Pasta Mamma

Go to class or learn to make pasta from scratch? The fact that I actually had to think about that question really makes me question my moral code. Obviously, I opted for the pasta. Last night, I attended a pasta making class. It was by far, one of the most exciting things I’ve done since I arrived in Italy (it’s the little things!). Each working table was set up with a bag of flour, six eggs, and a rolling pin. Our instructor, a 30-something Italian wine maker and restaurant consultant led us through the process. We made “mountains” that became “volcanoes,” filled them with eggs, olive oil, and salt, and then meticulously pinched the eggs until a sticky dough was formed. I was a mess, and totally thrilled.

The instructor (whose name escapes me), taught us first to make fettuccini. He explained that every “fettuccini-like pasta has a different name, all depending on the pasta’s width. After rolling our dough so that it was super thin, we rolled it into a cylinder, cut it into pieces, and unrolled our fettuccini. It was that easy!

He also taught us how to make tortellini and ravioli. Apparently, you can put anything into these two pastas as long as it has the consistency of mashed potatoes…which was exactly what we used. It was like stuffing pasta with gnocchi! Obviously, I munched on the potatoes as I stuffed my pasta. The tortellini was difficult to make, and involved a lot of precision, but the result was incredible.

With our fresh egg pasta and rolling pins, we were sent home to feast! I met the Italian of my dreams (an old English-speaking woman whose main passion is cooking) on the bus, but arrived at my stop before I could confess my undying love. My roommates have suggested I wait for her at the bus stop at the same time next week. Is that stalking?

I arrived at my wonderful apartment to the smell of baking lasagna and was greeted with a glass of wine. We ate my fettuccini and gnocchi tortellini as an appetizer and used my leftover dough to make some creations of our own!

The result was delicious and I’ll definitely be making pasta on a weekly basis. Pantry Raid anyone?