Parma, The Perfect Foodie Adventure & More!
We seem to spend a lot of time in the Italian region of Emilia Romagna, which lies about 3+ hours north of our home here in Foligno. This region stretches across Italy from Ravenna on the Adriatic Sea, makes its way between Lombardia and Tuscany and kisses the Piemonte and Liguria in the west. Since arriving in Italy, we have visited Ravenna, Bologna, Modena, Piacenza and, most recently, Parma. I’m not exaggerating when I say this region produces some of the best food in the world. It’s no wonder, then, that we wanted to spend a couple of days in Parma, take a cooking class, and explore the town.
I have divided this story into three parts, alternating our cooking class with highlights of this beautiful town.
Part 1 - Tiramisù (Make Dessert First!)
We’ve all eaten tiramisù. I think many readers have even made it, but, learning how to construct this wonderful dessert with an Italian chef and with high quality ingredients was a worthwhile experience.
Just a little background: I booked this cooking class through a subsidiary of Tripadvisor called Viator. Over the years, I have had good luck using them for tours in various cities.
We met Paola, our teacher, at her home. We made the tiramisù and the tortelli d’erbetta in her living room on a large table.
Tiramisù is really a simple dessert made with stiff egg whites, mascropone cheese, sugar, lady finger cookies, fresh espresso and cacao powder.
After we prepared the tiramisù, Paola put it in the freezer! We then went on a shopping adventure and returned to make the tortelli. The tiramisù was in the freezer for about 2 hoursso it had a quasi-gelato consistency. It was delicious. And Paola said she would normally leave it in longer for a real solid feel.
Part 2 - Parma, the 2020 Italian Capital of Culture!
Parma was quite a surprise. Not only does it offer all of the foodie things you would expect: Parmesan cheese, Prosciutto ham, Balsamic Vinegar, outdoor markets, good restaurants, etc. but it’s a town with a beautiful churches, large pedestrian zones, specialty shops and friendly people.
Here are some images and thoughts from our Parma adventure:
Parma has a beautiful cathedral and baptistry.
Piazza della Pilotta is an immense space that incorporates not only a beautiful park. but an interesting museum. The palazzo was built for the Farnese family in the 1500s. Even though part of the museum was closed, we still had the opportunity to see the theater and view some beautiful artwork. The theater was originally built in 1628 entirely of wood. It was destroyed in WWII, but was rebuilt in 1962.
Of couse, this post would not be complete without showing you some pictures of “regular life” in Parma. We were fortunate that Paola needed to pick up some bread and ricotta cheese before we made the tortelli. She showed us several of her favorite vendors, We purchased a number of high-quality products before we departed.
Part 3 - Tortelli d'erbetta
It was truly a thrill to make tortelli d’erbetta with Paola. I’ve made fresh pasta before, but I’ve used pasta machine to roll out the dough. This time I had an opportunity to use the rolling pin. I didn’t do a bad job; however, after we made a few tortelli this way, Paola broke out her electric machine which made things much easier.
The basic ingredients are flour, eggs, a pinch of salt and a smidgen of olive oil for the dough. For the stuffing you use cooked spinach (squeezed of all its moisture, ricotta cheese and grated Parmesan cheese (preferably a cheese 30 months old) and a small amount of freshly ground nutmeg.
While we were making the tortelli, Paola’s husband just happened to be in the neighborhood and stopped in to watch us make the pasta and then we all sat down together and enjoyed a wonderful lunch!
I can’t tell you what a nice experience this was. Sitting down to enjoy a homemade meal with Italians is one of life’s special gifts!!!
