Cooking with Lucas

5.18.2016

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!!!

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...! :)

5.17.2016

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.

4.14.2016

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.

4.08.2016

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.

3.26.2016

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...

3.18.2016

Pasticcio di Radicchio

500g/ 1lb Radicchio rosso di Treviso

Olive oil
1000ml bechamel
1 clove of garlic
Salt & Pepper
Grana Padano
300g Asiago
Lasagne sheets

The first step is wash the radicchio very well and cut in little strips. In a frying pan, sauté the radicchio with olive oil and the clove of garlic. Leave the clove of garlic until turns brown, then discard. Leave the cooked radicchio in a colander because is better when the radicchio is not wet. Make your bechamel sauce.
Making the pasticcio: Add a little bit of bechamel in a lasagna baking tray. The sequence is: Bechamel+Pasta+Radicchio+Cheese+Pasta+Radicchio+Bechamel+Cheese+Pasta...

Curiosity about radicchio... If you like the non bitter radicchio, choose the young ones, the young ones are usually smaller and softer leafs.

3.11.2016

Gorgonzola and pear chicken with walnuts and prosecco sauce

Gorgonzola Pear Chicken
4 chicken breasts, pounded thin
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
1 pear
(120g) 4 oz. Gorgonzola cheese
Toothpicks

Preheat oven to 200 C,400F.
Lightly grease a baking dish with olive oil.
Peel the pear and slice thin.
Slice the Gorgonzola into 5 1/4 inch strips, reserving 5th strip for the sauce.
Evenly divide pear slices among chicken breasts, laying them in the middle of each.
Place 1 Gorgonzola strip on top of pear slices.
Beginning at one end of the breast, roll each one up securing it with toothpicks. Place seam side down in prepared baking dish. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Bake for 20 minutes.

Sauce

1 cup prosecco

5th strip of Gorgonzola
2 tablespoons heavy cream or mascarpone
1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons cold water or milk
salt
freshly ground pepper

In a small saucepan, boil prosecco until there is about 1/2 cup in the pan.
Lower heat to medium, add the heavy cream and remaining Gorgonzola, stirring until cheese is melted.
Pour in cornstarch/water, whisking constantly until sauce is thickened.
Serve separately or pour over chicken.
Garnish with walnuts.

2.16.2016

Pesto bread

3 cups 0 flour (Bread flour in USA)
1 cup warm water
1 cube of fresh yeast or 1 tbsp dried yeast
3 tbsp pesto genovese
1/2 tbsp salt
1 tbsp sugar or honey
Olive oil

To start, add the yeast a bowl and mix with the sugar or honey until is liquid. Add the warm water and mix it with the spoon. Add the sifted flour and the pesto and keep mixing with the spoon until is all together. When is hard to mix with the spoon, add some olive oil on your hands and kneed the bread. Divide the bread in 16 little balls. Leave the bread to raise for 2 hours. Bake for about 25 minutes on 180C on convect oven or a little more time on non convect ones. If you want you can brush some milk at the top of the bread and add poppy seeds on it!

Pollo alla Romana

Recipe:

8 boneless, skinless chicken pieces

Salt and pepper, to taste

Olive oil, as needed

2 red bell peppers, sliced

2 yellow peppers, sliced

1/2 cup prosciutto, sliced

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 can diced tomatoes

1 cup, white wine

1/2 tbsp. dried thyme

1 cup chicken broth

Capers, drained, as needed

Parsley, for topping

Directions:

Season the chicken with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. When the oil is hot, cook the chicken until browned on both sides, about 12-15 minutes total. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Keeping the same pan over medium heat, add the peppers and prosciutto and cook until the peppers have browned and the prosciutto is crisp, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, wine, and herbs. Scrape the browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Return the chicken to the pan, add the stock, and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the chicken is cooked through, about 15 to 20 minutes.