2/6 Recipes

Our cooking class is set up so that we spend the first 30 minutes to 45 minutes learning about the history of food in Italy and then make a dish that corresponds with what we learned that day. On Tuesday of this week, we learned about the fairly new "Agriturismo" market that you can find in Italy. In the industrial age, much of Italy's beautiful countryside were wiped clean of people as they were looking for new opportunities in the city. Fortunately, today many people are moving back to the countryside and beginning farms again, this time making it work for the 20th Century. Italy has a huge Agritourism culture, where people (usually husband and wife) open up their homes and farms for tourists (or not tourists) to come and see how their food is made and the slow and simple life of living on a farm. (Its a kind of elegant WWOOFing). Then at night, as you stay in a B&B like place, you can enjoy the local food that was harvested not even a mile (or km) away. It's a great concept, and I really hope to see it gain more interest around the world. (yes, agritourism  has been going on for decades but I don't see it as prevalent in the US.) It was also fresh to hear that people are beginning to move back to a simple lifestyle away from the cities when everything else these days are just about moving forward, about the newest product, etc.

Usually the meals served at the B&B's are very simple, as the ingredients are simple. The meal we made, although very surprisingly simple to make, wasn't exactly what I would call "simple". However, it is a regional meal as well as in season (both characteristics of agriturismo). 

Our main course was a Homemade Ricotta and Pecorino cheese ravioli with a Pear Sauce. I had had the combination a few times in restaurants here... but never as good as this recipe. It is always a cheese and pear sauce-- making it much too rich and thick for my taste (but too good to pass up). This one however had the cheese on the inside of the ravioli, and the sauce was just purely pear--- a much lighter spin on the beloved italian dish. I couldn't get enough of it!

Ravioli di Pere e Pecorino

For the dough:

200 gr Flour

2 eggs

salt 

oil

Work the flour with the eggs, salt, and oil until smooth and elastic (10 to 15 minutes) Cover with saran wrap and leave to rest at room temperature. (If you have a pasta flattener--- you know what to do here, flatten pasta, cut in half, and add balls of cheese. Lay the other half of pasta over cheese and cut into squares)

                                                         

For the filling:

50 gr. dry pecorino cheese

150 gr. ricotta cheese

salt 

nutmeg

pepper

Mix the ricotta cheese with the grated pecorino cheese, add an "italian" pinch (big pinch) of salt, nutmeg, and pepper

If you are unable to make the pasta--- just buy ricotta ravioli and use this recipe for the sauce-- it will still taste delicious!

For the sauce:

3 pears

fresh thyme

1 shallot

fresh rosemary

1 tsp honey

1 dl balsamic vinegar

Dice the shallot and cook in a pan with olive oil, add two of the peeled and cubed pears. Add the dice rosemary and thyme. Add 1/2 cup of water and cook for about 10 minutes. The add the honey. 

Then, in a blender, blend the pear sauce (what you just cooked).

Cube the third pear, saute in a pan with butter for about 5 minutes.

Reduce the balsamic vinegar until you get a thick consistence. 

Cook ravioli in salty boiling water.

Place pear sauce on bottom of plate (or mix ravioli in the pan with blended pear sauce). Arrange ravioli on plate, adding some of the cooked cubes of pear on top. Then sprinkle a few drops of balsamic.

And for dessert...

Crema di Yogurt e Mirtilli

6 servings

100 gr blueberries

50 gr sugar

50 gr dry biscuits (graham crackers)

60 gr honey

300 gr white yogurt

6 gr gelatin

2 tbs Vodka

200 gr.

Make the blueberry sauce:

Put in a little pot: sugar, 4 tbs of water, and the blue berries. Cook for 10 minutes.

Soak the gelatin in cold water in a bowl.

Whip fresh cream (in separate bowl).

Mix the honey with yogurt until they are well mixed.

Squeeze out the water from the gelatin (after about 10-15 minutes) and melt in a pot with the vodka and 1 tbs of water. Mix into yogurt. Fold the whipped fresh cream into the yogurt mixture as well. Crumble the biscuits (graham crackers) and mix in the blueberry sauce.

Place in individual cups: cream on the bottom, then blueberry sauce, then cream (or whatever way you want it--- go crazy!) Put cups in the fridge for one hour before serving.