The first day of the cooking class - Scuola di cucina Bologna

After a lazy morning, we headed to light lunch because I knew I was going to cook at school today. We hadn't had panini since we arrived in Italy. So, we decided to give it a try. The restaurant was adjacent to a book store and reasonably crowded. It looked like a quick lunch option for local people. I had sardine Panini.

The sardine was tasty. But it came with just onion with no sauce. The bread was super stale. I saw that so many people left the bread. Why was this place crowded? Or was this just a bad day? Anyway, today is a cooking day. My hope was that the class could make up for this panini bread.

After lunch, I walked around the city a bit then headed to school.

Today's instructor is Chef Davide. I was told in advance that his English was limited but I didn't have that much problem communicating with him. A very nice and mellow gentleman. The menu is julienned vegetables with mayonnaise in a baked parmesan cup, tortelloni with butter and sage, steak with balsamic reduction accompanied by roasted potatoes and tiramisu.


Julienned Veggie

 

                                         Their julienne was a bit bigger than I thought...

 Sheets of parmesan cheese were baked in the oven and shaped into cups by pressing over a cup

Veggies were boiled in seasoned water and served in the cheese cup

This was very good appetizer. When I made the mayonnaise, the only oil we had was olive oil so that it gave some bitterness. But the seasoned water (salt, sugar, bay leaf, sage and juniper berries) gave a very nice flavor to the veggies. The parmesan cheese cup was fantastic.



Tortelloni with sage and butter (Tortelloni is bigger version of Tortellini)

The bag of flour on the left is hard flour and the right is soft. For egg pasta, which is common in northern Italy, soft flour only is used. But Chef Davide used a 20:80 mixture.

The dough was kneaded by hand. It was supposed to be 1 egg per 100 g of flour. But the chef added extra egg white to achieve the right consistency.

We rolled out by hand. I thought we were using a pasta machine. But it's good to learn the traditional way.

                                                                      Cut into squares

 

                           Wrapped ricotta cheese mix and made into typical shape, it's very fun!

                                               Pan fried with butter and sage. Simple but tasty!


Steak with balsamic vinegar reduction accompanied with roasted potato

Chef Davide's preparation was interesting. He said using oil and salt when he cooks beef makes the meat tough. So, he pan-fried the beef on the non-stick pan and sprinkled salt after cooked. Also the way he plated was interesting. As you see in the picture above, there is a big empty space on the plate. It almost looks it's missing one more component. But that's the way he decorated the dish. Is this a new trend in Italy? The potatoes on the side were coated with a bread crumb and sage mixture, then roasted. Something new to me and very nice.


Tiramisu

I have a lot to write about this tiramisu. I just found what I used to believe was not right!!!

Now, I know why the tiramisu I had the other day was really fluffy.

First, I had wrong idea about the liquor used for tiramisu. I was usually using marsala and brandy, but that's not the typical liquor for tiramisu. There is no single liquor that we must use but marsala is definitely not the one.

Also, eggs. The way I used to make mascarpone cream is wrong! I've been making sabayon (a kind of custard) first then folding it into the mascarpone. In the class, we simply mixed egg yolk, sugar and mascarpone. We didn't heat it at all. Then we folded it into meringue (I believe this is an option even in Italy). Again, not cooked meringue.

Now I see why the recipe is modified in the US. Unlike other countries, people do not eat raw eggs. In order to accommodate the US culture (or regulations), the recipe had to be changed. I don't think I will make more authentic version of tiramisu when I get back to the US. But I'm so glad to know the way it is supposed be!!

I've learned a lot today!