Last night, I took an at home cooking class on making pasta. It was hosted and taught by Valentina. It was held in her apartment in Verona. The apartment was all set up as a cooking studio.

There were seven of us altogether, Adrian and Diana (Romanians), Rebecca and Eli (mother and 16 year old son from Seattle), Chloe and Ziggy (restauranteurs from the Netherlands). I had been kind of nervous about the class as I was not sure who was attending and being solo at times you can feel left out but it turned out to be a fantastic time!

The class consisted of learning how to make two kinds of pasta – tagliatelle and ravioli. The tagliatelle was standard flour and egg pasta. The ravioli was made of green pasta that was made green by adding matcha tea to the flour. As well as learning those two types of pasta, Vallie showed use how to make two colored farfalle with a pasta that had paprika and some chili powder and chocolate pasta. 

I have made pasta by hand before but I learned techniques that will make my pasta even better in the future. The main thing I learned was how to roll it so it comes out with the right texture and shape. Previously I had always been sort of haphazard with the rolling but Valli taught me how to look at each side after it is rolled in the first few times and to fold so the less attractive side is always folded onto itself. This gives for a better look and feel for the finished pasta. Also, I now know how pasta should feel before you start the rolling to make it thin and the size that you want it to be. I should now be a pro at pasta making.

The class was very hands on and everyone in the group was really engaged and interested in learning so there was good camaraderie in the group. One of the interesting parts was that Eli, the 16 year old, was really into cooking. He was very intense about learning and did most of the work even for his mother.

After we had made the pasta, Valli offered us wine and cheese while she prepared sauces for the pasta. Valli’s partner came and joined us for dinner. David was very funny and completely engaged with the class. He was the one who had chosen the wine and was friends with the producer of the wine.

We all ate dinner together and enjoyed the pasta we had made. Both sauces, lemon, olive oil, chives and pepper for the tagliatelle and tomatoes, ricotta and olive oil for the ravioli were simple but fantastic. As we ate we talked about where we were from, what we did and how we all came to be in Verona. It was nice to spend time with strangers who became friends while cooking. 

It truly has been one of the highlights of the trip so far.

After the class, I gave Rebecca and Eli a quick walking tour of Verona. They were only in Verona for the day as they were staying in Venice for Christmas week. We walked back through the Piazza Erbe, through the Christmas Market, passed Guilietta’s house and to the river so they could head back to their AirBnB. It was fun to be able to show what I know of Verona to others.

All in all it was a great evening! Thanks to Valli’s Homeade!