Pasta is something very serious in Italy. Everybody knows.
It is the main course that everybody likes the most and can never be missing on the table, or the dish that chefs work the most to make it innovative , or the simplest and healthiest in the world. It derives from family recipes, thus creating rivalries and funny – though sometimes very intense – discussions and representing a real regional map of Italy’s gastronomic variety.
A real treasure; a bomb of carbohydrates; a Must; a dream of Italy’s best foodie experiences.
If in Southern Italy, hard wheat pasta is the most common version – think of Spaghetti with fresh tomato sauce, good extra virgin olive oil and basil, as a synonym for essential Italian cuisine and a symbol for the heathly Mediterranean dietary model, in the North of Italy, it all becomes more complicated.
Food and cuisine in the Emilia region is “fat” just like one of the nicknames of Bologna (la grassa), the political capital of the Emilia-Romagna region. Besides the variety of cured meats, fresh egg pasta is our main course; so much so, visitors may not know or may read in menus “bis or tris” of pasta. That’s pretty common for locals to select 2 or 3 types of pasta (little portions) in the same plate, and skip the second course.
In Emilia-Romagna, we could connect the provinces of Parma, Modena, Bologna, Ferrara, and Ravenna – like the existing Via Emilia – to plan an authentic gastronomic trip where in a few miles, recipes change and where details all have a reason behind, all have a story behind.
If Ravenna, almost on the Adriatic sea, is kind of separate for (egg-free) Strozzapreti twisted pasta – we can’t wait to tell you the story behind – the Emilia region, the Eastern part of Emilia-Romagna is famous for the “sfoglia” the thin layer of egg pasta, freshly made by the traditional rolling pin, which will become a particular type of pasta thanks to pasta makers’ passion and devotion.
Let us emphasize “fresh” pasta, because locals who go to restaurant in Modena or Bologna want fresh homemade egg-pasta. If not they would immediately understand it’s not fresh, and never step in, again.
Ask anyone the best restaurant they have been? Their mom’s home.
Modena and Bologna are historically rivals and often funnily debate on the ingredients and origin of the culinary tradition of stuffed pasta, we are so used to this, and this is part of our storytelling in our Artisanal Food Tours and Cooking Experiences.
Every typical trattoria or restaurant of any level has family members, maybe the grandma, making fresh pasta or pasta makers who go there daily to make plenty of different types of pasta.
Tortellini, Lasagne, Tagliatelle, Tortelloni, Tortellacci, Anolini, Tortelli, Gramigna, Stricchetti (or farfalle, bow-ties), Maccheroncini al torchio, Ravioli, Rosette, Cannelloni all have the same base: flour and eggs, and the art of kneading, mixing and rolling gently the sfoglia.
Pasta should be thin and its t
ùexture depends on the type of size we’d like to obtain: harder, softer, more or less water not to dry…Seems easy but it is not! Many of you already know!
In the first place, we have to mention the most classic tradition of Tortellini served in Capon broth – whose paternity is claimed by the little village of Castelfranco dell’Emilia – on the border between Bologna e Modena, connected to quite an interesting story on how and who invented the particular shape of the iconic Tortellino.
Then the Tagliatelle (not spaghetti PLEASE – that’s a popular fake around the world) Bolognaise ragù style, Green Lasagne, yellow, green or multiple color Tortelloni, Tortellacci from Ferrara filled with pumpkin, no more than 5 per dish or they do not fit the plate, being so big, the Tortelli alle erbette typical of Parma, recently declared Unesco Creative City for Gastronomy, Modena’s Rosette that very few visitors know but that represent the real local baked pasta for Modena’s people.
Why such a long introduction? Because in our diverse cooking classes around Modena, Bologna and Parma, we’ve tried to offer different experiences to make them richer and more interesting, thus meeting our guests’ different demands, also being as creative as possible, considering the huge and confused offer of pasta cooking classes in our region and in Italy in general.
How? We like the colors – all from original derivatives, the green from spinach, the red from rapa rossa) of the dough, the variety of size and fillings: typical or seasonal.
Our farm to fork cooking classes are focuses on picking vegetables from the veg garden, herbs, to create and cook based on seasonal ingredients.
In other cooking classes, we propose the classic and evergreen local pasta dishes with the best ingredients, such as Tagliatelle al ragu (bolognaise) and that is already a big issue since Modena and Bologna, valley to mountains have different ideas on the preparation of the ragù meat sauce.
Others are a way of inclusion and solidarity such as the Tortellini making experience with Massimo Botturas’ young adults at Il Tortellante Association in Modena.
Now, we have just designed a Pasta cooking class which emphasizes creativity, colors, thanks to the professionalism of a pasta lab where quality and flavor equal creativity and love for this job.
Imagine a huge wooden board full of different shapes and colors, just like a painting experience. Why? To give our new ideas for when they go back home.
Pasta is color, tradition, but also a bridge towards the future.
Blue and Yellow are the colors of Modena
We can’t wait to have you on board for our variety of pasta experiences. Color your table with Emilia’s creative egg-pasta.
Email us for more information; we will propose the perfect cooking experience for you.
Katia – Founder of Emilia Storytellers
