Tuesday August 16th, 2022 - Cooking School in Lammari, Tuscany!

The Trainees Are Ready!

We had arranged for just a couple of outings for our second week in Lucca. The first of these was 'Cooking School'. 

Entrance Sign at 'Home Food da Anto' Cooking School

Because we had made the arrangements through an expat friend of  a neighbor here in Amelia Park, I didn't do a lot of research. All I knew was that we would be picked up in Lucca, some time on Tuesday morning. We had no idea where we were going or what we were cooking! Fortunately, I had been given the 'heads up', that Piero, the husband of our teacher was into all things 'Wild West', so I didn't go into freak-out mode when greeted by this sign.

Mitico Ranch in Lammari (photo by Sarah Lamp)

Our destination was a little town, Lammari, about 30 minutes from Lucca. Our driver was Piero, the husband of our teacher. It was evident right away, that this was no slick commercial cooking school - it turned out to be an immersion into a family's pursuit of their disparate passions. 

Antonietta Demonstrates an Abundant Application of Olive Oil

Antonietta Masini, our teacher, is a 'Cesarina', a member of an association of non-professional chefs who are committed to keeping traditional cooking methods alive by sharing techniques with other local home cooks and sharing with others through lessons like ours. She told us she offers her four hour lessons three times a week, in order to maintain her energy and freshness for her teaching. She wants it to be her vocation, not her job.

Antonietta, Piero and Robyn (Photo by Sarah Lamp)

Piero, on the other hand, embraces the new - the 'wild west' of the United States. He explained that his interest arose through the movies he grew up with. He said he would have liked to come to the USA, but couldn't afford it, so he has brought the USA to himself with his enormous collection of 'Americana', some of which you see on the wall. He has a horse and takes great pleasure from treks in the mountains near his home. He showed us video, comparing the landscape in Tuscany with that in the USA and said he feels that this is his 'Wild West'. It is his gateway to the beauty of nature

 

Pasta in the Making

So, before long we got to work. Dirty hands made photography impossible, so our interpreter, Francesca, took lots and lots of photos for us. Because Antonietta speaks little English, she arranged for a local high school student to be our interpreter. Francesca was astoundingly fluent. I'll show you a photo of her later.

Sarah Demonstrates How to Mix in the Egg, Olive Oil and Water

One of the sad realities of our lesson, was learning how important the source of ingredients is, to get a really authentic product. Even in Tuscany, Antonietta spoke of there being only one place she could get the flour we were using. So, knowing we were really being taught the real deal, we stirred.... and stirred.... and stirred..... and stirred..... until the mix was just right.

Rolling Out the Pasta

The next task, after all the dough was mixed, was rolling it out to the right thickness, which Antonietta supervised closely! I found both mixing the dough and the rolling to be very meditative and could imagine generations of women (most likely) sharing this task with each other - either enjoying their silent solidarity in the process, or chatting. 

Macaroni is ready

Happily, we didn't have to get into the complexities of using a pasta machine - just a serrated hand cutter was sufficient to create our shape, which Antonietta called macaroni. It seemed a long cry from the Kraft macaroni that I served the girls for many years!

Décor At the Ranch

While Antonietta was organizing our prep table for the next task, we had a tour of the ranch with Piero.

Chickens and future Eggs

We found the chickens busy preparing to create the eggs for the next cooking class.

Antonietta's Donkey and Piero's Horse

We met the donkey, which Piero said was Antonietta's. He showed us video of his grandson riding the donkey. We also met Piero's horse, who takes him on his expeditions to the mountains. Both animals were more interested in eating, than visiting with us - probably smart of them!

Wild West Paraphernalia....

The stable was an additional space for Piero's Wild West displays.

....and more.

In this photo, you can see a picture of Piero on his horse in the mountains, top left of the jeans.

Freshly Made Bruschetta (Photo by Sarah Lamp)

Upon returning to the kitchen, we were set to work cutting herbs and tomatoes for the bruschetta, served on a crusty, dark bread (which we didn't make!) I did not manage to get a photo of the tomatoes we used. The grape tomatoes were grown on the ranch and larger roma tomatoes were grown by a friend and I am certain I have never seen such plump, red tomatoes in our stores. I was sorry I didn't get a photo of them in their uncut state. 

Divine Tomatoes in Olive Oil (Photo by Sarah Lamp)

The colors, smells and sounds of the sauce being prepared were heavenly. Antonietta emphasized that this was traditional food that would have been prepared in farm kitchens - for family and workers. This was not fine dining. 

Macaroni and Tomatoes Dish - Pasta Intordellata (Photo by Sarah Lamp)

Of course, the herbs were freshly cut from plants on the ranch and the finished meal smelled and looked very appealing. I thought those farm workers would have been quite happy with the fare.

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The Table is Ready

With the addition of bread, cheese, meats, olives, panzanella and wine, we sat down to a very hearty meal.

Peaches on Panacotta

It was followed by a dessert of peaches on panacotta and biscotti with a dessert wine. Everything put us all in a jolly mood.

Robyn Sings 'Chi il bel sogno di Doretta' from Puccini's La Rondine (Video by Sarah Lamp)

When we arrived and were doing introductions, a certain soprano in our midst had said she would sing for us, so this was the moment when we had to hope she would follow through. How fortunate we were! our hosts were visibly astonished, when this regular person in our midst got up and without any prelude sang O Solo Mio, followed by this aria from La Rondine, which we would be seeing later in the week. The basic message of the song is, 'What do riches matter, if true happiness blossoms' - referring of course (because it's opera) to being in love. It seemed very fitting for the life Antonietta and Piero have lived - each following their own dreams, yet finding a way to have the old and the new mesh together for their own pleasure, but also to share with others.

Antonietta, Francesca and Piero

It was a beautiful end to a truly remarkable day. I know our hosts will remember it for a while, too. 

In case you want to know more about this type of cooking school here is the link to Antonietta's page on the Associazione Storica Cesarine website. There are many like her throughout Italy, so you might want to check one out on your next trip. https://cesarine.com/en/h/antoniettam-lammari

Next blog will tell you about our second outing for the week, a day in the Tuscan countryside.