Nessum Dorma Cooking School

It was a leisurely day today.  We caught the train to Manarola to take a basil-making class at the hard-to-get-into Nessun Dorma restaurant and winery.  As you can see from the photo, the views were fantastic.  We lined up with about 40 other people at 10:30 in the morning and started our class with the owner, who was very informative and personable.  It was amazing to hear the story of Nessun Dorma right from the owner, who won the restaurant in a contest in 2014 (only 3 people entered it).  They won the restaurant in March and were required to open by May and this they did.  The owner's love of Pavarotti inspired the name and this was the music that played in the background while we ate our lunch.

 

Fresh basil and a mortar and pestle awaited us.  Soon we were introduced to the finest garlic and salt and then we added the basil.  The basil was left on ice to keep fresh and then washed in ice water and drip-dried before being added to the garlic and salt.  Pine nuts were added and mushed (mostly) and then the best part - the amazing cheeses.  We used 3 year old Pecorino and 2 year old Parmesan - only the finest for the Watsons and Meyers!!  Bob was a master musher and soon the smells were more than we could take.  At the end - the best of the best olive oil.  Our pesto didn't look the best of those around us but oh my, did it ever taste good!

Our hard work was rewarded with a ham and cheese platter, olives and bruschetta.  The warm fresh bread was used to scoop up our pesto and it was all paired with a very smooth, straight off the vines Cinque Terre wine.  We were all beyond happy that we had signed up for this class and would highly recommend it to anyone heading to Cinque Terre!

We hopped the train to Monterosso and headed to the beach for a swim.  It was a beautiful, sunny afternoon so we stayed on the beach for a while before sauntering into the old town for a gelato.  We picked up a Christmas ornament for our tree and then headed for the ferry docks, our transportation home.

We had thought about doing an evening boat ride but opted for the much cheaper ferry ride.  The light was beautiful as we headed down the coast passing all five villages of the Cinque Terre.  We got back in time for supper and then set out for one last walk around Riamaggiore before heading to Siena tomorrow.

As you can see it was another beautiful sunset and we celebrated  along with everyone else on the waterfront.  We weren't quite as enthusiastic as these three, but close.

Buona notte, amiche mie!