Last week cooking adventure was a special evening with The Consorzio del Prosciutto di Parma, a body that protects Parma Ham product quality, purity and ensures that production is carried out with full compliance. The proceedings included a hands-on cookery class that incorporated Parma Ham as ingredient into this very special menu. The event was held at the Underground cookery school in Old Street, London
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| showstopper |
On arrival we were greeted with Prosecco and aperitivo
The aperitivo: a nice simple platter of freshly sliced Parm Ham drizzled with olive oil and black pepper, just highlighted the quality of the produce. Parma Ham and pear, Spanish Omelet topped with Parma Ham, a tiny brusccheta topped with Parma Ham and Parmigiano Reggiano, beautifully displayed and very tasty.
By law only hams produced and cured in the hills around Parma (Italy)
may become Parma Hams; the unique conditions of this region make it
possible to produce a very special ham that has been appreciated since
Roman times. The pigs used in production must have been bred in ten
northern and central Italian regions. Parma Ham is an all-natural
product made from only four ingredients, pork, salt, air and time.
The geographical characteristics of the Parma region contribute to the sweetness of the Parma Ham and make it possible to produce the highest quality hams.
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| Starter: freshly handmade by us, the guests – see below for recipes and action shots – tagliatelle with white truffle dressing, topped with twirls of fresh sliced Parma Ham and Parmigiano Reggiano |
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| Main: free range chicken filled with tarragon, cream cheese and wrapped in Parma Ham and served with vegetables – nicely seasoned and full of flavour. We learned to de-bone a whole chicken too. |
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| Dessert: A sweet finish, that was fabulous! Meringue roulade with candid Parma Ham dust. The candid Parma Ham is made by laying the ham on a baking sheet cover with sugar bake at 100C for 25 minutes, set aside. when cooled break into shards. |
Making pasta, so much fun!
I really enjoyed the nice relax approach by the cookery school
Ingredients:
100g ’00’ pasta flour
1 medium organic egg
pinch of salt
olive oil
Method:
place the flour and egg in a bowl, add a pinch of salt and a glug of olive oil
Using a fork stir the egg and gradually bring the flour a little at a time until you get a messy dough.
Using your hands press the dough together and kneed on a clean surface for a couple of minutes…
Using a past machine, make sure the thickness setting is on highest (no.10) roll the dough through this setting and then fold the dough in half, pass through again and then fold it in half, follow this procedure 10 times..
Now roll the dough through each setting twice until you get down to no. 2
Now, cut your pasta on the Tagliatelle cutter feed, leave it to dry for 10 minutes.
Your pasta is ready to cook.
Thanks to Clare Ferguson for the stellar modelling
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| fresh pasta ready to be cooked in salted boiling water for 1 to 1.5 minutes |
disclosure: I was invited as a guest of The Consorzio del Prosciutto di Parma to this event. I have not received further remuneration to write this post. All views are my own.
great post rosana! you appear in my youtube video!
Le, love your video of our foodie adventure!