Pasta Night – Culinary Class 15

It would be the understatement of the century if I said that I was looking forward to pasta night at L’Academie de Cuisine, I practically dreaming of class and how amazing it would be! That said, I only eat pasta a couple of times a month so my mouth was salivating as I walked into the kitchen and saw Chef Brian carefully rolling out sheets of golden pasta ready to be eaten.

My main takeaway from class is that good pasta is all about feel. Following a recipe and using the right proportions helps but at the end of the day it’s about how it feels. Humidity plays a huge role in the texture of pasta dough and high humidity days might warrant using more flour to ensure the dough isn’t too sticky. When it comes to rolling out the dough, Chef prefers a holistic approach without any fancy Kitchen Aid pasta rollers, and an old fashioned roller that clips onto your counter top will get the job done.

Oh and 00 flour is best for pasta and pizza dough. It is a high gluten type of flour and aligns with Chef’s argument that “good pasta implies wheat flour.” The gluten gives pasta elasticity and stretches and lightens the dough making for a delicate mouth feel. Because of these properties, overworking the dough can be easy which brings me back to feel. If you can squeeze the pasta in your hands and not have any of it stick to your hands, you’re in good shape!

Feast your eyes on what I ate last week, it won’t disappoint you. And don’t forget to subscribe here to receive my latest post straight to your inbox!