Here’s how we do it. ©St-Hilaire
Making Pasta By Hand
Today we were in the studio all day working on our sunflower collages (to be unveiled tomorrow night) but this afternoon we all took a break to learn how to make home-made pasta. Antoinetta makes fresh pasta for Adorno, the Chef at our Villa a couple days a week.
First you mix it. ©St-Hilaire
Step-by-Step
The first step to home made pasta is to mix flour, eggs, and water. That’s it. You have to have a “feel for it” according to Antoinetta, who’s been making pasta for over 60 years. She cracked them most amazing dark eggs with deep yellow yolks into flour and then added a little bit of water and mixed it up by hand.
Second step is kneading. ©St-Hilaire
I Knead You
The second step is kneading the dough until it becomes the proper consistency, again based on feeling. Antoinetta showed us how she does it, pointing and motioning, because she speaks no English. Another translation day for Our Fearless Leader, Pamela Haack.
One for you, one for me. ©St-Hilaire
Your Turn
Antoinetta cut sections off the ready-to-go dough for each student. The next step would be rolling it out into a thin pasta sheet with wooden dowels that look like table legs.
The fun is in the rolling. ©St-Hilaire
It’s not as easy as she makes it look. ©St-Hilaire
Jill’s got the hang of it. ©St-Hilaire
You can never be too thin. ©St-Hilaire
Cutting and Creating Noodles
The thickness of the cuts determines what the noodle is called. Thick or thin, call it what you want… just don’t call me late for pasta dinner. The Chef, Adorno, will be cooking the fruits of our labor for dinner tonight.
Time for cutting the noodles. ©St-Hilaire
Antoineta shows us how to use the knife to cut noodles that are thick or thin. She even showed us hot to make ravioli and tortellini. Cutting needs to be consistently thin in order to make good noodles. Once all your cuts are made, you shake it out into noodles!
Shaking it out into noodles! Fun in the kitchen1 ©St-Hilaire
Learning from the Master Pasta Maker. Fun in the kitchen1 ©St-Hilaire
Happy Birthday Girl! ©St-Hilaire
Fun in the kitchen! ©St-Hilaire
The students were having so much fun rolling out and learning to cut the pasta in to noodles, they were joking and laughing and having a great time learning about all the hand-made noodles, cooking time, straining, and storing in the freezer.
Teamwork. Fun in the kitchen1 ©St-Hilaire
What a great lesson! We will be served this pasta for dinner, Chef Adorno will pair it with a wonderful sauce, as an appetizer.
Look at my students! Success! Fun in the kitchen1 ©St-Hilaire
This just happened… Fun in the kitchen1 ©fancy iPhone photography. Our pasta made a wonderful first course, Just look at the complexity of those hand-made noodles! Everyone really enjoyed the lesson with Antoineta, who speaks no English, but teaches her trade just fine.
Thank you
for being a part of my
Art Journey,
Join us Next June, 2018!
Next June we will be making the Italy Paper Paintings Retreat journey again from the 10th-16th. We have already sold six spots, and have eight spots remaining. Sign-up before October 1st and take advantage of a five-payment plan with Strada Toscana.
You can get all the details here.
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