Saturday, October 13, 2018 - Civitavecchia / Rome, Italy
Civitavecchia is the port closest to Rome, perhaps a one and a half hour ride into the city. This was the day I'd waited for - cooking in Rome!!!
Our group met at 7:45 a.m. (this is a vacation!) - but we were all on time and into one bus to a depot just a few blocks away to get on a smaller bus, and we were off for the City of Rome. We would meet our chef at 10:00, go to the market to buy groceries and then go to his kitchen to turn the groceries into wonderful treats.
The markets of Europe, especially Italy, feature artfully arranged fruits, vegetables, salumi, cheese, meats, fish, etc. A feast for the eyes!
Don't know what these spiny looking cucumbers are and the apples caught my eye because they appear to be named after grandson "Trent". Papa and I called him "Trentino" when he was a baby!
On to the kitchen of Matteo, which is located just one block from the Church of Rome - St. John Latteran. Matteo is an enterprising young man who is marketing well, and beginning to have some acclaim with his ability to teach others how to cook simply, but deliciously! His kitchen has 16 cooking stations, each with its own sink and four-burner induction stove top.
On the menu today were ravioli and tiramisu. And so we began with a tutorial on how to make a tender, delicious pasta. All purpose flour and fresh egg - mushed around in a bowl until all bits of stray flour were amalgamated into the mix - then remove from the bowl and proceed to knead with the heel of the hand, folding over carefully - repeating the process until the texture was just right. Then the pasta ball was wrapped in Saran Wrap to set.
Then on to the sauce made with chopped small tomatoes, grown locally and of course, organically. Toss the chopped tomatoes into hot olive oil, two cloves of garlic, and a half very small, but potent chili pepper, leaving seeds in. Let that simmer, add a little water and continue to simmer while on to making the ravioli.
We used a hand crank pasta machine putting the pasta through on the highest number and gradually working down to make the pasta thinner and thinner. When just right, we removed pasta to our cutting boards, covered with saran to keep from drying out, and tended to the sauce some more.
The filling for the ravioli had been made by Matteo while we watched. It contained fresh ricotta, freshly cooked and drained chopped spinach, some herbs, salt and pepper to taste. Each station had a bowl of the filling. As we set water to boil, each made five ravioli - putting five small mounds separated by a three-finger width, on the lower half of the pasta strip. Then fold over the top to meet the lower margin. After pressing pasta around the ricotta mound, making certain to remove all air pockets, took the rotary cutter and trimmed away excess pasta, leaving enough to seal around the edges with a fork. They were now ready to cook - only 2 to 3 minutes - in a slow but steady simmer.
Finished ravioli were very tender, didn't break up in the cooking and very mild in flavor. Found the sauce good and the only thing that saved it was the chili pepper which added lots of zest.
Forgot to take photos of the tiramisu, but that preparation was pretty straightforward - a custard made by the chef and then we layered it into individual ramekins, dipped lady fingers into very strong Italian coffee, topped with more custard and finished with powdery chocolate. It was good, but not so memorable for me!
Now, on to my favorite. With the left over pasta (we'd only used one half of the ball), Chef Matteo set up the pasta machines so that we could make spaghetti and then taught us how to make the sauce for Caccio e Pepe. Such a simple but super delicious pasta and one that will become a favorite for me once I get home. Olive oil mixed with lots of grated cheese (he had us use Pecorino Romano, though think I'd like to use one half Pecorino and one half Parmesan) - once blended nicely, add lots of pepper and use some of the pasta water to thin out the sauce to make it creamy.
Cook the pasta (2 minutes), drain and slightly cool before adding the sauce. That way the cheese won't clump. He then taught us how to put the sauced pasta into a ladle and twirl it with a large fork so that you can make a nice mound in the center of the plate. So easy to do and so pretty in its presentation. Top with a little of the creamy sauce and you are ready to eat - and I did. Made up for disappointing pasta the night before. You can giggle at the photos below - I sure did!!
A very full and rewarding day. Back to the ship and found a beautiful fresh bouquet in my suite.
This will be a night in-suite with a hamburger, a glass of wine and a good night's sleep!
Our group met at 7:45 a.m. (this is a vacation!) - but we were all on time and into one bus to a depot just a few blocks away to get on a smaller bus, and we were off for the City of Rome. We would meet our chef at 10:00, go to the market to buy groceries and then go to his kitchen to turn the groceries into wonderful treats.
The markets of Europe, especially Italy, feature artfully arranged fruits, vegetables, salumi, cheese, meats, fish, etc. A feast for the eyes!
Don't know what these spiny looking cucumbers are and the apples caught my eye because they appear to be named after grandson "Trent". Papa and I called him "Trentino" when he was a baby!
On to the kitchen of Matteo, which is located just one block from the Church of Rome - St. John Latteran. Matteo is an enterprising young man who is marketing well, and beginning to have some acclaim with his ability to teach others how to cook simply, but deliciously! His kitchen has 16 cooking stations, each with its own sink and four-burner induction stove top.
On the menu today were ravioli and tiramisu. And so we began with a tutorial on how to make a tender, delicious pasta. All purpose flour and fresh egg - mushed around in a bowl until all bits of stray flour were amalgamated into the mix - then remove from the bowl and proceed to knead with the heel of the hand, folding over carefully - repeating the process until the texture was just right. Then the pasta ball was wrapped in Saran Wrap to set.
Then on to the sauce made with chopped small tomatoes, grown locally and of course, organically. Toss the chopped tomatoes into hot olive oil, two cloves of garlic, and a half very small, but potent chili pepper, leaving seeds in. Let that simmer, add a little water and continue to simmer while on to making the ravioli.
We used a hand crank pasta machine putting the pasta through on the highest number and gradually working down to make the pasta thinner and thinner. When just right, we removed pasta to our cutting boards, covered with saran to keep from drying out, and tended to the sauce some more.
The filling for the ravioli had been made by Matteo while we watched. It contained fresh ricotta, freshly cooked and drained chopped spinach, some herbs, salt and pepper to taste. Each station had a bowl of the filling. As we set water to boil, each made five ravioli - putting five small mounds separated by a three-finger width, on the lower half of the pasta strip. Then fold over the top to meet the lower margin. After pressing pasta around the ricotta mound, making certain to remove all air pockets, took the rotary cutter and trimmed away excess pasta, leaving enough to seal around the edges with a fork. They were now ready to cook - only 2 to 3 minutes - in a slow but steady simmer.
Finished ravioli were very tender, didn't break up in the cooking and very mild in flavor. Found the sauce good and the only thing that saved it was the chili pepper which added lots of zest.
Forgot to take photos of the tiramisu, but that preparation was pretty straightforward - a custard made by the chef and then we layered it into individual ramekins, dipped lady fingers into very strong Italian coffee, topped with more custard and finished with powdery chocolate. It was good, but not so memorable for me!
Now, on to my favorite. With the left over pasta (we'd only used one half of the ball), Chef Matteo set up the pasta machines so that we could make spaghetti and then taught us how to make the sauce for Caccio e Pepe. Such a simple but super delicious pasta and one that will become a favorite for me once I get home. Olive oil mixed with lots of grated cheese (he had us use Pecorino Romano, though think I'd like to use one half Pecorino and one half Parmesan) - once blended nicely, add lots of pepper and use some of the pasta water to thin out the sauce to make it creamy.
Cook the pasta (2 minutes), drain and slightly cool before adding the sauce. That way the cheese won't clump. He then taught us how to put the sauced pasta into a ladle and twirl it with a large fork so that you can make a nice mound in the center of the plate. So easy to do and so pretty in its presentation. Top with a little of the creamy sauce and you are ready to eat - and I did. Made up for disappointing pasta the night before. You can giggle at the photos below - I sure did!!
A very full and rewarding day. Back to the ship and found a beautiful fresh bouquet in my suite.
This will be a night in-suite with a hamburger, a glass of wine and a good night's sleep!
Caccio e pepe is my very favorite pasta dish. When we were in Rome, I ate it every night for my dinner meal. I love it!!! The only restaurant I have found around Marin that serves it as a regular menu item is La Toscana. Reading your description makes me want to visit that ristorante for lunch today.
ReplyDeleteEnjoying the pieces you have written. Thank you for taking the time and effort to share with us. Jim