What unites Johann Sebastian Bach, Hector Berlioz, Franz Schubert, Giuseppe Verdi, Vincenzo Bellini, Daniel Francois Aubert, Giacomo Puccini, Gioacchino Rossini and Ferenc Lehar, who are different in style, era and origin? Inspiration? Expression? Sensuality? Together. And... delicious food
Susanne Jaeger, wife of Johann Sebastian Bach, was the author of the 1750 Leipzig Cookbook. She was the first female chef to keep her name in history. At a dinner in honor of the 250th anniversary of the composer's birth, his favorite dishes were served according to recipes from Susanna's book: potato salad with fried mushrooms, veal tongue, pike soup with cardamom, stuffed pigeons with cheese dumplings. Well, why not a source of inspiration? Especially if after dessert you can drink a cup of coffee, of which Bach was a passionate advocate. One need only recall his "Coffee Cantata", which tells about the efforts of a father who wants to wean his daughter from the consumption of this, according to many, the devilish drink. Contrary to prohibitions and promises, the wayward daughter does not change her habit, and only the promise of her father to find her a worthy mate somewhat sobers her up. However, she demands that her inalienable right to drink coffee be guaranteed in the marriage contract.
Lehár, Berlioz, Aubert
On the other hand, Ferenc Lehar, a friend of the family of the owners of the Ambassador Hotel on the luxurious central Viennese Kärntnerstrasse, has a complete absence of conflict situations. The composer often stayed at this hotel, enjoyed the culinary delights of the chefs and with pleasure wrote music for the opening ceremony of the hotel restaurant in 1930. He would have refused! After all, the restaurant was named after him - "Legar".
French composers did not lag behind other Europeans in gourmetism. Hector Berlioz created harmony at a cafe table. His operas "Beatrice and Benedict" and "Benvenuto Cellini" were born under the hot chocolate of Cafe de Paris. And he wrote the oratorio "Childhood of Christ" in another restaurant - "Bofenzhe". The chef of the Cafe de Paris presented the composer with a dish called Berlioz chicken breasts, which Balzac also tried when he celebrated the premiere of Benvenuto Cellini with Berlioz and his friends.
The author of the comic operas "Diamonds of the Crown", "Fra Diavolo" and many others, Daniel Francois Aubert was a frequenter of the best Parisian restaurants: either he did not get out of the "Maison Doré", or he shared a meal in the famous "Mani" with Victor Hugo, Sainte-Beuve and Goncourt brothers... He was adored by cooks, and modern gastronome historians have counted 12 dishes named after him. The most famous of them is “Auber eggs”, or, if it is correct to call this dish in Russian, “Auberian eggs”, in which the composer’s favorite product, chicken meat, is present as one of the ingredients. The recipe for this dish is too complicated, and we will not give it.
Vincenzo Bellini was also a gourmet and wrote 11 operas, the most famous of which is Norma. It is said that the Sicilian chefs, imbued with the tragedy of the story of the unfortunate Gallic girl and fascinated by the music of their compatriot, created the Pasta alla Norma dish, which became an indispensable part of the composer's diet.
Verdi
It just so happens that many great composers loved good food. Some are excessive. Berlioz called Handel "a tub full of pork and beer", and Rossini, about whom a very detailed discussion will be below, sometimes did not know the measure in food, absorbing up to 20 steaks during the day. But still, the names of only two composers - Verdi and Rossini - can be put on the list not only of gourmets, but also of real culinary specialists. They say that Paganini also cooked well, but we have not found evidence of this.
Giuseppe Verdi was so absorbed in composing music all his life that he did not pay attention to other joys of life, with the exception of delicious food, which he himself prepared. His parents ran an osteria and a grocery store. Transformed from a simple village boy who compared himself to a bear, into a world-famous composer, he became a lover of good cuisine. He changed his hated receptions and other secular entertainments to a simple peasant life at his villa Sant'Agata, where he moved at the age of 34, remaining a simple farmer until the end of his life. Together with his wife Giuseppina, they switched to subsistence farming.
After a market day in Cremona, Verdi always ordered a Milanese schnitzel with lots of butter, and I must say that the cuisine of the province of Emilia Romagna was fatty and dense. Butter and heavy cream replaced olive oil and lemon. He was very fond of Genoese ravioli, and he only cooked Milanese risotto himself. He himself salted and smoked hams and sent them to his friends. He adored sweets: panacotta, pears in wine. For Verdi, the process of cooking and eating was a way of returning to himself, of complacency. The family never talked about business over meals. And with his wife, they affectionately called each other pasticcio - "pie." There was French champagne and Bordeaux wines in his cellar, but Chianti remained his favorite wine, especially if it was from Baron Bettino Ricasoli, who spent 35 years creating Chianti Classico.
Rossini
Meanwhile, at the banquets, from which Verdi fled to the village, culinary revelry reigned, forcing one to forget about the principles of healthy eating. Fatty, richly seasoned food had to be poured with a large amount of wine, in which Gioacchino Rossini was very successful. “Love is necessary for the heart, like appetite for the stomach… Eat and love, sing and digest — these are 4 acts of the buff opera, which is called life. Anyone who runs away from this without using it is simply crazy.
This quote illustrates the philosophy of Rossini, who devotes more time to cooking and feasting than writing. His kitchen opuses are more like variations on a theme: he simply adds ingredients to basic dishes - most often truffles and foie gras, which have become staples of the composer's cuisine. Among his favorite dishes are parmesan ravioli, pasta (there is even a bronze image of the composer with a dish of this pasta) and, of course, oysters, for which, while working in Milan on Gazza Ladra, he owed a decent amount to the owner of a fish shop, but was able to pay off by writing for him "The Song of the Oysters".
In general, gastronomic jokes about Rossini are a sea. Here is the story of Tancred's aria, described by Stendhal, who, by the way, was indignant at the composer's irrepressible appetite and called him "huge, like three gluttons." This Di Tanti Palpiti aria was known to everyone as "the rice aria" because Rossini wrote it while he was making risotto.
But with Rossini's favorite dish, caneloni (pasta in the form of large tubes), stuffed with foie gras, another curiosity is connected.
Alexandre Dumas, having learned about this dish, asked Rossini for a recipe. He replied: “Dear Dumas, the recipe is too valuable for me to give it to you, but come tomorrow to me to try the cannelloni. And if you really are as good a cook as they say you are, you can easily identify the ingredients of my favorite dish. Dumas accepted the invitation, but the dish seemed to him very mediocre. He decided not to strain and, saying goodbye, said: "Thank you, dear Rossini, now I know everything I wanted to know." The composer's most famous dish is Rossini's tournedo. Its recipe is simple to disgrace. Grilled beef tenderloin steak is served on a crouton of white bread, on which slices of foie gras terrine are laid out. Yes, and the classic Madeira sauce. As you can see, again variations on a theme. Verdi also had his signature tournedo. It was lighter and less expensive. It was served with a sauce based on tomatoes, parmesan and onions.
Upon returning to Paris in 1855, Rossini loses weight and inspiration returns to him. All Paris goes to him for the famous musical Saturdays, where culinary arts and musical tastings happily coexist and mix. And the names of his musical sketches speak for themselves: “Almonds”, “Nuts”, “Four snacks (radishes, anchovies, gherkins and butter)”, “Oh, peas”.
Three cocktails
The work of Verdi and Rossini inspired culinary specialists. By the way, the latter even seemed to be a friend of Antonin Karem, the gastronomy guru of the 19th century. So, after the triumph of Verdi's Nabucco, the confectioners offered Verdi puff pastry, and the chefs offered Verdi sauce for Parma ham. In Genoa, the baker sent him every morning a brioche with jam - it was called "Falstaff". In honor of the hero of the Barber of Seville, Rossini, Figaro cakes appear in Paris. Antonin Carem, then the Rothschild chef, dedicates a game pate to Rossini, and after the triumph of "William Tell", the Parisian bourgeois enjoy the apple pie of the same name.
A worthy and solemn ode to the musical and gastronomic symphony of the great composers will sound three cocktails. Put mashed strawberries in one glass, peach juice with pulp in another, and tangerine juice in the third. Pour cold champagne into each, take the glasses by the stem and clink glasses. In the crystal ringing you will meet three composers at once - Rossini, Bellini and Puccini. That's what these cocktails are called.
Chicken breasts "Berlioz"
Ingredients: 4 chicken breasts, divided into two halves salt, ground pepper to taste 2 raw eggs lightly beaten with 2 tsp. water 1/4 cup flour 1/4 cup butter 1 cup chicken stock 1 cup whipped cream juice of a small lemon For the artichokes: 350 g chopped mushrooms 2 tbsp. butter 2 tbsp. whipped cream 2 tbsp. chopped onion, salt, black pepper to taste, 8 small or 16 small artichoke hearts
Cooking:
Salt and pepper the chicken breasts. Dip each piece into the beaten egg mixture, then roll in the flour. Melt the butter in a skillet and simmer the breasts for 5 minutes, flip a couple of times. Add broth, cream, bring to a boil, reduce heat and cook for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and put in a warm place. Prepare artichoke hearts. Melt the butter in a shallow frying pan, sauté the chopped mushrooms and onion until golden brown. Add cream, salt, pepper and heat through. Fill the artichokes with this stuffing and put them in an oven preheated to 2000 C for 5 minutes. When serving, put the chicken breasts on warmed plates, pour over the sauce, surround with artichoke hearts.
Caneloni "Rossini"
Ingredients: 200 g cannelloni 100 g goose foie gras 2 truffles 2 slices of York ham 2 medium tomatoes 100 g butter 1 egg yolk 1 glass of liquid cream nutmeg parmesan salt, pepper
Boil the cannelloni in boiling salted water until tender, drain and rinse with cold water. Prepare minced meat. Finely chop the foie gras, peeled truffles and ham, add the egg and cream until the consistency of béchamel sauce is obtained. Salt, pepper, add nutmeg and rub through a sieve. Stuff cannelloni with minced meat, steam for 5 minutes and transfer to a fireproof dish. Peel the tomatoes, remove the seeds and pulp, cut into cubes. Arrange the tomato concasse on a serving platter, add a few cubes of butter and freshly grated parmesan. Bake for a few minutes.
Pasta "Norma" dedicated to Verdi
Ingredients: 500 g spaghetti 1 kg ripe tomatoes 200 g ricotta 3 eggplants 3 garlic cloves 2 medium onions large bunch of basil olive oil salt, pepper
Chop the eggplants and put them in a bowl of salted water for about an hour. Prepare tomato sauce. Chop the tomatoes and onion and put into a saucepan. Add whole garlic cloves and basil, salt and simmer over low heat until the liquid has evaporated. Pass the sauce through a sieve and season with olive oil. Take the eggplant out of the water, pat dry and fry in hot olive oil. Boil spaghetti al dente (i.e. without boiling) and put on a dish. Sprinkle with half the cheese, pour over the tomato sauce and stir. Garnish with basil leaves and eggplant slices. Serve with the remaining ricotta, fried eggplant and peppers.
