MMM mmm!! I can't WAIT to try these recipes!! I love basil, and all of this looks so yummy and easy; and what a great idea to do a cooking lesson with friends!! Thanks SD.
| 02 March 2008
 www.massimoinyourkitchen.com |
Recently a friend organized one even better, a chance learn how to cook home made Italian straight from a chef.The invite was for a home cooking class with Massimo Bruno, cook of 7 Numbers.
It was a chance to learn and taste classic Italian home cooking. I jumped at the idea. So I took my camera and went to a cozy little condo on College St. where dinner was to be held. Upon arrival at my host’s sexy digs, I met Massimo, an energetic man prepping away.
We got our hands dirty right away by making a Puglia style focaccia bread. Massimo instructed on proper care of dough with simple techniques for creating bread that tastes great. The bread was soon shaped and tossed into the oven. The aroma of fresh bread filled the room as we counted down the minutes till it would come out of the oven. Wine bottles were quickly opened in preparation as we dove into the night’s menu.
Insalata con funghi gratinati e ruchetta. The first dish was a basic oyster mushroom salad with reduced balsamic vinegar. Arugula was tossed into the sink to rinse as Massimo took us through the basics of the night. He was going to teach us how to cook simple Italian, the way his mother used to cook, using the freshest ingredients and the simplest techniques to cook delicious meals that can be repeated on any given night with minimal effort.
The anti-prep philosophy was enough to draw in a group that was desperate to learn how to yield results with minimal effort. We sipped glasses of Valipolicella and baked a pan of oyster mushrooms bathed in olive oil, parmigiano, and bread crumbs.
Twenty minutes later the bread and the oyster mushroomss were done. They were served with the balsamic vinegar, a simple concoction of olive oil, vinegar and a tablespoon of honey that was allowed to reduce over high heat. The result was a rich, dark liquid that stuck to the arugula and sweetened the leaves. I skipped the mushroom due to allergy, but had some freshly baked Focaccia.
Spaghetti con salsa di pomodori al forno (Spaghetti with roasted romatoes) I had many favourites that evening, but this one might have taken the cake for its sheer simplicity and addictive taste.
This was the type of dish you can make on a weeknight after you’ve had a long day at work. The kind of evening where you’d rather avoid spending too much time in the kitchen. Simple prep, and in 40 minutes you have a delicious (and meat free!) dish.
Two boxes of sweet cherry tomatoes were sliced in half and thrown onto a large baking pan. It was covered with olive oil, salt, pepper, chopped garlic and plenty of fresh basil. The fresh basil was crucial for this dish. The tomatoes were then thrown into the oven, and left to bake for 30 minutes. They broiled for about 5 minutes to darken their skins. The pan was pulled out, tomatoes were crushed and tossed with pasta. A sprinkle or two of some grated cheese and some hot peppers were added and it was done. Everyone loved this dish, but we still had 3 more to go. I tried this recipe at home a few days later with great success.
Parmigiana di melanzone (Eggplant Parmigiana) With many pairs of hands and many different dishes, I noticed that everyone was busy helping out with some aspect of dinner. We all salivated at the thought of fried eggplant, so we stuck our hands out to help.
This dish is like a vegetarian lasagna. A big eggplant is sliced, rinsed, and then coated in a batter of eggs, cheese, and parsley. The slices are then deep fried in oil for a few minutes and left to cool.
In a pan, 2 cans of tomato sauce and some herbs were cooked for 30 minutes.
Once everything was cooked, we took turns layering the eggplant into a capient pan along with some basil leaves, coating each layer with the cooked tomato reduction. Some mozzarella was also layered and then the entire dish was placed into the oven to be cooked. Out came a very tender lasagna that dissolved in your mouth. Salut!
Cavatelli colle cime di rapa (handmade pasta with rapini flower) Massimo’s emphasis on minimal ingredients really started to show with this dish. On the counter, we mixed semolina flour with water and salt and a little splash of olive oil. Slowly we started to incorporate all the flour with the water and until everything clumped into dough. Working with palms, the dough was smoothed out and allowed to rest for 20 minutes.
Rapini stems were cut and the set to boil. The idea was the boil the rapini to the point where all the bitterness was drained from the greens.
The cooled dough was then cut into 4 discs. Each dish rolled out into snakes and then chopped into little pieces. Using our fingers, we rolled each piece. The cavatelli was then tossed in with the rapini and cooked for a few minutes. On a separate pan we made an oil mix of garlic and peppers.
This was then added to the cavatelli after it had been drained. Fresh pasta never tasted so good, with tender rapini that almost melted in your mouth.
Pollo al marsala (Chicken Marsala) Stomachs at the point of bursting, we cleaned up our plates and headed back to the kitchen table for one more main. The enthusiasts in the group fried some garlic in a pan. Thin strips of chicken were dipped in flour and then tossed into the pan to be seared on both sides. A few minutes later some marsala wine was added. After some good old slow cooking, the dish was sampled. The dish looked like black bean chicken. The meat was superbly tender, but the sauce was a bit too strong for me.
Gellato alla vaniglia (Vanilla Gelato) We actually began the evening with prep for the gelato. A mix of a few eggs and sugar with some milk, whipping cream, plenty of vanilla bean. The mixture was treated to a variety of temperatures with the result being a cream that was placed in the freezer to chill. It was pulled out every 30 minutes for some light stirring. The gelato takes about 3 hours to finish.
Dolce di Ricotta al limone (Ricotta Lemon Cake) I can’t get over how good this dessert tasted. A simple mixture of eggs, ricotta, lemon rind, and vanilla was tossed into the oven at low heat for about an hour. Out came one of the most sinful and soft cakes I’ve ever had the pleasure of tasting. It looked like cheesecake, had the consistency of a soft brownie and tasted like the freshest halva. This cake took about 10 minutes prep and about an hour to cook under low heat due to the amount of eggs. Try it with a bottle of Moscato or your favourite ice wine.The night was an intense cooking session that quickly taught us all the basics of Italian cooking. Intense because we not only devoured 7 courses of food, we actually prepared each dish from scratch. A few hours of heartfelt instruction reminded us that it’s very easy to cook outside of your comfort zone once you know the basics.
This cooking class is also a great way to bring friends together for a night and have some great interaction.
The cost varies depending on the number of people you have. Average, $50-60 per person.
