Adventure: Emotional plates of Pasta in Italy
My near and dear. I have a slightly dangerous obsession with pasta. It was my main impulse to book this whole trip. But let me tell you, as most plates of pasta are, this trip hasn’t been disappointing in the slightest.
My favourite food in the world is Spaghetti al Pomodoro. I couldn’t find it on this trip, probably because you rarely use spaghetti in Italy. I’m a basic girl that loves tomatoes a dangerous amount.
I had the chance of eating pasta with tomato sauce twice this trip. Once at the train station with Penne and the other time with fresh Fettucine made by my dear new friends Nonna Angela e Nonna Nerina.
This trip was booked with the sole mission of learning how to really make fresh pasta. I got a first-hand class by true Italians who have been eating pasta every day and making pasta for 75 years! Can you believe it?
I’m an extremely emotional person, as you already know and having this opportunity was very overwhelming. My most memorable meals this trip included pasta. But the memories created surrounding this dish have had a great impact on my life already. The people I met during these times have given me a sense of the Italian culture and how many incredible people I have met.
I will be sharing pasta recipes when I get back to Vancouver and can test them out myself. This post is about the pasta-eating experiences that made me tear up multiple times.
“Il Vero Alfredo”
For my parent's honeymoon, more than 20 years ago, they were lucky enough to take a cruise around the Mediterranean. One of their in-land stops was Rome, which my Dad knows like the palm of his hand, he will claim.
For dinner one night they went to “Alfredo di Roma” to eat the real Fettuccine Alfredo. The real version of this dish doesn’t have any form or cream. It has butter, parmesan cheese and warm fettuccine. It is mixed with rapid motions so the cheese meals and it's mixed to the pasta. It is saucier than you would expect and not as heavy. The portion was perfect.
Going back to the restaurant my parents went to during the beginning of their time together did give me ‘the feelings’. I could see them sitting in the corner of the restaurant all in love chatting about what spot they would hit next. My dad would be chatting with the extremely nice waiters while my mom would be studying the map. They would enjoy a meal that would become a staple in their relationship and they had no idea. Twenty-plus years later, their eldest daughter would be eating in that same restaurant thinking how grateful she is to be here and to have amazing and adventurous parents.
It was emotional, and delicious and to wrap it all up I made a new friend. Raffaelle Diana was my waiter that evening, we exchanged Instagram accounts. He practices Portuguese and I practice my Italian. He was very kind as I told him why I was there and how emotional it made me. He has been working in the restaurant for five years and is also a great and ambitious cook in his spare time. His favourite dish is Fettuccine alla Bolognese. Meeting Raffelle was the icing on top of the cake. A real Italian experience, meeting people with such kind hearts.
It's obvious to say that this meal had a huge impact on my trip/life. It felt like the close of a chapter, a full-circle moment with my parents. To top it all off, I got fettuccine and a new friend.
Making fresh pasta in Palombara Sabina
When I'm old, I always said that I want to be an Italian Nonna, or at least have an Italian Nonna. After this experience, I no longer need to marry into an Italian family since I will take full responsibility for making pasta for everybody.
I have been sharing how much I have cried with happiness this trip and on my way to and from Palombara Sabina, I couldn’t stop.
It's extremely overwhelming to live out a dream after so much hard work and a very depressing pandemic. You are on your computer researching trips and you stumble upon this tour that had a Nonna making pasta with the kindest smiles and you wish to be with them one day. And then one day, there you are. In their kitchen boiling water for the fresh Ravioli that you just made. I still feel that that was just a dream. It was a real-life dream.
Palombara Sabina is 40min away from Rome by car. The region is known for their cherries and olive oil. The castle on the very top of the hill is surrounded by beautiful farms. The spirit of the village is still there, lively due to their exports and their pasta classes.
We arrived at around 10 am on Friday, April 8 and were greeted by Marina, our tour guide and translator for the day. She took us to see the castle and told us a little about the history of the village. Palombara Sabina is a very round town. It is surrounded by big-city walls that have a big hole in the very middle where villagers would drop buckets of olive oil onto the enemies so they couldn’t stand and would slide down the hill never to be seen again. The most Italian way to battle, slide them with olive oil.
We were then taken to Nonna Angela’s house where she had set the table for our class which as soon as I saw it sparked a huge ball of excitement inside me. Nonna Angela is extremely lively, always smiling and giving you food. She was as excited as we were to be there. We chatted a bit in Italian and she even used me as a translator once but I was too nervous.
Then arrived Nonna Nerina, the pasta Master, the Beyonce of Pasta as some would call her. She arrived with a napkin filled with candies for everybody. They said it is very common to see her with treats. She will always have chocolate and biscuits around to offer you. Nonna Nerina started this experience with her daughter Chiara almost 7 years ago. It has grown drastically over the years and now more Nonnas around the village give classes. They offer online classes too. Here is the link to their website: HANDMADE PASTA WITH GRANDMA
Before we started we had some deliciously perfect Bruschetta and Prosecco. They drizzled some extra olive oil from the region on top, delicious. I bought a bottle to take home, not for my enemies, but to eat. They all looked at me and threatened me not to use it for cooking. That would be a waste of flavour so Bruschetta it is.
When we started, Nonna Nerina took the lead on the main dough to make Fettuccini for everybody. Our dough was used to make Farfalle which we added Pesto di Pistacchio and Ricotta and Spinach Ravioli with sage and butter. I’m still dreaming about how delicious it all was and how beautiful it looked:
We all got a turn rolling and cutting the big dough so we could get a fill on how to do it. I’m excited to make Fettuccini without the machine. I know it won't be as easy as Nonna Nerina made it look. My next purchase is the big rolling pin. It will make the process easier, I believe. I still need a lot of practice with the rolling movement, but we all need to start somewhere.
For dessert we had Pizza dolce a type of sweet bread with oranges, espresso and a big Easter egg since easter was around the corner.
Nonna Nerina and Nonna Angela spoke in Italian all the time. I was lucky enough to be able to understand. They are so funny and quick. Having lunch with them felt like having a home-cooked meal at home. Yes, the food was fresh and delicious but the company is what I’m holding on to the most. In the end, Nonna Nerina mentioned that this experience, of showing tourists how to make pasta, gave her a second life after her husband passed away. How lucky are we to be able to receive her knowledge and spread her techniques around the world.
I am very determined to bring them to Vancouver for a class. I think they would love the city, our local chefs would love the experience. Nonna Nerina loves to travel so let's see if I can make this happen.
As you can see my pasta experience in Italy was more than just the dish. I was surrounded by incredible people with overwhelmingly good hearts. I can’t wait until I try one of the recipes and honour the experiences I got. This is an attempt to try and bring with me a little of the heart of Italy.
This is gold!!! "Going back to the restaurant my parents went to during the beginning of their time together did give me ‘the feelings’. I could see them sitting in the corner of the restaurant all in love chatting about what spot they would hit next. My dad would be chatting with the extremely nice waiters while my mom would be studying the map. They would enjoy a meal that would become a staple in their relationship and they had no idea. Twenty-plus years later, their eldest daughter would be eating in that same restaurant thinking how grateful she is to be here and to have amazing and adventurous parents."
Now that my tears dried off... what a great piece!