Where to Find the Most Fun Italian Cooking Class? Eataly of Course!
If you have never visited an Eataly, you are in for an amazing experience. Eataly (the word conceived from EAT and ITALY) is described as a place to “eat Italian food and live the Italian way.” Offering the best Italian food and wine, Eataly immerses you in Italian culture by showcasing authentic Italian products, small food stands offering such staples as gelato, espresso or baked goods as well as restaurants specializing in Italian menus. There is only one Eataly in Southern Califorrnia located in Century City; however there are nine stores in the US and locations around the world in most metropolitan cities. There are many things to see and explore at Eataly but on this trip we decided to do a cooking class at La Scuola. Although there are many types of Italian cooking classes offered, we decided on Italian Sauces: Amatriciana, Carbonara and Cacio E Pepe.
Amatriciana
The first sauce we made was Amatriciana. All of the sauce recipes are from the Roman area of Italy. The most surprising thing about Amatriciana (and actually about all of the recipes) was how simple they are to make. Amatriciana was it is literally made from three ingredients: guanciale (pig cheek), canned San Manzano tomatoes, and red wine vinegar!
To make this sauce, chop the guanciale into small pieces, fry (which creates the oil for the sauce), add red wine vinegar, then the whole tomatoes (which have been hand crushed) a bit of salt and pepper and you are done!
Unwrapping the guanciale before dicing
Hand crushing the tomatoes
Carbonara
The second sauce we created was the carbonara. Again this only required a few ingredients: guanciale (cut into cubes), eggs separated and pecorino cheese. The guanciale is cubed, then fried. The egg yolks are mixed with the cheese to create a thick paste. Cook the pasta, drain and place in a bowl. Add the egg yolk mixture slowly (adding beaten egg whites as needed) then then guanciale. That’s essentailly it.
Jodi beating the egg yolks
The finished Carbonara
Cacio e Pepe
Cacio e pepe literally means cheese and pepper; that is essentially all you need to make this sauce. Toast coarsely ground pepper in a frying pan, add the cooked pasta of your choice, add pecorino cheese and the dish is done.
I needed a bit of help from Chef!
Cacio y Pepe
I realize that I have made this process sound so simple and although it is, there are certainly “tricks” that chef provided which made every sauce come togther so perfectly. If you want to have a fun evening, learning to cook delicious Italian sauces, drinking good wine, and eating amazing food, the cooking classes at Eataly are definitely a must. If you don’t live in Southern California, there are Eataly locations throughout the US. Buon Cibo!
XO
Wendy