Touring Italy with Lucas

 Touring Italy with Lucas

10 days of traveling in beautiful cities, drinking good wine and eating good food.

1st day:
We will meet in Vicenza, a beautiful medium size city out of the tourist track. We will arrange for you a nice hotel with a accomodation so you can rest of your long trip from United States.

In order to help you to get adjusted on the Italian time zone we will go for a bar hopping. We will visit one of the best coffee shops of Italy and three different bars around downtown and in each bar we will drink a local wine and talk about it like on a wine tasting.

After the bar hopping we go for a dinner where we will get to know eachother.

2nd day:
The second day you are maybe still jet lagged, but don't worry. We will take it easy. We will go to a Small family owned Frantoio (Olive oil Farm)- On the Frantoio you will learn how Olive oil is made and ba able to taste different kinds of Olive oil and products made with Olive oil. After the olive oil tour we will go to have lunch on a small family run Osteria and then for 'dessert' we will move towards Valpolicella where we will go to two wineries and taste one of the best wines prodeced in the world, Valpolicella, Valpolicella Ripasso and Amarone.
For this night we will go all for a goumet pizza on a beautiful restaurant downtown Vicenza.

3rd day:
After our breakfast we will take a train to the city that is on my opinion the most beautifull city in this world, Venice.
Arriving in Venice I will take you to a workers class bar where you can have the real feel of Venitians and taste the working class wine.
After the wine we will visit the Jewish Ghetto and move towards the Saint Mark Square.
We will walk around downtown and have luch on a very good restaurant. On the afternoon we will go for a cicchetti on a very cool little bar where just locals know about it.
On this day we will walk a lot. In Venice pretty much everything is by foot or boat, so prepare yourself with comfortable shoes.

4th day:
After an intensive day of walking around Venice this day will Sparkle your trip. We will do the prosecco road and visit the beautiful hills of Valdobiadene. 

5th day:
Very early we will say bye to Vicenza and board on a nice comfortable bus to the food heaven. On this day we will visit the Parmigiano cheese factory, Parma ham factory, a small producer of Balsamic vinegar and we will finish our trip in Bologna where we will stay on a nice hotel downtown.

6th day:
We will be waking up on the food capital of Italy. On this day Lucas will bring you to a food tour around Bologna. We will walk around downtown, visit a historical stock market, the oldest college of the world and visit the oldest bar of Italy and taste a delicious Lambrusco with local ham cuts and cheeses then we will go to Lucas favorite restaurant and have a real lasagne Bolognese with a very good of San Giovese wine. On the afternoon we will taste one of the best gelatos of Italy as well, another historical place. Bologna is a very interesting city and is completely out of the tourist beaten path. At the night for the people that are still hungry we will go to a rustic and traditional osteria where they just have three things on the menu and one is the Tagliatelle alla Bolognese.

7th day:
After breakfast we will move towards the train station to catch the most modern and fastest train in Europe, Italo. Our ride to Florence will be just 37 minutes and we will be on the first class drinking prosecco. The trip is so short that we might have just enough time for one glass.
Arriving in Florence we will check in on a nice hotel right in front of Duomo. Your windows will likely have a view to one of the most prettiest churches in Italy. After checking in we will go again for a tour around the city and have lunch on a whole in the wall where they make simple but delicious food. We will walk around the city and taste a typical wine from Tuscany with cantucci. Vin santo.

8th day:

Nutella Cookies

180g Nutella

150g 00 flour (cake flour)
1 egg
2 tbsp bitter chocolate powder
150g Nutella for the filling

1. Mix the egg, flour, chocolate and Nutella in a bowl. Start mixing with a spoon.

2. Then mix with your hands until is soft. Put inside the fridge for about 30 minutes.

3. Make little balls and make a little hole in the middle using a wood spoon for example.

4. Bake in the convection oven in 180C for about 8-10 minutes.

5. Take out of the oven and let it cool down. Add as well the nutella on the hole. And that's it! Very simple!

Grissini al Parmigiano

1 cup warm water
1 yeast cube
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp salt
1 1/2 cup semolina
1 1/2 cup 00 flour
1/4 cup melted butter
1 cup parmigiano
1 tbsp chopped rosemary

In a bowl mix the yeast and sugar. The yeast and sugar will become liquid. Add water and mix. Add the flour, semolina, salt and rosemary. Mix with spoon. Add the butter in your hands and mix with your hands this time, add cheese. If is too stick add a little more semolina or flour. Let raise for about 45 minutes in a bowl. Make little snakes, and add cheese and olive oil around them. Bake for about 20 min in 180C or 450F. Spinkle more cheese on the top if you would like.

Strawberry Limoncello Tiramisu

3 eggs
1/2 cup of sugar
1/2 pound of Mascarpone or Philadelphia cream cheese
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup of Limoncello
1 package Lady fingers cookies
500g Strawberries

1. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer with whisk attachment, beat egg yolks and sugar until thick and pale, about 5 minutes.

2. Add mascarpone cheese and fold until smooth into the eggs cream.
In a separate bowl, whisk the white eggs until peaks and in another bowl whisk the heavy cream until peaks.

3. Mix the eggwhites, whipping cream and the mascarpone cream creating the Tiramisu mix.In a small shallow dish, add Limoncello with water. Half limoncello and half water.

4. Dip each ladyfinger into limoncello for only 3 seconds. Letting the ladyfingers soak too long will cause them to fall apart. 

5. Arrange half of soaked ladyfingers in bottom of a 7x11 inch dish.

6. Spread half of tiramisu cream mixture over ladyfingers, then half of the tiramisu cream Repeat layers and add chopped strawberries. Cover and refrigerate 4 to 6 hours, until set. Serve with strawberries on top! 

Paella

Patatas Bravas with Chorizo

INGREDIENTS:

• 500g baby/new potatoes
• Olive oil
• 400g of chopped tomatoes from the can or without skin and seeds
• 4 tbsps balsamic vinegar
• 1-2 tsps smoked paprika
• 1-2 tsps brown sugar
• 150g chorizo ring
• A Hand of Parsley

For the aïoli:

• 3 garlic cloves
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 tsps dijon mustard
• 275ml olive oil
• ¼ lemon (optional)
  
  

  METHOD

  Step 1: Preheat oven to 220˚C/fan 200˚C/425˚F/gas mark 7. Season potatoes with salt and pepper and drizzle with oil. Roast for 20 minutes.
  Step 2: Pour the chopped tomatoes into a pan over a medium heat. Add the vinegar, paprika and sugar to taste, a drizzle of oil, and salt and pepper. Simmer for 15 minutes.
  Step 3: Peel garlic cloves for the aïoli, blitz in a food processor with egg yolks and mustard. Keeping the processor running, slowly add half the oil then add the rest in a steady drizzle. Add a squeeze of lemon juice, if using.
  Step 4: Peel and chop chorizo into chunky pieces and stir into the tomato sauce. Cook for five minutes then pour over the hot potatoes and top with aïoli, tear over parsley leaves and serve.

Parma ham, creammy and nutty sauce

200g Parma ham cutted in stripes
1 cup white wine
1 cup heavy cream
Olive oil
Salt & Pepper
Crushed walnuts

In a big frying pan, add some olive oil and the parma ham. Let the ham to get brown. When the ham starts to stick on the pan, add the white wine. The wine is acidic and will 'clean' the pan for you, this process makes the sauce very tasty! Let the wine evaporate for 5 minutes. Add the cream and cook for another minute. Add the walnuts, salt & pepper. IF you like the taste, you can also add a little bit of nutmeg!

Cooking classes in Bassano

Cooking classes close to Bassano!

Cooking Classes BASSANO!

  A chance for you and your friends to get together and create a private cooking class.  You reserve the day, decide the menu, and together you discover new recipes or how to make your favorite dish.  For information on how to book a class, send en email to lucas@cookingwithlucas.com

 
The classes are hands on, includes wine, ingredients for the menu, and finished with Italian coffee, all while having a lot of fun!

 
All the recipes will be available on the website for free for everyone that wants to replicate the recipes wherever you are in the world!

The class is located in Vicenza just 30 min from Bassano.

Vicenza is also a great city to visit if you are staying in Bassano.

Cooking classes in Verona

Cooking classes close to Verona!

Cooking Classes Verona!!!

  A chance for you and your friends to get together and create a private cooking class.  You reserve the day, decide the menu, and together you discover new recipes or how to make your favorite dish.  For information on how to book a class, send en email to lucas@cookingwithlucas.com

 
The classes are hands on, includes wine, ingredients for the menu, and finished with Italian coffee, all while having a lot of fun!

 
All the recipes will be available on the website for free for everyone that wants to replicate the recipes wherever you are in the world!

The class is located in Vicenza just 30 min from Venice and 30 min from Verona.

Vicenza is also a great city to visit if you are staying in Verona.
From Verona is easy access by train or car...! :)

Amaretto and chocolate mousse

200 g good-quality dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids) , broken into small pieces

salt

4 eggs

50 g sugar

150 ml double cream

Amaretto

2 tablespoons good-quality cocoa powder , plus extra for dusting

Amaretti cookies

Place the dark chocolate and a tiny pinch of salt in a heatproof bowl and sit it over a pan of gently simmering water, making sure the water doesn’t touch the base of the bowl. Leave to slowly melt, stirring occasionally. 

Meanwhile, separate your eggs so you have the whites in one bowl and the yolks in another. Add the sugar to the bowl of yolks and beat until the sugar has dissolved and its silky and smooth. Whisk the whites with a pinch of salt until they form soft peaks, beat the cream until slightly thick and just whipped. 

Once the chocolate has melted, carefully lift the bowl out of the pan. Add 75ml (3 shots) of amaretto and the cocoa powder to your bowl of yolks and mix well. Add the cream and mix again, then fold through the melted chocolate until it’s well combined. Finish by folding in the egg whites, then keep folding, from the outside in in a figure-of-eight until the mix is smooth and evenly coloured. Spoon or ladle the mousse into a big serving bowl or divide between little glasses or cappuccino cups and put in the fridge for an hour or two until set.

Just before you’re ready to serve, crack few amaretti cookies and serve on the top. You can also use strawberries, any berries, whipped cream and mint to garnish. 

Panzerotti

Ingredients for the dough:

3 1/2 '00' flour (cake flour)

1 tbsp of fine salt

1 cube of fresh yeast

1 tbsp of sugar

5 tbsp olive oil

1 cup of warm water

Peanut oil to fry

Recipe:

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast with the sugar by adding the two together and mixing a little with a fork.  Add the warm water, salt and then the flour.  Begin mixing with your hands very well and transfer to a tabletop to continue mixing and working the dough.  Kneed the dough and sprinkle with flour when it sticks to your hands or as needed for texture.  Open the dough and make some holes with your fingertips, add the olive oil to the dough and continue to mix.  Now put back into a clean bowl and allow the dough to “proof” or rise.  Cover with a clean, damp kitchen towel or some kind of cover and place in a neutral temperature area (not in a drafty area).  The yeast will begin to raise the dough.

After about one hour, remove dough and cut into portions desired.  With your hands, gently make balls with the dough (using flower generously) and allow them to rise for another 30-60 minutes.

Now with dry hands, make the disks with your hands and try to keep uniformity in dough thickness as you open the dough for the pizza.

Make your panzerotti with what ever you would like inside. Below there is some suggestions.

Deep fry until is golden brown.

Dill Tagliolini with almonds and salmon

500g Dill Tagliolini
300g Salmon
1 shallot
1/2 cup chopped almonds
1 lemon
1 tbsp butter
Olive oil
Chives
Salt & Pepper

Cut the salmon in little cubes. In a frying pan sautè the salmon with the almonds and shallots with olive oil. Add the pasta in the pan and mix very well. Add the butter and the chives.

Arugula tagliatelle served with cherry tomatoes, zucchini and tuna sauce.

For the dough:

1 cup arugula
3 eggs
1 1/2 cup 00 flour (cake flour)
1 1/2 cup Semolina flour
1 tbsp olive oil
Pinch of salt

In a blender, blend the eggs with the arugula until is smooth green. In a bowl or on the table mix the eggs with the oil, salt and flour. Mix until the texture is similar to a play dough. Roll the dough in a pasta machine or by hand. If you have a Marcato pasta machine make the tagliatelli until the number 5.

For the sauce:

500g cherry tomatoes
2 zucchini
4 cloves of chopped garlic
1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup already cooked tuna (can or jar is fine)
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Salt & Pepper
1 tbsp oregano (the best quality is the Sicilian or Greek)
Pinch of pepperoncino

Cut the tomatoes in half. The zucchini we will use just the hard green part, not the seeds. Chop the garlic.

In a big baking tray, mix the tomatoes, zucchini, garlic, olive oil, balsamic, oregano, Salt & Pepper and a little spicy if you would like. Bake for 30 minutes in a preheated oven 200C. After baked, add the Tuna. Cook the pasta for about five minutes, mix the pasta with the sauce. Serve with balsamic vinegar reduction if you would like! :)

A very fun night of cooking!

 *You can substitute Tuna for already cooked shrimp, lobster, crabs, squid or octopus...