Like many Italians, our fondest childhood memories revolve around the kitchen.
I recall my Nonna plating up piatti of pasta that she’d handmade at 5am (despite dinner being at a strict 5pm), while Nonno rallied around her, making jokes about “his” cooking to the kids. All the grandkids would pile into the good dining room on a sunny Sunday afternoon, getting pasta sauce all over our hands and faces, as belly laughs and chatter filled the room. Mum, dad, aunties and uncles would share bottles of homemade red wine, while our proud nonni would sit back and smile at everything they’d created – on the table and beyond it.
Because of such memories, food has always been an important part of our adult lives, trying to recreate our grandparents cooking ethos with the same warmth as they did (and, lucky for us, still do).
While the handwritten recipes and loving memories are helpful, it’s nice to get a little refresher, which is where Salts Meats Cheese lends a helping hand.
Established in 2012, family-owned Salts Meats Cheese, share a passion for honest cooking using quality ingredients. Cousin duo, and co-owners, Stefano De Blasi and Edoardo Perlo, are proud to share this passion with their guests, with an authentic Italian menu, and also, their weekly cooking classes.
Teaching everything from Pizza-making and Margaritas, to Pasta Master Classes plentiful of Fettuccini, Ravioli and Tortellini, we opt for the one thing we always struggle with – the light and fluffy goodness of homemade gnocchi.
The class kicks off at 2pm, and Sarah our teacher, has a great presence about her. She’s clear and concise, emphasising the importance of getting involved, family-style. Much like our Sunday afternoon dinners, we gather ‘round as she runs through the basics of gnocchi-making. While it looks easy (and the glass Valpolicella is definitely helping), once we start kneading our dough, our confidence takes a hit. Sarah reminds us, although our dough is sticking to the table and rolling it out takes a little longer than expected, that pasta-making is all about “intuition” as opposed to following a recipe so we start to listen to our inner rumblings. Along the way she shares food-isms from her own family, such as why your grandparents liked to “fork” the gnocchi (it’s so the grooves pick up more of the sauce, by the way).
Once we’ve mixed, kneaded, rolled, chopped and forked the pasta, we’re rewarded with a “family” dinner by the floor-to-ceiling windows in Circular Quay, packed with antipasto platters and pizza trays to serve a small, but hungry, army. Lucky we all are, so wine is shared while antipasto is devoured.
At this stage we’re full, a little bit tipsy and incredibly happy (which is the only way you should be while sharing a big, fat Italian meal).
Still to come, however, is the actual cooking of our gnocchi. While we were eating, you see, the gnocchi had been drying (which helps to give a light and fluffy texture).
Half of the gnocchi goes into the well-seasoned water, so that the pillowy parcels don’t stick, and we taste-test along the way. Cooked or uncooked, full or not full – we’re excited to try our third course (as Italians are, no?)
We’re served our handmade pasta to share, as lamb ragu and three-cheese sauces fill our plates. The ragu tastes like Nonna’s, which brings with it a sense of nostalgia, while the three cheeses just tastes like pure heaven.
Once we’ve pretty much licked our bowls, and collected our doggy bags, we leave our temporary family at Salts Meats Cheese, with a promise to return, not only for lunch or dinner, but for another one of those incredible classes.
The ingredients were simple, the process was not over-complicated and the finished product was delicious.
So much so, that we’ve decided to make and cook gnocchi for our famiglia to see what they think of our newfound skills. Let’s hope we get nonna’s tick of approval!
For more information on upcoming classes, visit the Salts Meats Cheese website here.
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