“Disanapianta”: their recipe for Basil pesto with seeds and nori flakes (part IV)

2017-05-31 We’ve come to the last part of our chat with Lorella, Silvia and Francesca Braglia of Reggio Emilia-based cultural association “Disanapianta”.
Having introduced the three sisters and considered whether they have the six senses of the Conceptual Age, today we’re looking at how they boost our awareness of nutrition by teaching natural cooking using plant-based ingredients.
What does your work involve, Lorella, Silvia and Francesca?
“We run hands-on courses for people who are already familiar with natural food, inviting them to cook with us over two or three days. But we also give evening and afternoon cookery demonstrations where we share what we’ve prepared with the audience, as well as more theoretical events for people looking to increase their awareness of the food they eat. After all, knowledge is a catalyst for change in our society. Then we hold free seminars where we try and explain complex ideas, like the link between food and our emotions, in simple terms.”
You recently wrote, directed and designed the sets and costumes for three cookery shows.
“That’s right. At the Altro Teatro in Cadelbosco Sopra we presented “Bonbon. Storia di un dolcetto sincero e sostenibile” all’, which is all about the value of food; we cooked some dishes on stage and invited the audience to taste them using a mindful approach. In another show at the same theatre, “Il pane dei grandi”, we created a story about bread for a fourth-grade class. In “Concerto per archi e ortaggi” at the Teatro Valli in Reggio Emilia, a circle of people talked about the history of food while the vegetables were being prepared to the accompaniment of a string quartet; the food was shared with the audience at the end of the evening. At last year’s “Sana” event in Bologna, we designed storytelling experiences for Ecor-NaturaSì: we presented seven different products and invited the public to taste them».
How do you dream up your recipes?
“We start with a seasonal ingredient and, depending on which aspect we want to emphasise, we ask ourselves questions. What shall we make? A starter? A side dish? A dessert? What will stand out about it? What’s the main flavour? Will it be protein-based, or will carbohydrates take the lion’s share? When we’ve got our answers, we create our recipe, and it often starts with intuition: intuition is part of the creative process for any activity….”
Do you have a recipe you can share with us?
“Sure: trofie pasta with basil pesto, seeds and nori flakes. Here are the ingredients for four people: 300 g trofie pasta; 50 g basil leaves; 40 g cashew nuts; 40 g water; 20 g pumpkin seeds; a clove of garlic, chopped; 30 g extra-virgin olive oil; 1 teaspoon cider vinegar; a pinch of chilli pepper; 20 g toasted pine nuts; 1 teaspoon nori flakes; salt and black pepper. Place the cashews, pumpkin seeds, water, garlic, vinegar, oil, salt, black pepper and chilli pepper into the bowl of a hand blender and leave to soak for around ten minutes. Add the basil and blend for a couple of minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook the trofie in boiling salted water and drain, keeping a little of the cooking water to add to the dish if needed; dress the pasta with the sauce and divide into four warmed bowls. Sprinkle with the toasted pine nuts and nori flakes and serve immediately.”

Mariagrazia Villa