Porcini Risotto + Seasonal Salad with Chef Francesco Lucatorto

Chef Francesco Lucatorto teaches us how to make Porcini Risotto with a seasonal Sweet Potato and Pumpkin Salad. Impastiamo will be shipping out Ingredients Kits within in a few days before class. RSVP by no later than Friday, October 23rd at 5:00 pm PT to receive your Ingredients Kit in time for class. 

To register for the online cooking class RSVP below, complete the registration form, and click Submit.

Impastiamo will be shipping out most ingredients needed for this class with the exception of the following:

• ½ cup dry white wine
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 4 tablespoons butter

Coarse salt

Tools for Risotto:

• Medium size saucepan
• Large size pan
• A wooden spoon for stirring
• A ladle for adding broth to the rice in stages
• Small bowl for soaking the porcini
• Grader
• Chopping board
• Chef’s knife
• Stove

Tools for Salad:

• Salad Bowl
• Cutting board and chef’s knife
• A small bowl for the vinaigrette

About Chef Francesco Lucatorto:

Chef was born in Genova, the world capital of focaccia. After studying the Culinary Arts in Italy (ALMA) he joined 2 Michelin star restaurant Providence under Chef Micheal Cimarusti. He soon began exploring the LA food scene, working for Terroni, Officine Brera, Otium, followed by the opening of Sixth+Mill Pizzeria and most recently Osteria Angelini. His passion for food brought him to discover the beauty of baking, kneading and proofing dough. This coupled with his Ligurian roots resulted in an obsession for focaccia.

About the Dish

Risotto remains the most important staple dish for many people in all Northern Italy, and especially in Milan. It's a delicious porridge rice, and a delicious one at that! Short-grained rice that has a lot of a particular sort of starch is key for a proper risotto. It sloughs off as you stir and stir the rice, making your risotto creamy with no cream at all. Porcini mushrooms infuse this risotto with tons of flavor! 

Porcini mushrooms were very popular in Ancient Rome and aristocrats devoured loads of them at their feasts. They liked mushrooms so much that they called it “food of the gods” and even crafted laws prohibiting commoners from eating them. However, given that some mushrooms can be deadly, the Romans took care not to poison themselves by hiring experienced mushrooms foragers and daring food tasters to assure that the fungal bounty was safe to eat. Bon Apetit!