An Italian Feast in the Mountains

A Chunky Tomato Sauce + A Paid Subscription Offer - Friday Food Chat with Kath

A couple of weeks ago my Mum and I attended an Italian cooking class with Angela Palermo of The Village Cooks.

It was a wonderful day, set in a gorgeous home in the Blue Mountains.

We learnt how to make pizza al taglio, strozzapreti pasta primavera (pictured above) and a pistachio olive oil cake.

Angela was a fountain of knowledge, and I think we all left with some new tips and techniques. My favourite, was when proofing dough, get a dedicated plastic storage container (one you’d normally buy for storing a cake or similar), just to use for dough proofing. This way you can cover it with the lid, rather than using plastic wrap over a bowl each time.

Angela also explained about the types of flours to use for various breads and pizzas, I’m now trying to check the protein level of each flour I find in the shops to ensure it is the right one!

The pizza al taglio was the recipe from the day that stuck with us the most - only a day or so later Mum and I were searching the shops in the Blue Mountains for the right ingredients (unfortunately easier said than done, food shopping isn’t the best up there) so we could make our own!

Pizza al taglio is a Roman style pizza, so it is fluffier and more bread like than the thinner based Napoli style pizzas. Mum and I found it made a great dinner, topped with cheese, basil pesto and prosciutto. And leftovers were wonderful grilled and dipped in tomato soup!

All in all a it was a wonderful day, and provided much recipe and food inspiration to keep us going for long after. If you ever have an opportunity to join Angela at one of her classes, I highly recommend it.

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Chunky Tomato Sauce

A few years ago I was making this sauce on repeat. I worked in an office more than I do now, and so much of my spare time seemed to revolve around rest, recovery and meal prep. This sauce, which is easy to prepare and very tasty, saved me from sad lunches and boring dinners many times!

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