How can a cooking class last from 9:30am until 3:30pm?

Ernesto Parziani, the owner of Perbacco, the best restaurant in our village of Cannara and one of the best in all of Umbria is the reason. We have written before of our epic cooking classes with Ernesto and this week’s edition, put on for our friends from Washington, DC (Bruce and Christine) and two new friends from Norcia (Mark and Homer) as well as for Suzy, our son Teddy and me was another in a series of ridiculously enjoyable, informative and indulgent classes.

So how can a cooking class go on for such a period (we actually had to cut this one short as Bruce and Christine had to depart for an engagement in Florence)? It may have something to do with the menu.

Carpaccio di baccala – raw slices of marinated salted codfish, a perfect antipasto for a hot summer day, dressed with zesty mixture of fennel seed, citrus zest, star anis and cardamon. . .

Baccala manticata – a light paste of salted codfish made with milk, cream, butter and bay leaf, spread on crunchy toast. . .

An appetizer of steak tartare served on toast. . .

Hand sliced prosciutto (fioco and culatello) served with freshly made fregnaccia, a puffy fried bread. . .

Scarpone di melanzana – little “boats” made from eggplant skins, lightly fried and filled with fried eggplant and dressed with capers, fresh cherry tomatoes, mozzarella and basil before being baked. . .

Papa al pomodoro, a traditional Tuscan soup (and as Ernesto likes to point out, Umbrian, too, as food traditions are not great respecters of political boundaries) made from fresh tomatoes and stale bread, served cold rather than it is normally as a hot soup, to transform it into a refreshing summer soup. . .

Chilled vichyssoise, a rich soup made from potatoes and fresh leeks. . .

Homemade chitarra pasta served with a light tomato sauce and topped with pomodori canditi (candied tomato slices baked in the oven) and fresh bottarga (dried fish roe). . .

Fregola pasta from Sardinia, served with a red pepper sauce with AnnaRita’s signature splash of pepperoncino. . .

Handmade tagliatelle pasta lightly dressed in a rich sauce made from braised goose parts (feet, neck, liver). . .

Whole goose, simple roasted with a generous spread of fat, garlic and rosemary with potatoes roasted in the drippings. . .

(and served with an exceptional cabernet from the Veneto with a long fruity nose and a delightful, exceedingly persistent warm and soft intensity as well as a more tannic and intense Umbria rosso from Di Filippo, a nearby winery that is among our favorites). . .

A dessert of fresh made melone gelato, a puree of cantaloupe and simple syrup frozen in the freezer and grated into its serving glasses, exploding with fresh, aromatic melon flavor. . .

And a smooth zabaglione with almond flavoring and topped with fresh almonds.

And that is how you can cook and eat with Ernesto from first thing in the morning until late in the afternoon.

I can’t think of a better way to spend a day.

Ci vediamo!
Bill and Suzy