Join our teachers and Italian chefs Chiara and Marzia in our Taalhuis kitchen for a dive into Italian culture and cuisine. Learn how to prepare traditional meals from southern Italy: gnocchi alla sorrentina and insalata di rinforzo napoletana. We will complete our dinner with a traditional winter dessert from Tuscany: castagnaccio.

These dishes are part of the tradition of family dinners, where people gather to meet and enjoy good traditional food.

Gnocchi alla sorrentina is a traditional dish from the Campania coast: potato gnocchi served with a rich tomato sauce flavoured with basil and then baked in the oven with melted mozzarella. You’ll make this dish from start to finish: you’ll begin by making the gnocchi by hand, prepare a traditional tomato and basil sauce, and wait patiently for the mozzarella to meld with the rest of the ingredients.

Insalata di rinforzo is a typical winter dish made with cauliflower and pickled vegetables. Every family has its own recipe, but they all have one thing in common: if the salad isn’t finished by the diners, it can be kept and ‘enriched’ the following day by adding new ingredients.

Castagnaccio is a simple yet delicious dessert, traditional to Tuscany. It is made from chestnut flour and enriched with raisins and pine nuts.

When the preparations are done, we’ll have an ‘aperitivo’. We will set the table and taste a few starters. Then it’s time to taste this Italian comfort food and chat about Italian culture, cuisine, and language.

The program:
17:00: cooking
19:30: aperitivo and setting the table
20:00: let’s eat!