Pasta: The River Cottage Way
from £245.00
A day in the cookery school making fresh pastas - from classic recipes to those with a seasonal and local twist.
Learn how to mix, knead, roll, cut, shape and cook different varieties of traditional fresh pasta from scratch, and create seasonal sauces to complement them.
You’ll begin your day by familiarising yourself with the key ingredients needed to make great pasta, with a focus on the importance of sourcing organic eggs. Our chef tutor will teach you how to use a variety of British flours - depending on the day, we might use wholemeal, spelt, or even pea!
We’ll then get stuck into kneading your own doughs. First, you will make your own egg pasta and use this to create a number of shapes, as well as a delicious stuffed tortellini or ravioli. You will also learn to make an amazingly versatile semolina dough and homemade gnocchi. Adding another River Cottage twist, you will learn how to make a green, half-wholemeal tagliatelle using either spinach or nettles and local flours.
Our chef will guide you through the preparation, shaping and cooking of your doughs, and you will accompany them with freshly made sauces such as a classic tomato sauce, carbonara and a delicious puttanesca.
By the end of the day, you will leave with your own hand-crafted creations such as tagliatelle, gnocchi, orecchiette, stuffed pasta and your delicious sauces.
Highlights
- Make a classic 00 dough, a semolina dough and homemade gnocchi
- Learn how to incorporate a puree of nettles or spinach to make a wholesome green pasta
- Discover different flavours and textures from the use of alternative English flours and flour blends
- Get to grips with using a pasta machine
- Create a range of pasta shapes
- Learn our favourite filled pasta shapes and fillings
- You’ll be making some seasonal sauces and fillings throughout the day to bring your pasta together into dishes
Your day
10:00 - 17:00
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Make yourself at home
Meet your tutor and settle in with tea, coffee and treats fresh from the kitchen.
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Session One
Start with making your doughs: classic 00, wholesome green & semolina.
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Session Two
We will cover the importance of ethically sourcing ingredients and you’ll learn how to use alternative types of flours to create exciting variations of the classics.
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Session Three
Next, you’ll tackle pasta shapes and sauces, learning which shapes are best suited to the different sauce styles. Using the fruits of your morning's work, you'll bring together a delicious dish for your lunch.
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Lunch
Tuck into your handmade pasta and sauce, accompanied by a veggie side dish from the kitchen and a dessert to follow.
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Session Four
After lunch you’ll tackle gnocchi, as well as creating more shapes and sauces.
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Session Five
You’ll create a filled pasta using seasonal ingredients from our garden and local suppliers.
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Departure
There will be time to chat to your fellow scholars and the River Cottage team, before heading back up the hill for 5pm with your homemade past in hand.
Please note: This is a guide to the activities that will make up your course at River Cottage. This is by no means set in stone and will depend on seasonal availability.
On occasion cookery schools will use equipment that includes induction hobs. It is recommended that people with pace makers should not work on these units. If you are concerned or would like to check whether or not induction hobs will be used on the course you are interested in, please call us on 01297 630302.
Further information...
This course is run from River Cottage HQ on the Dorset/Devon borders. Full address details of HQ will be provided once you have booked.
We are a licensed venue. We have a wide selection of the finest organic wines available to purchase.
Stay in our famous Farmhouse, click here. For other local accommodation click here.
We would advise that this course is only really suitable for 12 years of age and upwards. Under 16s must be accompanied by a paying adult. We put these guidelines in place for the safety, comfort and enjoyment of all our guests.
Sorry, we’re afraid this course is not suitable for those who are vegan or have wheat intolerances.
With many of our courses there are often treats and leftovers to take away with you. In our quest to be more sustainable we are encouraging guests to bring their own containers and bags to transport their produce home. Details of what is required for each course will be included in booking emails.
- Sustainable Restaurant Association
- Food and Travel Magazine 2017
- Great British Food Awards 2017
- Great British Food Awards 2018