A Culinary Getaway with Jenny from Nourished Kitchen

Jovial’s Culinary Getaways take place in a magnificent villa in a small town outside of Lucca, located just a stone’s throw from where jovial’s pasta products are made. The one thing that strikes us about the people of Lucca is how proud they are of where they come from. I think this is true for a lot of towns in Italy, but especially for this city. Last year, I was at lunch with Aurelio, the local chef who creates our amazing welcome dinner, Lorenzo and Paola, the brother and sister who run the pasta factory. As Aurelio proposed a Wild Asparagus Risotto for starters, he mentioned he would harvest the asparagus himself in the morning before dinner. Then, he began to talk about the fresh peas he had harvested at his family’s farm that day for his restaurant. The three of them quickly began to lose themselves in conversation about special spots in the local countryside, local vineyards, local cheese-makers, great places to take long hikes, the seaside, etc. As they laughed and smiled and reveled in their favorite spots for what seemed like ten minutes, I smiled to myself. To get back on track, one of them finished the conversation by saying how lucky they were to have been born in Lucca. The other confirmed with a ‘da vero’ (that’s so true), and the third chimed in that this must be the best place to live in all of Italy. They’re right, life is good in this small ancient city.

Lorenzo’s father told me the history of the beautiful area above Lucca where the villa is located. Here, many villas were built as summer homes for the wealthy. Certain families in Lucca gained affluence during a boom of silk production in the city. To escape the summer heat, these families spent time in the country, albeit just a few miles from their homes in the city. This area is beautiful, but not in the typical Tuscan way. I think most of us think of Tuscany as rolling hills filled with olive groves, vineyards and long windy roads lined with cyprus trees. Most of Tuscany is just this, but Lucca is different. The olive groves and vineyards around Lucca are in the hills, but with mountains as a backdrop and the city is located very close the Mediterranean sea. This part of Tuscany is less manicured so its beauty is something your grow to love.

This year, we are very excited to have Jenny McGruther from Nourished Kitchen with us from May 25- June 1. Jenny inspires her readers to follow traditional ways of preparing real food. What does real food mean to Jenny? Beside support of local and sustainable agriculture, Jenny focuses on the health benefits of consuming fermented foods like kefir and pickles, bone broths rich in minerals, and fats like raw butter from pasture-raised cows. Jenny is a great source of knowledge when it comes to learning more about why souring, soaking and sprouting grains, nuts, seeds and legumes can aid our bodies in assimilating the full nutritive power of these foods. Jenny also gives great advice on how we can all manage to eat high quality, whole grain, organic, grass fed foods on a budget by learning to prepare them at home in economical ways. Jenny is teaching four hands-on cooking classes, three early in the day and one dinner class, at the villa and there will be time to really get to know her during prep time as well. Here is more about her program.

 

May 26, Sunday

Cooking Class 10am to 1pm
“Exploring Seasonal Vegetables”

Join Jenny as she showcases traditional methods for preparing seasonal vegetables with special emphasis on fermentation and pickling. Explore classic flavor pairings for fresh vegetables and herbs, easy cooking methods, and simple, no-fail techniques that you can use to prepare extraordinarily flavorful dishes using seasonal vegetables from your garden or farmers market at home. Lunch to follow.

May 28, Tuesday

Cooking Class from 10am to 1pm

“Soaked, Soured and Sprouted.” Jenny shows you how to prepare whole grains like einkorn for optimal nutrition through the traditional methods of soaking, souring or sprouting. Includes lunch of wood-fired sourdough pizza and salads of seasonal greens, vegetables, fruit and local charcuterie.

May 30, Thursday

Cooking Class from 9am to 12pm
“The Whole Animal.”

Learn traditional techniques for rendering fat and preparing broths with an emphasis on easy-to-prepare pates, terrines and other dishes. Jenny gives simple tips that will help you to incorporate these nutrient-dense foods into your cooking in unique, delicious ways. Lunch to follow.