Primavera: Spring Produce Italian-Style with Chef Claudia Catalano

Join local chef and food writer Claudia Catalano for an Italian-inspired, springtime cooking demonstration. Participants will learn the techniques and recipes used to create simple dishes that combine seasonal produce with classic Italian flavors. Using the best of New England’s early spring harvest, Claudia will guide you through proper produce selection, efficient knife skills, and professional tips that will up your cooking game. You will nibble on Italian snacks while learning how to make asparagus and pecorino fritters, a savory appetizer that her Sicilian grandmother often made. Next, we’ll get busy with gnocchi, the beloved Italian potato dumplings. Fresh herbs—some of the first produce to emerge after New England’s long, cold winter—will be transformed into a bright green sauce for the dumplings. Lastly, you’ll learn a special technique for making flakey pie dough. The buttery pastry will form the base of a sweet ricotta and rhubarb crostata. Come hungry! Plenty of each dish will be prepared in advance so that everyone can enjoy a generous taste of Claudia’s cooking. You will leave with printed recipes, a ton of new kitchen knowledge, and hopefully some new friends! About Claudia: Claudia Catalano is a chef, writer, and food photographer who left a career in branding to earn a Master of Liberal Arts in Gastronomy from Boston University in 2016. She is a proud recipient of the Julia Child Teaching Assistant award in the Culinary Arts Program, where she worked with award-winning chefs, including the legendary Jacques Pepin. She continued her involvement with BU by becoming a part-time faculty member, while simultaneously operating her own personal chef business under the name Wild Carrot. She also teaches cooking classes at Cambridge School of Culinary Arts and various other community organizations. Her recipes, stories, and photographs have been featured regularly in The Boston Globe and Edible Boston. She now works as an editor and recipe developer at America’s Test Kitchen in Boston’s Seaport District. A descendant of Sicilian immigrants on both sides of her family, her food often evokes the memories of her mother and grandmother. Please note: this is a cooking demonstration class. Attendees will be served a sampling of each dish prepared during class. If for any reason a class needs to be cancelled, we will postpone the class to another date. Refunds will be given to those unable to make the new date.