As previously mentioned on this blog, I love to take cooking classes in various cities around the world as local food is one of the best things about travel. Bringing home the knowledge to make some of the dishes we try is very rewarding, and not just for Eric’s belly! :)

Because my father-in-law loves Italian food, we gifted a spot in the stuffed pasta course at CIBO (Culinary Institute of Bologna) to my in-laws at Christmas. Amazingly, we were the only two people signed up for the day so we essentially had a private lesson with Gabriella.

We began the class chopping up all the veggies and starting the stock brodo in a pressure cooker so we could use it to flavor the rest of our dishes. During this time, our instructor spoke about traditions and life in Italy… we learned adding wine to bolognese can be considered cheating (but lots of restaurants and home cooks do this) and why you find more tomatoes in sauces as you venture south in Italy (shorter growing season in the North).

 
my FIL chopping away; the beginnings of ragu bolognese (carrots, onion, celery and pork belly in EVOO)

sauce simmering on the left, aromatic pressure cooker broth on the right

The next step was making the dough. It’s a super easy recipe, one egg to 100g flour is about two servings of a primi pasta serving. Double that for a main course. As you can see below, four eggs and 400g flour makes a TON of dough!

We made Tagliatelle (0.5″ wide noodles), Ravioli and Tortelloni. Everything was absolutely delicious and accompanied with a spritzy white and red wine.

The class ran a little late, and I could have easily stayed an extra hour chatting and enjoying our food.

While pricey, I feel like I learned a ton of good information and practical pasta making skills. In fact, I have made the ragu bolognese and handmade pasta twice since we got back, and both attempts were just as delicious as my experience in Bologna. The CIBO course is highly recommended for those that like hands-on cooking classes.