Eating is one of my favorite hobbies, followed by cooking somewhere along the line. I love cooking, but must admit, it is not one of my greatest strengths. Mostly because I have not taken the time to learn. You can excel at anything if you only take the time to learn, right? I have always wanted to take a cooking class in Venice Italy. Venice is a classic Italian city with a unique cuisine and many home based cooking classes. There are many different types of cooking classes that will teach you all about Italian fare – pasta, pizza, gelato, risotto, seafood, bruschetta, veggies and more! We elected to take a pasta making class to learn the true art behind creating our favorite carb.
We selected Mama Isa’s pasta making master class based on 5-star TripAdvisor reviews. Mama Isa runs a fantastic cooking school out of her beautiful home, just outside of Venice in Padua. We took a 45 minute regional train from Venice to Padua and caught a taxi to the home of Mama Isa. I loved the adventure of going to someone’s home to take a cooking class. It felt authentic . It gave us a real perspective on true Italian culture.
We first created fresh egg pasta dough using flour and egg. It begins by making a circle with the flour, placing an egg in the middle, and slowly stirring the mixture until it results in dough. Depending on the type of pasta, you will most likely send the dough through a hand roller.
We made fresh pappardelle with tomato sauce and ravioli with spinach and ricotta filling and a butter sage sauce. I cannot wait to make both recipes again! We enjoyed each dish with perfect wine pairings and finished off the meal with Mama Isa’s homemade limoncello.
I simply loved getting to know a local Italian family. It is such a rare opportunity to be welcomed into the home of a stranger and be taught history and culture from their perspective. We shared many a laugh over American cooking traditions. Especially the age old rule – “throw pasta against the wall, if it sticks, it is done cooking”. I am ecstatic to take my skills home and share them with my friends and family! Mama Isa’s cooking class will forever remain a sweet memory from our Italy trip.
