For a foodie, and probably Italians, pasta is one of life’s great pleasures.
As an ingredient, it is a reliable base yet still versatile, and somehow each carb-filled bite feels familiar and comforting no matter what you add (unless you get a microwave meal but let’s not even go there right now).
Homemade pasta is even better but if you have no idea where to start (and don’t have a nonna or nonno to teach you how to turn flour into magic), we’ve got great news.
Pasta Evangelists hosts a range of master classes on how to make your own pasta, including a Valentine’s Day special for Cupid’s upcoming weekend – aptly-named ‘Love Knot‘.
If you’ve already got plans or prefer to avoid the romantic vibes altogether, the Pasta Academy has several options that focuses on flavours and traditions from different parts of the famous boot country.
From Rome to the Amalfi coast or all the way to Umbria, also known as the ‘Green Heart of Italy’ – which is the class we tried.
Umbria is known for its hand-cut wheat pasta known as Strangozzi (also Stringozzi) with the rustic version made with semolina flour, water and salt – but more modern versions (such as the one we made) includes eggs.
We are welcomed at the Queensway restaurant with a tasty antipasti and a glass of bubbly – the class included bottomless Prosecco – as our instructor explained what we can expect.
Donning a fetching apron and with the determination to sculpt the pasta equivalent of Michelangelo’s David, we begun.
And it was… disturbingly easy? So much so, that I wondered why I hadn’t been making pasta all along.
The semolina flour should be spread across a wooden board. Always wood, never plastic as the natural material absorbs the humidity, which is an important part of the process.
For every egg, add 100g of flour and remember to ‘activate the gluten’. In other words, knead the dough.
The instructor told us it should be ‘bounce’ back when ready.
Then let the dough rest under an airtight container (a bowl will do just fine), which is cue for ‘More Prosecco, per favore’.
Laughter was heard across the room as we sipped our drinks and waited for the next step, and the entire session felt much like a family dinner.
Any awkwardness among strangers rolled away with our rolling pins as we tried to get the dough as thin as possible.
Once achieved, it was time for the best part: the cutting – and how to cut the pasta is entirely the maker’s choice.
If you want pappardelle, make it wide. For fettuccine, go a little thinner.
Or if you really want to have fun, make little farfalle butterflies.
Cooking time for fresh pasta is much faster; two to three minutes will do for thinner shapes, with thicker ones stretching to around four minutes.
When the pasta floats, it’s ready.
Our dish is served with a delicious truffle sauce, which we thankfully didn’t have to make ourselves.
For a jaded Londoner, a pasta class will not only please your palate, it will revive your soul.
Forget boring bottomless brunches with lukewarm eggs and avocado on toast; two-hour pasta making with pals is so much more fun, albeit a little pricier at £68 per person.
You’ll never look at supermarket pasta the same way again.
The Love Knot sessions run from 13 to 15 February at a variety of the brand’s restaurants.
