Taste of Westchester: Augustine’s Salumeria

213 Halstead Avenue, Mamaroneck, 914-315-6541, www.augustinesny.com
Italian Autumn Fare! Locally inspired and farm driven, the combined talents of husband-and-wife team, Marc Taxiera and Brianne Myers’ restaurant has been awarded a place in the 2024 Michelin guide and voted Best of Westchester. Inspired by grandparents, Augustine and Angelina, who had relocated from Italy, many of the dishes share the love they felt between them. Every Sunday Angelina would make pasta for Augustine for whom the restaurant is named. Augustine made a special fork with bent tongs, for optimal ‘pasta-to-mouth-delivery’ and this is the restaurant’s logo. Chef begins our lesson with a hearty traditional Tuscan soup with bread, kale, cannellini beans, pork, and cabbage that is simply perfect for the coming cold winter months. Ribollita is a type of thick soup that is a specialty of the Tuscany region of Italy. Italian for reboiled, it was originally made by reheating soup that was cooked the day before. The recipe was created as a way to use stale Tuscan bread. The soup’s history dates back to the Middle Ages, when peasants used to collect leftover bread to make the most with what they had. If the soup is served immediately, it is called minestra di pane (bread soup) but it gets tastier a couple days later! Lumache, Italian for “snails”, (Shellbows) is a shell-elbow hybrid that is shaped like a curved tube with a ridged exterior making it perfect for trapping sauces. Our chef shares a delicious lesson on Lumache pasta with shrimp, butternut squash puree, pancetta, and sage. The restaurant’s mantra is to use minimal processing and utilizing local seasonal ingredients. Chef will share a “how to” on a special fall cocktail, Sage Against the Machine, vodka, Heimat white peach, white peach puree, sage-honey, fresh sage. Enjoy this special cocktail for an optional additional $10. Our dolce tonight is a crostata (Italian term for a simple rustic tart, or galette). Learn to make this perfectly crafted apple crostata (free form apple tart) that you will be able to easily replicate at home. Try their newest restaurant, Vida in Thornwood, for delicious Spanish tapas and wonderful cocktails. The couple feels, “Service is best when it is felt and not forced” and it shows in all they do. Always a favorite educator and a most fabulous class!

1 Wednesday, November 12, 5:30-7:30 pm, $25 (+ $25 sampling fee in CASH, payable to instructor; optional cocktail additional $10). #71965