Learning to Cook: Pasta taught through my Italian roots

Abby Woytus

After challenging myself with grilled cheese and tomato soup last week, I decided to push outside of my comfort zone this week by recreating a classic Italian recipe. My family is Italian so this meal brought pressure in various ways but I focused on the simple things and took it step-by-step. 

First, my mom and I chose to make cheese-tortellini noodles. These are personally my favorite because they are super filling and bursting with flavor. We turned on our stove top, placed the noodles in a pot of boiling water, and eventually watched them float to the top of the pot. This, I learned, is how you know the noodles are done. 

While the noodles cooked, and before we drained the excess water, my mom and I began making the sauce. This time, we decided to use red sauce instead of a white sauce but both are equally delicious. Surprisingly, the sauce was easy to sizzle up and proved scrumptious through a quick taste test.

We also made a side of pretzel bread which is one of my family’s favorites foods. For this we gladly cheated the system and finally, used the air fryer. This bread is delicious as it’s basically a loaf of pretzel, with butter oozing out of it. In other words, it’s phenomenal. 

The hardest part of this meal is putting it all together. My mom got our fancy pasta dishes out as I began combining the sauce in with the pasta. Next, I plated the pasta and added it to the side of pretzel bread. Seeing the meal come together was so satisfying and undoubtedly a rewarding process.  

Finally, my family and I sat down to eat. For whatever reason, I was nervous and wanted everything to be perfect. I knew my parents’ expectations were low but they’re pasta experts so I wanted to impress them. 

Upon my first bite, I thought the pasta was delicious, even better than I expected. The cheese was gooey on the inside and the noodles were chewy. If you know anything about Italians, most Italians prefer al dente noodles which is where they’re purposely cooked to be chewy. Similarly, the pretzel bread was gooey on the inside but crunchy on the outside. 

In the end, my parents were very impressed with my cooking. Although my mom helped instruct me through most of it, I felt as if I learned a lot. In the future, maybe I’ll feel more confident and try a harder recipe that my grandma easily masters such as lasagna or mushcacholli, but for now tortellini will do.