Italian cooking relies on the abundance of home grown ingredients that the country has to offer and Autumn is no exception. Join us for this hands on cooking class for a wonderful seasonal feast of Italian dishes with Valentina Harris who is a much loved and noted authority on Italian Food and has written over 20 books on Italian cookery. She will teach you the skills and provide you with the knowledge to get the most from these intensely flavoursome ingredients.
You will be cooking a traditional Italian feast, starting with antipasto followed by the primi course which usually doesn’t have any meat and are often with pasta. Today with Valentina you will be making a pumpkin ravioli with gorgonzola cream. The secondi is the next dish which is usually meat based and today will be pheasant slowly braised and beautifully tenderised in red wine. To go with the secondi will be the contorni dishes, served alongside secondi dishes. These are vegetable-based dishes often served on a different plate than the meat of the secondi, so as to not mix on the plate and allow for the preservation and integrity of flavours. Today you will be making Venetian style stewed peppers, deliciously moist and jam like to compliment the pheasant, a peperonata of pure delight. Of course no Italian feast would be complete without the dolce and today you will be making a chocolate and hazelnut mascarpone gelato and some cantuccini with figs to round off a truly memorable day of cooking with Valentina.
The day will start at 10am and finish around 3.30pm and includes lunch with wine.
‘The best way to get to know any country or place is through your taste buds.‘ Valentina Harris
“Valentina’s course was simply terrific. She really is a first-rate tutor. It moved at just the right pace, the dishes were varied and tasty and consequently there was much to learn. The meal was most enjoyable. Excellent all round.” Mr P.
