Gnocchi Archivi • Cooking Classes and Private Chef In Tuscany

Montespertoli: holiday home cooking classes with asparagus and courgette flowers Sauce for Gnocchi

Erika Elia — Thu, 22 Jun 2017 10:56:05 +0000

Montespertoli is a beautiful town near Florence in the heart of Chianti.

It’s surrounded by vineyards and olive groves, that’s why is also called “the city of wine” (La città del Vino).

Furthermore, Montespertoli is a nice place were having dinner, but first of all lunch: yes! Sit at a table surrounded by country landscape, drinking a glass of good red Tuscan wine.

My company is Cuoche in Vacanza (Cooks for your Holiday) and we go all around Tuscany for 2 kinds of service:

Private Cooking Classes and Dinners.

Customers find us on Google or through some tour operators and contact us to go directly to their Holiday Homes in Tuscany.

Although Chianti is a very popular area and we often have many requests about our “food-services” over there, Montespertoli is a place where we’re going for only a couple of years.

When I started this job with my friend Lella, I couldn’t imagine the power of word of mouth even with customers coming from abroad.

A little at a time we became very popular among tourists coming to Montespertoli and we already have been there 6 times only this year.

All around Tuscany: in Terricciola, Montespertoli, Radda in Chianti…I have a farmer friend who sells his vegetables in season on the road.

Furthermore our customers in private Dinners and students in Cooking Classes often ask for fresh veggies based dishes.

That’s why this farmer friend became one of our company’s best suppliers. And that’s why we’re going to make fresh veggies pasta sauce when coming to these holiday locations.

Talking about fresh homemade pasta, we can’t mention Gnocchi, everyone likes them, and their flavor is really enhanced by extra virgin oil and fresh and seasonal veggies like asparagus!

Here in the Tuscan countryside the best season buying asparagus and zucchini flowers in late Spring!

Furthermore, you can have some gorgeous Gnocchi with this kind of sauce, which’s delicate but incredibly tasteful at the same time, maybe because of the parmesan cheese and the asparagus intense flavor.

You know that in Tuscany we have a lot of kinds of Gnocchi (click on the following links for the recipes):

how making POTATOES GNOCCHI,

how making GNUDI GNOCCHI,

how making RICOTTA CHEESE GNOCCHI…

Well enjoy making them because they’re fantastic with lots of sauces, but veggie ones are the best in my opinion.

Although Gnocchi are fantastic with Ragu meat Sauce,

here you can find the best sauces (apart from the one that I’m writing below is the recipe of this post, that’s my fav!):

The following sauce is perfect in Spring but is perfect with “Risotto” and all kinds of “short” pasta as well.

Do you have a particular sauce to recommend me trying for Gnocchi? What’s your fav sauce? Would you like to come in Tuscany and taking a cooking class? Want to know something more?

Contact US and we’ll answer you very quickly.

Asparagus and Zucchini flowers Sauce for Gnocchi

Recipe by Erika Elia (CuocheinVacanza.com)

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Total time: 40 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients

12 courgette flowers
1 Kg (2,2Lb) asparagus
1 garlic clove
4 tbsp extra virgin oil
1/2 glass white and dry wine
to taste salt and pepper
Parmigiano (parmesan) cheese

Instructions

SAUCE FOR GNOCCHI:
wash carefully all vegetables (be gentle with courgette flowers, opening them under running tap water)
cut off the white part of the asparagus stem and cut the stems in small wheels of about 1/2 cm
leave the tips whole to 5 cm
cut the courgette flowers in small stripes. If the pistil is right and is not brown, don’t throw it away and cut it as well
heat the extra virgin oil in a pan with the clove of garlic
add the stems and flip in the pan
pour in the wine and let it evaporate
pour in 2 cups of tap water and cover with a lid
let it cook for about 25 minutes, adding water occasionally if necessary
move the lid from the pan
pour in the pan the asparagus tips
salt to taste
stir with a wooden spoon and let it cook for about 8 minutes
pour in the courgette flowers in stripes and let them cook for about 5 minutes; until they absorbed almost all the water
taste and eventually add salt
sprinkle with pepper
pour the Gnocchi in the pan (medium-high fire) and flip or stir well to amalgamate with the sauce
turn off heat
pour in 4 tbsp of parmesan cheese and mix
serve immediately and enjoy them!

Eat fresh, eat seasonally. Buon Appetito!

Salva

L'articolo Montespertoli: holiday home cooking classes with asparagus and courgette flowers Sauce for Gnocchi proviene da Cooking Classes and Private Chef In Tuscany.

Tuscan Cooking Class: Homemade Ricotta Cheese Gnocchi… a perfect Italian meal after Christmas Holidays!

Erika Elia — Wed, 13 Jan 2016 20:10:53 +0000

Days of fire here in Tuscany… in every country as well, I suppose: Christmas’s gone, the last day of the year’s gone…our tummies are full!

If you’re living my situation and you invited a lots of people at your table before, during and after Christmas…maybe you’ll need to sleep (first of all) and to manage “these days after” the party as well.

Organization is a must, but first of all: it needs to prepare quick and easy dishes for the days coming after the big (in Italy for sure) Christmas lunch.

Since I can’t go far from the genuinity, something homemade and local ingredients…I think that I’ll prepare some Ricotta Cheese Gnocchi: they’re very fast, light (did you know this?) and a traditional Tuscan favorite!

Delicate, soft but not too much, amazing if you use freshly grated Parmigiano cheese.

You can season them with:

Butter and Sage
Pummarola Sauce (Tomato, Garlic and Basil)
Mushrooms Sauce
Pesto Sauce
Sea fruit sauce
you name it…

Homemade Ricotta Gnocchi

is one of CuocheinVacanza‘s most requested private cooking classes :

parents and children or honeymooners, often choose a hands on cookery course where everyone can enjoy rolling and cutting fresh pasta and than enjoy the fruits of its labour.

You too can try to make this easy and fast dish, sure that you’ll wow your friends and family as they tasted these delicate but tasteful Gnocchi.

You need just half an hour of your precious time, giving the impression to have prepared a light, worthy of a gourmet meal.

Here’s the recipe, all for you!

Homemade Ricotta Gnocchi

4 servings

Ingredients:

for Gnocchi

14 oz Ricotta Cheese
6-8 oz Flour
1 Egg
2 oz Parmesan cheese, grated

for the Sauce

3 tbs unsalted Butter
8 sage leaves
salt and pepper

Cooking Directions:

Drain the Ricotta on a coliander and put it in a bowl
Add the parmesan and the egg and start to stir with a spatula
Add the flour, slowly; stirring with the spatula until fully incorporated. You’ve to obtain a dough that doesn’t stick at your fingers. If you see it’s still very moist, add another spoon of flour or more, until it’s not.
Put the dough over a floured surface and shape an oval
Cut this dough in 4 or 5 pieces
Take each piece and start to roll it over the floured surface to form a long sausage, about 2 cm thick and long more than you can
Cut with a knife or a “Gnocchi cutter” this sausage in pieces long about 2 cm and place them over a floured sheet tray.
Put the butter in a pan and, when it’s fully melted, add the sage leaves (clean but dry)
When the leaves change color (a sort of dark grey), it means they’re crispy. Switch off the heat. Take off the leaves from the pan and put them in a cup
Put a pot of water (about 3 liters), on the stove and bring to boil, add 1/2 oz of salt
Take a slotted spoon (in Italy we call it “schiumarola”)
When the water is boiling add the Gnocchi
Wait about 2 or 3 minutes. When the Gnocchi float, they’re ready;
Remove them from pot with your slotted spoon, put over a tray and season with the butter
Top with the crispy leaves and some grated parmesan as well

Salva

L'articolo Tuscan Cooking Class: Homemade Ricotta Cheese Gnocchi… a perfect Italian meal after Christmas Holidays! proviene da Cooking Classes and Private Chef In Tuscany.

#Florence: Private Dinners and Cookery Courses by CuocheinVacanza…a new season’s started!

Erika Elia — Sat, 11 Apr 2015 14:44:00 +0000

directly to your holiday home for private dinners and cooking classes

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And ‘now started a new season of work and Rossy and I are always departing to new places in Tuscany…“We come to wherever you are in Tuscany to prepare the tastiest dishes with you”.
The cookery courses and private dinners are our specialty and this year we started in a big way, discovering places truly unique, with breathtaking views, where you make your vacation, and we come to cheer up your evenings with the most exquisite delicacies.
You have just spoiled for choice with our really different menus.

The week began with a really chic Passover meal, in a beautiful house in the historic center of Pisa, we then moved to Terricciola, to celebrate the birthday of a Norwegian lady with her family.

The week ends in Florence, in a beautiful building in the historic center. Our guests are this time Americans who, after returning from shopping and museum visits, decided to relax in this beautiful apartment with our dishes, all strictly homemade.

What have we prepared? Where we were?
Find it in the photos, and if you also want to live these fine dining experiences, you’ve just to call us:
“…We come directly to wherever you’re staying in Tuscany to prepare the tasteful dishes with you”

Our recipes all for you!!

For homemade Potatoes Gnocchi recipe: click here

For homemade Ricotta Gnocchi: click here

For Bruschetta: click here

For homemade Pasta: click here

Salva

L'articolo #Florence: Private Dinners and Cookery Courses by CuocheinVacanza…a new season’s started! proviene da Cooking Classes and Private Chef In Tuscany.

Crespina, gnocchi (potatoes Gnocchi) cooking class

Erika Elia — Mon, 08 Jul 2013 05:41:00 +0000

What about Potatoes Gnocchi?

Our students from cooking classes in Tuscany adore them and always ask for some courses where learning how to prepare them.

Well, I can not blame them, potatoes gnocchi are delicious and,

if well prepared, they will remain in your head for a few days, followed by pleasing sensations.

Here you can see the gnocchi we prepared during a Private Dinner for a fantastic Canadian family group!

Potatoes gnocchi are not a difficult dish, but the balance between working by hands and ingredients is very important, otherwise you will have gnocchi too hard, or too soft, or even worse that become mushy in the cooking water.

Anyway, potatoes gnocchi (although they’re classic version) are only one of the ways of making GNOCCHI.

Maybe you can be interested in Ricotta Cheese Gnocchi or Gnudi Gnocchi …have a look at the recipes clicking on the name.

Ingredients (6 People):

1 Kg Potatoes
300 gr 00 Flour
1 Egg

Method:

Wash potatoes without peeling them, and put them in a pot with salted water. Let it boil about 15 minutes, drain them and, immediately (this is very important) peel, mash them and put them on a well-floured work surface.
Flour and knead, add a pinch of salt; when the mixture is firm but soft at the same time, add an egg and continue to knead until the dough is free of lumps and compact.
Now divide the dough into very long sausages (thickness of 2-3 cm) and begin to cut your gnocchi (quite quickly) with a floured knife placing them on a floured surface.

Finally, practice characteristics groove by sliding of the gnocchi on a grater and squeezing a bit, but not too much, very quickly.

Let rest your gnocchi for about 30 minutes, cook them in a pot with enough salted water and drain when they will rise to the surface. Prepare the sauce that you like (Pesto, Ragu, Pummarola, Bava sauce…) and dress your gnocchi.

Salva

L'articolo Crespina, gnocchi (potatoes Gnocchi) cooking class proviene da Cooking Classes and Private Chef In Tuscany.