Luca Grasselli: the utmost respect for the ingredients
At Cascina Lago Scuro, everything speaks of emotion, authenticity and sharing.
Dating back to around the 15th century, the Cascina today covers 40 hectares: 14 of pasture, 2 of vegetable garden and 3 of cereals, plus woodland and forage fields for the animals.
It is in this magical setting that we discover Luca Grasselli’s approach to cooking. The Cascina has been handed down to him through the generations; he lives here with his family, welcoming guests and working in complete harmony with nature.
His cooking is rooted in tradition, but relies on modern methods that improve quality and make the work simpler. It always starts with the ingredients: the meat he serves comes from his own animals.
To show us how he works, Luca chooses beef chuck (reale di manzo) served with herbs from the garden. It is a cut that suits long, slow cooking, but the first step is a hard sear in a very hot pan to trigger the Maillard reaction.
From here, the traditional method takes a long time: the meat and its vegetables go into the oven to cook at a low temperature for several hours, and then have to be chilled again for storage. Every step is time-consuming and needs someone on hand to keep an eye on things and step in at the right moment.
With the Nortech Plus blast chiller, which automates and combines hot cycles, blast chilling and shock freezing, the whole process becomes a single preset program.
After searing the meat and vegetables in the pan, Luca vacuum-packs everything and starts the cycle: the blast chiller cooks it at a constant 62°C for 18 hours, then blast chills it to stop the cooking and store it in complete safety. No moving food between machines, less room for error, and total control thanks to automatic HACCP data logging throughout the cycle.
Once cooked, portioned and vacuum-packed, the beef keeps for up to twenty-one days. At service, it simply needs to be regenerated and plated: the low-temperature cooking brings out the flavor of the meat, along with the vegetables and aromatics, and the texture stays perfect, just like a freshly made dish.
The blast chiller is central to the philosophy of Luca and the whole Cascina team, not only because it makes day-to-day work much easier, but above all because it lets them make the most of the ingredients they have grown, raised and processed themselves.
