Chicken & Gnocchi Veronese, Grilled Shrimp Caprese and Venetian Apricot Chicken highlight the variety in regional Italian meals
ORLANDO, Fla. – Inspired by a tour through the northern Veneto and southern Campagna regions of Italy, Olive Garden and its team of chefs have created three entrées for their new menu, which debuts in restaurants July 2nd. These additions include Chicken & Gnocchi Veronese, Grilled Shrimp Caprese and Venetian Apricot Chicken, each bringing even more fresh, simple and delicious flavors to the menu.
All three dishes are inspired by Olive Garden’s multiple trips to Italy each year. The culinary team spends several weeks exploring the various regions of this country steeped in food traditions to gain inspiration and continue to introduce guests to distinct elements of Italian cuisine.
“Our culinary team’s travels provide the opportunity to taste hundreds of dishes, meet local chefs, visit their restaurants and experience Italy’s culinary diversity. The country is not defined by a single culinary style, but a collection of culinary regions, each with individual influences and flavors. These new dishes reflect those varying regional cooking techniques and styles, and we’re excited to share them with our guests,” said John Caron, executive vice president of marketing for Olive Garden.
The addition of Chicken & Gnocchi Veronese was inspired by a visit to the northern Veneto district and marks the first time gnocchi has appeared on the Olive Garden menu. Gnocchi, the Italian word for dumpling, is the central ingredient to the new dish, which also incorporates sautéed chicken, roasted red peppers and a parmesan and ricotta cheese sauce. The dish is best complimented by a light
white wine such as a Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, or a blend of both varietals, such as Bertani Due Uve.
Caprese refers to the fresh traditional Italian ingredients of mozzarella, tomato and basil and is the inspiration for Grilled Shrimp Caprese. In the dish, this delicious trio is paired with a skewer of grilled marinated shrimp and served over angel hair pasta in a garlic-butter sauce. Inspired by the classic cuisine of the island of Capri, the entrée is best paired with a light and fruity wine such as Bottega Vinaia Pinot Grigio.
The sweet and flavorful apricot sauce of the Venetian Apricot Chicken also derives inspiration from the Veneto region. Before the tomato was first introduced to Italy from Asia by Marco Polo, Italians used flavorful fruit based sauces in their pasta. This lighter selection of grilled chicken breasts in an apricot citrus sauce, paired with broccoli, asparagus and diced tomatoes, offers a unique sweet citrus flavor and a low-fat option as part of Olive Garden’s Garden Fare® menu for diners. Cavit Pinot Noir’s smooth and fruity flavor is a great accompaniment to this dish.
“Our menu additions illustrate our commitment to providing our guests with a genuine Italian dining experience,” said Paolo Lafata, executive chef and director of Olive Garden’s Culinary Institute of Tuscany. “The culinary team’s travels are a treasure trove for new ideas and inspiration, and our Culinary Institute of Tuscany, ensures we are constantly applying the techniques and traditions of Italian dining to enhance our managers’ skills and, ultimately, our guests’ experience.”
Olive Garden’s Culinary Institute of Tuscany, located in a restored 11th-century village in Castellina in Chianti, serves as the main source of inspiration for the new menu items. Olive Garden brings more than 100 managers to the site each year to train and learn the time-honored traditions of Italian cooking, such as selecting only the freshest ingredients, how to properly layer sauces to build flavor, perfecting al dente pasta and pairing sauces and pasta to create the most flavorful meals.
About Olive Garden
Olive Garden is the leading restaurant in the Italian dining segment with 614 restaurants, 77,000 employees and more than $2.8 billion in annual sales. Olive Garden is a division of Darden Restaurants Inc. (NYSE: DRI), the world’s largest casual dining company. Visit Olive Garden’s Web site at www.olivegarden.com.
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