A fun, immersive cooking class in Lecce, Puglia

Participating in a cooking class throughout my travels is some thing I usually really like to do. It’s a terrific way to find out about the nearby society and delicacies, and to select up a new recipe or two. Throughout my visit to Lecce (map), a historic city in southern Puglia, I had the chance to be part of a cooking class at the Awaiting Table, the most founded cooking school in Lecce (founded in 2003). The university presents 7 days-lengthy classes, as effectively as working day lessons, which I opted for as I was only in Lecce for a several times. I realized I was in for a deal with but it turned out to be just one of the most pleasurable, educative and immersive points to do in Lecce!

There had been 4 of us at the daytime cooking program that day. We fulfilled Silvestro, the founder of the Awaiting Desk, at Lecce’s major square, up coming to the city’s iconic amphitheatre.

Silvestro welcomed us and gave us a small introduction to Puglian food and wines prior to using us to the fish sector. At the market, he informed us about the various kinds of fish and their origins, and the finest techniques to cook them. For our lunch study course, he selected some fish and squid, which we would later on master to put together and cook dinner.

From the fish market place, Silvestro led us throughout the historic city centre, with its wonderful Baroque façades, to the vegetable market. The refreshing rocket leaves, artichokes, tomatoes and mushrooms ended up a mouthwatering sight! We gleefully loaded our baskets – I wasn’t the only vegetable lover in the team – and continued on our way to Silvestro’s cooking school in the metropolis centre.

Found in a historic setting up, the Awaiting Desk college, is equally cosy and vibrant. Filled to the brim with cooking textbooks, pots and pans and all types of kitchen utensils, it positive was a cheery sight!

Making pasta

We donned our aprons and got prepared for our first lesson: pasta! Silvestro explained the different sorts of flour made use of, and that barley flour is normally applied in Puglia. As we kneaded the dough, Silvestro gave us the choice of unique pastas we could make. We voted for cappalletti (a pasta form reminiscent of Mexican sombreros).

It was a exciting exercising, employing a glass to reduce out designs from the flattened dough, then folding them before utilising a bottle to generate the ‘sombreros’.

Preparing seafood and vegetables

Subsequent up, Silvestro launched the various sorts of seafood and veggies we ended up going to consume. He then gave us a masterclass in how to get ready artichokes and squid. Gosh, I had no concept how several measures have been concerned in cleansing and planning these! Cleaning the squid was specially difficult. It guaranteed manufactured me appreciate the operate performed by fishmongers each day to supply them ready-to-cook dinner.

A crash class in Puglia wines

Silvestro invited us into the eating area when we were carried out. He proceeded to tell us about wines in Puglia – one detail I realized is that, contrary to well known perception, Primitivo is not the most prevalent grape range in Puglia the most greatly-developed grape variety in Puglia is Negroamaro. We then liked a wine-tasting of 3 different rosés. Puglia is popular for its pink wines so it’s no surprise that the most popular chilled wines are rosé and not white (nevertheless Puglia also makes, among other individuals, a magnificent white selection referred to as Verdeca).

Cooking our lunch

Following the wine-tasting, we were being invited, one particular by 1, back into the kitchen to cook dinner the dishes. I volunteered for the pasta dish: cappalletti, cherry tomatoes and squid.

When everyone had cooked their dishes, lunch was served. It seemed absolutely mouthwatering! My favourites were the grilled fish, which was fresh and tremendous tasty, and the artichokes and sautéed wild rocket. So delicious!

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I looked all around and anyone had appears to be like of joy and question on their faces ‘wonder’ mainly because we could not really feel that we’d just well prepared and cooked all the things on the desk!

The Awaiting Desk cooking class confident is a person of the finest points to do in Lecce! Influenced by what I learned at this Lecce cooking course, I handed on the lessons to my kids at property just a week later on. We put in an afternoon creating pasta and experienced a terrific time!

In addition to cooking classes in Lecce, the Awaiting table also organises 7 days-long cooking classes (some with yoga and cycling) at a nearby castle. For extra info, look at out the Awaiting Desk classes.

Note: I was invited by the Awaiting Table to take part in this class. As usually, all sights said above are mine.