Day 3
Despite the dire prediction of rain for almost the entire
time of my visit, I was surprised, when I woke up on Friday morning, that it was
not raining. I decided to take advantage of that fact to go and visit the Ducal
Palace, which is located in a park on the other side of the river. First, I
wanted to go visit the church of San Francesco, which Antonia had highly
recommended. It was turned into a prison in the mid- 1800’s and was only turned
back into a church a few decades ago. Most of it still needs an enormous amount
of work, which is slowly getting done. The church is not far the apartment,
and, if I hadn’t got turned around, I would have been there in a few minutes.
Once I did find it, I was astounded by its size. It is at least as big as the
cathedral, I think. It is in the Gothic style, which is quite rare in Italy.
Even on a cloudy day, you could tell how luminous it would be. Unfortunately,
other than the building, there is nothing left to see, since everything was
stripped out of the church when it was turned into a prison.
From there I walked towards the river, which wasn’t very far. I was surprised when I crossed the bridge how rapidly the river was flowing. Obviously, there had been more rain upriver than here in the city. The Ducal Palace sits in a large park, which, at one time, was private. In late autumn, on an overcast day, the park had quite a melancholy feel. There were not many people in the park, which added to the sense of loneliness. The Palace now houses a branch of the Italian security services and is rarely open to the public. I strolled the long way back to the apartment to get ready for my cooking class with Antonia.
The plan was for me to meet Antonia at the restaurant and then drive with her to her house for the lesson. When I arrived, she was not there but her husband and daughter were, so we sat and talked while I waited. Antonia was not far behind and soon we were off. We reached her house in no time. It’s in the city, but sits on a rather large piece of property that her family has owned for over one hundred years. We went inside; and, after a very brief orientation, I was put to work making fresh egg pasta. I have done this before, but never with an experienced teacher. The first thing I learned is that you don’t have to be that meticulous and that pasta is very forgiving. Soon I was rolling out long sheets of pasta by myself. We were making the most traditional type of pasta in Parma - Tortelli di Erbette. We made the filling, which is very simple - ricotta, parmigiano, a small quantity of boiled swiss chard and nutmeg. I then learned how to place the filling on the pasta and how to fold, seal and cut the pasta. That’s it!
Antonia said, “Do you want to learn another pasta?” Of course, I said, “Yes.” The next pasta was anolini, a filled pasta that is used in soups, especially at Christmas and other festive occasions. The filling begins with the broth of three meats that have been braised for several hours. Breadcrumbs and parmigiano are mixed together and then the warm broth is added. This is mixed until all the liquid has been absorbed. At this point, it seems more like a paste. Then another healthy dose of parmigiano is added and finally some nutmeg. This filling is then placed on a pasta sheet, covered with another and then a stamp is used to give the anolini their distinctive shape - that of a medieval hat. These are then cooked in either beef or chicken stock and then served with additional parmigiano. Do you see a theme developing?
We took a break at this point, because Antonia’s father (who
lives next door) came over for an aperitivo (official reason) but I think also
to see this strange American monk, who spoke Italian. He weighed in on several
food and wine related products while we ate salami and a vegetable torte. This
was all washed down with another fizzy wine, Malvasia frizzante, a white wine.
Then it was back to work. Antonia asked whether I wanted to make fettucine, which,
of course, I did. It was not difficult. However, when she showed me how to pick
up the pasta with the knife and let it drop, I thought, “No way!” She talked me
through it and I did it! It was a proud moment for yours truly.
Last item on the program (I got more than my money’s worth!) was a stuffed chicken breast. The stuffing was very similar to the anolini but, instead of meat broth, the recipe called for chicken stock or even just hot water. From those ingredients, you make the same kind of paste. Now the chicken breasts, which are cut very thin, are laid out. A slice of prosciutto is placed on top, then a node of the stuffing, salt and pepper. These are not rolled up like involtini, but are simply folded over in half and fastened with toothpicks. These little bundles are then sautéed in butter and olive oil until nicely browned on both sides. The Marsala wine is added to the pan, then a little cream, and then covered with the lid. The flame gets lowered and, in about ten minutes, the chicken is done with a delicious sauce. Teacher’s tip: Not to worry of some of the filling falls out into the sauce - that only makes the sauce better. Chicken done, we sat down to eat the fruits of our labors. Antonia also gives lessons to a group of Boston College students, who spend a semester abroad in Parma. I had to try and explain the American university system to her . . .
Once back at the apartment, I had everything to do not to fall asleep. I decide to keep working on this blog. I’m not sure how it was possible, but around 7:30, I started thinking about food again. By 8:00, I was putting my jacket back on to go to a pizzeria around the corner. “I’ll just come back to the apartment, if it’s too busy.” I thought. Well, it wasn’t and soon I was seated and ordering. On the menu, they had supplì a kind of rice croquette that is ubiquitous in Rome. They are not unlike arancini. They were a must and a pizza “Napoli’ with anchovies and capers, because I didn’t have to justify my menu choices with anyone! The supplì were as good as any I have ever eaten and the pizza was delicious. When the proprietor brought dessert around, I had to say no. When he suggested grappa, I said, “Yes.”
It had been a wonderful day!
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