Christian and Manuel Costardi, also known as the CostardiBros, rose to fame for their risotto. Two brothers that are often considered as twins despite an age difference of 9 years where in Ristorante Hangar in Amsterdam on 9 October for a one evening pop up with Peroni Nastro Azzuro.
They brought with them a number of iconic dishes that have made them famous not just in Italy over the past few years.
Their focus was on rice, serving two main dishes as well as a dessert using rice that is so popular in their region.
They presented Diversamente Tonnato by CostardiBros, a dish that is their interpretation of Vitello Tonnato, one of the most famous dishes of Italian and piedmont cuisine. “This dish came about during the opening of our new restaurant in Torino inside EDIT. It is impossible to open a restaurant in Torino without serving vitello tonnato. However, the meat that is served in this dish never appealed to us so we decided to work on the meat and the sauce using a fillet of veal instead while the sauce is lighter and has caper powder.
The two rice dishes they served were signature dishes. One was carnaroli rice with butter, sage and lime, a dish that reminds them of their childhood. “This is the dish our grandmother used to make us with boiled rice, butter and sage. We worked to create a sage butter which we freeze so that we are able to use it during the cooking. This is served with lime zest and lime juice.
The other rice dish was Costardi’s Condensed carnaroli with a reduction of Peroni beer and a cream of Grana Padano. The dish was served in a tin for which they have become famous. The risotto is served in the tin and is topped with coffee powder to give it a pure Italian taste. For the rice, they use their selection of Carnaroli rice which they selected together with Aironi, a Vercello rice brand.
The main course was veal cheeks cooked at low temperature and served with a red wine sauce, mashed potatoes and a chlorofil of parsley.
For dessert at the pop-up dinner they served, rice with milk and pumpkin.
This is not the first time that the two chefs have collaborated with the Italian beer brand. Over the past three years, they have worked as consultants for Peroni UK taking care of the food aspects of House of Peroni for the past few years. “It is always a pleasure for us to showcase our cuisine with an important brand like Peroni,” Christian told Food and Wine Gazette.
The Italian-born Costardi Brothers have gained an international repute for mixing traditions with creativity, mostly known for turning Piedmont’s most famous crop, rice, into over twenty varieties of Michelin-starred risotto, making diners travel from all over the world to taste their take on the traditional Italian dish. It all started at the family-run Cinzia hotel, Piedmont, founded by their grandparents in 1967.
The motto of the two brothers is ‘never forget what is outside our window’, it is very important for us to always remember where we started. The ‘terroir’ is fundamental for them, and they always seek to interpret it in the best way possible.
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