Bitter is Better: A January Refresh with Bitter Greens and Brassicas with Viola Buitoni
SIX DUTCHESS IN THE KITCHEN | Live, hands-on virtual class, hosted on Zoom
Taught by Viola Buitoni, presented by Six Dutchess Farm.
The cooking of Italy celebrates seasonal, truly fleeting produce. Just like our farm does. Italians have a knack for making simple seem special, and they know how to transform a small basket of vegetables into a feast for a crowd. The slim pickings of the winter garden does not deter Viola, or any good Italian cook, from seeing the bitterness of chicories, broccoli, and cabbages as just another enhanced flavor profile and the base for a delicious nutritious winter menu! In this class, we will explore the complex, healthy choices the winter garden gives us, and we will learn to use classic Italian cooking techniques and sensibilities to prepare hale and hearty winter salads, a "no-waste" bruschetta using our vegetable leaves and stalks, and delightfully luxe and light traditional Italian crepes, dressed in style for winter.
Our menu for this 2-hour interactive class:
Cicorie d'inverno in salsa di acciughe
Winter chicories in anchovy sauce
Insalata di cavolo, cachi e nocciole
Cabbage, blood orange, and hazelnut salad
Bruschetta di cavolina
Bruschetta with winter brassica leaves
Crespelle di radicchio e ricotta al rosmarino
Ricotta, radicchio and rosemary crepes
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR | VIOLA BUITONI
Meet Viola Buitoni, chef instructor and food writer, was born in Rome and raised in Perugia, Italy.
With stories and knowledge from six generations, her dishes cross the best of California agriculture with the finest Italian food imports. After moving to the US to attend NYU, Viola started Buitoni & Garretti, a catering kitchen and Italian fine foods shop in New York City. She later moved to San Francisco where she began lecturing and teaching Italian food tradition workshops at the SF Italian Cultural Institute and Italian Consulate. She teaches Italian cooking at 18Reasons, The Civic Kitchen and Milk Street year-round and at the Puglia Culinary Center in the summer. She is a regular contributor to La Cucina Italiana US. She lives in the Mission District with her husband, son and tiny dog.