Tuscany Cooking course|Cooking classes Tuscany|Italian cooking

Cooking Lessons 

Taught by traditional, local chefs, your lessons will take place in the kitchens of the Convento del l'Angelo Lucca. While here, you will learn the history of and practice making centuries old Italian recipes.  Hours of instruction vary but typically last about three or four hours.  When finished, a wonderful dining experience begins. 

Extra options: 

Tuscan music accompaniment 

Information and recommendations regarding wines to compliment the dishes  

Guided wine and olive oil tasting 

A truly memorable Tuscan experience can be readily designed.  We also offer information about day-trips, guided excursions, and Italian language lessons. 

Our menus 

These menus are only examples. It will be our pleasure to fulfil your requests for various combinations or desired dishes 

PASTA MENU 

Tagliatelle ai funghi 

Tacconi al ragù 

Ravioli ricotta e spinaci con burro e salvia 

PIZZA MENU 

Pizza 

Focaccia (soft bread made with olive oil and salt) 

Torte salate (quiche) 

Cresciolette

 FISH MENU

 Cozze ripiene o zuppa di cozze 

Pasta allo scoglio 

Fritto di paranza e totani 

Insalata mista di stagione (seasonal mixed salad) 

Panna cotta con frutti di bosco o cioccolato 

WILD GAME MENU

Crostini di fegatelli 

Pappardelle alla lepre 

Cinghiale in umido 

Porri in umido 

Castagnaccio 

MENU 1 

Crostini salsiccia, stracchino e semi di finocchio 

Zuppa di farro con fagioli 

Coniglio o pollo alla cacciatora 

Peperonata 

Buccellato  

MENU 2 

Crostini garfagnini 

Tortelli al sugo 

Rovelline agli odori 

Verdure di stagione al forno 

Cantuccini col Vin Santo  

MENU 3 

Pasta fritta 

Farinata o Zuppa 

Fegatelli al finocchio 

Rapini con la salsiccia 

Necci con la ricotta

MENU 4 

Bruschetta o Fett'unta 

Matuffi 

Rosticciana con le olive

Sformato di verdura 

Torta coi becchi 

The Dishes 

Appetizers 

Crostini garfagnini (small toasted bread slices with a flavorful red sauce) 

Fett'unta (toasted bread slice with garlic and extra virgin olive oil) 

Bruschetta (fett'unta, but with the addition of chopped tomatoes) 

Pasta fritta (fried dough) 

Crostini con i fegatelli (crostini with liver spread) 

Crostini di polenta (fried polenta topped with mushrooms) 

Crostini salsiccia, stracchino e semi di finocchio (crostini with fresh sausage, soft cheese and fennel seeds)

Frittelle di pasta e salumi (fried dough balls with salami meats) 

Cresciolette (small soft bread with meat slices) 

Cozze ripiene (stuffed mussels)

Zuppa di cozze (mussel soup ) 

Crocchette di fegatelli (liver crochettes) 

First Dishes

Cacciucco alla livornese (a stew chock full of fish and shellfish) 

Pasta allo scoglio (pasta with shellfish) 

Polenta con baccalà, porri e bietola (polenta with cod fish, leaks and swiss chard) 

Matuffi (a Lucchese dish of polenta, meat sauce and parmigiano) 

Zuppa alla frantoiana (vegetable soup) 

Farinata (a thick vegetable soup with corn flour)

Zuppa di farro e fagioli (barley and bean soup) 

Tortelli al sugo (meat filled pasta 'pillows,' topped with a meat sauce) 

Lasagne 

Pasta tordellata (homemade pasta with a ricotta cheese, swiss chard and meat sauce) 

Panzanella (a salad of tomatoes, onion, basil and bread cubes) 

Pancotto o pappa col pomodoro (a tomato soup with bread) 

Risotto ai funghi (rice with mushrooms ) 

Farinata di castagne e zampuccio (vegetable soup with chestnut flour and pork) 

Garmugia (a soup made with green spring vegetables- asparagus, artichokes, fava beans and peas, with minced veal and bread)

Polenta con il cinghiale (polenta with a wild boar meat sauce) 

Pappardelle alla lepre (large flat noodles with a wild rabbit sauce) 

Tagliolini in brodo di fagioli (noodles in a bean broth) 

Ravioli di ricotta e spinaci con burro e salvia (ricotta cheese and spinach stuffed pasta with a butter and sage sauce) 

Tagliatelle ai funghi (pasta with a mushroom sauce) 

Tacconi al ragù (flat squares of pasta with a meat sauce) 

Second Dishes 

Baccalà coi porri (Cod fish with leeks) 

Calamari alla toscana (squid cooked Tuscan style) 

Triglie alla livornese (mullet fish cookedLivorno style) 

Tortino di acciughe (anchovy pie) 

Rovelline agli odori (fried meat slices with herbs) 

Fegatelli al finocchio (pork liver with fennel) 

Picchiante 

Coniglio o pollo alla cacciatora (rabbit or chicken cacciatore) 

Coniglio o pollo fritto (fried rabbit or chicken) 

Fagiano al forno (baked pheasant) 

Uccelletti con le olive (small fowl cooked with olives) 

Spiedini di tordi (skewers of redwings) 

Trippa (tripe) 

Rosticciana con le olive (roast pork cooked with olives) 

Rotolo di arrosto con salsiccia, spinaci e uova (roast pork stuffed with sausage, spinach and egg 

Rotolini di carne (rolls of sliced meat) 

Fritto di paranza e totani (fried fish and squid) 

Cinghiale in umido (wild boar) 

Side Dishes 

Peperonata (cooked peppers)

Fagioli al fiasco (beans specially cooked in a wine flask) 

Fagioli all'uccelletto (beans with a tomato and sage sauce) 

Porri in umido (cooked leaks) 

Zucchine, pomodori, foglie di cavolo ripieni (zucchini and tomato-stuffed cabbage leaves) 

Frissoglia (baked vegetables) 

Sformati di verdura (a soft vegetable dish similar to quiche) 

Funghi fritti (fried mushrooms)

Funghi in umido (cooked mushrooms) 

Insalata di fagioli e gamberi (shrimp and bean salad) 

Gobbo in umido (a Tuscan dish using cardone) 

Rapini con salsiccia (leaf vegetables with sausage) 

Polpette (potato balls)

 

Desserts

Cantucci col Vin Santo (almond biscotti served with a local dessert wine for dipping)

Torta coi becchi 

Necci con la ricotta (soft rolls filled with ricotta cheese) 

Castagnaccio (a cake made from chestnut flour) 

Buccellato (a typical Lucchese dessert: bread with aniseed and raisins) 

Zuppa lucchese (buccellato and cream) 

Torta squisita (a ricotta cheese cake with candied fruit and chocolate) 

Frittelle di castagne (fried chestnut flour balls) 

Befanini (cookies) 

Panna cotta con frutti di bosco o cioccolato (cooked cream with wild berries or chocolate)

Tiramisù 

 

Wine 

Living inTuscany means savoring its wines, breathing the aroma of its wine cellars and meeting those who make wine part of their daily lives. As part of your Tuscany experience, you will tour a typical farm where you will visit the vineyards and wine cellar and taste the result of hard work, passion and love. With the aid of an expert wine steward, you will learn the wine-making process, how to appreciate the different aromas and how best to combine wine with traditional dishes. Your experience will be unforgettable. 

Olive Oil 

For us in Tuscany, extra virgin olive oil is a healthy and genuine dressing found in every recipe. The exposure and the climate of the hills ofLuccamake our oil one of the most widely known in the world. Many small farms still collect olives by hand, following ancient harvesting traditions. The olives are then cold-pressed, guaranteeing the highest quality and genuine taste. Those attracted to our culinary art and captivated by the beauty of an old olive tree will visit a small farm, taste the oil and create a typical menu using this excellent dressing. 

Visit to small farm + oil tasting+ tasting of plates

 

Oil Menu 

Menu 1. 

Toasted bread with garlic and extra virgin olive oil 

Vegetable soup 

Rabbit or chicken with herbs and lemon 

Oven cooked vegetables

Castagnaccio (a cake made from chestnut flour) 

Menu 2. 

Toasted bread with garlic and extra virgin olive oil 

Barley and bean soup 

Roast pork ribs cooked with olives 

Cantuccini col Vin Santo (almond biscotti served with a dessert wine for dipping)

 

Curiosities 

Tuscany is a place of a thousand other tastes and scents. Our chestnuts, pearl barley (farro in Italian), honey and aromatic herbs have always been cherished. It would be our pleasure to help you to design a special day to explore these additionalTuscanyculinary treasures.

The Convento del l'Angelo (accommodation and venue for the cooking course) 

The convento (as it is locally known) is a very impressive building dating back to 1675. Although restructured in 1830, it has kept its historic characteristics while now offering modernised accommodations and functionality.

The convento is not a luxurious hotel but an original convent and former home of monks and, later, nuns of the Roman Catholic Church. Nestled on a hillside overlooking the village, it is a very relaxing, tranquil place.  The rooms are tasteful but simple. The feel and atmosphere of the convento has not been lost. 

There are 30 bedrooms in total, 3 double rooms having en-suite bathrooms. The remainder of the rooms share modern bathroom facilities at the end of the corridors.  Quiet strolls through the rose gardens and picturesque scenery surrounding the 'Covento' merely add to the ambiance of yourTuscanyexperience. 

Today the Convento is home to a music school and academy (the 'Montegral MusicAcademy) and also houses instrumental and vocal training for academy members when they are not on world tour.

 

 

 

Lucca

 

Lucca, the capital city of a province by the same name, is located in northwesternTuscany. With approximately 85,000 inhabitants,Luccais situated 19 meters above sea level, near theSerchioRiver, between the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines, theTirrennianCoastand thePisahills. While a mecca for fine art and traditional culture,Luccais also an historic center of extraordinary value. Its dense urban network of houses, towers, medieval churches, Renaissance palaces and 19th-century piazzas has been retained in its original form.Luccaalso is a flourishing commercial and industrial center with modern industries such as paper, chemicals, metal mechanic, textile and agricultural (olive and wine).