SIMPLE YET DELICIOUS: Chef Wassim Ben Abderrazak, left, and Andrea Fioravanti, right, along with one of their staff members in the back.
Grandma Zanon lived in Doha in the 70s, creating authentic Italian fare for her family with locally-sourced
ingredients; Nonna Zanon aims to reproduce those childhood memories. By Aney Mathew
Sitting at the coffee shop sipping espresso, the mind takes a quick trip around some celebrated names — Ferrari, Maserati, Valentino, Gucci, Mona Lisa — what do they have in common? Think beauty: classy sports cars, designer clothes, chic bags, au courant shoes, renowned works of art or eminent architecture – the common thread connecting them all would be the term ‘Italian’. Italy’s legendary appellation in the world of fashion and art as à la mode seems fully justified.
That’s certainly not all— Italy has also contributed quite significantly to the culinary world. Italian food may not be in the same class as an Armani or Ferragamo but there’s no mistaking how pastas, antipasti and gelato (Italian ice cream) and of course pizzas have been adopted internationally as comfort food by the masses.
As a matter of fact, when you think Italian food — pictures of pizza slices, pasta and, of course, delicious tiramisu capture the imagination. If you’ve walked down the streets of Italy on a hot summer’s day, then there’s every chance you’ve cooled your system down with a gelato – a freshly-made cool treat.
Cooking and sharing food with family and friends is a way of life for Italians. The entire family coming together during weekends and gathering around the family’s dining table is a long-standing tradition that is still cherished in Italy. To the Italian cook the use of fresh, good produce is more important than elaborate cooking. Even most of the popular dishes comprise just a few simple ingredients, carefully selected and served at their prime. So it comes as no surprise that Italian food is one of the most popular and widely adopted cuisines the world over. Spaghetti Bolognese and fresh pasta with pesto sauce and the legendary pizza with its assortment of toppings, have all been embraced into many a culinary culture.
While Italians have shown the world how to enjoy good coffee — particularly espresso, they are also among those who pointed the way to the importance of incorporating olive oil (following the path of most Mediterranean cuisine) into everyday cooking.
Everybody cherishes memories of their mother’s cooking and when it comes to grandma’s cooking, nostalgia goes up by a couple of notches. But not many people actually begin restaurants in reminiscence of the taste that only grandma’s food can generate, in an attempt to recreate those memories and flavours. Nonna Zanon, literally translated ‘Grandma Zanon’, is an Italian restaurant that was started on this very concept.
“Grandma Zanon was an Italian lady who lived in Qatar in the 70s. She loved cooking and despite the limited availability of the imported ingredients required in Italian cuisine during those days, she tried her best to provide authentic, home-cooked Italian food for her children and grandchildren, using the locally available produce. Besides her family, several friends of her grandson from the local Qatari community also enjoyed her cooking. Nonna Zanon is an attempt by her grandson, who still lives and works in Doha, to reproduce those childhood memories,” explains Wassim Ben Abderrazak, the co-founder and General Manager of the restaurant.
Wassim, who personally enjoys cooking, comes from a family involved in the hospitality business. His personal interest in the culinary arts took him to The Ecole Hoteliere de Lausanne — the first hotel and restaurant management school in the world.
Talking to Community, Andrea Fioravanti, the Executive Chef, says, “Italian food is simple food based on the use of Mediterranean products that have been traditionally renowned for their high quality and great taste. It is delicious and honest food that is easy to cook. Its simplicity is what sets it apart from other cuisine. Cooking is just another aspect of the diversity of Italian culture.”
Italian cuisine offers a large selection of dishes for you to choose from; the flavours are quite varied from the north to the south. The different regions of Italy boast of their own regional varieties of food, making it difficult to talk about “Italian food” as a single entity. “There are hundreds of differently shaped pastas and pizzas,” adds Andrea who hails from Rome. Andrea’s interest in food and cooking was kindled at an early age, as he watched his grandmother cooking for the family – her labour of love. “To this day, I cannot recreate her pasta with tuna sauce. She gave it her special touch,” he says wistfully.
Referring to the popularity of the pasta worldwide, Andrea says, with a grin, “We Italians are clever, we just used the same basic dough to create pasta in various shapes, sizes and thickness and then varied the accompanying sauce; we thus created a whole range of dishes. We love it and the world loves it too.”
Both men believe firmly that it is important to generate a family atmosphere in the restaurant where people can relax, enjoy the food and go away cherishing both the flavours and the experience. “We don’t want to create a ‘faceless’ operation and so make it a point to personally greet all our customers and ensure they enjoy their dining experience. While we believe in catering to the whims of the customer, we try to preserve the uniqueness of our signature dishes. For example, the pizza we offer is unique— it is typically a rustic pizza from Roma (Rome). Unlike the flat, thin base that most people are used to, this base is thicker, yet crunchy and hollow – quite unusual for most of our clients,” explains Wassim. “Cooking is a delight. My vision for my kitchen is to satisfy customers and to communicate through every meal. Through food, you can touch a dream, invoke memories and feelings, connect with culture and create personality. When I cook, I believe in making the occasion a special event for the client with small, pleasant surprises arriving at their table, every time, and to [help them] discover a new taste,” adds Andrea passionately and with true Italian gusto. His food is testimony to that.
“It is our endeavour to limit the number of dishes we offer. We believe that the best way to provide great food is to concentrate on a few dishes and do them perfectly, and have them available round the year, than to have a huge selection of products and compromise on the taste. Our goal is to limit the use of processed products and use original, high quality ingredients.”
As we end our conversation, Wassim and Andrea agree to graciously share a couple of their favourite, simple recipes with our readers. Now you too can turn out some authentic Italian fare in your kitchen, without sweating too much. Remember, with Italian cooking, emphasis is on the use of fresh ingredients.
As they say in Italian - Buon Appetito!
Warm Spinach Salad with Mushroom
Ingredients: Serves 2
Fresh baby spinach (washed and dried) 160gm
Olive oil 2 tsp
Mushroom 120g
Cherry tomatoes 40g
Grated Parmesan Cheese 40g
Bread croutons
Balsamic vinegar reduction to taste
Pesto sauce 40g
Salt & pepper
Method
Braise the mushrooms lightly
Toss together all the ingredients together in a bowl and serve immediately.
Beef Tagliata
Ingredients: Serves 2
Tenderloin beef 200gms x 2
Olive oil 2 teaspoons
Balsamic vinegar reduction To taste
Parmesan shavings 40g
Semi dry tomatoes (to accompany the dish)
Rocket leaves 75g (to accompany the dish)
Fresh thyme and rosemary for brushing on meat
Salt & pepper
Method
Marinate the beef tenderloin in olive oil, with rosemary, oregano, thyme, and balsamic vinegar for 24 hours.
Grill it rare, medium or well done, according to your cooking preference.
Serve with mashed potato, rocket salad. Decorate with semi dry tomatoes and slices of Parmesan on top.
Burn a few sprigs of rosemary and thyme, dip it into olive oil that has been seasoned with herbs and brush this on the carved meat. Serve hot.
