Best Bergamo Cooking Class (and Why I’d Do It Again)

I was looking for a Bergamo cooking class where I could learn to make casoncelli. I really wanted to learn how to make authentic Bergamo food since this is the city of my ancestors. 

Casoncelli, a ravioli type of pasta stuffed with meats, cheeses, and spices, is the most iconic Bergamo dish there is. Everyone seemed to have a nonna that cooked the best casoncelli, but unfortunately no one actually offered up their nonna to teach me.

I was also looking for a class that I could easily arrive at. I wasn’t renting a car so I needed it to be in the city of Bergamo and not out in the countryside that would take hours by bus.

The Bergamo cooking class I chose was the best for me for many reasons, even though, spoiler alert, we didn’t make casoncelli.

The Bergamo Cooking Class I Chose

I chose the Bergamo Cooking Class at a Local’s Home by Cesarine. Cesarina means home chef in Italian and Cesarine (the plural form) is a network of home cooks who welcome travelers into their homes to share family recipes and authentic Italian cuisine.

Based on the description (3 recipes cooking class in Bergamo with a local home cook), I was pretty sure we would be making casoncelli. 

I was also relieved to see that the meeting place was super easy to reach at the Piazza della Repubblica in Bergamo. I could walk there from my hotel. If you’re wondering where to stay in Bergamo, this kind of central location is exactly what to look for.

The Meeting Point

The meeting point was exactly that – a meeting point. The host picked me up in his mini van at the Hotel Excelsior San Marco in central Bergamo and drove me out to his home about 15 minutes away in Mozzo. This worked out great for me since I didn’t have a car.

My host, Alessandro Carlini, can hold 6 people in his mini van so that is the max number for his class. It turns out I was the only person who signed up for his class that day so I had a private cooking class. 

Since I was the only one in the class, I asked if we could speak Italian. Luckily I had just spent a week going to an Italian language school in Torino so my listening comprehension and speaking skills were very good.

The Three Recipes

My burning question was, “what are we making?” Alessandro told me we were making tagliatelle with ragù. 

I groaned and said “Oh no, I already made that at a cooking class in Florence. I was hoping we would make casoncelli or at least something typical from Bergamo.”

He explained that casoncelli takes hours and he can’t teach casoncelli in a 3-hour class, but without any hesitation, he said we can make Scarpinocc instead. Scarpinocc is the cheese filling version of casoncelli and is much easier to make.

I was relieved that he was able to change his plan on the spot. The other two recipes were mini bacon omelettes and lemon mousse.

The Setup

When we arrived at my host’s house, there was a long table set up where we would both prepare the dishes and later eat them. On one end of the table, he had everything ready for our pasta making.

There were two spianatoie, or pasta boards, laid out. Italians use large wooden boards made from beech or maple because the wood helps give the dough a porous texture and keeps it the right temperature. 

Next to the pasta boards were rolling pins, flour, salt, a fork, a knife, and olive oil.

Right away he brought out a plate of freshly cut Bergamasque salami and cheeses that we dipped into a balsamic glaze made by his friend in Modena. He also set out chips, olives, bite-size mozzarella balls, and Taralli crackers.

He asked me which wine I wanted from a selection of whites and reds. I chose the Medolago Albani Valcalepio red wine since it is produced in the hills surrounding Bergamo. 

I felt very welcome and comfortable in my host’s home. And hungry. It was all I could do to turn away from the tantalizing salamis and cheeses to listen to his cooking instructions.

Making the Fresh Egg Pasta for the Scarpinocc

We first made the pasta for the Scarpinocc. Alessandro made a mound with the 00 type flour on the pasta board and separated some off to the side. 

He told me that since you don’t know exactly how much liquid you’ll get from the eggs, you can add back the extra flour as needed. It is not a problem to add flour later but you can’t take it away. 

Then he made a well in the mound of flour and cracked the eggs into the well. He sprinkled some salt on the eggs. Using a fork, he whisked the eggs and gradually pulled in flour from the sides.

He handed the pasta making off to me and I kneaded it until it was smooth, elastic, and sprang back when I pressed my finger into it. Then he covered the pasta ball with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge.

The pasta recipe can be used for any shape of pasta and is easy to make at home. I first started making tagliatelle pasta at home after learning how to make it at a cooking class in Florence.

Preparing the Cheese Filling for the Scarpinocc

While the fresh pasta was resting, we made the cheese filling. We mixed grated parmesan with pangrattato (bread crumbs) and added an egg and some milk.  Then we added some cinnamon and nutmeg and mixed a little more. 

And that’s it! The Scarpinocc filling requires no cooking while the Casoncelli filling is an hours-long labor intensive multi-stage browning of multiple meats which are then minced with a complex array of sauteed pears, soaked raisins, crushed amaretti cookies, garlic, and citrus zest. I get why that’d be a bit much for a three hour class.

After mixing the Scarpinocc filling, we put it aside and prepared the mini omelettes.

Making the Mini Omelettes with Bacon Crust

The mini omelettes, or more accurately frittate, are super easy to make and delicious. I watched as my host mixed eggs, parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper in a bowl. 

Then we went onto his balcony and plucked a tuft of basil leaves growing on his lush plant. He tore the leaves and added them to the mixture.

After lining the cups of the muffin tin with bacon, we poured in the egg mixture, and put the muffin tin in the hot oven. 

You can easily make these in between cooking the other dishes. Allessandro explained that he chooses easy recipes that can easily be made and enjoyed during a three hour cooking session. 

He alternates between specialities of Bergamo like Scarpinocc de Parr or Polenta alla Taragna, and favorites from his family traditions from Emilia. 

I recreated these mini omelettes at home and they were truly easy and delicious. Get the full Mini Omelettes with Bacon Crust Recipe (coming soon).

Forming the Pasta Shapes and Filling Them

While the omelettes were baking, Alessandro taught me how to roll out the pasta dough and cut the shapes. We sprinkled some semolina flour on the pasta board so that the dough wouldn’t stick and started flattening it out.

We kept flattening the dough with the rolling pin, turning it and adding semolina as needed, until it was as thin as possible and the edges started to curl up.Then we used a small glass to cut out circular shapes in the pasta. 

At this point, we made small balls with the filling, put it in the middle of the pasta circles, folded them over, folded them again and pressed down to make the Scarpinocc shape.

Alessandro explained that the name “scarpinocc” comes from a half shoe, half sock that the people in the valley used to wear. This particular pasta shape looks like one of these handmade cloth shoes shepherds wore in the village of Parre.

Alessandro taught me a few more tricks and I tried this out again at home. Get the full Scarpinocc De Parr Recipe (coming soon).

Making the Lemon Mousse

Looking back on my photos, I am not sure when we made this. In fact, I think Alessandro did it all himself and I didn’t even notice. It is seriously that easy. 

However, I recreated it at home and it is so delicious that your friends will be very impressed. No need to tell them how easy it is. Get the full Lemon Mousse Recipe (coming soon). 

What Made this the Best Bergamo Cooking Class for me

This wasn’t just a cooking class, it was spending time in someone’s home in a relaxed, comfortable, and delicious way. Italians are very welcoming, but tourists don’t often get invited into someone’s home in Italy. You usually meet them out for dinner or aperitivo in a public place. 

Alessandro was very comfortable in his own house and even invited his two sons to eat with us at the end. I was not expecting such a wonderful chance to spend time with an Italian family and it was really a highlight of my trip.

He is also very flexible and generous. I was the only one who signed up for a class that day, but Alesssndro didn’t cancel it. He just adapted it to my needs and wants. He picked me up and dropped me off, spoke Italian with me, and even changed the menu just for me. 

I feel lucky to have had this experience with Alessandro as a host since I didn’t know who I was going to get when I signed up. I would definitely cook with Alessandro again, but if he wasn’t available, I would also try another home cook from the Cesarine network.

Would a different cesarina have actually taught me to make casoncelli? Probably not. It is not something that fits well into a three-hour experience. I guess I’ll have to keep working on my nonna invitations to learn this intricate, time-consuming art of my ancestors. Until then, this was the best Bergamo cooking class for me.

If you are ready for an authentic cooking class in Bergamo experience, here’s the class I booked.

Recipes from this class:

• Scarpinocc de Parr (coming soon)
• Mini Omelettes with Bacon Crust (coming soon)
• Lemon Mousse (coming soon)