The Pasta Artist

It’s been non-stop in my kitchen — new recipes, new classes, new projects — but I couldn’t stay away from sharing these soft little gems with you!

Gnocchi di Ricotta are everything I love about Italian food: simple, elegant, and utterly comforting.

No potatoes, no stress — just fresh ricotta, Parmesan, Pecorino, and a touch of nutmeg. Boil them for two minutes and you’ve got a dish that feels like a warm hug.

🍽 Would you serve yours with butter & sage or a light tomato sauce?

— Silvana

It’s been a little quiet around here lately — I’ve been buried under mountains of pasta dough, new recipes, and course projects!

But I’m back, and we’re picking up right where we left off — with one of the most comforting dishes from Lazio: Gnocchi alla Romana.

Unlike the potato gnocchi you might know, these are made with semolina and milk, enriched with butter, eggs, and a touch of nutmeg. They bake into golden, crispy-topped rounds that melt in your mouth.

It’s old-school Roman comfort food — simple, elegant, and utterly irresistible.

🍶 Save this recipe for your next Sunday lunch, or tag a friend who’d love a taste of Italy on their table!

— Silvana 🇮🇹

P.S. The full gnocchi series continues this week — stay tuned for ricotta, pumpkin, and chestnut versions!

Potato gnocchi — the ones everyone knows and loves! 🥔✨

Top tips for success:
✅ Boil potatoes with their skins on to stop them absorbing too much water.
✅ Peel while hot, then mash with a potato ricer for the smoothest texture.
✅ Handle the dough gently — too much kneading makes them heavy.
✅ If sticky, add potato starch instead of flour.

They cook in just a couple of minutes — you’ll know they’re ready when they float.

Serve with butter & sage, tomato & basil, or a slow-cooked ragù. Which sauce would you choose first? 🍝🇮🇹

Day 1 of my Gnocchi Series — and the classics are only the beginning. Gnocchi are more than potatoes

Potatoes may be the most famous, but gnocchi are so much more than that! 🥔✨
From ricotta to pumpkin, spinach to chestnut, every region in Italy has its own unique gnocchi traditions.

This is the beginning of my gnocchi series — follow along to discover them all (and maybe find your new favourite!). 🍝🇮🇹

They say heaven is full of music and light… but let’s be honest: there’s also pasta on the table. 😉 🍝
For me, it’s the first thing I’d look for after the antipasti!
💬 What’s YOUR ultimate pasta dish that deserves a place in paradise?

🍷✨ Italian Sunday Reset Routine ✨🍝

In Italy, Sundays are more than just the end of the week — they’re the heartbeat of family life. A long table, dishes passed around, stories shared, and time to slow down before Monday arrives.

For us, it’s about more than food… it’s about connection. ❤️

👉 What’s your favourite Sunday dish that makes you feel at home?

🍝🍕🍰 If you had to choose just one Italian food to eat for the rest of your life… what would it be?

Would you stick with the comforting bowl of pasta, the unbeatable pizza, or something sweet like tiramisù?
Or maybe you’d go for lasagne, risotto, or gelato?

Drop your answer in the comments — let’s see which dish takes the crown 👑 of Italian food!

✨ Somewhere along the way, pasta became an Instagram trend. Rainbow colours, charcoal, glitter… you name it.

But pasta is not meant to be trendy.
It’s meant to be food. Food that nourishes, comforts, and connects families around the table.

👉 Tell me: what’s your all-time favourite simple pasta dish? 🍝
(Let’s see which one wins the comments thread 👇)

✨ SUNDAY MOOD ✨
Real Bolognese lasagna isn’t just a recipe, it’s a ritual. 🇮🇹❤️
Only two steps stand between you and perfection:

1️⃣ Prepare fresh spinach dough 🌿
2️⃣ Make a proper slow-cooked Bolognese ragù 🍷

Add silky béchamel, layer with love, bake until golden… and ta-da: the most comforting plate of lasagna you’ll ever meet.

Would you try making this from scratch, or do you usually skip straight to the oven-ready version? 👀👇

https://pastaartist.com/lasagna-alla-bolognese-original-recipe/

🥔 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗮 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗶𝘇𝘇𝗮 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿 — 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗶𝘀 𝗡𝗮𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘀’ 𝗵𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗴𝗲𝗺: 𝗚𝗮𝘁𝘁ò 𝗱𝗶 𝗣𝗮𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲.

(recipe in comments)
This beauty is gattò di patate, a traditional Neapolitan potato pie. The recipe dates back to the 18th century, when French influence was strong in Naples — the name itself comes from the French gâteau (pie/ cake).

It also happens to be one of my favourite childhood dishes. Once my mum baked a big golden gattò for dinner, and after eating my portion I was sent off to bed… with the rest left in the oven, waiting for my dad to come home.

But I couldn’t sleep. The gattò kept calling my name. So I tiptoed to the kitchen for “just a small slice.” Back to bed. Still couldn’t sleep. Back for another slice. And another. Until finally… only a tiny sliver was left. My poor dad had to make himself a sandwich for dinner. 🥔💛

🍝 𝟴 𝗣𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗮 𝗥𝘂𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗜𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗦𝘄𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗕𝘆 🇮🇹

If you’re breaking even ONE of these… you’re not cooking pasta like an Italian.

Save this post 🔖 next time you boil water, and never commit pasta crimes again.

Which of these rules were you guilty of before? 👀👇

🍝 𝗣𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗮 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵: 𝗣𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗶 🍝

Big, bold & unapologetically Neapolitan 🇮🇹.
Once known as the pasta of the poor (a few tubes filled a plate), today paccheri is a gourmet show-stopper.

📜 The name has two stories:
👉 From Greek πᾶς - 𝘱𝘢𝘴 (all) + χείρ - 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 (hand) = “full hand.”
👉 From Italian pacca = a friendly slap.
In Naples, they’re even nicknamed schiaffoni – “big slaps.”

And when you sauce them? They make a noisy pa-chak! like pasta giving you a playful smack.

🍴 Best enjoyed with:
✨ Seafood (clams, prawns, calamari)
✨ Neapolitan ragù (slow & rich)
✨ Stuffed & baked (ricotta + spinach)
✨ Veggie twist (aubergine, cherry tomatoes, smoked mozzarella)

🍂 Why September? Paccheri bridges the seasons – light enough for late-summer seafood, hearty enough for cooler autumn evenings.

👇 Your turn: would you stuff them, sauce them, or bake them golden?