CUCINA CON RISO ARANCINI DI RISO ARANCINI RICE Arancini is an interesting dish from the South of Italy. You can tell this dish is influenced by the Middle East food as it has Saffron in the ingredients. The combination of Bolognese sauce and rice make it an interesting one. Carnaroli rice which is the big grain rice is the best to cook Arancini. RISOTTO ALLA PESCATORA BIANCO THE FISHERMEN’S RISOTTO (FOR 10 person) This seafood risotto is one of the best dish I had in the class. It’s rich with a great selections of seafood. Arborio is a very thin grain type of rice which is good for cooking risotto. […]
Il carpaccio The name of the dish comes from the painter Vittorio Carpaccio, who lived between 1400 and 1500. It was invented by Giuseppe Cipriani in the last century. He was a Venetian business man and the owner of Harry’s bar in Venice. Cipriani created it for his client, the Countess Mocenigo who could not eat cooked meat. The recipe intended to spice up a slice of raw meat with Olive oil ,lemon and Parmesan. The plate was renamed “Carpaccio” because at that time an exhibition of the painter was being held in Venice. The dish has become famous and be in the restaurants’s menu all over Italy. Today we […]
MENU PER FESTE SPECIALI TORTELLINI DI MAGRO IN BRODO DI CAPPONE Professor Francesco showed us the difference between “Cappelletti” and “Tortellini” today. Just a little twist can make your pasta a different kind. How interesting it is. Apart from leaving the soup on the stove for almost 5 hours to get the delicious taste , you also need small hands and fingers to make a beautiful Tortellini. PICI SENESI CON SUGO D’ANATRA Pici is a type of pasta that my Japanese friends like a lot as it’s quite similar to Udon. It’s just a bit more crispy. Making Pici pasta can take a long time. You need to plan well […]
MEDITERRANEAN CUISINE 2 SCIALATIELLI AL BASILICO CON VONGOLE E BOTTARGA This pasta dish is really enjoyable. You get a delicious blend of creamy Bottarga and clams. The Scialatielli pasta is green and full of the aroma from Basil leaves. The chef needs to pay special attention when cleaning the calms as they have so much sands inside. We actually cleaned them at least 3 times and left them in salty water to keep them fresh. When you blend the Basil leaves, if you add few ice cubes , the color will remain brightly green. The Scialatielli looks really appealing when we spread the dough on table. CALAMARO IN 2 COTTURE […]
CORSO DI VINO 1 -IT’S ALL ABOUT WINE- Today we had our first wine lesson at the “Piazza del vino” restaurant. The place is basically heaven for wine lovers. Simone who is the owner as well as our teacher offers the wine lessons in a reasonable price. The decoration is chic and welcoming. There are wine bottles in every corners , on the wall or on the tables. Simone also offers them in a lower price than purchasing in a restaurant. Today we tasted 3 bottles of 3 different wines. There is one from the North, a Chianti Classico one and the one from Sicily. They are all totally different […]
MACELLO -Meat processing facility- The knowledge about the food is an asset of a professional chef. By visiting the abattoir, the apprentice chefs can see the real things and get to learn far more beyond the classroom. Getting to learn the production process of the Meat industry broaden our knowledges and helps us when selecting parts of meats for specific types of dishes. For example, the chef has to select different parts of stomach to cook Toscana dishes like Trippa and Lampredotto. Trippa is cooked with the 1st stomach and Lampredotto is cooked with the 4th stomach. Selecting the parts correctly gives the correct characters to the dishes. All animals […]
MEDITERRANEAN CUISINE 1 CREMA DI BASILICO E CIPOLLOTTI CON SCAMPI -BASIL CREAM WITH PRAWNS AND SPRING ONIONS- This dish is a “Primo piatto” or the appetizer dish. Chef Francesco said it’s a modern Mediterranean dish. The Basil leaves are the key ingredient that gives the bright green color. You must add them in the icy water straight after boiling in order to preserve the aroma and the color. The roasted prawns is a great combination to this creamy and aromatic dish. BAVETTE,ZUCCHINE,COZZE E FIORI DI ZUCCA -FLAT SPAGHETTI WITH ZUCCHINI AND MUSSELS- This one is a typical dish from South of Italy. Professor Francesco used the “Trabaccolara” technic to cook […]
MERCAFIR -Visit to food wholesaler- Today we had a chance to visit Mercafir which is a vegetable market of Florence. In fact, it’s very big and you can also find the meat and fish market in the same area too. However today we went with Professor Francesco and Arise our lovely translator to visit the vegetables section which already took us few hours to walk around. Here is the place where vegetables from North and South arrived and distributed to Central of Italy. Florence is in a good location near Pisa airport hence there are imported vegetables and products sent to this market too. For example, we saw a large […]
Restaurant Training (Tuscan Cuisine at “Da Mario”) DA MARIO, there is not Florentin who doesn’t know Da Mario. There is no Guidebook not mentioned about Da Mario. On the glass door and wall of Da Mario is full of Awards, Recommendations ,Interviews on newspapers, Magazines, etc. This restaurant has been running by a family for generations. They are treated with honor that once they have another baby boy born, it’s been a big news on the local newspaper. Regardless the big fame, the restaurant is a small one with a humble decoration. I love the wooden cupboard that they use for storing the Tuscan breads. It’s really vintaged. The restaurant […]
LA CUCINA DEL NORD -THE DISHES FROM THE NORTH- BACCALA MANTECATO ALLA VICENTINA CON INSALATA DI PEPPERONI Baccala is a preserved Cod with salt. Chef Francesco mentioned it was a dish from the North and then it became a famous dish all over Italy. There are different methods to dilute the saltiness of the Cod. Some people boil it with milk. Today Chef Francesco rinse the Baccala and bake it in the oven with low heat until the liquid part separated. Then he removed the skin and bones. Then it’s ready to be cooked. TAGLIATELLE ALL BOLOGNESE It takes great ingredients, time and patience to cook this extremely delicious sauce. […]
