Confidence With Cooking

Festival Delle Sagre D’Asti

admin — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 10:57:48 +0000

Since 1974 the Festival Delle Sagre D’Asti has taken place during the second weekend of September. Over the years the Festival has grown and in 1988 was moved out of Piazza Alfieri to the bigger Piazza Campo del Palio, which now plays host to over 40 local participating towns, each of which is proud to prepare its speciality dish.

Sagre 'House'

The Festival really begins on the Saturday morning and it is fascinating to see the rustic mobile “houses” set up in the piazza. These are not simple stands selling food, but miniature houses made of bricks or wood all decorated with curtains and flowers. If you are held up in traffic on your way to the weekly Saturday morning market, it is very likely you are behind a tractor carrying one of these houses, all proudly displaying the name of the town or village they originate from.

If you decide to attend the Festival on a Saturday evening, be prepared to stand in long queues because from small beginnings it has grown into a phenomenal success visited by people from all over the world. If you do decide it’s worth the wait (and you can be sure it is) you can try as many dishes as you can possibly manage, although choosing exactly what you want to eat is extremely difficult. This is not an occasion for standing on ceremony, but one of giving your taste buds a real treat. It is not “fine dining”, nor should it be. It is good, honest food that has filled the stomachs of hardworking people for many years, and continues to be the subject of many passionate discussions today. Never mind if you have never before tried tagliatelle with wild boar sauce (€3.00), slivers of truffles scattered over the top of hand made egg pasta (€4.50) or bruschetta as you have never had before (soma d’aj in the local dialect) served with grapes and red wine (€1.50), now is the time to explore all of these flavours, one after another if you like, in no order, just as the fancy takes you. There are cakes made with top quality plump hazelnuts collected locally, juicy peaches stuffed with chocolate and you just can’t miss out on the ‘Antico mun’, translated as a “sweet brick”, but tasting nothing like a brick.

The Procession

You will go to bed full, but make sure you don’t go to bed late, because the next day you have to get up early and head back into Asti. You need to be early enough to find a good place to see the procession, which once seen really is never forgotten. Divided into the four seasons, each town represents a particular, important aspect taken from the agricultural history of the area. Respecting the past and respecting the land, four years after the first ‘Sagre’, this procession was introduced to highlight, in an ever-increasing industrial environment, the traditions of agricultural workers, their clothes, their pastimes and above all, their foods. To describe the atmosphere which envelopes the town of Asti on this spectacular Sunday morning in September is hardly possible. The sounds, the sights, the enthusiasm and the smiles emitting from the people taking part in the parade are something, which will remain with anyone who has had the pleasure and fortune to witness the event.

The Procession

As the last float passes you by, there is the usual dash back to Piazza Campo del Palio, where the actual food preparation has begun again, to sample what you didn’t manage to eat the evening before. Some people buy their food and take it home in heatproof containers, but to my mind, it’s best to hang around in order to try, say Gnocchi all Cunichese (gnocchi as they make them in Cunico) or perhaps the Fritto Misto (mixed fried delicacies), that you wanted to try on the Saturday but the queue deterred you. It’s impossible to eat everything on offer and this has nothing to do with pure greed! It’s a fear too of missing out on something so delicious, so new like that rustic cheese from Rochetto Tanaro, served up to me for the first time way back in 1986, I thought it was the best cheese I had ever tasted. I’ve tasted others since then, but I have never forgotten that dish. Nor has the unusual flavour and texture of farinata, made with chickpea flour and seasoned with aromatic herbs, been forgotten. The list goes on and on, leaving you with the only option open to you, the promise to yourself that you will return next year.

Caribbean Cookery Class – Saturday October 15th 2011

admin — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 04:32:48 +0000

Title: Caribbean Cookery Class
Location: Littleover Community School, Pastures Hill, Littleover, Derby, DE23 4BZ
Map: Click here
Description: Learn how to make traditional Caribbean food

For further information telephone 0845 094 9808 or 07722 269022 or email us here

£40 per person – Price includes tea/coffee, biscuits, plus all ingredients needed to complete the dishes.
Date: Saturday 15 October 2011
Start Time: 10.00 am
End Time: 1.00 pm

A Simple Dessert

Jean Natali — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 08:21:51 +0000

Meringue with Raspberries and Cream

Last week I made ice-cream and had eight egg whites left over. The obvious thing to make with them was meringues. Believe me, eight egg whites make a lot of meringue.

I piped six small bases and one large base onto baking paper and cooked them slowly in the oven on a low heat. I topped two of the small bases with raspberries, poured over double cream and garnished with a sprig of mint.

Simple as that!

Caribbean Cookery Class – Saturday February 4th 2012

admin — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 19:26:20 +0000

Title: Caribbean Cookery Class
Location: Littleover Community School, Pastures Hill, Littleover, Derby, DE23 4BZ
Map: Click here
Description: Following the success of our previous class, we are pleased to present new recipes and tips

For further information telephone 07722 269022 or email us here

£40 per person – Price includes tea/coffee, biscuits, plus all ingredients needed to complete the dishes.
Date: Saturday 4 February 2012
Start Time: 10.00 am
End Time: 1.00 pm

Mamma Licia

Jean Natali — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 10:31:44 +0000

Perhaps Mamma Licia shopped at Porta Palazzo, Turin

When I moved to Italy in the 1980’s, there were lots of people who impacted on my interest in food and cooking. One of them was Mamma Licia. She didn’t know me but she fed me. OK she was paid to do that but like most Italian mothers, cooking was in her blood.

Mamma Licia was Head Chef at her small trattoria, very near to Porta Nuova train station in Turin. In fact the place was so small, she was the only chef. Her son was her assistant, although I never saw him cooking. I remember him as the sullen, and not at all welcoming, waiter/bar manager/greeter. He didn’t appear to have a natural aptitude for the job but it didn’t matter one jot because we were there for one thing only, Mamma Licia’s cooking!

In my mind, I remember walking into an oblong room, with a bar on the right, tables and chairs scattered around, not that many though, because lack of space prohibited a vast cliental. It was always full, the Torinese know good food when they taste it.

Unpretentious, simple and honest. This is the food I love and the food which satisfies me the most. What I recall more than anything else is the bistecca alla milanese. A large veal steak covered in breadcrumbs, served with vegetables and a slice of lemon.

Today’s food hygiene inspectors would be up in arms but in those days, to get to the toilets, you had to pass through the kitchen where Mamma Licia stood, usually with her hands in an enormous enamel bowl, flouring something or other.

Mamma Licia’s didn’t have a menu because you ate whatever Mamma Licia found fresh at the market that day. There was a limited choice of dishes, two or three at the most but that added to the excitement of eating there.

We moved away from Turin to live in Asti but a couple of years later, we went back to look for Mamma Licia. She wasn’t there anymore and we never did find out what happened to her. She wasn’t young but I like to think she retired, still cooking for her family though.

P.S. After writing the above I discovered that the trattoria re-opened in 2007. http://www.trattoriamamalicia.com

Real Tomatoes

Jean Natali — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 15:49:28 +0000

OK a tomato is a tomato. Or is it?

Well no, because there are good tomatoes and bad tomatoes. (I’ve had this conversation before but it involved rabbits. Probably best not to go there right now).

Anyone who has attended my cookery classes, especially the Italian class, will know that I am quite opinionated when it comes to tomatoes. I dislike most tomatoes from Holland. To be more precise, I have disliked ALL Dutch tomatoes so far, but I’m always open to being persuaded otherwise.

The best tomatoes smell of two things, the sun and earth. I bought some with just those qualities from Sainsbury’s last week. The variety is ‘Elegance’ and they have the most exquisite aroma. I sliced them thinly and served them topped with spring onion, freshly ground black pepper, salt and a good drizzle of good extra virgin olive oil. Ciabatta bread was the only accompaniment needed – this would make an excellent starter, perhaps along with a selection of salami and olives.

I wrote to the company who produce these perfect tomatoes, www.ericwallnursery.co.uk and they told me they also supply said supermarket with other varieties, Vittoria (a cherry on the vine) and Sundream (a small plum on the vine). Don’t serve them straight out of the fridge, allow them to reach room temperature and be ready to make another purchase once you’ve finished them.

Our visit to Turin

admin — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 23:03:33 +0000

A trip to Piemonte would not have been complete without a day spent in its capital city,Turin, and, indeed, the first capital of a newly united Italy in 1861, before that honour was moved to Rome in 1870.

Turin Cityscape

Turin is a beautiful, gracious city, not at all spoilt by its industrial connections with car manufacturer Fiat. A walk from the main train station, Porta Nuova, leads us past magnificent baroque style caffès, decorated in a style reflecting the past glory of the city, home to kings. Outside Caffè Torino it is tradition to rub your foot on the bronze bull set into the paving stone, as a way of ensuring that you will return to the city.

Passing by the ex-Royal Palace, we made our way to Porta Palazzo, a vibrant, loud and exciting market, selling the freshest seasonal fruit and vegetables, including aubergines, peppers, mushrooms, and plums.

Porta Palazzo Fish Market

Most of our group were amazed when we ventured into the Porta Palazzo Fish Market, as there is certainly nothing to compare here in Derbyshire, although given Turin’s distance from the sea (78 miles) and similarly, Derbyshire’s distance from the sea (70 miles), there is no reason why we could not equally have such fresh fish on our doorstep.

Turin really is worth a visit because it has so much to offer. It is ideally placed for you to arrange a variety of day trips – for example, take a train from Porta Nuova and spend the day in the beautiful Val di Susa, or drive down to Liguria for a day at the seaside! Shopping is a must too, and Milan, the fashion capital of Italy, is only 80 miles away as well.

An Agriturismo In Costigliole d’Asti: Agriturismo Orlandi

admin — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 19:38:25 +0000

Staying in an agriturismo can be a happy alternative to booking into a hotel and the one we booked into couldn’t have made us happier. Agriturismo Orlandi proved to be a very good choice indeed, due mainly to the constant attention to detail demonstrated by the owner, Walter Orlandi.

Walter used to be a baker in Liguria until he moved further north to the rolling hills of the Monferrato. Restoring the old farmhouse to its present day glory must have been a labour of love, but one well worth the effort. Fine quality fixtures and fittings, beautiful surroundings looking out onto Walter’s vineyard and vegetable garden, together with spotlessly clean rooms, made the stay delightful.

Sitting on the covered porch in the evenings and eating the food carefully prepared by Walter was pure heaven. Walter’s love of food is evident in the dishes he serves.

It is worth mentioning that all agriturismos must, under Italian law, grow and produce a certain percentage of the ingredients they use. Other produce must also be local to the area, which means you don’t have to worry about the air miles clocked up by those ingredients!

Walter uses fresh vegetables grown in his own garden, fruit from his own trees and produces a certain quantity of his own wine. Even the meat he uses is bought from the farmer just down the road.

An agriturismo is the next best thing to staying in someone else’s house, or at least it should be. I can highly recommend a stay at Agriturismo Orlandi and would not hesitate to take another group of cookery students back again.

Japanese Cookery Class Saturday February 12th 2011

admin — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 01:24:44 +0000

Title: Japanese Cookery Class 12th February 2011
Location: Littleover Community School, Pastures Hill, Littleover, Derby, DE23 4BZ
Map: Click here
Description: Naoko will teach you how to make traditional Japanese food including: Rice balls, Japanese fried chicken, Sweet vinegar salad, and Sweet bean pancake.

For further information telephone 0845 094 9808 or 07722 269022 or email us here

£40 per person – Price includes tea/coffee, biscuits, plus all ingredients needed to complete the dishes.

Date: Saturday, 12th February 2011
Start Time: 10.00 am
End Time: 1.00 pm

Vineyards: Our Visit To Vini Baldi

admin — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 19:17:21 +0000

About 10 minutes away from Agriturismo Orlandi in Costigliole d’Asti is Vini Baldi, a vineyard run by the Baldi family for generations and set in the beautiful countryside of the Monferrato.

Passionate about what they do, Gisella and Pierfranco Baldi work with dedication to produce some of the highest quality wines from the region.

Gisella very kindly took time out from her day to show us around the vineyard, explaining the whole process of viticulture, from grapes on the vine to the bottling of their award winning deep red and white wines.

I know from when I lived in the area the hard work vineyard owners put in. The process starts in January when the vines need pruning. Mostly the weather is still freezing cold and often it is foggy. Walking along the country roads in between the hills at that time of year, you can often hear but not see, the sound of people working in the vineyards. All done by hand, it is not a job for people with little patience.

Gisella and Pierfranco are committed to producing wine to the very high standards they set themselves as Vini Baldi. This was evident from the animated way Gisella spoke about their work.

The pinnacle of the visit was the wine tasting towards the end. It was not like going to the supermarket and picking up any bottle of wine. These wines were special because, not only were they some of the best we had ever tasted, but we now knew the history and people behind them.