No country in the world combines its passion for food, family, friends and daily life more than Italy. So learning to become a top Italian cook requires intense training in more than just Italian cooking techniques and traditional recipes of Northern and Southern Italy. It demands immersion in the Italian language and culture as well. This is the focus of The Italian Culinary Experience and provides one of the most well-rounded and authentic training programs available anywhere for the aspiring Italian cook.
As a student in The Italian Culinary Experience, you'll find yourself totally immersed in Italian culture, learning to speak and understand the language as you also become adept at preparing classic, authentic Italian cuisine. You'll learn up close and hands-on from top chef-instructors in an environment that's fast paced and inspiring.
• Fresh and filled pastas, including ravioli, agnolotti and tortellini
• Fillings and sauces
• Risottos and polenta
• Pizza and flatbreads
• Antipasti
• Cheeses
• Fish and shellfish
• Meat and poultry, including game, lamb, rabbit, chicken, duck, turkey, pigeon and quail
• Italian dessert and pastry
Italians love fennel, and it's easy to see why. Enjoy the vegetable's crisp texture and subtle licorice flavor raw in salads and sandwiches, or cook it—just about any way you like—to savor its sweet side.
Fennel
Italians love fennel, and it's easy to see why. Enjoy the vegetable's crisp texture and subtle licorice flavor raw in salads and sandwiches, or cook it—just about any way you like—to savor its sweet side.All parts of fennel are edible: the bulb, stalks, feathery fronds, and even its seeds and pollen
Take a look at all the recipes featuring fennel (finnochio in Italian), and you'll see that fennel is a very versatile vegetable indeed. Looking a little like celery on steroids, it has a pale bulbous base from which emerge finger-like stalks topped with frilly green leaves. Raw, its crisp texture adds a fragrant bite to salads, sandwiches, and salsas. But fennel is as much a wonder when cooked, especially when browned to bring out its sweetness.
Buying fennel: Though you can find fennel throughout much of the year, most locally grown fennel is at its peek in the fall; look for it locally at farmers markets for a real treat. Choose firm, pale bulbs with a good appearance, bright green tops, and a lovely scent. Avoid fennel that looks dry or browned, although a little browning on the outer layer of the bulb, which is often trimmed away, is okay. Fennel will keep for a few days in the refrigerator. For best storage, cut off the stalks and leaves.
Preparing fennel: All of fennel is edible, though it's the meaty bulb that gets used most. (The fibrous stalks make a great addition to the soup or stew pot, while the leaves, which look like dill, may be used as an herb, a great way to add a boost of fennel flavor.) The first step when handling fennl is to cut away the stalks close to the bulb. Trim the root, if necessary and pull off the outer layer if it looks dry or discolored. The bulb may then be cut into wedges for braising or roasting. sliced into strips for pasta or to cook with fish or chicken, or very thinly sliced, preferably with a madoline, to use in a salad. It can also be diced like an onion for salsas. Once cooked, fennel is also delicious pureed for sauces or soups.
