Tag: Cooking Class

Tuscan cooking

Tuscan cooking

From the beach to the kitchen
A gastronomic competition that can change your life. Aprons girded and utensils at the ready! For the 18th edition of “A tavola sulla spiaggia” the epic clash of fabulous dishes from ancient recipe books and others that valorize traditional on the beach picnic foods at the Roma di levante arena in late August.

Besides tasty tidbits, the event has proved its capability to “dish up” unexpected talents: many of the partecipants in past edition have transformed a hobby into a profession at which they excel. Take Toni Brancatisano, a Pietrasanta resident originally from Australia, the house-wife contender at the 2008 edition who recently took first place at the “La scuola-cucina di classe” gastronomic talent show and now hosts a program on Gambero Rosso Channel.

Or the Roman princess Orietta Boncompagni Ludovisi who in 2006 tickled Forte’s palates with the turquoise cabochon dessert she invented just for fun and went on to author the novel and very popular “Guida delle migliori pizzerie d’Italia”. Or Fabiana Giacomotti, a journalist and writer who delighted us in 2007 with her Mediterranean antipasto and has now launched Dolcelieve, the first-ever line of haute patisserie for gluten intolerants with a sweet tooth.

Web-site: www.atavolasullaspiaggia.it

Tuscan desserts

Strawberries

Candied strawberry “soup”

Ingredients (serves 6 )
. Six cups of fresh, excellent strawberries
. 3 tbsp butter
. 4 tbsp sugar
2. tbsp lemon juice
. Salt, white pepper

Method
In spite of its name, this recipe is really a dessert. At this time of the year it should be possible to buy wonderful, juicy strawberries – if possible, choose the organic ones.
Wash the strawberries under fresh running water, eliminate the green stems but do not cut the fruit. Heat the butter in a large pan, add the fruit and move the pan around to let them braise at quite a high heat. Add salt and pepper, and the sugar and keep cooking for 5 or 10 minutes until the fruit caramelises.
Finally, pour over the lemon juice, keeping the pan moving until a sauce is formed. Serve hot or lukewarm in a bowl just like real soup, topped wwith milk, ice cream or freshly whipped unsweetened cream.

Recipes from Tuscany

Tuscan recipe

Salted cake with fresh onions, zucchini and zucchini flowers. Camaiore style.
Camaiore is a lovely little town 24 km NW from Lu7cca on the SP1 road.
This excellent recipe is well know only in this area and is traditionally prepared at this time of year with the first harvest of local zucchini.

Ingredients (serves 6)
6 fresh onions
12 zucchini flowers
12 fresh young zucchini
2 eggs
4 tablespoonful flour
4 tablespoonful extra virgin olive oil
salt, pepper

Method
Slice the onions and cook them in olive oil, add the finely chopped zucchini flowers and the zucchini cut into small cubes of roughly 1 cm.
Heat the oven to 210/220° C.
Pour the zucchini/onion mixture into a bowl, add the flour and the grated pecorino cheese, spoonful by spoonful, and the eggs one by one.
Keep stirring, and add one tablespoon of olive oil, salt and pepper and luke warm water to obtain the thickness of a soup. Pour the mixture into an oiled baking tin, spread with olive oil and cook in the oven for 30 /40 minutes, until the top of the cake is dark gold.
Serve lukewarm or room temperature either as starter or as vegetarian main course with a salad dressed with vinaigrette.

Cooking class in Tuscany

Olive trees

Cooking lessons and wine tour.
Private cooking class in Tuscany, guided tours in Chianti area and wine tasting assisted by “vacation consultant” in comfortable hotels in the heart of Tuscany. Also olive oil tasting combinated with lessons of traditional Tuscan cooking.