The best thing about eating pasta in Italy? It’s free from the “evil carbs” baggage that it gets burdened with back home. No, Italian pasta doesn’t make you “fat” – just look at all the Italians. As our local guide explained, Italians don’t eat pasta drenched in creamy, fatty sauces. Our idea of a spaghetti bolognaise is virtually foreign to them and a carbonara in Italy is made using eggs, not truckloads of cream. As a side note, cooking pasta ‘al dente’ was also an American invention – good luck finding it in Italy.

Now that pasta’s name has been cleared of any misdoings, give it another chance. Even better, learn how to make it the Italian way.

When I was in Rome this past September, I did a cooking class with Fabio’s Fabbiolous Cooking Day at Thats Amore. We made two types of pasta from scratch; one with eggs and one without.

While our pasta making skills left a lot  to be desired, the kitchen staff did a great job of taking our sorry looking pasta and cooking it to perfection. It was fun, hands on and the dinner at the end was delicious – especially the entree, which is essentially leftovers wrapped in bread. Amazing. I would have been nice to be able to cook the whole meal from start to finish, but I find this rarely happens in cooking classes. Le sigh.

There were around thirty of us to hold the growing sheet of pasta as it was pressed through the pasta roller, at a rate we could hardly keep up with. How do Italians do this so easily at home?

“We have a lot of children.”

Have you done any cooking classes while on holiday? 

Love Italy? Read more here.

Love cooking? Read about my Paris cooking class here.

Just love food? Click here.

Genevieve Lauren

Hello! I’m an Australian travel blogger, living in Melbourne, Australia. I grew up in Brisbane, studied in Paris, lived & worked in New York City and now live in Melbourne, Australia.

I love sharing specific and useful recommendations, itineraries and guides for the most beautiful things to see, do, experience & eat wherever I go.

My favourite travel destinations are Australia, New York City & surrounds, France, Greece & Japan, but I’m always excited to explore somewhere new!

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