01/10/2025
One of the highlights of our trip was getting to hang out with Barbara from ! (We missed you Monica - hope you’re feeling better!)
Our passion for homemade pasta began on our first trip to Italy in 2022. We had a pasta class with Barbara and Monica that year! It was also our first trip to Emilia-Romagna which is a region we’ve fell in love with and visited multiple times. The typical regional food there is hand rolled pasta. There’s a lot that plays into developing a passion for hand rolled pasta, but our first pasta class with them in a small apartment kitchen was undoubtedly a large piece of the story.
Barbara and Monica are both legitimate pasta rollers. They make pasta for a few local restaurants and events in the area in addition to their cooking classes. We talked at length about the different recipes we plan to use in our filled pastas as we look forward to the autumn flavors. It was lovely to catch up, share pasta stories, and reunite like old friends.
Our favorite part was how happy Barbara was that we’re in Pittsburgh sharing our love of traditional hand rolled pasta. It’s an art form that is on the decline because it’s physically challenging and takes time, so less people are wanting to do it. She was thrilled that people are learning about her region’s history and food across the world. When you love something such as this, you want people to learn about it, love it, and keep the tradition alive!
Slow food is beautiful, delicious, and brings people together. That’s why we love it.