A fun, immersive cooking class in Lecce, Puglia

Participating in a cooking course throughout my travels is a thing I generally appreciate to do. It’s a terrific way to learn about the regional society and delicacies, and to decide up a new recipe or two. During my check out to Lecce (map), a historic town in southern Puglia, I experienced the prospect to be part of a cooking class at the Awaiting Desk, the most established cooking university in Lecce (founded in 2003). The college delivers week-extensive classes, as perfectly as working day courses, which I opted for as I was only in Lecce for a few times. I understood I was in for a handle but it turned out to be a person of the most entertaining, educative and immersive points to do in Lecce!

There had been four of us at the daytime cooking study course that working day. We fulfilled Silvestro, the founder of the Awaiting Desk, at Lecce’s principal sq., upcoming to the city’s iconic amphitheatre.

Silvestro welcomed us and gave us a shorter introduction to Puglian foods and wines just before taking us to the fish sector. At the marketplace, he instructed us about the many forms of fish and their origins, and the very best approaches to cook them. For our lunch training course, he picked some fish and squid, which we would later on study to put together and cook.

From the fish market place, Silvestro led us across the historic city centre, with its gorgeous Baroque façades, to the vegetable market. The clean rocket leaves, artichokes, tomatoes and mushrooms have been a mouthwatering sight! We gleefully stuffed our baskets – I wasn’t the only vegetable lover in the team – and continued on our way to Silvestro’s cooking university in the metropolis centre.

Situated in a historic setting up, the Awaiting Table university, is the two cosy and vibrant. Stuffed to the brim with cooking textbooks, pots and pans and all sorts of kitchen area utensils, it positive was a cheery sight!

Generating pasta

We donned our aprons and got prepared for our initial lesson: pasta! Silvestro discussed the different kinds of flour utilized, and that barley flour is commonly utilised in Puglia. As we kneaded the dough, Silvestro gave us the alternative of distinctive pastas we could make. We voted for cappalletti (a pasta shape reminiscent of Mexican sombreros).

It was a pleasurable training, applying a glass to lower out designs from the flattened dough, then folding them before utilising a bottle to create the ‘sombreros’.

Making ready seafood and greens

Future up, Silvestro launched the distinct styles of seafood and greens we had been heading to try to eat. He then gave us a masterclass in how to put together artichokes and squid. Gosh, I experienced no concept how quite a few methods ended up involved in cleansing and planning these! Cleaning the squid was specifically difficult. It confident designed me recognize the work finished by fishmongers each individual working day to produce them all set-to-cook dinner.

A crash program in Puglia wines

Silvestro invited us into the dining place when we ended up finished. He proceeded to inform us about wines in Puglia – a person thing I figured out is that, opposite to preferred belief, Primitivo is not the most prevalent grape selection in Puglia the most extensively-developed grape selection in Puglia is Negroamaro. We then enjoyed a wine-tasting of 3 unique rosés. Puglia is renowned for its purple wines so it’s no speculate that the most common chilled wines are rosé and not white (even though Puglia also makes, amongst many others, a gorgeous white range named Verdeca).

Cooking our lunch

Right after the wine-tasting, we ended up invited, one by a single, back into the kitchen area to cook dinner the dishes. I volunteered for the pasta dish: cappalletti, cherry tomatoes and squid.

When all people had cooked their dishes, lunch was served. It appeared totally mouthwatering! My favourites were the grilled fish, which was fresh and tremendous delicious, and the artichokes and sautéed wild rocket. So delicious!

Study about the most effective locations to go to in Puglia

I seemed all around and anyone had appears of pleasure and wonder on their faces ‘wonder’ mainly because we couldn’t quite believe that we’d just geared up and cooked every little thing on the desk!

The Awaiting Table cooking training course positive is one particular of the most effective things to do in Lecce! Inspired by what I figured out at this Lecce cooking course, I passed on the lessons to my children at dwelling just a week later on. We used an afternoon creating pasta and had a wonderful time!

In addition to cooking classes in Lecce, the Awaiting table also organises 7 days-lengthy cooking classes (some with yoga and cycling) at a close by castle. For additional details, look at out the Awaiting Table courses.

Take note: I was invited by the Awaiting Desk to take part in this course. As often, all views mentioned previously mentioned are mine.