During a healthy eating lesson I was amazed to discover that none of the children knew what pasta was made from nor how it was made. They all said that pasta was dried and came in packets from the supermarket. Most knew vaguely how it was cooked and most of the children enjoyed eating it.

It was then the childrens turn to be amazed when I told them they could make it themselves from flour and eggs!

Tracy and her team in the kitchen offered to help the children to make fresh pasta; they even offered to cook it at the end of the activity so the children could try their homemade pasta.

Before we turned the class into mini chefs each child had to complete a short course on hygiene and safety in the kitchen. This was essential because the children would be working with raw ingredients, especially egg. They all passed with flying colours.

Now for the fun part!! Having prepared themselves fully for working in the kitchen the children started the steps to making pasta. Pasta is made from finely milled flour (0 grade) and eggs. On this occassion we used dried, pasturized egg rather than raw eggs.

In pairs the children mixed the flour and egg mixture to form a dough ball.

They then used a rolling pin to roll the dough repeatedly, making an ever thinner, pliable layer of dough. This process certainly took longer than the children thought and needed lots of muscle power! The more effort they put into this part of the process the more delicious the pasta would be!  (After the lesson we showed the class pictures of pasta making machines which did the hard work or rolling the dough – they all wanted to use that machine!).

Finally, with help the thin layer was rolled up and cut into thin strips to make tagliatelli.

The tasting session was a big success!! Naturally the conversation turned to our favourite pasta recipes – the list  was extensive!

What is your favourite pasta recipe?