Mangia!

From Guest Blogger Natalia Barolin, weekly volunteer at our Columbia Heights site...

As Carina feared in her recent post, the snow this season has been relentless and Brainfood was snowed out through the Valentine’s Day class. With schools closed for Presidents Day we’ll transition back with a short week and I for one am anxious to dig out and dig into class this week.

In the meantime, the Chinatown class was not the only one with a guest chef adventure to reflect on. On the eve of the first of two huge snow storms (given a flurry of nicknames like snowpocalypse or snowmageddon), we had Chef Robert Barolín, from the City Square Café in Old Town Manassas, Virginia teach us how to work with shrimp and introduce an Italian menu of bruschetta, homemade Italian dressing, and Mediterranean shrimp. This was a particularly special day for me because Chef Robert is also my dad and the menu included some of my favorite dishes.

My dad eased right into class with his gregarious personality and charming accent that drew the kids right in. My Dad is from Uruguay where the cuisine is traditionally based on its European roots (ours in Italy), which characterize his cooking.

A few of the students have been to Italy and were excited to learn more about the food and hear about our family background. But despite some familiarity with Italian cuisine, the class was defined by firsts.

It was the first time we’d worked with many of the ingredients including shrimp.  Some of the students were a little squeamish about peeling, cleaning, and cooking the shrimp but Chef Robert made it look easy and fun. He made the students so comfortable that even Nancy G., who had never been willing to try shrimp before, ate it for the first time and liked it. 

The students were even let in on a few tricks of the trade like how to enhance presentation – leave the tail on which when cooked, turns a rich shade of pink that adds a nice flair of color to the dish. Combined with the sundried tomatoes, marinated artichokes, shallots, capers, and fresh parsley, finally tossed with penne pasta, we were in for a kaleidoscope of flavors and colors. 

While some of the students had the Mediterranean shrimp fired up on the stove, others got to work on the bruschetta and Italian dressing. They diced plump Roma tomatoes, lots of garlic (my dad’s signature), and fresh basil - a simple but delicious recipe. And much to mine and of course Amy’s delight, Chef Robert repeated many of our Brainfood skills like clawing your hand when chopping to protect those fingers.

As the aromas from the Mediterranean shrimp filled the air, Roberto and Nanci R. whisked the olive oil, vinegar and Italian herbs fusing everything together for our dressing. As some students added the final touch of any Italian recipe, Parmesan cheese, we gathered around our table to indulge in our decadent and colorful feast. Mangia!

-Natalia Barolin, weekly volunteer at our Columbia Heights site