Italian cuisine : between traditions and techniques Having tradition as a departure point is important  but nowadays using the correct technique for making a better preparation is really important too! Many of our traditional dishes were born from the need to use local food products and  keep them in time to prevent them from going bad.  Today  with a better knowledge of cooking techniques  it’s possible to make them even more good and healthy. The second lesson was about the basic of meat ragout , vegetable soups and different methods of cooking eggs: “Ragù di carne Modenese” Modenese meat ragout: Ragout is a term used to indicate sauce meat cooked for many hours over low heat, made of several ingredients (which vary depending on the region). The most popular is the Bolognese one that usually is served with pasta . A little bit different from Bolognese ragu  but similar is the Modenese ragu  . The difference consists in the meat used .There are some tricks for making it tasty and not to heavy , for more info you can find information in recipes section! “Minestrone di verdure” Vegetable soup: this is a really easy preparation but a little bit different from the usual. We diced all the vegetables for the soup. We put them into different bowls and sorted in the order of cooking. First the ones that needed a longer cooking and after those which required little time. We browned the onion with olive oil and then we added one  vegetable at time with a bit of vegetable broth. We did so until the last vegetables. The result was excellent the vegetables were cooked to perfection and very tasty! “Pasta e fagioli” Pasta and beans soup: One of the classic preparation of traditional Italian cuisine is pasta and beans. Each region has its own variations, but one thing  is sure, it is a very tasty dish! We made a base of garlic oil, chopped bacon and ham shank. After cooking them a little bit we added carrots, celery and onion minced. We browned all together and after we added the beans and tomatoes chopped. We covered everything with water , we added salt and pepper and we left it simmer for about 40 minutes.  At the end we took out half of the beans, we blended them and put again all together. We added rosemary and we cooked pasta into the soup. Deliciuos! “Uova in camicia” Poached eggs: finally I learned I to make poached eggs! We put  water and white wine vinegar and a pot and when it was boiling we started making  a whirlpool with a spoon and suddenly we put one egg without the shell . We waited just 3 minutes and it was ready ! “Frittata con gli spinaci” Omelet with spinach: in a bowl we beat the eggs with salt and pepper and we put them in a skillet with a little bit of oil. When they were half way cooked we added spinach , previously boiled , dried and seasoned with salt . We finished to cook the omelet never turning it up and down but only moving it a little .

Passion and Patience for a delightful result. Fine cooking is patience. It’s taking the time to understand the process it takes to get the food to the plate. Studying the techniques makes the execution possible. It’s all about love and care for what you are doing and whom you are doing it for. From the beginning of my new cooking experience at “Scuola di Cucina Amaltea” I immediately understood that the best ingredients for a good compound are passion and time.The school is next to the restaurant “L’Erba del Re” owned by the Chef Luca Marchini, who is also the master of the cooking classes and it is directly connected with the kitchen of his restaurant.L’Erba del Re is a modern and elegant restaurant located in Piazza della Pomposa in Modena, a jewel set in one of the most characteristic corner of the old town. I was a little bit scared going to learn from a Michelin starred Chef as Luca Marchini , thinking to all the tv programs that are about cooking school, like masterchef, where Chefs are arrogant and strict. When I arrived he was waiting for students standing in a relaxed manner , with arms folded , wearing the typical cook’s white shirt. Right away I felt at ease because Mr Luca is a nice and funny person , really approachable. The first lesson was about the basic broths and sauces : 1) “Fondo bruno di manzo” Beef Brown Stock:brown stock is made with beef bones for a delicate-bodied soup. Bones are roasted and when browned they must be covered with vegetable soup and left cooking for about 3-4 hours. At the end the soup must be filtered and cooked again. Finally when it will be enough reduced with some drops of lemon juice it will be ready and really tasty. The stock obtained can be used on grilled meat or for preparing many other dishes. 2) “Brodo di gallina” Broth made with hen:it is very easy to make it and it is the base of many dishes. A hen , a carrot , a celery rib with leaves and half a onion must be put in pan with cold water. It has to boil till it will be reduced of the 30% . 3) “Consommé di carne” Meat Consommé:in broth made with hen we have boiled ground beef, carrot , celery , onion , pepper and egg whites and at the end we passed through a filter the soup. This suop was a surprise to me , very tasty and light.4) “Salsa Besciamella” Bechamel Sauce:I love this sauce because it’s easy to prepare and delightful . The ingredients are flour, milk and butter a little bit of sault.5) “Salsa Mornay” Mornay Sauce:this sauce is made with bechamel sauce , fresh cream and Parmigiano and usually it is used on vegetables or pasta for a creamy result.6) “Salsa di Pomodoro” Tomato Sauce:the secret for a good tomato sauce is the “soffritto” carrots, celery and onion minced and cooked slowly in olive oil. This process can take half an hour , but at the end this vegetables must be well cooked almost like a a cream.The following step is cooking tomatoes and mixing them together with soffitto . This sauce is wonderful with pasta! 7) ” Burro di acciuga” Anchovy Butter:to obtain a delicius butter with anchovy flavour the only thing to do it is to press the anchovies on the sieve for making a sort of cream, and mix it with butter . On warm bread it is exquisite! 8) “Vellutata di Broccoli” Broccoli Cream:this cream left me surprised , so good and low calories! All information about it are in  Recipes section. 9) ” Stracciatella” Egg Drop Soup:this is a mix of eggs , Parmigiano , parsley, nutmeg and salt boiled in hot broth . This is typical of the Roman cuisine , tasty and cheap.