Marta's Cooking Classes

23/09/2026

Another lovely evening in the company of a wonderful family: warm, curious and happy to cook together.

During our cooking class we prepared pici alla carbonara and lemon meatballs, two simple but generous dishes that always bring people around the table.

And since we made pici, I have to tell you a little about them — because this is something I always love to share during my classes.

Pici are one of the most traditional handmade pastas from southern Tuscany, especially from the area around Siena, Val d’Orcia, Val di Chiana and Monte Amiata. They look like thick, rustic spaghetti, but they are made by hand, usually with a very simple dough of flour, water and a little patience.

The most beautiful part is the gesture: in Tuscany we say “appiciare”, which means rolling and stretching the dough with the palms of your hands until it becomes a long, irregular strand of pasta. This is probably one of the origins of the word pici.

There are different theories about the name, but this one is my favourite, because it connects the word to the hands, to the table, and to the patient rhythm of traditional home cooking.

That is why making pici is never just about pasta.
It is about memory, gesture, time and sharing.

Thank you again to this lovely family for cooking with me and for making the evening so special.

05/09/2026

What do my clients ask me to make most often during my cooking classes? Definitely fresh pasta and tiramisu! 🍝🤎
But today I’d like to tell you about another delicious dessert, perfect for these still-warm days: Zuccotto! 🍰❄️
Zuccotto is a wonderfully rich and refreshing Italian dessert. It’s not something we can easily make during a cooking class, as it requires several steps and, most importantly, quite a long resting time in the fridge.
But if you’d like to learn more about it and discover how to make it at home, let me know! I also offer online cooking classes, and this could be a perfect recipe to make together. 😉
For now, let’s start with the first step: to make a delicious Zuccotto, we first need to prepare a lovely, soft Pan di Spagna – Italian sponge cake.
And these are the ingredients we need:
👇

4 large eggs
● 120 g granulated sugar
● 120 g all-purpose flour
● 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
● A pinch of salt

14/08/2026

Yesterday I felt like cooking something a little different for myself. 😊

As much as I love traditional Tuscan food, I also really enjoy experimenting with different flavours, and lately I’ve been eating lots of vegetables and legumes.

This combination turned out to be so delicious: spiced carrots with a creamy cannellini bean, Greek yogurt and almond sauce. Simple, healthy and full of flavour! 🌿🥕🤍

Spiced Carrots with Creamy Cannellini & Almond Sauce

Ingredients

For the carrots:

* 3 carrots
* 1 clove of garlic
* Thyme
* Sweet paprika
* Extra virgin olive oil
* Salt and pepper

For the sauce:

* 240 g cannellini beans
* 150 g Greek yogurt
* 50 g toasted almonds
* A little garlic powder
* Salt and pepper
* Extra virgin olive oil

Method

Cut the carrots lengthwise into quarters.

Heat a little olive oil in a pan, add the carrots and season with salt and pepper. Add about half a glass of water, cover with a lid and cook until the carrots are tender.

Towards the end of the cooking time, sprinkle with sweet paprika and add a little thyme.

For the sauce, blend the cannellini beans, Greek yogurt and toasted almonds until creamy. Season with garlic powder, salt and pepper, then finish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Spread the creamy sauce over the plate, arrange the warm carrots on top and finish with a little extra olive oil.

A really tasty combination… and definitely one I’ll be making again! 😋
whatsfordinner
mediterraneandiet

02/08/2026

As promised, here is my first article, The Commercial Grammar of Italianness.

It explores how the Italian language entered American menus and helped shape an idea of Italianness that was gradually transformed along the way.

Behind my cooking classes lies a deep interest in the history, language and cultural roots of Italian food. I hope you enjoy reading it!
👇 Click on the article below.

https://thetwelvegourmandsbulletin.substack.com/p/the-commercial-grammar-of-italianness

For more info follow I Dodici Ghiotti

by Marta Ciappi

13/06/2026

Pappa al pomodoro is always a good idea, in every season.
You can serve it hot, warm, or even cold, but always with a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil… and never with cheese, as Pellegrino Artusi would say.

Ingredients for 15 people:

1 large leek, finely chopped
Extra virgin olive oil
3 cans of peeled tomatoes, 800 g each
700–900 g stale bread, cut into thin, small slices
4 liters of water
8 vegetable stock cubes
4–5 garlic cloves, finely minced

A beautiful manciata — a generous handful — of fresh basil, finely chopped



And then there are the Italian words of cooking, the words that are almost impossible to translate perfectly.

A manciata is not just “a handful”: it is a generous gesture, something measured by the hand, by experience, by feeling.

A trito is not simply “chopped herbs” or “minced ingredients”: it is the result of a precise movement, of a knife, of a rhythm, of a way of cooking that belongs to Italian home kitchens.

This is why I love studying and sharing the language of Italian food: because every recipe is also made of words, memories, gestures, and culture.

And speaking of tradition, Pellegrino Artusi was one of the fathers of Italian cuisine. In 1891 he published Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well, a book that helped create a shared culinary language for Italy, bringing together recipes, words, and traditions from different regions.

So yes: pappa al pomodoro is made with bread, tomatoes, garlic, basil, and olive oil.
But it is also made with words like manciata, trito, pappa… words that tell the story of Italian cooking.

09/05/2026

Here I am, sharing my very first article about food and Italian identity.

Many of you know me through cooking, but another great passion of mine is culture — writing about Italy, our traditions, our language, and the way our country is perceived abroad.

In this article, published in the food magazine I Dodici Ghiotti, I reflect on the sound of our language, on “Italian sounding”, and on how important it is to protect the authentic identity behind our food and culture.

For my English-speaking friends, I’m also preparing an English version of the article and will share it very soon

Full article here:
https://ciboludens.substack.com/p/la-grammatica-commerciale-dellitalianita?

Thank you to and for giving me the space to share this.



#