitchen twine and add to the soup. Cook for about 1 hour, adding broth if necessary. After about 30 minutes, add the diced potatoes and add salt and pepper to taste.