Every visit of mine to La Cucina has been very special in its own ways, and this last one a few days back was no different. The occasion of this particular mid-week lunch visit was to have a taste of the some simple yet beautiful cooking by Chef Ferrari from the Lombardy region of Italy. This particular region, as I was told by the Chef, boasts of various cheeses and several types of rice, and the focus of the meal is not always on the meat. But there’s cheese, loads of it, so I was happy😋.

Well, it is beyond me to remember or pronounce Italian names, but I will surely remember the tastes of most of the things I tasted in the session for a long time. Specifically that of the delightfully simple, light yet comforting and filling Eggs and Soft Cheese. This popular food of the common man, which one usually has after a hard day’s work, was absolutely perfect with a piece of warm, soft bread.

Then came the time to move on to the main course. Now, being the hopeless bheto-bangali that  I am, Risotto is something I love. And the golden yellow Saffron Risotto with Balsamic Reduction here was as bright as the Sun outside. This was one of those things which called for a second and in fact, third round of helping by all at the table. And when there’s bhaat, there has to be maach. And what a beauty the fish was! With roasted garlic, citrus wedges and a sprinkling of parmesan over a bed of baby spinach, the fillets in their crisp encasings were sheer happiness. Mention must be made of the Saffron Gnocchi with Milano Salami and Cheese, in it’s hale and hearty self, which held their shape perfectly on the plate and felt smooth as ever inside the mouth.

Indians now are all too used to their tiramisus and panacottas to end their  Italian bread meals with, but thankfully our meal had something new and interesting for desserts too. The meal ended on a wonderfully sweet, fruity note with the Sweet Polenta with Figs, Apricots flavoured with cinnamon. Aaah, and with that I was ready for my siesta😁.

The Milan Festival is going on at La Cucina, Hyatt Regency, Kolkata till the end of this month, for dinner on all days and lunch and brunch on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

Happy Eating, folks!😎