Gnocchi

This afternoon we learned several gnocchi dishes, including potato gnocchi with tomato, basi l and mozzarella and ricotta gnocchi with squid ink, calamari and zucchini. Tip of the day: The proper ratio for boiling gnocchi or pasta is 1 litre of water per 100 grams of gnocchi or pasta. Here's video of Chef Simone rolling the gnocchi on a fork: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFCmh_u3-D0&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Pasta and Chef Diego

. We started the morning with Chef Diego and pasta dishes. The women lined up after the lesson to have their photos taken with him. Tip of the day: Add 10 grams of salt to each litre of water for boiling pasta or gnocchi. This chef really knows how to dress up the the pasta dishes common to us all. He prefers serving pasta in glass dishes, including parfait glasses. In this video you can see pasta on a glass plate, resting atop a white serving platter, covered after plating to enhance the aromatic effect at serving. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XupqeBt-FuU&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Antipasti

Today we discussed fresh herbs used in Italian cuisine and learned several antipasti dishes, hot and cold, from various Italian regions. It was often repeated that an antipasto dish is to call the digestive juices into service assisting the digestion of the subsequent first (pasta/risotto/gnocchi) and second (meat or fish) courses, as well as the contorni (side dishes).

Our cold antipasti dishes included a thinly sliced veal with a salsa tonnata, a tuna mixture with the consistency of paté. This was very light and tasty, odd as the pairing of veal and tuna sounds. Another was an octopus and potato tortino on a bed of sauteed vegetables.

The hot antipasti were mainly fried dishes with different batters. Stuffed anchovies, porcini mushrooms, zucchini, and lardo-wrapped prawns all fried in extra virgin olive oil. An amazing hot antipasto recipe is pictured here, an endive roll up, with blanched endive wrapped around a cheese and spinach stuffing. Delicious. And not fried!

Tip of the day: To tenderize octopus, add an everyday wine cork to the boiling pot.

Here, Chef Simone demonstrates one batter recipe and technique.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93OsK3vH5_s&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Bread, foccacia, pizza

Today we learned six different bread and focaccia recipes, in addition to a basic dough for pizza Margherita. It was a long day in a hot kitchen, with three ovens in operation.

In Italy they use many different types of flour, and ancient recipes and techniques have been perfected over the centuries based on the particular qualities of each flour. I do believe they would scoff at the notion of all-purpose flour so popular in the United States.

Because of this, I'm not certain how well these dough recipes would work without the benefit of these various flours.

Tip of the Day: Substitute malt for sugar in dough recipes. It adds not only sweetness, but also a bit of color and flavor.

Here is Chef Gino explaining the birth of ciabatta, helpfully interpreted by Bridgit.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_017n7Z-l6I