Pasta al Pesto

Cooking lesson with Stephania Balducci

Attending a cooking class in Tuscany has been on my wish list for some time but the opportunity has not been there. So it was high on my list this time when we were in the area. We had hoped to do it at Podere Campiano but they were not running them so we were referred to Pasta al Pesto in Montefioralle. What a find. Stephania is a lovely chic lady who lives in a hilltop village called Montefioralle above Greve. She runs classes from her home when she is not travelling to the US and other countries to give demonstrations.

Bob and I were lucky enough to be the only two attending. A couple of days later she was doing the same class for 10.  We spent about 4 hours cooking and then eating what we’d made. None of us took it too seriously and we had lots of fun.

The food was all typical of the area except for the Tiramisu which originates from Venice. We made  pesto with celery leaves so as not to waste them, ravioli with ricotta and zucchini by hand, chicken with herbs and pine nuts and tiramisu. Will you get homemade pasta next time you come to our place for dinner? – maybe! Stefania may come to Australia to do demonstrations next year so we’ll watch out for that.

It amused us that she received some texts during the class from local young people who knew she was doing a class - maybe because our car was strange or maybe because of the aromas I don’t know. However they were offering to help eat any leftovers afterwards. There were some!

We made soffritto using carrots, celery, red onion and garlic which is a basis for lots of Tuscan dishes. This will certainly be added to the repertoire at home.

We had remarked at breakfast where we were staying that the bread was a little hard. It tasted good but was different to the fresh bread we've bought elsewhere. Stephania enlightened us. Tuscan bread has no salt. At one time salt was very scarce and expensive so the locals made it without salt and continue to do this today.

                                     
                                    Tiramasu was easy to make and tasted delicious.

                        We ate what we'd cooked in Stefania's lovely lounge. A lovely experience.

San Gimignano

San Gimignano

San Gimignano

What do you do in 1199 and the years after when your Etruscan town has been saved from Attila the Hun and you are very prosperous. Why you build a tower bigger than your neighbours to show what a prosperous family you are – well you would wouldn’t you? Well they did and the town of San Gimignano originally had 72 towers. There are 15 left and it is described as looking like a medieval Manhattan as you advance from the east. We did come from the east and I could see what they mean by a mini Manhattan. Only difference it’s in the middle of beautiful countryside. However it was not easy to stop and photograph it from afar showing the towers so you’ll just have to imagine it or google some pictures.

We drove from Greve and spent an afternoon there. We joined many other tourists – mainly day trippers I think. It seems to me that the citizens are still quite enterprising and are giving tourists lots of opportunities to spend their money. Some of the shop displays are really striking. Here’s a sample.

Handbags of lovely soft Italian leather in every colour imaginable for about $45Aust.  SHHHH - I bought the red one!

A Talking To

Judy to Judy the morning we went to San Gimignano. “You know that you will never look like a glamorous Italian lady. Trying to pretend is useless. Comfort is paramount when travelling. Think how sore your feet were last night when you got back after your Florence adventure. Give up and wear sneakers not sandals when you are out for the day.”

So I listened and my feet have been a lot more comfortable since. One of the first shops we saw in San Gimignano had this sign in it. I know I’m not interpreting it as they intended but I think it was a sign!

         The usual ice cream treat but this one was saffron flavoured - a speciality of San Gimignano

As usual about 20 metres from the crowded main street in San Gimignano was almost deserted. We sought out this café Terra di Siena we’d read about where the 4th generation Gambasi family owner breed their own stock and process and cure their meats by hand. Because it's a bit out of the way it's not patronised as much as I think it should be. We had delicious cheese and salami sandwiches.   He was a real character and although he spoke almost no English we got on well.

We also found a silversmith Matteo Macalle and watched him making jewelry, which is also a family tradition. Each piece is individual and made with love. We bought each other rings which again cost very little compared to Australian prices.