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Last week, I got a taste of what it's like to eat a sane, healthy and delicious diet. I was lucky enough to snag a spot in one of Stephen Lanzalotta's cooking classes in Portland.
Stephen is the author of The Diet Code. He used to own Sophia's on Market Street, but now he works out of Micucci's, the Italian grocer on India Street. He bakes and sells the lightest, most flavorful bread I have ever tasted. It's the opposite of all the crusty baguettes and dense whole grain loaves we're all used to. This is something completely different - soft and chewy, even pillowy. You could take a nap on a pile of this bread (try that on a baguette!). Head to the back left corner of Micucci's where Stephen bakes these and other items (pizza, cookies). Go early in the day - they sell out quickly. Take home your demi-lune (half moon shape) and pour yourself a small dish of olive oil for dipping, and maybe a glass of wine. You think maybe you should have bought two. You don't want to share. You think about signing up for one of his classes.
Not only will you learn how to prepare a meal, you'll learn some history of Italian food before there was tomatoes and pizza. Completely fascinating. Why didn't they teach this in college?
Stephen had already prepared the Melanzana Agrodolce, or Sweet and Sour Eggplant. Thinly sliced and grilled eggplant, sweet with a bit of honey, tangy from two types of vinegar. Squisito, as they say in Italy.
The next course was a buckwheat crepe (crespelle), filled with chicken and a bechamel sauce made with fontina. Served along side was a puree of turnip and pear as well as sauteed turnip greens. No red sauce, no garlic, yet utterly Italian in origin and concept. This is the Italian food of the Middle Ages, carefully balanced, healthful and light. Stephen's book can give you a full explanation of why we should be eating this way today and how to do it.
Italians are not keen on very sweet desserts, like we are. We took turns cooking our own crepes, swirling the thin batter around the pan and attempting to flip it gracefully (or not). The crespelle were then filled with almond ricotta cream and topped with a simple blackberry sauce. It was a fitting end to the meal.
In the middle of a very busy season, it was a joy to sit quietly in Stephen's class and learn about good food. There was no candy canes, no marshmallows, nothing dipped in chocolate. It was simply a delicious few hours. I can't wait to do it again.
