Casa Fabbrina Baccalà

There is always a back story and the other day I showed you some photos of the this amazing Italian Country Villa, Cass Fabbrina and with what just looks like so much disposable income. They also have 2 other villa's like it in Rome but for him the country air is where he now wants to be after a busy life led in Rome.

Well I suppose it helps if you are a semi retired paediatric surgeon. Georgeo leads the cooking classes and his wife Parla plays a fabulously great second fiddle.

Mind you in his kitchen it is like he is still in his Roman operating theatres throwing instructions to the 3 staff that are always on hand to help clean up after him and pass him all that his little heart desires.

 Saying that his staff just love him, he is a true gentleman. 

Quintessential Italian male with profession and buckets of money.

Georgeo and Parla bought the villa some time back and 10 years ago moved from the Roman city rat race to start the County House with its 9 rooms of beautiful accommodation.

Luck us to be part of this very unique place here in the Tuscan countryside above Rome and leaning some old roman dishes.   

So today lesson is all about polenta and toppings to be part of the antipasto for tonight dinner for 17.

Dinner is always at 8.30pm and all that stay at the villa have dinner in house, its just like a huge Italian family dinner with mum and dad at the end of the table, oh and well 3 staff attending to all your needs, so ... rich Italians at dinner!!!

 

Dried Cod soaked for 2 day in fresh water rolled in flour

 

Cooked on a low heat will a spot of olive oil, this cooks out the flour

and starts to brown the fish 

 Add milk which with the flour did thicken and formed a white sauce, and personally this if where my taste buds were happy!

Busta in Italian is stop.  

But then you add tomato, hmmmm ... tomato and fish not my favourite combo, but we are here to learn and not all dishes are going to tick the to be taken home box. This one is  ... till when the tomato was added!!!! loved the white fish sauce this created but I think over broccoli or asparagus would be a real winner. 

Looks like it tasted ... fish with tomato sauce.

 

 I've always said I'd like to be a fly on the wall of a big Italian dinner table, well a fly I was, listening to 15 Italian's talking Italian.

After 3 months got the gist a few time but mostly a fly on the wall! BUT hugely a fun night for us as 15 Italian also wanted to try to talk/learn English. So a very loud dinner table talking/playing charades and because some thought that if they talked louder we will apparently understand more Italian.