Cookery School In Italy - Fresh Pasta Making Classes in Bologna.

If you decide to stay in Bologna for your holidays, it is a good idea to take one of our cookery classes that focus on the the local cuisine such as the art of egg pasta. The day starts as early as 10 am and the guests will meet the chef at a designated  point in the central Bologna.. We run the pasta making classes on most days (excluding Sundays and national holidays) and you can join an existing group or you can book the whole kitchen just for you, in the event that  you are travelling with your family or want to book an incentive activity for your company.

The chef will take you to his state of the art and brand new kitchen. Of course these classes are hands-on and all participants will prepare the dishes on the menu'. As Bologna is known world-wide for its fresh egg pasta such as tagliatelle alla Bolognese, the student will prepare these traditional dishes. So rest assured that you will have to mix egg and flour to obtain some springy dough that will end up cut in thin stripes.
The students will have lunch in the kitchen and of course you will be eating what you have been preparing that morning.

Due to Covid the market visit is not longer included in this experience until further notice.

Start: 10 AM

Location: Via Del Pratello Central Bologna

Ends: at 1 pm.

Amazing food - Cook like a pro in Modena, learn fresh pasta and Balsamic vinegar, Cookery lessons for a day from 9 am till 1 pm.

Special - Don't forget to come to Modena for some cookery lessons, Modena is a very pleasant town in Emilila Romagna only 20 minutes by train from Bologna. Modena is famous of course for the balsamic vinegar and the Ferrari super cars.

New - 3 gourmet food tour plus cookery lessons in Modena. The day start at 8.30 am from Modena or from 7.30 if you stay in Bologna.

An interesting addition in our activity holidays in Italy is the 3 gourmet food tour in Modena. The tour will start in the morning at 8 am with a Parmesan cheese production visit in English, after that the group will visit a Traditional balsamic vinegar producer for a tour and tasting. The day will continue with a mini cookery lesson that will focus on local dished such as, gnocco fritto (types of breads) and fresh egg pasta, as well as the cheese and the vinegar from Modena.

5 Dishes You Can Discover in Bologna

A trip to Italy is incomplete without visiting Bologna. From operas to some of the world's best restaurants to the world's oldest university, Bologna has it all. But Bologna is truly a paradise for food lovers and this is evident from the fact that Bologna has dishes named after it. The local fresh egg pasta is famous worldwide and while in Bologna you should definitely take up the chance to learn how it is made from a professional chef by joining our cooking school. Here are a few recipes of some traditional Bolognese dishes that you will always keep coming back to.

Italy and pasta have become synonymous in everyone's mind. Yes, pasta is available everywhere, but a true Italian pasta is a world away from the packaged ones you buy from the grocery store.

How To Make Fresh Egg Pasta Dough.

Making fresh egg pasta is a very simple process and there are five main steps you need to keep in mind - form a ball, knead, rest, roll, and shape. To form a ball, pile a mound of 4 cups of unbleached all-purpose flour on a work surface. Now, make a well in the middle of the mound using your fingers. In another bowl, mix together 6 large eggs, half a teaspoon of salt and half a teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil with a fork. Pour this mixture into the well in the mound of flour and keep beating the mixture with the fork. As you beat the mixture, keep drawing flour from the sides into the egg mixture till it gets completely absorbed by the flour. If the dough feels tough, you can drizzle some warm water on it. After the dough is ready, you can clean the surface and your hands and then move on to kneading the dough.

To knead the dough, first out some flour on the work surface, then place the dough on the surface and stretch it away from you using the heel of your hand. Now turn the dough over and press into it with the knuckles of your hand, alternating both hands and continue doing this ten times. Keep stretching and kneading the dough till it becomes silky and smooth. This process will take about 10 to 20 minutes and you can keep adding more flour if the dough starts getting too sticky. You can make the dough into a ball, place it in a bowl and cover it with plastic wrap and leave it to rest for at least an hour at room temperature. Once the dough has rested, you need to roll it on the work surface. First, flour the surface and then roll the dough with a rolling pin. Keep turning the dough and add more flour if it gets sticky. Continue this until you have a sheet of the desired thickness. Now all you need to do is shape it as per your wish. The quantities mentioned here are for 6 servings of pasta.

Fresh Egg Pasta Shapes

Pasta comes in a variety of shapes and you can choose one depending on your taste and the type of dish you want to cook. Some of the common shapes of pasta are tagliatelle, tortelloni, ravioli, lasagna. Once you have the dough ready, making the different shapes is not that difficult. If you are making tagliatelle, roll the flattened dough into a pinwheel and cut strips of around 8 to 10 mm thickness. You can slightly flour and separate the strips. Tagliatelle is as simple as that. If you plan on making lasagna, you have to cut strips that are around 3 to 3.5 inches wide or into rectangles that are of the same width.  For a more artistic pasta, you can opt for tortelloni. To make tortelloni, you need to cut the sheet of pasta dough into 3.15-inch squares, place the desired filling in the center of each square. You can fold the squares into triangles and press the edges firmly to seal it. Now wrap the pasta around your finger and press the two edges together to get a tortelloni.

Making the Sauces.

A pasta dish is incomplete without a good sauce. Ragu is a tomato based sauce that is made by braising the meat with crushed tomatoes. The sauce does take time to prepare but the result is worth the wait and you can always make extra and store in the freezer for future use. One of the key ingredients of a good ragu is the meat. To get maximum flavor, you should use different cuts of meat from beef and pork and it should be minced coarsely.  Start by sauteing diced carrots, onions and celery in some olive oil. Now add the minced meat to the pan. Pour some red wine into the pan till the meat is covered, cover the pan and braise the meat till the meat becomes soft. This should take around 2 hours. This is the time to add the tomatoes. You can either add tomato puree or fresh, chopped tomatoes or crushed tomatoes or even a combination of these to get a sauce that a unique texture. Continue braising the meat and tomato mixture for another 2 to 4 hours. You can get the most flavorful ragu sauce by cooking it for a long time on low heat, but just keep an eye on it to ensure that it doesn't dry out. Mix some of the sauce with the pasta that you cooked to get a very tasty first course.

Cooking a Second Course.

Straccetti all'aceto balsamico is another classic Italian dish which will completely revamp your home-cooked meals. The dish is very simple and consists of only a few ingredients. For one serving of the sauce, you will need around 200 gms of beef that has been sliced thinly. Saute these thin, short strips of beef with a little olive oil. Continue sauteing till the raw color is lost from the beef and it is cooked. Now, you can season the meat with salt, pepper, and some balsamic vinegar as per your taste and turn off the heat. You can serve straccetti all'aceto balsamico with some rocket as a fancy side salad. Not only is this a very tasty dish, it is also one of the easiest to make. You can cook a good Straccetti all'aceto balsamico in a couple of minutes and this can be a good weekday dinner option or a good second course for a family dinner.

And Finally a Dessert: Italian Classic Panna Cotta.

No meal is ever complete without a dessert. And one of the best Italian desserts is pannacotta. Not only is it easy to make and it takes only a 20 minutes or less to cook. Start by heating 4 cups of half-and-half or heavy cream with half a cup of sugar in a saucepan till the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and add the vanilla extract. Take 6 tablespoons of cold water in a bowl and sprinkle 4 teaspoons of gelatin over it. Let this mixture stand for 5 to 10 minutes and pour the warm pannacotta mixture into this bowl and stir till the gelatin gets dissolved. The cooking of pannacotta is finished and all that is left is to pour the mixture into molds and let it chill it in the fridge till the pannacotta has become firm which can take around 2 to 4 hours. Once the pannacotta has set, you can unmold it by running a knife along the edges of the mold and place the pannacotta on the serving plate. One of the best things about a pannacotta is that it is a very versatile dessert. You can pair it up with fruit compote or jam or fresh fruit. Just use whichever fruit is in season and you will always a delicious, easy to make dessert.

These are 5 dishes that you can discover in Bologna and learn to cook from our school that will forever stay with you even after your visit. There is comething magical about cooking in Italy and having some of the truly legendary Italian dishes. You can continue preparing these traditional Bolognese delicacies at home and you will always have a part of Italy with you.