Since moving to Brooklyn last year and finally having a little counter space, I’ve rediscovered my love of cooking – but one thing I’ve never braved is fresh pasta.
Which is where Pazzi Pasta comes in.
I immediately fell in love with Pazzi Pasta’s creative, fresh and delicious dishes when I had lunch there a few weeks ago. After following their Instagram page (which will honestly warm you up just looking at it), I saw they were holding a Valentine’s weekend cooking class, and I thought it’d finally be my chance to no longer be an impasta in the kitchen.
And because it was Valentine’s Day, they threw in some heart-shaped cookies, champagne and endless wine. So if I’m honest, I can’t remember exactly what we did…
Oh, and I also got to take a hot date!
For two hours, owner Sandra patiently taught us how to make pasta dough for ravioli, a spinach and ricotta filling and a pesto before putting it all together to make a glorious bowl of pasta.
The stages were pretty simple, and I was surprised by just how few ingredients were needed: flour and three eggs for the dough; a handful of ricotta, another of spinach and a generous sprinkle of parmesan, salt & pepper for the filling; and two cloves of garlic, about 10 pine nuts, a cup of basil, another sprinkling of parmesan and squeeze of extra virgin olive oil for the pesto.
With the pasta machine (the best part), we learned how to work the dough thinner and thinner before placing it onto a ravioli frame and dotting it with scoops of filling. And we had some extra dough, so also whipped up some tagliatelle.
Look at Ryan and I in action (press play!):
The whole process was so therapeutic and satisfying, and Sandra was great at answering all of our questions. And even better, we got to eat a delicious feast!
This one is still my favorite Valentine’s dish though:
Although we don’t have a pasta machine, I’d be keen to make the ravioli again if I had a good stretch of time one weekend. I’m sure I could get creative with a rolling pin.
…Or I could just head to Pazzi Pasta on Smith Street for some of their already-made bowls of deliciousness.
Pazzi Pasta can be found at 227 Smith Street in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, and they deliver through Seamless. The nearest subway stop is Bergen Street. Keep an eye on their website, Facebook and Instagram for more classes.
I have never made pasta but that looks inspirational especially with the ravioli frame. Looks like Ryan enjoyed himself too x
Thanks! And yes, I think ravioli is the way to go if you don’t have a machine to slice it into strips for you. I’d definitely like to try it out with some other fillings 🙂
Ohh what a brilliant idea!! This looks like so much fun! And I’m loving the glasses of wine everywhere too 😉
Haha, yes, I have no idea how the ravioli turned out so well!
Mmm, that looks SO GOOD! What a fun way to spend Valentine’s Day together!!! I’ve really been trying to expand my arsenal of cooking from strictly breakfast foods to other meals, too…still a far cry away from homemade pasta though;-)
Yes, I’m not sure it’s the sort of thing I’ll be making all the time! But fun all the same 🙂
What a cool class! I would love to do something like this!
Melanie @ meandmr.com
Yes! Who doesn’t love pasta and wine? Fun stuff.