If there's one thing I learned while living in Florence, it's that I will never truly be satisfied anymore when eating Italian soul food. Although I have a long lineage of great Italian cooks in my family, nothing compares to the real thing. Only a true, born and raised Italian can cook like an Italian; everything else is purely imitation.
As a part of my time abroad, I chose to register for a cooking and wine-pairing course. What better place to learn to cook than in the motherland? My professor, Giancarlo Russo, was Roman and had moved to Florence in his twenties. He spent much of his youth traveling, learning, teaching, but most of all, cooking. He'd taken culinary courses in Paris, Rome, Boston and several other places. Needless to say, he was the best chef I've ever met.
Despite being a traveled individual, we were in Italy and Italian cooking was his forte. He taught us how to prepare a plethora of different meals. From appetizers like pappa al pomodoro (potato tomato soup), entres like spaghetti alle vongole (spaghetti with clam sauce), or torta di cioccolata (chocolate cake), he knew it all. Learning to cook with an abundance of Italian olive oil, however, was a much harder pill to swallow. If there was one take away from our time together it was that olive oil is healthy oil; besides of course that life is too short to drink cheap wine.
Being skeptical still, I decided to do a little more research on the subject. As a result, he was right! In an article published by the Global Healing Center, titled, "The Health Benefits of Olive Oil" Dr. Group lists the benefits of consuming it and six uses other than cooking. Unaprol, an Italian company, produces a premium product that is packed with antioxidants and Vitamin E. Their website also lends some more information to the topic of how this is an advantageous product.
Faces of pure horror stared back at Giancarlo when he drowned our pappa al pomodoro in olive oil. He answered our worried expressions with, "trust Tio Giancarlo, trust!" And trust you should.
As a part of my time abroad, I chose to register for a cooking and wine-pairing course. What better place to learn to cook than in the motherland? My professor, Giancarlo Russo, was Roman and had moved to Florence in his twenties. He spent much of his youth traveling, learning, teaching, but most of all, cooking. He'd taken culinary courses in Paris, Rome, Boston and several other places. Needless to say, he was the best chef I've ever met.
Despite being a traveled individual, we were in Italy and Italian cooking was his forte. He taught us how to prepare a plethora of different meals. From appetizers like pappa al pomodoro (potato tomato soup), entres like spaghetti alle vongole (spaghetti with clam sauce), or torta di cioccolata (chocolate cake), he knew it all. Learning to cook with an abundance of Italian olive oil, however, was a much harder pill to swallow. If there was one take away from our time together it was that olive oil is healthy oil; besides of course that life is too short to drink cheap wine.
Being skeptical still, I decided to do a little more research on the subject. As a result, he was right! In an article published by the Global Healing Center, titled, "The Health Benefits of Olive Oil" Dr. Group lists the benefits of consuming it and six uses other than cooking. Unaprol, an Italian company, produces a premium product that is packed with antioxidants and Vitamin E. Their website also lends some more information to the topic of how this is an advantageous product.
Faces of pure horror stared back at Giancarlo when he drowned our pappa al pomodoro in olive oil. He answered our worried expressions with, "trust Tio Giancarlo, trust!" And trust you should.
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For more details related to olive oil, for Italian cooking or what have you, please consult Unaprol.
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