March 2008 - Active Gourmet Holidays

Active Gourmet Holidays remains committed to bringing you new and exciting destinations. Check out our new culinary holidays in SPAIN and FRANCE below. Shortly we will be surprising our clientele with some new and unique destinations so STAY TUNED!

For questions on specific tours, please email info@activegourmetholidays.com or call 1.203.732.0771

Join us for a 10 night Mediterranean Chef Cruise with Tuscan Chef Sandra Rosy Lotti - "The Roman Empire" on Holland America, August 15-25, 2008
We will be sailing from Rome to Greece, Turkey, Croatia, Malta and Sicily and will be taking cooking lessons with one of my favorite Tuscan chefs, Sandra Rosy Lotti whose Italian cooking program "The Flavours of Tuscany" I feature on our website. Chef Sandra Lotti will teach you tips and techniques for creating exciting Tuscan regional dishes. Who better since Chef Lotti is as Tuscan as you can get?! She is known throughout Italy for her cookbooks on Tuscan regional cuisine and her wonderful personality and love of life. This will prove to be a memorable and exciting experience and space is very limited so please inquire for more details!

NEW TOURS!

SPAIN

NEW!- Culinary Delights of Andalusia- Iznájar, Spain - 3 or 6 nights

Stay in a small hilltop Moorish village in Andalusia which overlooks breathtaking views. Your stay will include hands-on cooking classes with a professional chef who is also the owner and along with his lovely wife, you will have a magical week of cuisine, wine, exploration and immersion into this magical place in Andalusia. The farmhouse (finca) where you will be staying has been tastefully restored retaining its charm and beauty indicative of the region. **See Chef Clive's delicious recipe below!
Available year round

COMING SOON!- The Cuisine of Catalonia - Catalonia, Spain - 4 nights

Enjoy professional hands-on cooking classes with Chef Vicenç Fajardo. Chef Fajardo has a diploma from the North Point Institute in Tafe a Brisbane, Australia, where he stayed a few years, and from the cooking school Sant Narcis of Girona, Spain. He started working in some important restaurants of Catalonia such as Fonda Caner, Sa Punta and Arcs de Monells. In 1998 he starts working in the very famous restaurant La Cuina de Can Pipes where he becomes the chef after a few years.

FRANCE

NEW! Active Gourmets in Bordeaux- Bordeaux, France - 6 nights

Enjoy a six night culinary and wine tour in the Entre Deux Mers. We can tailor your holiday and depending on your interests we can include cooking instruction, wine tastings, garden visits, spa, exploration and more. Stay in a lovely bed and breakfast situated on the edge of a small village and get to know the French in this renowned region in France.
Available year round - Saturday to Friday

NEW! Cooking in the Dordogne- Dordogne, France - 7 nights

Take hands-on, personalized cooking classes from a French chef in her 18th century country home. The program includes hands on cooking lessons with daily visits to the local outdoor markets and suppliers to select the freshest ingredients as well as sightseeing visits to the surrounding countryside and villages to discover the authenticity and architecture of this magnificent area.

Available April to October

ADDITIONAL TOURS

ITALY

Yoga and Cooking in Le Marche - Le Marche, Italy - 7 nights

The region of Le Marche awaits you. Join us for a week of self-discovery through yoga practice and hands-on cooking lessons in this hidden part of Italy. You will stay in a traditional country home surrounded by olive trees and wheat fields, take yoga classes from your hostess, cooking classes from a local Italian, visit food and wine producers and visit fortified medieval villages, which are typical of this region.
Available April, May, June, October, November

The Sicilian Gourmet - (Options: Custom Tours) - Sicily, Italy - 7 nights

Explore Sicily's extraordinary ruins, ancient towns and not to be missed attractions with a professional guide. Learn to prepare traditional Sicilian dishes with fun hands-on cooking classes, sample vintage wines at local vineyards and relax each evening in wonderful accommodations. Savour the splendour of Sicily in this unforgettable journey where you will become a Sicilian for a week.
Available March to December

Active Gourmet Goes Tuscan - Tuscany, Italy - 5 nights

Active Gourmet Holidays is offering an unforgettable getaway to the renowned Villa San Michele Cookery School in Florence. Nourish your senses, refuel your body and replenish your spirit with a savory array of food and wine tours, paired with culinary education, visits to Chianti wine cellars, shopping in Florence with a personal shopper and visits to the artistic treasures of Monteriggioni, San Gimignano and Siena.

ONLY ONE DATE IN 2008 - OCTOBER 12-17 - LIMITED AVAILABILITY!!

RECIPE OF THE MONTH - "Culinary Delights in Andalusia"
"Asado de rape con habas, chorizo y almejas"

(Roast monkfish tail with broad beans, chorizo and clams)

We would like to present this recipe to you as here in Spain we adore monkfish and broadbeans and the latter is now in season. We pick our own from our organic garden and prepare them as soon as they get picked.

Serves 4

Ingredients (For the broth)

200g fresh clams scrubbed in cold water (and throw away any that are open)

200g broad beans (pods removed)

100g frying chorizo

100g eating chorizo

4 shallots finely diced

4-6 cloves garlic finely sliced

2 ripe tomatoes peeled and diced

2 bay leaves finely sliced

2 tbsp fresh thyme finely chopped

1 sprig rosemary finely chopped

1 small bunch fresh parsley finely chopped

1 tbsp sweet paprika

6-8 pepper corns lightly crushed

2-3 cloves lightly crushed

3 tsp olive oil

250 ml chicken stock

Method

1. Place the broad beans in boiling water, slightly salted, and cook rapidly for 1-2 mins. Remove and cool.

2. In a large heavy sauce pan, heat the olive oil and gently fry the chorizo.

3. Add the shallots and garlic and cook until they become translucent.

4. Next add the paprika, bay leaf, peppercorns and cloves and cook a little longer.

5. Remove from heat, set aside in a large bowl. Whilst still hot, toss in the chopped herbs and cooked broad beans. Cover and leave to rest.

6. When ready to serve, add chicken stock and slowly bring to the boil and add the clams. Cover and allow to cook for 2-3 mins or until the shells begin to open.

Ingredients (For the fish)

4 x 150-15g pieces of monkfish tail

50g seasoned flour

2 tbsp olive oil

Method

1. Lightly flour the fish.

2. Heat the frying pan and add olive oil and quickly fry and seal the monkfish.

3. Put the pan into a pre-heated oven for 12-15 mins. The fish should be firm to touch.

Monkfish - do you know why this fish is called the Monkfish? The legend has it the head is removed from the fish as soon as it is brought to the boat because it is so ugly, hence never seen the head, like a monk with his hood hiding his face. But should you be lucky enough to come across with the whole Monkfish (it is readily available these days...), make sure you remove the cheeks that are fantastic for frying and the bones make the excellent fish stock or soup.