Favorite dishes of composers: culinary symphonies…

You never know where inspiration may be waiting for you. In the autumn park, in the office or by the stove in the kitchen.

By the way, about the kitchen. Why isn’t there a place for creativity? Did you know that Rossini wrote the famous aria of Tancred to the sound of boiling risotto? That is why its second name is “rice”.

Yes, some great music creators were gourmets and loved to work their magic in the kitchen. The same Rossini, they say, would have become a famous cook if his musical career had not worked out. Fortunately, many of the composers’ favorite dishes have been preserved in the form of recipes.

Salad “Figaro” Rossini

Ingredients: veal tongue – 150g, medium-sized beets, a small bunch of celery, a small bunch of lettuce, anchovies – 30g, tomatoes – 150g, mayonnaise – 150g, salt.

We put the tongue on the fire to cook. At the same time, cook the beets and simmer the celery in salted water. Then cut everything together with the anchovies and lettuce into strips, but only the beets into slices. Scald the tomatoes with boiling water and remove the skin. Mix everything with mayonnaise and salt.

Some of the composers’ favorite dishes are served in French restaurants. One of them, Berlioz chicken breasts, was created by the chef of the composer’s favorite restaurant.

Chicken breasts “Berlioz”

Ingredients: 4 chicken breasts, halved, 2 eggs, a quarter cup of flour, a quarter cup of butter, 1 cup of whipping cream, 1 cup of chicken broth, juice of 1 lemon, salt, pepper.

For the artichokes: 8 large frozen or cooked artichoke hearts (meaty centers), half a minced onion, a couple of tablespoons of butter, a couple of tablespoons of whipping cream, 350g of chopped mushrooms, salt, pepper.

Place the salted and peppered breast halves into a mixture of eggs beaten with 2 teaspoons of water. Then roll them in flour. In a heated frying pan with oil, simmer the breasts for 5 minutes on both sides.

Add cream and broth. As soon as the mixture boils, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Then remove from heat and set aside in a warm place.

At the same time, heat the oil in a second frying pan and simmer finely chopped mushrooms and onions until golden brown. Add cream, salt, pepper and heat the mixture. Stuff the artichokes with the prepared minced meat and place in an oven preheated to 200C for 5 minutes. Chicken breasts, framed with artichokes and seasoned with sauce, are served on warmed plates immediately to the table.

Continuing the “meat” theme – composer Handel’s favorite dish – meatballs.

Meatballs “Handel”

Ingredients: veal – 300 g, lard – 70 g, a quarter of an onion, a slice of white bread soaked in milk, marjoram, thyme, parsley, lemon zest, eggs – 2 pieces, a couple of tablespoons of cream, nutmeg, cloves, salt, pepper.

Grind the meat with onions, bread, zest and herbs in a meat grinder a couple of times until the composition is homogeneous. Add eggs with cream, salt, pepper, seasonings and mix well. We make small balls the size of cherries from the minced meat, throw them into boiling water and cook.