Italian cooking class intense

By Abby Lubbers

Created:
02/03/09 7:23pm

Last updated:
02/03/09 7:24pm

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Rome, Italy – In many ways, this is a semester of firsts — my first time to Europe, my first wine tasting and, this evening, my first cooking class.

During my John Cabot University orientation week, I stumbled upon a sign-up table for various events throughout these four months. Some of my roommates had signed up for an Italian cooking class, and for ten Euro, I figured I could at least get a decent dinner out of the deal.

I did not, however, expect a traditional four-course meal prepared under the guidance of a local, whose family owns a restaurant in the Trastevere area of Rome.

Fifteen of us piled into a tiny kitchen at school and listened as our instructor, Andrea, described the menu.

We would make three types of bruschetta — one with a tomato and garlic mixture, another with a mushroom pate, and a third with arugula salad, “soft cheese” and olive oil — as the antipasti, or appetizer.

For the primi piatti, or first course, we made homemade ravioli stuffed with fresh spinach and ricotta and topped with a tomato basil sauce. And yes, everything was from scratch, no canned sauce or pre-made pasta.

Our second course, secondi piatti, was prosciutto and cheese folded into a very thin cut of beef, topped with a sage leaf. The meat was put in a little olive oil and heated in the oven until the cheese melted. This dish, called saltimbocca, is a Roman specialty.

As if that was not enough food, we finished dinner with small pastries filled with Nutella, a chocolate hazelnut spread that is very popular throughout Europe, and sprinkled with powdered sugar.

I still have not decided whether the process of making an entire meal from scratch, or eating four delicious courses was more satisfying, but I will certainly be recreating this meal for my friends and family once I get back to the U.S.

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About This Italian Life

Journalism and political science junior and former State News reporter Abby Lubbers is studying abroad at John Cabot University in Rome for the spring 2009 semester.

Follow her journey of what it’s like to live and learn overseas.

This is Abby’s Italian life.

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