Chianti Cooking Class & Dinner at Wine Farm in Tuscany

Salsa verde (Classical Green Sauce)
Put the vinegar in a bowl. add the bread and leave it to soften. Then squeeze and chop it up with the mincing knife with the hard-boiled egg. Now put all this into a suitable bowl and mix, adding olive oil until you get the right consistency. Sprinkle on a few drops of vinegar. Season with salt and pepper and, if you wish, a little chopped chilli. then cover the sauce and leave to rest in a cool place for a few hours. It can be served with boiled meats

Panzanella (Cold bread salad)
Panzanella is a traditional peasant dish which used to be eaten for breakfast or as a rustic snack. It can be served either as a first course or as a starter. Cut the bread (preferably the grey, homemade variety common in the past) into thick slices. Place them in a terrine. Cover with water and leave to rest for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, clean and wash the onion, basil, tomatoes and cucumber. Cut the vegetables into pieces and chop the basil. Place all this into a blow. Press the bread to get rid of excess moisture. Break it up and add it to the vegetables. Season with salt, with pepper, plenty of red wine vinegar (preferably flavoured with herbs) and oil. Stir well and leave to rest about half an hour before serving

Pappardelle al Cinghiale (Pappardelle with wild boar sauce)
Chop all the herbs and fry gently in the whole cloves of garlic. When the garlic starts to turn golden add the meat and continue cooking stirring all the time. Season with salt and after a few minutes add the red wine. Finally, when the wine has evaporated, add the sieved tomatoes and cook over low heat for about 2 hours adding a little stock from time to time to make sure the sauce doesn’t dry up. Boil the pappardelle in plenty of salted water, drain and season with the sauce and a good sprinkling of grated parmesan.

Arista (Roast saddle of pork)
Peel, crush and chop the garlic. Mix with the salt and a good helping of freshly ground of pepper. Then, make some incisions in the meat and stuff with the garlic mixture. Place some short spring of lightly seasoned rosemary on top of the meat and tie it up with kitchen string. Now place the meat in a roasting tin well greased with olive oil and cook in a moderate oven for about an hour. When it is nearly cooked, turn up the oven so that the meat can become crips. Remove from the oven, untie and let the meat cool a little before cutting it into slices and basting it with its own juices. Roast saddle of pork keeps very well in the fridge for a few days and can prove an excellent solution for a light meal or snack between meals.