Chef at Forte Tapas leads online cooking classes

Home cooking doesn’t need to be a solitary affair, even in this era of social distancing. To help combat loneliness in the kitchen, Forte Tapas’ Nina Manchev has launched a series of online cooking classes called Cooking with Nina.

Participants can pre-purchase ingredients needed to make a dish, pick them up at Forte on a Saturday, then prepare them along with Manchev during a Sunday afternoon streaming session on Facebook Live and Instagram Live.

“I just wanted to do something that would be interactive,” Manchev says. “And since people can’t come into the restaurant, it’s kind of like we can all (still) do something together.”

The series launched March 22, with a lesson on how to make Machev’s signature biscuit cake. The next lesson, set for 3 p.m. Sunday, involves a savory favorite from the Forte menu: a Thracian Clay Pot of vegetables, chilies, sausage, cheese, egg, olive oil and paprika.

“It’s a super-easy dish,” Manchev promises. “And it’s nice because it can be modified to vegan (or) vegetarian.”

Interested cooks can pre-purchase the package for $30 (inlcuding the reusable clay pot) at SecretBurger.com and pick up the ingredients from 3 to 8 p.m. Saturday at 4180 S. Rainbow Blvd.

Contact Al Mancini at amancini@reviewjournal.com or 387-5250. Follow @AlManciniVegas on Twitter.