The Pasta Shop

It's a normal weekend morning.  I just ate breakfast.  I have no plans for the evening set up so it means dinner at home tonight.  But what to make?

A quick look in the fridge tells me nothing is really good for dinner.  That means it's time to get out of the apartment and search for dinner!

This calls for a walk around my local neighborhood and after a short time I come upon a fresh pasta shop.  This, by the way, is a luxury of living in Rome.  It's really not all that common to be able to go to the neighborhood pasta shop in the United States.  So when in Rome, take full advantage!

In I walk and immediately my mouth salivates after seeing this.

 Beautiful!  Zucchini flowers, some sort of Italian cheese all stuffed inside and rolled up like cannelloni.  Some day, oh yes, some day I will be trying that.

 The line up was wonderful.  They had everything from fresh linguine to filled ravioli to gnocchi and more!

 I especially enjoyed watching this guy making fresh pasta and bringing it to the front.  Looks like somebody ordered sheets of pasta to make their own lasagna or their own cannelloni!

 A look behind the cash register shows their kitchen where the magic really happens.  When the guy at the register noticed me NOT putting away my camera, he opened the door to the back and insisted I take pictures without a window blocking everything.  Good sir, you just won VASGO's store of the year award! Thank you for being so incredibly fantastic.

This lady was clearly getting a fresh pasta dish made.  From the looks of the big tub of tomato sauce at her station, I'd safely say the end result was something delicious.

 This is the station where the man was making the dough...

... which eventually was flattened by the machine on the right.  He loaded it in the front dock halfway up the machine a few times and eventually it came out all smooth and flat.

I ended up purchasing Pumpkin Ravioli!  Inside, the pumpkin filling was mixed with a slightly seasoned fresh cheese that had sour notes, such as formaggio fresco spalmabile. You probably know this as cream cheese.

Then a small walk around the neighborhood led me to a meat counter where I found these:

Arrosticini.  Skewers of lamb pieces.  Seasoning recommended: salt, some pepper then put on a VERY HOT grill for a minute or two flipping once until it's medium rare.  Best if it has grill marks on the outside!  A friend here in Rome explained to me that he easily eats 10 of these skewers in a setting!  That is not surprising because they are that good!

Still, I opted for 3 each for myself and my expert because my focus was the ravioli for this meal.  I remember the look from the butcher when I said I needed 6 total.  His facial expression said, "That's it?"  Indeed it was.

For the pumpkin ravioli, I melted some butter, sauteed some sage in it (even the dried stuff works fine for this) and tossed the boiled pasta in it to accent the dish.  Simply outstanding!

Add a quick salad on the side and you've got a restaurant-quality meal at a quarter of the price. That makes this one of my recommended Cheap Things to Do in Rome!

Buon Appetito everyone!  If you get the chance, get some fresh pasta.  You won't regret it!