Michele's Kitchen
the best Cooking Class in Bergamo

In Italy, polenta is a relatively common accompaniment to stews, braised dishes and fried fish, often as an alternative to bread. In some parts of northern Italy, polenta becomes a more involved dish, thanks to the use of different grains and to the addition of cheeses, milk, butter. This recipe describes one of the most renowned polenta spin-offs: Polenta Taragna. Polenta Taragna is typical of Valtellina as well as of the valleys of Bergamo and Brescia.

Gorgonzola is one of the world's oldest blue-veined cheeses. The Cheese is mainly produced in the northern Italian regions of Piedmont and Lombardy, Gorgonzola. Unskimmed cow's milk is used while preparing the cheese. Generally it takes three to four months to attain full ripeness.

Usually, bresaola is served as an antipasto and it is sliced so thin that it is almost translucent. Although the meat is air-dried, it is moist. The meat can come from the sirloin, the rump or the round cuts of beef. Its typical production area covers the entire province of Sondrio, two main valleys situated in the heart of the Alps: the Valtellina and the Valchiavenna. Here the average temperatures are rather low and the air is dry: a perfect combination for this unique cured cold cut. Here bresaola is proposed stuffed with robiola cheese that is an Italian soft-ripened cheese of the Stracchino family. It is from the Langhe region (Piedmont).

Mortadella is an Italian cured sausage, resembling bologna in size and appearance. It is made of pork that is first ground and then mashed into a paste, and may get its name from the Roman word for "mortar." A mortar and pestle were once commonly used to crush meats, fruits, and grain. In addition to meat, mortadella is studded with fat taken from the throat of the pig. It is spiced with pepper, and may also contain myrtle berries and coriander. In Italy, the sausage is often studded with pistachios or pine nuts. As prepared in Italy, it is cooked for several hours at a low temperature, with low humidity. After baking, it must be refrigerated, but can keep for up to eight months.

Lasagna is a dish of consummate beauty and one of the most beloved Italian food dishes in the world.

The northern coastal region Liguria is especially celebrated for its light, herb-heavy dishes. One of our favorite regional dishes is linguine al pesto. Pesto is derived from the Italian verb pestare, to grind or crush. Created in the port city Genova, true pesto genovese is comprised of freshly-ground, extra virgin olive oil, pine nuts, sea salt, and garlic. Many varieties also include Parmigiano Reggiano (because you can never go wrong by adding cheese).

Saffron-scented risotto alla milanese is one of the most luxurious—and simplest—of risottos.

Casoncelli or casonsei is a typical dish from Bergamo. It is a kind of stuffed pasta with a very particular shape, filled with local/poor ingredients such as sausage, breadcrumbs, parsley, eggs and garlic. are served with a butter and sage sauce and sautéed Italian Speck (or Pancetta).

The most famous veal chop of Italy. One of the pillars of Milanese cuisine, cotoletta alla milanese is nothing more than a breaded veal chop browned in butter. It’s so typical, in fact, of the cooking of Milan that if you just ask for ‘una milanese’ in a restaurant in Italy, this is what you’ll be served.

Veal Scallops with Prosciutto and Fontina is dish from Valle d'Aosta region. Fontina is an excellent melting cheese,

Slow cooked with carrots, onions, tomatoes, olives, fresh herbs, wine and brandy, braised rabbit makes an impressive rustic dinner.

Piadina is the most traditional speciality of Romagna, served along the coast and in the hills in an area spanning from the municipalities marked by the course of the river Sillaro in the south of the province of Bologna as far as Ravenna, and then in Rimini, passing through Forlì and Cesena and even taking in a slice of the nearby region of the Marche. It began as a poor food eaten by rural populations, especially popular because it was cheap to make; a simple pastry of flour, lard, salt and water without yeast.

Gianduia is a sweet chocolate spread containing about 30% hazelnut paste, invented in Turin during Napoléon's regency.

Tiramisu quite literally means, “a pick me up.” One of Italy’s most popular cake. It is an elegant and rich layered Italian dessert made with delicate ladyfinger cookies, espresso or instant espresso, mascarpone cheese, eggs, sugar, Marsala wine, rum and cocoa powder. Through the grouping of these diverse ingredients, an intense yet refined dish emerges. The delicate flavor of layers of mascarpone and Italian custard are contrasted with the darkly robust presence of espresso and sharpness of cocoa powder. The name itself, tiramisu, means “pick me up” in Italian most likely referring to the two caffeinated ingredients that are present in the dish, espresso and cocoa.

his is the Grand Italian Wine by definition, also produced entirely with Nebbiolo grapes. Barolo wine comes from the village in the Langa bearing the same name a few kilometres south of Alba. It is now made in eleven ‘communes’ or village territories, all situated on the scenic Langa hills shaped by centuries of vine cultivation and dominated by medieval castles – including Barolo’s own. The other communes included in the Barolo production area are: La Morra, Monforte, Serralunga d’Alba (with its exceptionally well- preserved medieval military fortress), Castiglio Falletto (its symbol, a round medieval tower, belongs to a still privately-owned manor building), Novello, Grinzane Cavour. Verduno, Diano d’Alba, Cherasco and Roddi (here the castle is currently being restored).

Amarone is a style of red wine produced in the Valpolicello area of the Veneto in northeastern Italy. Think Verona and Romeo & Juliet and you are there! While great diversity certainly exists, typically the wines are dry, fresh, full-bodied with lots of extract, high alcohol (15-16%), and complex with great depth and flavor concentration.

A grape that is known for the age-worthy high tannin wines of Barolo and Barbaresco in Piemonte.

Ripasso della Valpolicella is a style of wine from Veneto made with three grapes: Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara. Produced by fermenting fresh juice with leftover pomice from Amarone winemaking to add richness.

The local wine of Bergamo is Valcalepio produced in an area which has been dedicated to wine making for two thousand years. Valcalepio Rosso is produced from a basic Bordeaux blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, the former taking the lion's share (between 25% and 60%). Its perfume is intense and persistent, its taste is quite sweet. It is an excellent match with blue cheese or ripened cheese, and even with dry patisserie.

Teroldego Rotaliano The coat of arms of Mezzolombardo Teroldego Rotaliano is a red wine-specific DOC of the Trentino-Alto Adige wine region, in northern Italy. The wines are made from 100% Teroldego grapes grown on the Campo Rotaliano – a flat, roughly triangular plain of the Adige Valley in northern Trentino.

The most familiar zesty Italian white wine grape of French origin (Pinot Gris). It is actually a Pinot Noir mutant that is a pale red-gray colored grape. It is grown mostly in Alto Adige, Friuli and Lombardy, where it is known as Oltrepò Pavese.

Franciacorta is a small wine-producing area in Lombardy, northern Italy. It is famous for its high-quality sparkling wines, which are made very much in the image of Champagne. The Franciacorta wine region is located in the Brescia province, in the hills immediately south-east of the foot of Lake Iseo.

Prosecco is produced in the hills of Veneto in northeastern Italy. The Conegliano Valdobbiadene area, where the winery is located, boasts the longest history in the production of this sparkling wine. Vineyards are planted on steep slopes, where the environment conditions and the characteristics of the soil are particularly suitable for the cultivation of this wine. The result is an elegant and easy drinking wine, distinguished by a light body and fruity and floral bouquet.

Born in the Italian region of Piedmont, a region that is also well known for its famous Barolo wine, Moscato is made from the Muscat grape, which is a grape that in addition to making Moscato is also eaten regularly as a table grape, and used for making raisins. Its ability to be enjoyed in its true fruit form, is due to the grape’s high level of sugar. It’s this sugar that gives Moscato its sweetness and boost in popularity. Known as a dessert wine, Moscato has a slight fizz and flavors of nectarine, peach and orange that are very pleasing to your taste buds.

Let me know you favorite wine

Grappa is one of Italy's most popular alcoholic drinks. he main ingredient of grappa is pomace, which consists of the grape skins, seeds and stalks that are left over from the winemaking process. These are taken through a second process of distillation, which extracts the remaining flavours from the pomace before the waste is discarded. The grappa is then either bottled at once, which creates white grappa (grappa bianca), or aged in wooden casks to create the yellow or brown-hued grappa known as riserva.

The original Amaretto Liqueur, Amaretto di Saronno takes it's name from it's roots in Saronno, Italy. Distilled from the base of almonds, Amaretto di Saronno has an intense almond flavoring.