Today we were invited down to Well Seasoned, a gourment kitchen and cookware store in the heart of Langley, for one of their hands-on interactive cooking class3:. I have done a few and can confirm right off the bat, that it is always a good time. It is the ability to learn a new skill as you eat and drink.
Attendees are able to choose a class with a menu that they are interested in learning and eating thereafter. And on this day, our intimate class gathered in the cooking school’s back kitchen to learn how to make pasta featuring BC Greenhouse vegetables.
You gather around an active work station as the instructor gives a demo, course by course. Often regaling in stories of their experiences and offering tips and trip. Interruptions and questions are encouraged, in order to help further and engage the class.
After, the class breaks off into pairs and shares a pre-set individual work station, to recreate what they just learned; imitating what you just saw. You work at your own pace, regardless if you are one of the ones who are able to recreate what you just witnessed, or one the ones that need a little more guidance from the instructor, including cooking assistance. Either way, there is no judgement, just a relaxed fun time.
After, you get to eat what you made on the spot. First up: appetizers. And for those who want to enjoy your own cooking, within your own it home, Well Seasoned has containers for you to pack and go. Usually each round is accompanied by a drink, and the whole evening had us siping on fresh fruit sangria.
Our class was theme around showcasing the bounty of BC Greenhouses and local seasonal ingredients. Many of us do not cook or eat like this, opting to instead look for cheap produce or source whatever is convenient. Therefore being able to indulge like this only adds to the experience. Especially when one of the dishes to come includes the highly coveted, highly seasonal spot prawns.
I won’t be going into detail of how we prepared everything, and instead suggest you take one of Well Seasoned cooking classes for yourself. The following is what was on our predetermined menu. All courses made featuring BC Greenhouse Association fresh vegetables and herbs.
To start we had a crushed BC Greenhouse Association cucumber salad with citrus, burrata, BC Greenhouse Association mint, BC Greenhouse Association basil, and seasonal greens; all dressed in a fine sherry vinaigrette.
Here, we learned that we smash the cucumbers to create more ridges, in order to hold on to the sauce better. No special technique or equipment needed. Just the back side of a frying pan will do. Then you chop them up coarsely, like you normally would. Adding salt for seasoning, which also breaks the cucumber down further.
To finish this off, each individual’s salad serving was toppings generously with fresh and creamy burrata cheese.
Once we staved off hunger with some fresh cucumber we moved on to our entree. We would get a demonstration on how to prepare a roasted BC Greenhouse Association eggplant and spicy BC Greenhouse Association tomato sauce, but not actually do it ourselves.
By biggest takeaway from this was that the essence of the tomato comes from the vine, so you keep them on the tray along with your tomatoes, when roasting in the oven. And that tomato sauce is the “gravy of the Mediterranean”.
Once the roasted tomatoes came out of broil, they were added to a pan over heat, along with their juices, and minus the stems. From here it was puréed over heat and allowed to simmer and come together. The eggplant is introduced towards the end, to flavour. Roasted with plenty of olive oil.
As for the pasta, that is where our participation came in. We would make our own from scratch. The same dough rolled and cut two different ways and served in two different ways. Above with the tomato vegetable sauce and the below is one with BC Greenhouse Association dill.
I could not believe how easy it was to make the dough from flour, water, and eggs.
Pasta can be divided into 4 categories: dry pasta, which is convenient. Pasta made with an extruder, and takes minimal amounts of water to make a chewy soft pasta. In Southern Italy they use semolina flour and water, coupled with the most flavour forward sauces. And in mid and northern Italy, egg dough is considered precious and the king of pasta dough.
Today we were doing a traditional recipe, noting that if you were ever to follow an Italian recipe, you need to keep in mind that their eggs are larger than ours. At 70 grams for Italian egg, versus Canadian eggs at 50-55 grams. On top of using Canadian eggs we were also using the finest of milled all purpose flour.
Once our dough was kneaded firm and allowed to rest thereafter, it was run through the pasta machine. Each rotation got an increase in setting, working our way from 0 to 7.
Another takeaway here, was that you don’t wash such a device or add any water to it. It is one piece so doesn’t not separate for cleaning. Therefore you don’t want any moisture to get in and harbour any bacteria.
We would make two types of pasta. Garganelli is pasta made by rolling up squares of dough into a cylinder. And Tagliatelle is long flat ribbons of dough, similar to fettuccine.
For the former we were asked to roll our sheets of dough, and after dusting them with flour, hang on a plastic hangers to dry.
For the former it is best to roll out and begin to cut and roll the dough immediately there after, so that you are working with a some-what soft dough that would stick when you pinched the cylinder shut. Using a wooden rod you wrap your square shaped dough together from diagonal end to diagonal end. However if it does not stick, a spritz of water from a spray bottle did the trick.
I did not read the menu and mixed up which pasta went with which sauce. So despite my photos, this is what the class intended.
Garganelli alla norma, hand-rolled egg pasta with roasted BC Greenhouse Association eggplant, spicy BC Greenhouse Association seasonal herbs, and Parmesan Reggiano.
Hand-cut egg tagliatelle with BC summer squash, prawns, chilies, garlic, and BC Greenhouse Association dill.
Our chef/instructor boiled our noodles individually, to ensure you were eating your own creation. And when done, our instructor added the sauces and/or sautéed ingredients he prepared for the whole class, prior to.
The final touches of grated cheese and chopped herbs were at your discretion. And maybe it is because I put work into it, but this was some of the tastiest and most tender pasta I have had. This was even despite me cutting the tagliatelle too thin and it sticking to one another. This required me to peel the sheets apart ever so gingerly.
And lastly we did not leave without having dessert. This was a strawberry crumble prepared with vanilla and brown butter, and topped with a Chantilly cream.
In short, this was such a great way to learn more about authentic Italian food and get a taste of preparing it for yourself. It truly made me appreciate what chefs go through when a restaurant advertise that their pastas are made in house. It makes a difference. That and using BC Greenhouse vegetables. Vegetables so fresh that you really didn’t need much salt if seasoning to mask its natural flavours.
Well Seasoned
20353 64 Ave, Langley, BC V2Y 1N5
604-530-1518
wellseasoned.ca
