There’s nothing like a morning of pasta-making to make you feel right at home in Italy! Today we felt privileged to meet Nonna Carla – Chef Antonio’s mother-in-law – who shared with us her pasta secrets. And where did she obtain these secrets? From her mother of course, who is 102 years young! Nonna Carla has been making pasta all her life – a tradition she has passed to her daughter Christina and granddaughters Julia and Benedetta.

Pasta 1: A little flour, a little egg, a little olive oil and a pinch of salt, all lovingly mixed together until the dry ingredients are absorbed into the oil and egg.

Pasta 2: Folding and turning and kneading the dough until it is the perfect consistency. Then comes the rolling and gently stretching the dough until it is almost transparent and ready to become tagliatelle, or pappardelle or ravioli. Nonna Carla’s skill has been honed over decades. She treats it lovingly – yet firmly – to create pasta that is incredibly light and delicious.

Pasta 3: Cook then cover with the ragu (sauce) of choice. Today we made several: Bolognese; classic Sicilian with strained tomatoes, eggplant and cheese; vegetarian; wine with baby clam and chick peas; asparagus, sautéed onions, and white fish. The flavor combinations are endless. And for us, they were all so delicious.

The thing is, Nonna Carla makes pasta-making look so easy. And for her, it is, after years of practice. Her pasta portion was 10 times ours, which made us appreciate even more how this is an art that takes time and patience to develop. We know that it is possible to begin small, and with her gentle guidance, we proudly smiled as she encouraged all of our efforts.

 Thanks to Antonio and his wife Christina who shared Nonna Carla with us. Making pasta is possible – we can’t wait to try it at home!