PASTA MAKING COOKING CLASS
There are certain things you already know about me if you’ve been following the blog for some time, like how much I love brunch, parks and travelling. But perhaps you’d never guessed that I’m a real pasta aficionado! In fact, if I had it my way I would survive on fresh salads, fish and pasta. So, after learning how to make sourdough bread, cinnamon buns and some rather fancy dishes, it was high time I mastered the art of making fresh pasta from scratch!
The workshop I attended took place in Grand Sablon, one of the most beautiful areas in Brussels, where the Aperi Nostrum team organizes various foodie events. Having already tried their “Soirée Trois Champagnes” a while ago for a friend’s birthday and dreaming about this risotto ever since, I knew I was in for a treat. Alessandro, our teacher for the evening, revealed all the tips and tricks of making tagliatelle and tortelli with different flavors. My fellow pasta lovers and I prepared the basic dough using durum wheat semolina, flour, eggs and water and then infused a part of it with red wine. We followed the whole process step-by-step observing, taking notes and of course, working hard to prepare our pasta.
Once the dough was ready, we used a pasta roller to give it the right thickness and made the fillings for our tortelli: Parma ham – goats cheese and ricotta – spinach. The final step was to cut the dough using special kitchen tools and fill it creating all kinds of shapes. Tadah! There it was, fresh pasta ready to be devoured by a famished but very happy group. The process was admittedly long but absolutely worth it. Our hosts cooked the pasta and we all sat together to have a well-deserved dinner: tortelli with butter and sage and tagliatelle with salciccia ragu washed down with Barolo wine. What’s not to love about it?
Thanks again to Alessandro and lovely Elena for the invitation and delicious evening! If you’re keen on learning how to make your own pasta, have a look at Aperi Nostrum’s upcoming events with Bookalokal or Meetup.
*UPDATE Dec 16: Unfortunately, Bookalokal has stopped operating in Brussels.*