Seared langoustines with Jerusalem artichoke cream and black truffle. Antonie Robertson / The National
Seared langoustines with Jerusalem artichoke cream and black truffle. Antonie Robertson / The National

It’s truffle month at Armani/Ristorante



Rolling out tomorrow, the seven-course offering is the brainchild of the restaurant's head chef, Alessandro Salvatico.
We stepped inside his kitchen for a masterclass on the black and white seasonal treasures. Under his watchful eye, we learnt how to cook seared langoustines with black truffle and the ultimate white truffle risotto.
Seared langoustines with Jerusalem artichoke cream and black truffle
Ingredients
For the artichoke cream
500g Jerusalem artichokes
60g shallots
Olive oil
1.5l vegetable stock
For the langoustines
16 pieces of langoustine
15g of black truffle
80g Brussels sprouts
100g pumpkin butternut
10g garlic cloves
30g fresh thyme
30g fresh rosemary
60g chicken juice
seasoning: salt and pepper
Method
1 Peel the Jerusalem artichoke and cut into cubes.
2 Dice the shallots, roast in a casserole dish with some olive oil, then add the Jerusalem artichokes.
3 Add the vegetable stock and cook for 30 minutes.
4 Add salt and pour slowly into a blender while hot to obtain a smooth sauce.
5 Cube and sauté the pumpkin with some olive oil, garlic and fresh thyme until golden brown.
6 Sear the de-shelled, seasoned langoustine quickly with the garlic, thyme and rosemary.
7 In the same pan, sauté some Brussels sprouts leaves until translucent; season to taste.
8 Put some artichoke cream on a plate; place the langoustine, pumpkin and sprout leaves on top. Finish with a dash of chicken stock, olive oil and julienned black truffle.
 
Risotto vialone nano with white truffle
Ingredients
400g Risotto Vialone nano
80g butter
80g Parmesan cheese
20g white truffle
2g white truffle oil
5g thyme
20g olive oil
20g veal jus
100g carrots
100g celery
100g onions
100g broccoli
Method
1 Make a vegetable stock with the carrots, onions and celery.
2 Roast the rice with some olive oil in a casserole pan.
3 Add the stock; constantly stir for 16 minutes for an al dente result.
4 After 11 minutes, slowly add more stock. Be careful not to overcook the rice.
5 Remove from the hob and incorporate the butter, Parmesan, a pinch of thyme and a drizzle of white truffle oil.
6 Serve with white truffle shavings, truffle oil and a dash of veal jus.
 
• Armani/Ristorante's truffle menus will run until the end of November. Chef Alessandro Salvatico will host a gourmet truffle gala dinner on October 15. Truffle masterclasses will be held on Friday and November 8. For reservations and tickets, call 04 888 3888 or visit www.dubai.armanihotels.com
rduane@thenational.ae

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How Voiss turns words to speech

The device has a screen reader or software that monitors what happens on the screen

The screen reader sends the text to the speech synthesiser

This converts to audio whatever it receives from screen reader, so the person can hear what is happening on the screen

A VOISS computer costs between $200 and $250 depending on memory card capacity that ranges from 32GB to 128GB

The speech synthesisers VOISS develops are free

Subsequent computer versions will include improvements such as wireless keyboards

Arabic voice in affordable talking computer to be added next year to English, Portuguese, and Spanish synthesiser

Partnerships planned during Expo 2020 Dubai to add more languages

At least 2.2 billion people globally have a vision impairment or blindness

More than 90 per cent live in developing countries

The Long-term aim of VOISS to reach the technology to people in poor countries with workshops that teach them to build their own device

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Airev
Started: September 2023
Founder: Muhammad Khalid
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: Generative AI
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
 
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Company name: Suraasa

Started: 2018

Founders: Rishabh Khanna, Ankit Khanna and Sahil Makker

Based: India, UAE and the UK

Industry: EdTech

Initial investment: More than $200,000 in seed funding

THE SPECS

Engine: 3.5-litre V6
Transmission: six-speed manual
Power: 325bhp
Torque: 370Nm
Speed: 0-100km/h 3.9 seconds
Price: Dh230,000
On sale: now

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Name: Xpanceo

Started: 2018

Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov

Based: Dubai, UAE

Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality

Funding: $40 million

Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

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BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

How to apply for a drone permit
  • Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
  • Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
  • Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
  • Submit their request
What are the regulations?
  • Fly it within visual line of sight
  • Never over populated areas
  • Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
  • Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
  • Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
  • Should have a live feed of the drone flight
  • Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
TRAP

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