What’s Cookin': Tortelloni, Troiani, and Thee

What’s cooking? Tortelloni at Troiani. And who’s cooking it? You!

In his illuminating and engaging book Heat, Bill Buford describes his pilgrimage to Italy to study with Betta, Mario Batali’s pasta guru, who teaches him how to tackle one of the toughest of tasks: making tortellini—the baby version of tortelloni. If you can’t get to Italy, then this Saturday you can work alongside Chef Levine in preparing Dungeness crab tortelloni and more for an Italian feast inspired by local ingredients. As the event is part of Washington Wine Month, you’ll also learn about wine pairing tips. Seattlest pulled the chef away from his pasta plates to ask him some quick questions:

Why do you hold cooking classes?

I like to teach people how to cook and how to feel more comfortable in the kitchen so they can make their own food.

What can the home cook learn from the professional chef?

Some professional secrets—the methods and the madness of the kitchen. I can help take away the mystique of making food.

But tortelloni? Isn’t that tough to make?

Actually, it’s easier to make than ravioli. It’s basically the same as making a wonton, using a diagonal fold. This will be a hands-on class, so everyone can learn. People should come on down, get their hands dirty, and enjoy the experience.

How would you like to see people’s relationship with food change?

I’d like people to be cooking more at home and eating out less. We chefs use lots of fat, salt and sugar to make our food taste good. That’s fine for eating out, but on a more daily basis, people need to cook more at home. Be healthy. And eat together. What happened to the family meal? People are too busy with things like soccer, errands, and working. It’s time to slow down. Embrace the slow food movement. I’d love to see people do more braising and roasting.

March 22, 12:00 pm // Troiani // $75, call 624.4060 for reservations

Photo courtesy of Randall PR.