Needham Community Education

Spinach extends its popularity to the Indian continent with great zest. Spinach is a seasonal vegetable, so while it is available, home-cooks try to incorporate it daily in their meal plans. There are hundreds of recipes that use spinach generously. In this class, we will make three popular dishes with spinach or “palak” as it is known in India: Palak-Paneer, a very famous north Indian curry with onions, pungent spices and paneer; Palak Pulao of basmati rice with spinach, tomatoes, brown sugar and garam masala with peanuts and cashews; and Spinach Dal with coconut milk, healthy lentil dal soup with onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic and coconut milk. Let’s go green! Note: A $20 ingredients fee is payable to the instructor in class.

We all love dumplings! Dumplings are versatile and easy to prepare. Spend a late afternoon learning how to make chicken and/or vegetable dumplings with delicious homemade sauce from scratch. First, we will make the wrappers. Then, we’ll prepare the filling. Finally, we will turn our dumplings into potstickers or gyoza. There will be options for vegan or other meats if you prefer. An ingredient list can be found here.

The Bible includes many descriptions of food ingredients, but fewer details about the dishes. We read stories of feasting, of food being prepared as an expression of generous hospitality, and to celebrate important occasions. But how exactly has this food been prepared, how was it served or eaten, and how did it taste? We can recreate some of these ancient flavors based on the biblical text, the cooking methods that our ancestors used, and the ingredients that are native to the historical region. Our feast will start with the biblical story or the reference; we will use ingredients that are easy to source to this day, and simple, primitive prep and cooking techniques. Dishes will include flatbread with spiced meat, legume dish, lentil pancakes, freekeh, bitter leaves salad, and fruit cake. This class takes place in the instructor’s home, and some dishes will be cooked outdoors if the weather permits. Dishes will be mostly demonstrated by the instructor. All prepared dishes will be served throughout the class.

Refreshing Aperol Spritzes are the perfect summer cocktail. In this class, you will learn how to mix an Aperol Spritz AND you will create a beautiful flower arrangement, inspired by the cocktail. Bring kitchen shears or flower snips. A $22 materials fee is payable to the instructor in cash.

Fermented foods have been a part of the human diet for thousands of years, and they transcend cultures, and continents. Initially utilized as a preservation method, fermentation increases the bioavailability of nutrients in food, and introduces helpful bacteria into our bodies that aid in digestion, and offer health benefits that we are only beginning to understand as scientists explore the microbiome. If you have fresh fruits and vegetables, salt, water (sometimes), and a container, you have what you need to ferment food. This pair of classes will introduce students to the basics of fermentation: what it is, what you need to do to ferment, how to do it, and what to look out for. Each class will have a primary theme, and then a short, “diversion,” with something related to fermentation, but slightly different from the main theme of the class. By the end of the session the student will have learned the basics of fruit and vegetable fermentation – which will hopefully lead them to further exploration of this fascinating, fun, and delicious practice. An ingredients list can be found here.

Join Holli Bassin as she invites you into her kitchen while she prepares a delicious, organic, gluten-free and dairy-free meal. This is a tasting, cooking class and workshop rolled into one! The menu will include appetizers, homemade butternut squash and apple soup, GF / DF lasagna, and pumpkin cake with frosting for dessert. As everyone gathers around the dining room table to enjoy the meal, Holli will engage you in chat about the food, her thoughts on how and why to improve your diet, and recommendations regarding substitute ingredients. There will be plenty of time for questions; and you will go home with the recipes, a full stomach and many tips for making improvements to suit your own personal preferences. Note: Some recipes will include nuts.

Close your eyes and imagine you are on one of the crowded streets of Mumbai. Let a few seconds pass, and allow yourself to be enveloped with sweet, spicy, pungent, and flavorful aromas of all kinds wafting through the air. This is the street fare of India. Every street is filled with small vendors selling a variety of savory dishes prepared on site. There are no tables and chairs; you are expected to stand on the street and consume your food. However, the inconvenience is more than made up for by the delicious food at your fingertips. This class will replicate a sampling of these foods, such as: Aloo-chaat (medley of potato, onion and crispy wafers smeared with yogurt and pungent spices), Pav-Bhaji (highly spiced, stewed curry of vegetables to be served with buttered bread), and Falooda, a dessert from the Mogul era of flavored milk with rose syrup, rice noodles and topped with ice cream. Come join us for a walk through the street fare of India. Note: A $20 ingredients fee is payable to the instructor in class.

Falafel is probably the most famous street food in Israel; however, if you stroll through the streets of Tel Aviv (or any other town in Israel), there are so many more quick, inexpensive street food experiences. From shawarma to schnitzel in a pita, vegetable latkes, sabich, and boureks, to the Jerusalem bagel that rules the streets of Jerusalem's Old City. Small stalls or holes-in-the-wall offer these delicious and satisfying meals for a dime. When our instructor, an Israeli native, moved outside the country, she quickly learned how to prepare homemade versions of these street classics. In this class, hosted in the instructor’s home, she will share these iconic street flavors along with plenty of cooking tips and simple skills that will help you bring these dishes into your own kitchen. Cooking will be mostly demonstrated by the instructor. All prepared dishes will be served throughout the class.

If you love maki rolls, you will have fun learning how to make Futomaki, Spicy Salmon and Temaki (cone maki) rolls at home. We will cover every step in the process, from preparing ingredients, cooking sushi rice and rolling. While preparing our sushi maki rolls, we will talk about the history and culture behind this long Japanese tradition. You will also learn how to properly cut and serve each style of maki sushi. The leftover ingredients will be used to make a Chirashi Sushi Bowl. An ingredient list can be found here.

Port and Sherry are two very famous and well known "fortified" wines. Often sweet, sometimes dry, these wines offer a staggering array of smells and tastes that captivate and mesmerize. Ideal for serving on the festive table, Port and Sherry are natural accompaniments to holiday dinners. At this event, we will sample a wide variety of Ports and Sherries, some sweet and some dry, but all delicious. Come hungry, as the wines will be paired with a delicious meal, prepared under the talented Cappella chef/owner, Rob Picardi. Note: A wine fee of $15 per person is payable in class.