no Kitchen Orphan

Fresh Egg Pasta Making in Modena

The picture above shows Ivonne Galli at work, displaying on wooden boards the freshly made Tagliatelle that together with other 26 people I made last week in Modena. The evening was organised by La Citta' degli Alberi in association with Slow Food and thanks to my friend and food mentor Nico Lusoli I could attend and begin my initiation into the magic world of "sfoglia" (pastry). Ivonne is one of the traditional "rezdore", women that have been at the heart of the food culture in Emilia Romagna since the post war era. Slow Food has dedicated a whole project to the story and role of this mothers and goddesses of the house.
I've always been fascinated by this home tradition, where grandmas and aunts taught their children since the early years how to make tagliatelle, ravioli and the much loved tortellini. It seems like only few families have kept this tradition alive due to the changes in lifestyle and the pace of things, but also to the changed role of women in society. However, there are people like myself who are getting tired of a work life where very rarely things are tangible. Below are pics of me and the other attendants making pasta from scratch. 1 egg per 100 gr of  flour type 00: this is how Ivonne taught it, although I heard of other recipes that I am going to explore further. Fresh pasta is so good and the process of making it is fascinating.