Marco and the Market

 After another day of Italian language filled class (literally our teachers don't use English... talk about an immersion experience!), our group met with Marco, head of the cooking department of LDM. Today was a lesson on how the Italian markets work, what to buy, how much to buy, and what to pay for it. Marco knows tons about food and gave us great insight into what we should try while we are in Italy. He took us to the central market in the San Lorenzo area of Florence (right by our school). I stuck by his hip the entire tour of the market taking notes (like a total dork) of all the suggestions he gave us. I learned a lot! 

Marco perfecting the pesto sauce.

We returned with our purchases to the kitchen at LDM to put together some of Marco's recipes. We created an authentic Italian meal of four courses, and were lucky enough to enjoy eating it at the end. All I can say is I have high expectations for my food the rest of this trip, and I think these pictures speak for themselves!

Antipasto (appetizer): Focaccine Farcite-- Fresh made bread stuffed with prosciutto crudo, pecorino cheese, sundried tomatoes and fresh basil

Primo (first course): Trenette Pesto-- Trenette is a worm shaped pasta which we got fresh from the market. The pesto sauce is much lighter than you usually find, and chopped potatoes, string beans, and zucchini are added to the water while the pasta cooks to add flavor and texture.

Secondo (Second course, or main dish): Petti di pollo alle Melanzane -- Chicken with grilled eggplant, mozzarella, and sautéed tomatoes. 

Contorno (side dish): Patate profumate alle erbs -- Thinly sliced potatoes sautéed  with mixed herbs, garlic, and olive oil.

Dolce ("sweet" or dessert): Torta di cioccolato e frutta-- Almost like a brownie but much lighter and with dark chocolate, this torte was my favorite dish (not that I'm biased because I helped make it). It's also amazing that it was basically made with five ingredients! (dark chocolate, butter, eggs, sugar, flour) Beside it is a fruit salad with fresh fruits from the market tossed with a few tablespoons of brown sugar and lemon juice to make a sweet sauce.